Jump to content

ZanatWork

Member
  • Posts

    2,108
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    11

Everything posted by ZanatWork

  1. So...I've been pretty pissed off lately. A year of slow sales (or fast, low proft sales), the AFA ass-kissing, another year of fading interest in Focuses, Crown Vics, and Rangers, another year waiting for competitive power in various markets, another year swimming in doom-and-gloom surrounding the domestic automakers, another year wondering why Ford avoids producing concepts that got huge response. The Fusion unable to beat the 3-year-old Accord in comparo tests. 2005, for fans of FoMoCo, has been less than stellar. The Mustang was a rare bright spot. The Fusion/Milan/Zephyr seem to have rolled out at least as well as expected, sales-wise. So...I'm relatively sure I've raised the hackles on some around here, and all I can say is that I care deeply enough to be deeply pissed off when my favorite car company seems not only stuck in the mud but actively trying to be fully submerged in it. I'd love to have regulars on here having fun at my expense next year with Ford's North American sales reports strongly improved. I'd love to get abuse after Ford announces production plans that answer concerns about long-ignored vehicles. I'd be THRILLED to see Bill Ford engineer a company turnaround so bold that the AFA business is a fuzzy memory at best. I hope to eat a good amount of crow next year.
  2. We'll see if it's news...but it is regrettable in the very least, and a D-minus for Ford's leadership. What a huge missed opportunity this is-Ford could've stood up to an obvious hate-oriented group, been a media darling for showing backbone in hard times, and likely gained serious points in the perception game. Blown, and pissant knuckling under is what we get instead.
  3. It's not too late to salvage this. Hey, Ford...find that missing gonad and take out a series of ads decrying the AFA's tactics, and make a strong statement about standing with ALL Ford's customers! Make a domestic look strong, even for just a moment! It'd make a lovely constrast to specualtions of 30,000 unemployed and 10 plants down!
  4. I think it's more appropriate to punish any group asking to segregate another...but hey, that's me being a silly anti-nazi and anti-KKK type. It appears there's at least one other person who understands the cowardice and blind, phenomenal stupidity in this action: http://www.autoextremist.com/page2.shtml#Rant But wait...there's more! http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/content/1...24809/index.php
  5. The straight white types are telling Ford how to spend its ad dollars...and has bullied the company into alienating the GLBT sector. The AFA is a goon squad, and seemingly Ford is determined to negotiate from a position of weakness.
  6. Certainly. Ford's leadership cracked under a threatened boycott by the AFA (this mess has its own link in School of Free Thought, check it out) and is pulling ads from gay publications. The AFA has a couple million members and leaned on Ford (initially, Ford dealerships in Texas) until Ford asgreed to cut most of said ads. Way to empower segregation, Billy. For the record, I'm straight and happily married (12 years, almost) with an amazing son, and this doesn't directly affect me...but it does tell me about the people both running the company and also about people using the clout of pack tactics to keep bling hatred alive and well in the US. Ford could have countered the boycott with a PR campaign that showed these goons for what they really are- the kind of sad little haters that create the KKK and/or Nazism-but decided to just knuckle under and give the domestic auto industry yet another example of weakness and bad decisions. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic.../512060388/1148
  7. What more needs to be said, really? Bill looks like the biggest pussy since Clay Aiken. PR could have been used both ways, and the AFA could have been portrayed as the hateful little shitbags they are...but now Bill looks spineless, and the already floundering NA operations will likely suffer because of this. :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: Pa-fucking-thetic.
  8. ...or Mesa amplifiers, for you other guitar goons out there! The early Nomad, Road King, and F-series...bad. All because the Recto had been so popular.
  9. I wonder how those prices will do once the settlement for the hybrid battery technology hits more news outlets, and more people respond to the "Concerned about quality" articles coming out. Toyota's recalls doubled. As they approach the #1 spot (which I believe they'll hit), I think they'll see how fast the same media that's essentially blown them for years will turn on them. Success is the most punishable of crimes in the mass media. The price of moving the most product in any industry I've ever seen has been a drop in quality. Toyota has had a rough year in this regard, and I don't the problems letting up as they continue to move toward being the largest. Just ask GM.
