ZanatWork
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Posts posted by ZanatWork
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That supercharger kit is a big $$ "option", as opposed to what would likely be under $1000 for a different grade of 5.0.
It's not that 400 hp is inadequate...I remember being a teenager and thinking that a 225 hp 5.0 "Fox" Mustang was perfection...but, the horsepower wars are still underway with some competition bringing displacement/torque advantages. Ford has a brutal history when finding it to be "adequate" to aim for mid-market.
When promoting performance vehicles, spec sheets are part of the eye candy. It simply seems that this was a slightly underwhelming approach. -
it seems to me that a different level of tune could have been applied to the 5.0, something to make the Lobo a bit more special.
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This is the latest example of failure in legislated behaviors. The list is stupendous throughout history, and it's always growing.
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It's...eh...well, like the color, but the wheels are a swing and a miss. If they're going to try and manipulate us Gen-Xers, they should've gone for the darker green/cream interior versions of the early 90s.
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How interesting that these "posters" show up, and register just to post gripes about their (supposed) vehicles...
...what amazing coincidences! -
It's always...interesting...to me when a poster's single entry on the site is a (supposed) complaint. Why would they find this board at this specific time?
Hmmm. -
After weeks of hearing that the Mustang was tanking, the Mach E had the brutal month.
Ford needs an update, something to renew interest. I can't help feeling that the market whose cars are most dependent on the newest range/gadgets will be one needing very constant feeding.-
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1 hour ago, akirby said:
I see nothing inherently wrong with the S650 platform or the current engines and transmissions. Who has something objectively better? Sounds like you just want change for change’s sake. And where are these other non luxury sports sedans?You're pretty judgy, and not in any good ways.
This is a time where Toyota is getting 300 hp from turbo 3 cylinder engines, Benz is getting 400 from 2 liter 4s, Dodge will be shoveling power into the Charger variants to keep something relevant there, Hyundia/KIA are actually stepping up the power/performance games, and so on....
...so, I find your position to be one of defending lethargy in a market that is always changing. Having been around a good while, and remembering the world seemingly out-engineering Ford and Detroit as a whole on more than one occasion...I called these concerns, and think that there's plenty of room for just that. Failing to keep up with, and/or lead, the Joneses has had Ford in very deep trouble repeatedly.
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My main concerns:
1. The Mustang is already on re-re-revamped bones, and is likely to suffer in comparisons to more recently engineered sport sedans.
2. With the nebulous nature of the EV market, are there scraps in the budget to keep some ICE R&D going? The various engines across the board have been almost stagnant (minus the Dark Horse 5.0). The turbo 4s are seemingly forgotten, the V6s are far from class leading...yeah, I have concerns.
3. Dilution is an obvious twitch. The MACH-E didn't phase me, with EVs being literally legislated in many markets...but, a Mustang sedan can NOT be a Lincoln LS-esque "shoot for the middle of the market" gaffe. -
Given the size/cost/complexity of most modern full-size pickups, I wouldn't be surprised for the Maverick and Ranger market niches to gain more momentum going forward. It's easy to forget, in these days of 2oo-300 "base" hp in so many levels of trucks, that many years went by with half-ton, small block V8 equipped pickups averaging around 160-170 hp.
Granted, modern vehicles are much heavier due to safety regs and what-not, but I wonder if full size pickups might soon go beyond the price/capabilities that average buyers require or even desire...?-
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It's pretty awful to trail GM in quality. This needs fixing, ASAFP.
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13 hours ago, akirby said:
We’ve discussed this before and I don’t think brand loyalty exists any more with younger buyers especially when price is the major factor.Yes, we have, but as previous lower-end offerings were often seen as something akin to advertising investments...I think that it's a foolish gamble to essentially hand that market over to the Koreans (who seem to exploit it well), the established Japanese marques (who keep much of it viable, as they have for generations), and the other players that apparently didn't get the "brand loyalty = dead" memo.
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I just worry about the lack of true entry-level vehicles in the fold. Getting the early/young customers is a step in the ladder of brand loyalty; but, the Fiesta/Focus are gone, the Escape is dying, and not every young person/couple/family wants a mini-pickup.
