jpd80

Since since there's a housing slump and builders aren't buying trucks, the US Dollar has devalued against every othr currency that matters. but, I shoulda said Building recession.

Remembering the US is in recession and Ford is spending big money to make permanent changes that are still happening for the rest of this year and 2007 Q2 will be out in about 2 weeks time. I'm not critising you but I think you should hold your judgement until then. The only real way you can judge Ford's performance is by quarterly financial reports and so far there's only been one - 2007 Q1 which this article does not even consider: http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=25859 First-quarter highlights included: Revenue of $43 billion. Net loss of 15 cents per share, or $282 million, for the first quarter of 2007. Loss of 9 cents per share, or $171 million, from continuing operations excluding special items.** Ford Motor Credit pre-tax profit of $294 million. Automotive gross cash at March 31, 2007 was $35.2 billion, including cash and cash equivalents, net marketable securities, loaned securities and short-term Voluntary Employee Benefits Association (VEBA) assets.*** Strong performance of new U.S. products including Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX, Ford F-Series Super Duty, Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner. Successful public introduction of the all-new Ford Mondeo and redesigned Ford C-MAX at the Geneva Motor Show. Record Premier Automotive Group profits. Ford Europe pre-tax profits of $219 million, an increase of $154 million compared with a year ago. Cost savings of $500 million, $400 million of which was associated with North America – bringing total cumulative cost savings to $1.9 billion toward the 2008 target of reducing annual operating costs by $5 billion compared with 2005. Reduction of 18,000 personnel positions in North America. Sale of one Automotive Components Holdings (ACH) business during the quarter and agreement in principle reached to sell two other ACH businesses – bringing to four the total number of ACH businesses currently subject to agreements in principle for sale. Agreement to sell Automobile Protection Corporation (APCO) – finalized in April. Agreement to sell Aston Martin. Continued improvement in quality. These are the facts, not emotional rhetoric.

"LUXURY! - We used to dream about being taxed at 50%." " We were so poor, that mum used to pour the old cooking fat into tank of car so dad could get to work." At Last the 1948 Show - The Four Yorkshiremen Sketch

http://www.themustangnews.com/tech/st-0706_ozirs.htm You can see the Dana Technicians are building this one upside down, the spring towers are higher but the upper cross frame has been removed. On the Falcon this area can be a little higher as it's straight behind the rear seats and meets the trunk floor which also houses the spare that's stowed flat. I could see this or the mondeo/Jaguar variants finding homes in future North American products. One thing's for sure these CB IRS are brilliant, light and work much better than older multi-link designs. The best part about the Falcon's variation is that it fits into the existing SRA void space. Very easy for Panther or Mustang engineers to apply CB IRS as an upper spec option. Wait till you see the front suspension set up - upper A-arm lower virtual pivot. Can't find a picture yet but will post when I do.

To imagine English living conditions, cut your present take home in half and try meeting all your weeklys on that. See why they all buy 1.6 litre cars and put blocks of wood under the gas pedal?

The main rails are too small and riveted crossmembers are too flexible. There is no way to retro strengthen the current chassis.

I believe it is along with the Focus. That's why retail is so expensive, to make up for all the give away daily rental sales.

It's a good panic headline. The truth is that auto parts suppliers in North America are feeling the crunch and truck sales are light because of the recession. So long as Ford keeps making changes in areas that it's able to and the market sees continuing improvement in 2007 Q2, then they should be reasonably pleased.

BlackHorse, European prices will give you a headache every time. Pick a few cars available ther and the USA, you'll see the price conversions don't match. I use Camry and mazda 6 as my yardsticks, the damn things are everywhere. We get the Mondeo down here come September, we already know it will be very close to the Base Camry and Mazda 6 (AUS$28K), but by your transposed pricing 15,000 pounds for a base model is AUS$37,500 so there goes your theory right there. Also this Mondeo has an 18.9 cu ft trunk and more leg room than the Fusion but it's not as wide as a Taurus. In a car of similar length to a Fusion, that's impressive. I just dont think the mix would be quite right for the US as is and probably needs another 2" width. That's an interesting proposition for ford Australia as the Mondeo would then equal the Falcon's compartment and trunk space. If they ever did a RWD version of that car with the Duratec 35, I think they could replace the Falcon.

Yeah, C1 Focus does Have CB IRs as did previous Mondeo and Jag X-Type. Modified Turbo Falcons are pulling mid to low 10s at the drag strips down here. I just thought you guys would like to see one, it's the saving in weight and being able to independantly engineer handling and ride quality that makes it so great. John

You didn't bother reading the article: No other RWD Ford employs this IRS that's been out of five years. I believe the system was pioneered by BMW. Rear Suspension from Jaguar X-Type/Mondeo Estate The Aussie set up is much lighter and rivals SRA for weight.

