Admiral

Let me see . . . 2002 Focus ZX3 117,000 miles Other than normal wear items some of the problems I've had include: Alternator Clutch master cylinder, twice Six rear-wheel bearings (three per side) Thermostat T-stat housing Everything else I've done to the car has been due to normal wear and tear, like brakes and motor mounts. The rear bearings are an anomaly though. I blame it on auto crossing and spirited driving. Also, I've installed a list of performance parts including a cylinder head and camshafts, performance suspension and lots of other junk. Still, the 2.0-liter Zetec burns ZERO oil between 7,000 - 10,000 changes and I AVERAGE around 30 miles per gallon in the two and a half years I've been keeping track. She sees redline (7,200 RPM) every day.

Good question. I don't think so, though. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

The car is crying for a manual gearbox option. But that'll never, EVER happen. As the old saying goes, "wish in one hand . . ."

Hey guys, quick heads up. If any of you are interested, we're having Nancy Gioia on tonight's episode of Autoline After Hours. She's in charge of hybrid and electric vehicle development at Ford. She'll be joining John McElroy, Peter DeLorenzo and the rest of the gang to talk about batteries, hybrids and GM's claim that the Volt can deliver 230 miles per gallon. The show starts at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time so check it out on our website, www.autolinedetroit.tv. Also, you can join the live chat anytime during the webcast. You can also send in questions and comments for the Q & A portion of the show. Just shoot an e-mail to viewermail@autolinedetroit.tv, OR you can leave an audio comment on our Google Voice account. The number to call is 1-620-288-6546 (that's 1-620-AUTOLIN). Thanks, - Craig

When we get vehicles from the press fleet Japanese and Korean cars almost always have California plates, where their HQs are located. Detroit 3 vehicles always have Michigan plates (we're located in Michigan). BMWs and Minis always have New Jersey plates.

Very cool! I've always wanted to take a cross-country road trip in a vintage car.

Yeah, nobody driving a CUV is going to use a console-mounted shift gate, especially if there are paddle shifters on the wheel, which the car in the spy photos does not appear to have.

Anyone else notice the "+" and "-" buttons on the shifter? Maybe they're ditching the console-mounted shift gate in favor of a rocker button.

12 psi.

I was lucky enough to be there yesterday. EcoBoost was great but the MKT BLEW me away. It was handily superior to Q7 in just about every respect. It felt faster at all speeds, got better fuel economy (according to the digital readouts), rode smoother AND handled better, and the interior was a step above. Yes, the interior was better than Audi. On level portions of the high-speed test track with the cruise set at 70, it said we were getting 23 mpg. The only real problem is how many people are going to cross-shop an MKT and a Q7? Our coverage in today's Autoline Daily - Autoline Daily, 5-15-2009

I saw a trio of twenty-ten Tauri the other day when I was merging on to I-75 from Square Lake. They were escorted by an EcoBoost-powered MKS. At least one Taurus was a SHO. IMO, they look pretty good out in 'real life.'

Looks like it's going to have a bigger and/or more open grille. EcoBoost will be awesome if Ford makes it available. If nothing else changes, let's hope the old interior gets the heave-ho with its acres of shapeless, hard plastic. I hope they replace it with something like the Flex's top-notch interior.

Nice pictures! Good 'ole Huntington Ford.

I know! To me, even in the Detroit area the number of foreign vehicles on our roads just seems to go up and up.

Want? Hardly, I need one. Kona blue with a six-speed manual, please.

C'mon guys, "DO YOUR RESEARCH because its out there!" Clearly the D35 is a copy, its direct-acting bucket valve train is practically identical to the roller-finger followers in the HF V6s. The Duratec's single timing chain is the same as the the two or three chains used on the GM engine, and of course let's not forget about the Ford's metal valve covers, since they're the same as the HF's plastic.

Did you remember to depressurize the fuel system by pulling the pump fuse and running the engine until it dies, then cranking it for about 30 seconds more? Doing this really cuts down on fuel leakage/spraying. Vulcan engine, eh? What it doesn't have in power it more than makes up for with longevity. Those old cast-iron lumps run forever.

But Car and Driver's not biased! They use a 100-percent objective scorecard that's chock-full of numbers. Everyone knows numbers don't lie. Quantifying the subjective is the only fool-proof way to guarantees credibility. Duh.

7,000 RPM on the old Yamaha. From what I've read it could spin well past 8,000, but the accessories couldn't handle those speeds -- hence the lower redline.

Have none of you guys heard of a turbo timer before? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbo_timer

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If you mean a split-pin crank for even firing then yes. It even had a balance shaft.

Let's see: *DOHC, 32-valve - Great *TIVCT - Fantastic *Port fuel injection - Boo! *Fat intake runners - Nice *Plastic intake manifold - Not so nice *Aluminum valve covers, heads - Nice *Rumored 400/400 - VERY Nice

Great news! Interior looks very classy, but let's keep our fingers crossed that it's not an ocean of hard plastic. Other than that I can't wait for a new SHO.

God let's hope not. The old CVH/Split Port is a GIANT turd.