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I have to believe that another "entry level" vehicle is in the cards. The Escape is circling the drain, and not everyone wants a "Maverick" or any truck as their cheap/first car. In big cities, small cars are still kings as far as parking and usability.
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I was really happy for this victory, as I remember watching Roush Capris, Mustangs, Merkurs, and Cougars for years in Trans Am and GTO. With Ford possibly eyeing the prototypes, it makes me nostalgic for the old days of Mustang GTP and Probe entries.
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23 minutes ago, DeluxeStang said:
How could you not lol?
Like most concept renders, I look at the lack of clearance and the air dam, and...well, give me the original. Please.
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Hmmm.
I think this is the first real prototype effort since the old GTP Probe, unless we count the Ford F1 V8s being plugged into Jag GTP cars in the early 90s.
Maybe I've missed something, but it seems like a full 3 decades since their last prototype effort. -
On 1/8/2025 at 3:04 AM, twintornados said:
Kinda sounds like Elon Musk...
I'll never get why some seem to worship that dude. Yes, he was smart with his money and I applaud the SpaceX efforts...but, the cars are new tech wrapped in iffy build quality, his babble has caused his own (and much of bitcoin's) stock to sometimes drop wildly, and he shows the empathy of a cinderblock.
Not a fan. -
Gosh, why would that be? Oh, wait:
"Henry Ford revolutionized American manufacturing, bringing automobiles to the masses and creating a foundation for America’s middle class by pioneering liveable factory wages.
But his broader social legacy is complicated. In addition to those accomplishments, Ford used his leverage as an employer to try and aggressively socially engineer workers’ lives and “Americanize” those who had immigrated from elsewhere. Ford bitterly opposed labor unions, which he frequently described as a global Jewish conspiracy.
Indeed, as a vocal antisemite, he used his status as one of America's most well-known and trusted business leaders to systematically spread conspiracy theories about Jews. His screeds against Jewish people became so well-known at home and abroad that he is the only American whom Adolf Hitler compliments by name in Mein Kampf."
https://www.history.com/news/henry-ford-antisemitism-worker-treatment -
Ol' Henry's infamous antisemitism is maybe my least favorite part of the company's history, especially in how it tied to some terrible tie-ins with the German Jackboot club in the 1930's-40's.
Then again, nothing prepared me for having 1930's Germany rhetoric shouted by Gen Z college students over here...with a pro-terror twist.-
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Did the GTD's official 'Ring time ever get published? I've been watching, but may have missed it....
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Agreed. That was a punk-a$$ comparison, with uneven sub-models competing.
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I think the EV issue will be complicated by resentment to legislated "choices", combined with the many reported issues of the new tech as vehicles and charging stations along the way.
I certainly feel a degree of that. -
16 hours ago, atomcat68 said:
My argument against Explorer is that when it was changed to a FWD based Volvo platform, there were no letter writing campaigns or hoards of angry people like when the Mustang was almost replaced like the Probe. Look at the passion Mustang awakens in people. There are strong opinions when customers feel the Mustang isn't being honored like Mustang II or Mach E.
When Explorer changed, it was a collective "meh", and the FWD one sold well. Bronco was absent from Ford's lineup for a long time.
Thunderbirds, Galaxies, Taurus and Fairlanes are instantly recognizable as Fords and are gone. All good cars, but no one really raged at that as much as when Ford almost made the Probe the Mustang.
The most powerful emotional responses are usually to F-150 and Mustang and the others do not have the same degree of fanaticism.
The Explorer was (is) often bought for capacity, and for the "sporty" optics vs a minivan or similar. The last of the RWD-based Explorers had kept its styling with too little evolution before the Volvo-bone ones debuted.
Ford Maverick SUV to replace Escape?
in Ford Motor Company Discussion Forum
Posted
The Flex was easily the most usable, enjoyable, and overall solid vehicle I'd owned in years...though mine was eventually killed by the early first year version of the transaxle.
A cavernous awd wagon (spare me the cuv bulls***) that offered Expedition interior space with car liftover heights is an excellent offering...and if their marketing hadn't basically orphaned it early on, I think it'd have had a real 2nd generation.