Swizco

Can't you run higher compression ratios with DI, as the fuel spray provides a bit of cooling effect to the charge, therefor reducing detonation? As a result, 'better conversion of fuel into work..."?

+1.

I've had some contact with the brake teams of a few of these vehicles in the past, and from what I understand, Ford defines brake performance with these metrics: 1) Brake dust accumulation 2) Noise 3) Pad material (toxins, etc) 4) Stopping distance As a result of 1-3, stopping distance suffers, and pedal feel isn't even on the map. As usual after launch and media complaints about crappy braking experiences, the teams will make a 5% 'fix' to implement at J1+90 or the next model year, and call them good enough. Very frustrating. Also, there's some issue with long term quality regarding the way the brake noise question is phrased in the TGW survey. The question asks something like 'Do your brakes ever make noise'? ...Everyone's brakes make noise sometime, after the car has been sitting a while and you scrape off the lot-rot. As a result, brake teams are always dealing with a lot of 'noisy brakes' TGWs, and as a result are overly sensitive to this concern. Until Ford's customers don't mind brake dust like most German cars produce and Ford offers pads made with some truly nasty stuff, I'm afraid brake pedal feel will be a shortcoming of new Fords. Anyone have any insight to add?

This poll needs a 'Their complaint is valid, though if that's all they're complaining about it must be a pretty solid car' option. I would have selected that option.

I feel the need to take sides with PREMiERdrum on this one. I saw more of the car, more clearly, than I had previously, and I've looked closely at all the other shots posted here and elsewhere. From these photos, I get a similar sense of 'premium presence' as I do from the Flex. Thanks for posting.

That C pillar IS from the freestyle, as this is a taurus grill, the one teaser shot of the hood corner, and a freestyle photoshopped together. I think the actual vehicle will look a lot better than this, based on zero evidence but rather my own faith in the company.

...this thing probably cost about $20 in 'R&D'. Literally. The 1st one of these things they sell will pay back the investment - the rest is pure profit. No durability, no crash, no attribute sign-off, no nothing - just source a few shiny supplier parts and ship it. It does look pretty slick, though, doesn't it?

The dual clutch is a computer controlled (dual) dry-clutch manual. Hypothetically, it's no more efficient than the manual. Ford made a final drive ratio trade-off knowing manual transmission buyers would care more about performance, where 'automatic' customers would buy more for fuel economy. Well played in my mind. Swizco

...I thought the 3.7 already had vario-cam on both cams? Also, I know both the architectures of the 3.7 and 5.0 are set up for direct injection to be added without a major redesign. Swizco

Where can I send my deposit?

Post of the week.

My I4 manual Fusion lease vehicle was rated in the high 20s, with 160hp. These numbers are so good they're a little hard to contemplate. This really does open up a whole new market for the V6: The EcoPony! Green Pony? These names are terrible. Swizco

The Mustang is a known quantity - I've sat in scores of them, and leased and rented another handful. Many people have similar experiences. The Camaro is new, indeed, but auto show traffic to a new product doesn't, to me, indicate being in a 'catch up position'. ...Especially when considering aspects like quality or performance. Swizco

I don't care what anyone else says. That is a GREAT looking ride! Ecoboost?

I didn't spend a whole lot of time at the Lincoln booth - just swung by quickly to see the MKX (which looks much better in person). I didn't see it featured prominently, but they might have had it tucked into a corner somewhere.

...Lets not forget the MKX has unique sheetmetal from the A pillars forward. ...or was that mentioned already?