  10. I remember reading on this site years ago that Ford's truck powertrain guys wanted to keep the Windsor going, just give it a real update (something that hadn't been done much to the core of the motor). I wonder if anyone ever did a real redesign...and how it performed...?
  11. I was just looking at the most recent thread asking for the '49...and I'm maybe more pissed than I already was. Does everyone remember how much buzz Ford was getting off the '49, the 427, the Continental concept...and how nothing came of it? Nada. Nix. Nothing. I could vomit. Having just seen the tragedy that is Ford's November figures, I wonder if my faith in Bill Ford is horribly misplaced. The Focus, Crown Vic, Ranger, Econoline, and Escape are just aging. The Mustang's huge sales explosion is tapering. The Explorer is visually repugnant and faltering. The Expedition has been a loser in comparos for some time (just like the Explorer!) and is very slow. The Fusion and its siblings are having a solid launch...but won't be potentially leaders in features for their segment for another model year. The Five Hundred and its siblings appear last in line for an engine they need most. The F-150 leads in weight and trails in power. But hey-it's okay-Ford invested in its pension fund! I really am just venting. Really. It's just that after a horrible year for recalls, a similarly horrible year for the domestic manufacturers, too many products languishing while competitors gain strength, and worse reports every month...I'm worn down. Cool concepts getting mothballed...current models growing old...millions of bad cruise control switches...GAAAAAH. Does any of this get to the higher floors in Dearborn? Trust me...if this is the best that the current team can do, fly me up for an interview.
  12. That car was part of the "get attention, then produce nothing" approach from a few years ago. The buzz from that, the 427, and a couple of seriously cool Lincolns was incredible...and utterly wasted.
  13. So... ...the Mustang is an out-of-the-park hit. The F-series is still a monster. The Econoline quietly remains atop the big van heap. The Five Hundred, while seemingly allergic to headlines, is hitting sales expectations. The Explorer and Escape continue their onslaught, and Mercury is benefitting from new products advertised by the cutest woman in car advertising. Okay. Time to accept the momentum as a positive and shock the auto market...bravery would stand out a ton. The new V6 and awd for the Zephyr are important...but tweaking the car into an all-out class leader would make it Acura's worst nightmare. Lincoln should get the hottest 3.5 available, at least intitially. The Fusion and Milan should get their "ST" versions with almost-but not quite-the appointments of the Zephyr. Let's give Subaru, Toyota, and Honda fits in the sedan market. A Fusion sport wagon seems like it should be in consideration, at least from where I sit. Awd, 3.5, plenty of space, 3 pedals available...something for the people deserting SUVs and not interested in crossovers. Could we also get a REAL update for the damned Focus this time? The car's sales keep falling, and the competition is seemingly more concerned about small car development...not a message you want to send to the 16-20-year-olds in the market right now. The Crown Vic...the Ranger...the Grand Marquis...the Town Car...C'MON, GIVE UP THE GOOD STUFF! These warriors have taken many hits for the team, it's time to make 'em all they can be. Past time. The mod motors need to quit bonking off of the 300 hp mark like it was a wall. Toyota's new truck is due any minute, will the F-series get more ammo for the upcoming pickup war? Please, oh please, make the Sport Trac civil enough on road to get the market the Ridgeline is alienating, while having the real truck capability Ford customers have come to expect. What I'm saying (and none too clearly) is that the chinks in the Blue Oval armor come in two types: 1. The hesitation to style/equip vehicles to dominate their class. 2. The insufficient tweaks to the older soldiers. Fix these, and things get better.
  14. The '07 refresh for the US model had better be considerable, or that market will have been pissed away foolishly.
  15. I believe that the motor will debut in 07, not 06. Someone here published an engine schedule, and the Fusion/Milan/Zephyr and the Edge/Aviator get the engine months before the larger cars. Unfortunately.
