ZanatWork

I tell ya what, if they nail the styling and the features, that could find a ton of homes out here in the Northwest. One of them could be mine.

Thanks for your efforts, on behalf of some of us that geek out on sales numbers...!

Many companies failed to give wagons much push, again with Subaru as the exception. When's the last Ford Flex commercial you saw? How many years back?

That 7.3 swap makes for interesting thoughts...and I already figure that "enhanced" versions will be at SEMA, so I'm sure that Ford Racing will have some toys to free up some ponies. If they get headers and other basics figured out for popular applications, the new motor may be a real option for those that aren't all about supercharger whine.

I didn't see if this was covered, but there are two lawsuits: one against Ford for the fumes and one against the department for making their officers use the known-to-be afflicted vehicles. This will be ugly.

(shaking head) To me, this whole pissing match on screen size is as bad as the cupholder fixation, 20 years ago.

I promise that you're not the only one. I kinda wish the Flex had been named Fairlane, like the concept.

Well, the Flex has been selling at or just above 2000 per month forever...and with basically NO promotion from FoMoCo. Throw in the Outbacks, the Buick thing, plus the rogue Benz/Volvo/etc models...200K may be possible. It's hard to think that there's not enough market for a capacious vehicle that's not carrying the extra weight of CUV bodywork....

The roads here in the NW are thick with Subarus...but also Flexes, and Volvo wagons. As Ford as barely offered wagons beyond the Flex since the old Taurus/Sable wagon were killed over a decade ago...and the CMAX is fugly...that distorts the numbers, somewhat.

I think it could handily outsell the Flex, as its boxy appearance is polarizing in this era of rolling melted soap bars. The trick would be actually staying with an ad campaign, something that did NOT happen with the Flex.

I like the concept, though I'd like slightly more cargo area. I think that Ford could truly carve out room for their niche "Outback", but it'd have to have the goods and Ford would need to show something like Subaru's charisma and patience to drill it into the market. I won't lie, I'm a huge fan of the Flex (mine recently had a tragic transmission failure, I miss it every day) and think that Ford has room for a stylish, capacious, AWD wagon that draws just enough cues from CUVs to fit within current trends. I love real SUVs, but I'm a musician at night; I also love low lift-over and having a powerful AWD vehicle that can cope with the often slimy streets of western Washington. Hence, I loved my Flex. A vehicle like the one rendered would be a great compromise for people like myself that would own a separate, "real SUV" for actual off-road driving.

Apparently, kinda somber. From the review, it seems that the ST has a good ride, is very capable, but it feels somewhat disconnected and is less "bonkers" than the Durango SRT. I'll reserve my judgement until I drive one, but my initial concern would be that this sounds worryingly similar to the knocks on the Fusion ST.

I just read the Autoblog review, and it seems that they like the powertrains, found the steering/suspension to be kind of numb and "springy", they loved the styling, but weren't stunned by the interior materials and various issues involving the back row. While I don't see the criticisms as damning, I do hope that the ST answers the steering/suspension gripes somewhat. The hybrid appears to be more about torque than mpg, which is both kind of refreshing but potentially damaging to perceptions. I find it odd that Ford didn't go all-in regarding USB connectivity throughout the vehicle, as that's become the new "cupholders" standard for interiors. All in all, I look very forward to the ST reviews.

So...add weight and drag, but leave the little 302 in the nose? I do NOT get the point.

Torn on the whole IFS debate, because a well tuned IFS could be better, if losing some "macho" points in the process. I want the Bronco to be genuinely capable off-road...but I don't know if trying to out-hardcore the Wrangler is the best way for the model to succeed.

Hmmm... ...I keep kinda thinking that they could have something that would be easily scalable to compete with, say, half of Subaru's offerings within a single mode's range. I thought the Focus Active had that potential, but maybe this one...?

What's obviously the most important take from this is that the Flex is still humming along, and deserves a worthy successor.

I'll always think that Fields' greatest issue was that he couldn't "take the room" with leadership charisma. He wasn't admired, respected, and/or feared enough to keep the old bad habits from returning. He may or may not have had the political clout within the company to do much, either...but I'm well aware the my viewpoint is basically up in the nosebleed section. I don't have any real insider information. The new financial guy may be a boon or a curse...but what's unchanging is that the next few years of Ford's future are at least as important as those heading into last decade's recession. The new products need to be pretty amazing, and to set precedent for a genuinely strong step into a very nebulous future.

I remember Corvairs in my old neighborhoods, thought the "Monza" variant was kinda attractive...but mostly, they represent how big an bulky our attempts at copying European designs were.

Kinda saw this coming, with RAM making inroads via their coil-sprung 1500 model and its gentler ride (if also less payload/towing) than its half ton rivals. Knowing that Ford theoretically had the pieces rolling under Expys and Navs already, I'd been wondering if this could occur.

Hey, I hope he's right. Most of the product rumblings seem basically positive and reflective of current trends. However, the time in limbo is both annoying for brand loyalists and fodder for every Wall Street analyst d-bag. The "turning point" needs to be clipping the apex of the corner, ASAFP.

Thanks for the numbers, it gives some idea of what's actually going on. Rough month for the Continental...yikes....

I would not, as GM's actual offerings are largely crap...in fact, they define mediocrity/failure as much as any time that I can remember.

If they could find a good way to make an AWD Mustang available with both engines and both transmissions, I'd find that interesting...but I don't see that happening until the hybrid model.

A huge amount of the current frustration with Ford is the extended limbo period that we're currently inhabiting; we're years into the rumors regarding the Bronco, the forthcoming electrification, which we've seen the cars getting cut and two recent offerings (Ecosport and Ranger) coming in as aging place holders. Granted, the Ranger is being welcomed with impressive sales...but the big news with Ford has mostly been news, not anything in the metal. This is an odd position for me, as I'm very much an analog guy that's always interested in the performance models first and foremost; I generally spend little time caring about the run-of-the-mill offerings. That said, I'm with many other Blue Oval fans that are watching carefully to see if Ecosports and Escapes will truly supplant the Fiesta/Focus/Fusion sales in the market. Does and Edge make for an attractive Taurus alternative? Will the showroom suffer from being 70+ percent CUV blobs, with only the occasional Mustang or F-series making and visual difference? The undeniable importance of the new Explorer and Super Duty aside, we're still just around the corner from...well, we're not quite sure. We get snippets about dealers being impressed with "Mach E" previews and get glimpses of forthcoming PHEV tech in the imminent models...but we've basically been led to believe that there's a new Ford era dawning in the next 1-2 years, after years of rumor and delays. Wall Street can go commit a physical/carnal impossibility for all I care...but the brand's fans have plenty of cause to be frustrated. How much of that rests on Fields vs. Hackett, I'm not certain.