Aqeel Mahesri

wait, they're going to do fewer things? the ranger, focus, crown vic, econoline haven't gotten full redesigns in ages. the small car still isn't out even though they've been planning it since 2002. lincoln does not have a single model not shared with the lower brands. they've abandoned all sorts of pledges, from SUV fuel economy to hybrids. they've dropped more models and abandoned more segments than any other car company. how much less can they possibly do?

I believe the reason for the Escape's lower mileage isn't the transmision but the aerodynamics.

This is per 7 months. Anyway, I doubt that truck sales will outgrow car sales. That is just very unlikely, even with new crossovers.

This is completely wrong. In fact they make about $3000-$4000 on every one.

Ford and GM change model names too often, and it usually hurts sales. You need to build up the reputation of a particular model over several product generation (a la Camry, Accord, heck Mustang) rather than the "launch and abandon" that Ford usually does. Keep model names consistent over time.

Actually, it does work. The accuracy of a statistical sample depends on the size of the sample and is independent of the size of the population, provided the population is sufficiently larger than the sample. A sample of 500, provided it is randomly selected, is equally good whether you are looking at a small town or a large nation.

This is just ignorance. JDP's data is much more superficial than CR's, their sample size is smaller, and they only survey 3 year old cars versus up to 8 for CR. You can criticize CR legitimately for certain shortcomings, but you shouldn't claim JDP results are better. Oh and BTW JDP has long shown Toyota and Honda at the top, just like CR. By far the best reliability numbers are kept by the automakers themselves. Ford, GM, and Toyota know exactly how many problems their cars have because they are reported back through dealers. Too bad these numbers are closely guarded trade secrets. Once in a while, though, you can tell when the internal numbers agree/disagree with CR surveys. When CR's survey gave a black dot to the 2004 F-150, Ford came out and said their internal data showed otherwise. On the other hand, when CR's survey gave a black dot to the 2005 Chevy Cobalt, GM basically said that next year's model would be better, suggesting CR's survey was on to something.

It's hard to survive a side impact at those speeds in any car. Nonetheless, it does illustrate the importance of improving SUV-car crash compatibility. New SUVs should be much less of a danger than the ones out there now.