  16. Also, I didn't know the Fusion was going to square off against a Camry! I thought the Camry, Accord, Maxima, and Five-Hundred were competitors. I'd fit the Fusion in with the Altima or G6, but okay. Every car magazine I'm aware of has repeatedly described the Fusion as a Camry/Accord fighter. The G6 is too mediocre to play, as is the torque-steering Altima. I guess you don't know jack about cars. Also...the $35K region is a tad higher than Fords are going right now, excepting a loaded 500 limited, the Mustang GT convertible and the GT. The vehicles you mentioned-the Infinti for example-are not normal competion for Ford brand vehilces. Your metaphor was, well, too far out to even be ironic and your vehicular comparisons aren't based on marketing realities. Go try and learn more.
  17. Dear God, it's the bitch thread! Comparing Ford to Yugo-pathetic and just hugely stupid. Stupid...and wrong. Yugo was bottom-of-the-barrel in reliability, never led a market segment, had no dealer network, and was a rebodied obsolete FIAT. F-series, Explorer, Escape, Mustang...all segment leaders, last I heard. The reliability bottom feeders at this time are Suzuki and VW. Ford...well, let's just say the dealer infrastructure is well in place. The FIAT tie-up is the cloest thing to reality, as Ford and FIAT will be producing some subcompacts together. Now...what were the other bitch-fests (excepting the Lemonhead, who is on my ignore list and therfor I'm spared his digital drool)? Let's pick out a few favorites... 1. The Fusion has more motor than the current Camry, which is the segment leader. The 1-year wait for the better V-6 appears to be survivable, as plenty of people are snapping the '06 models up. Note: most people buying mid-sized sedans are NOT street racing. A tenth of a second isn't a big deal. 2. The 3.5 engine is taking its time, but rushing things to market leads to bad launches. Think of the old Heinz commercials...good things come to those who wait. In the meantime, remember that Five Hundred customers are even LESS likely to be street racing. 3. The Focus is overdue for a makeover, but for all that remains among the most fun cars in its class. Those who absolutely can't live without the C1 cars are welcome to purchase a Mazda 3 of a Volvo S40. 4. The Crown Vic also needs an update, but requires few sales to be profitable as its tooling is long since paid for. The 300/Charger are doing very well...but polarizing styling like theirs has a tendency of getting old fast. And now, just because my bitch allergy is REALLY flaring up... ...what's the point of complaining about things when the often-discussed fixes are right around the corner? The new V6 will address the power issues in almost every vehicle that needs a boost in the engine compartment. The Edge, Fusion, and Aviator are aimed right at the hearts of their markets. The Mustang is the hottest coupe in the market, period. The Focus IS getting an update in a year. The new Sport Trac looks to be just what Ford needs in the midsized pickup category. To quote Dr. Evil, "Boo frickety hoo!" Ford is halfway through a painful transition, and the new motor and crossovers are coming in just months. This is well discussed around here, so what's the crying about?
  18. "If you can find a better value on a big American sedan then I, for one, would be surprised." That's about how I feel about the car as well. I'm seeing more and more of them...it might just become a genuine hit BEFORE the new motor and restyling.
  19. My two cents... 1. Lincoln has to quit being the dressed-up Ford and become the division that trickles its excellence down to Ford and Mercury. 2. I have no real problem with the Five Hundred platform launching Lincoln models, but the platform's potential must be exploited far more than in the lower cost variants. Power, handling, braking, styling, and interior appointments must all be closer to Audi than to Mercury. 3. I agree that the Town Car-all the Panther siblings, for that matter-have served long and well, and should get a new platform with the same time-tested qualities (rwd, V8, can survive ramming brick walls) that the customers have come to expect. 4. Make the Mark LT a real model (rather than an F-150 with styling and interior updates), or dump it. No side curtain air bags? No more power than the F-series? Come ON. 5. The Lincoln coupe is an interesting thought, but the Lincoln roadster concept from a few years back would be bolder and the kind of market shocker that could reap many different kinds of rewards. 6. Lincoln must claim its part of the market, which should be up to maybe $70K. Still downhill from the top German makers, but finally climbing to a level decisively above Mercury.
×
×
  • Create New...