Thought you technical buffs might be interested in Control blade IRS. When you see what it is, you gotta ask why did it take so long. Cheap, light and well designed - Thanks, Ford Australia. http://www.themustangnews.com/tech/st-0706_ozirs.htm

We've been down this path before. Prices do not transpose along currency conversion rates. here's two links to Mazda in England and Ford England websites. You will see that the entry level cars: - Mazda 6 1.8 S 5dr Manual £14,150 - New Mondeo Bodystyle 4, 5 door & Estate Prices from *£14,995 (OTR, inc. VAT) Now, knowing the entry level Mazda 6 price in the USA, you can use that as a yardstick. Stop complaining, you pay far less for vehicles in the US compared to anywhere else.

While it would be great to have common platforms across the globe, that is not feasable. Most parts supply are long term and unless North America was to take up the EUCD mid sized platform as well, (meaning that the D3 Taurus would have to give way to a Mondeo derivative) the scales of economy aren't there. So much upheval in models, parts suppliers and developing regional styles is both time consuming and counter productive in the extreme. What people are missing is that Ford NA knows what the C1 is like so surely, armed with this information, they have developed the 2008 Focus to have similar ride/handling attributes as the C1 but with the added advantage of local styling. Why not give your 2008 Focus a chance, it's a good effort and might really surprise everyone.

Gawd, here we go with the never ending C170 Vs C1 debate. The rest of the world is happy with the C1 but it's predecessor, the C170 was no slouch either. I've not see the Americanised C170 for 2008 but I'm sure it won't disappoint it target buyers. Just picture a 2.3 Turbo in your 2008 Focus - same thing.

My there are plenty of people with good ideas out there. Well here's my plans; 1. BOF panthers remain with upgraded bodies to serve niche markets All products continue to be supplied from STAP as follows: - Crown Victoria continues as a 117" wheelbase shorter overhang "Interceptor" police car - Civilian Ford Grand Marquis with similar body to C/V offered to retail customers. - Town Car follows 121 long wheelbase, body style similar to Lincoln MKS but much bigger. 2. Falcon and Mustang groups combine resources and work with Jaguar and Land Rover - Sedans 108" Mid size and 113" wheelbase - Coupe 108" and 113" wheelbase - CUV 113" AWD - 1 Tonne Half-Chassis pick up. Along with supplying sedans and Coupes for Australia and North America, derivatives are developed for Jaguar and a new Rover products line developed for Europe. 3. Thai Ranger, NA Ranger, Explorer, Everest/Endeavour are united on the new T6 platform being developed by Ford Australia as a modification of the F150 chassis. The new products are to be released worldwide as F100 and Explorer.

Yeah, they call them XR5 Turbo down here in AUS, an absolutely brilliant ride. Low 14s for the 1/4 mile and very strong roll on from 50-75 mph in 3rd = 3.5 secs.

Thanks for the insight Austin, I guess the rumors abut the D3 came about because of the temptingly large transmission tunnel. As you say the switch from overhanging transversely mounted to North South with Gearbox is extreme and obviously more than all I thought it would be, a firewall cut. The simple reason why the RWD D3 will probably not happen? cheaper to start with a clean sheet. I wonder how many engineers suffered burnout trying to find a way to make that work. Are you able to tell us if the studies were FOMOCO or others? There was one other a few years ago, Holden looking at a hybrid set up had a RWD Monaro set up with the FWD/Hybrid gear sourced from a Vectra front end and had Super Caps under the passenger seats, was late 1990s IIRC. Will search the net for her and see what I can find. Holden are cluey/tricky buggers!! Edit, Here you go Austin, the Holden E Commodore in 2000 - LINK http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_0516/article.html

Stop blaming Jac Nasser, he did not buy Jaguar, Ford did that themselves years before. His ideas and purchases of L/R and Volvo were sound but he was fired in October 2001 less than a year after acquiring L/R. Ford never really administered PAG properly in the ensuing time until The Way Forward Plan scrutinised every financial endeavour.

Nah, That's just g48150, he's like that all the time. Good old counterpoint.

No it's not!!!! Current Asian Ranger and Everest/Endeavour are BOF and one of the mission parameters for the project was that it continue as BOF. Ford Australia are designing the replacements for these ETA approx YM 2010.

Some more Loch Ness Monster Video footage of new Falcons: LINK I think Ford Australia is playing with the shutter bugs.

The one thing I'd make sure of is that all RWD platforms have front rails that can be extended, making them FWD capable as well or, the other way around - FWD platforms with adjustable front rails to make them RWD capable. Either way this reduces engineering. I can't believe manufacturers don't make their platforms multi-capable already, this could save GM's bacon if Zeta was adaptable. Another would be the new T6 would use a lightened F150 frame to make a new F100 and Explorer.

Which do you want more, to buy a Ford owned luxury model or to buy a Jaguar/Land Rover? Sounds to me like it's the Jaguar/Land Rover, go with your heart. Ford will still have about a 25% stake in them if it sells.

Ford NA haven't explored the versatility of the Panther platform, everyone thinks it's only good for classic body with long overhangs. I'm sure like modern unitary cars, the panther's frame can be adapted to any body style required. Even the Corvette has a perimeter frame, well it's much more than just that but there's another possibility.