Friends, I had the honor of being Ford's guest today for Press Day at the Chicago Auto Show. I'd like to share my impressions and photos with you, and hear your thoughts. Ford was right inside the door, with three mustangs lined up. The GT500 looks unreal. The V6 says in huge letters on the side "30MPG - 305HP". This had a few of the other guests murmuring that they didn't realize the Mustang got decent mileage. Very effective. http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/n0Eoq4CIRRMtvOhbHmMHrg?feat=directlink Next I spent some time in the Ford booth talking to the the tech people, killing time before Ford's 9:15am press conference. My first stop was the Powershift cutaway - take a look at the actuators on this little thing. No hydraulics! http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BVxqhVyn5H5rk-uXuje_mA?feat=directlink Next up was a stop at the Hybrid booth, where I chatted with the guy a bit about Ford's hybrid strategy. He mentioned that Ford is only about 6 months behind GM in the development of a 'series' plug-in hybrid, aka Chevy Volt. I hadn't realized Ford was so close on GM's heels in this department. Two photos to share here. The first is a nice hybrid drive cutaway of the current hybrid Fusion powerpack: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/afR_fx9oXQaXVb4yGCVPoQ?feat=directlink Next is a slide from the presentation detailing the hybrid strategy going forward: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/vw_x6W3-urJl1zUQ0pMSTA?feat=directlink Next up was the presentation. Fields, Kuzak, and Farley were on message: Ford has fuel economy and tech in mind. With that, they rolled out the electric TC, the Taxi TC, the new Edge, and an Edge Sport. Details of these are available elsewhere. I'll just add that they spend a lot of time on the MyFord system. http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1uPPBgPd0VJwKI65Wd-gkA?feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/C79s0rAE-kORH2CDb3JfYw?feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/JV4cSmyV6iB_9mvj4ZaEBg?feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/C9uzxgXQxlX8FmDinfmWLQ?feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/L0BH1wB85X_VwFmGzFa_Eg?feat=directlink After the talk, the reporters were very aggressive with Fields about Toyota, asking what, if anything, Ford is doing in light of Toyota's troubles. Fields was ready for it all, reiterating over and over that Ford was sticking to its strategy of promoting their high quality, high content vehicles of which the company is very proud. Here he is taking questions: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NVlqToghvxFcZ7JQXlWL2Q?feat=directlink There wasn't a lot of back seat room in the TC cab - I expected a bit more. This was a CNG conversion, however, so they might have had to push the seat forward to make room for the tank. http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/u7SBeqQEgfWYS3DmZeJbzw?feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UAoQZAGtejoor9Po0sPdAg?feat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iMuDQ6eutp-GV29TS8bDgA?feat=directlink Check out the Electric TC. It has a 12 volt battery! The guy said this is to allow for off the shelf accessories that run on 12v. Seems to me an inverter would be a more elegant solution, but I imagine they'll get there with a little more time. http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pZo1WcjnVaypyBg2K8IJ4Q?feat=directlink Check out the detail of the Edge's headlights. They say Edge! http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lhHXxaMzQrHZP9XJ9Fp6Ig?feat=directlink Toyota's presentation was just after Ford's, so I high-tailed it over to catch the end of the intro of the ...2011 Avalon. No one cared. After the conference, the press crushed in around Bob Carter, hammering him about the recalls and the rest. Take a look at the scrum: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/IxhUUuSHyP_aA--yYb_AEg?feat=directlink After a bit of poking around some of the other displays, I listened in on GM's presentation. It sounded unbelievably tone-deaf. They started off by talking about the 75th anniversary Suburban, and went right on to the HD Silverado. It all felt very 1998. They had a Cruze on display which was incredibly underwhelming, especially after seeing it and the new Focus in the flesh. The Cruze will end up on rental lots, I'm afraid. One thing that really impressed me was the energy of my old colleagues I was able to speak with after the event. They are incredibly proud of their products, and what they've been able to achieve. It really showed today - there was a very clear impression that this is a company that 'gets it', while GM is tone deaf, Toyota is in crisis, and Chrysler irrelevant. The contrast couldn't have been more clear. Oh, and I got to check out a Fisker Karma: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Ih99BoexS0iRPvr10uCg8g?feat=directlink Check out the show and let me know what you think. Well done Ford! Swizco

I'll be there this Wednesday. I'll make sure I bring my camera and report out. Swizco

His name is missing from NR because he passed away. It's tough to get out a weekly column after passing, I'd imagine. That said, as for repudiation of the legacy of WBJ, I agree that the elected leaders have, which led to the low turnouts of 2006 and 2008. I don't think the voters ever did, though. Swizco

Ooo! I want to play! What was that problem of efficient distribution of scarce resources? I think the guy was Milton Friedman...? You know, that nobody that between him and William F. Buckley, Jr. (another nobody), gave birth to the ideology that underlies the entire modern conservative movement? But you're right. Conservatives are dumb. Swizco

Here's the link to the print story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123050412 A bit better, but not by much. "Seeing problems early will become even more important as automakers increasingly sell the same model with common parts across the globe, Cain said. Companies want to act quickly to avoid global recalls that will only become more costly, he said." ..except they didn't. "J&J recalled more than 20 million bottles of Extra Strength Tylenol and burned every one. It also communicated with the public and came up with new tamper-resistant packaging. The company placed consumer safety above cost, restoring its reputation quickly, said Brenda Wrigley, chair of the public relations department at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. "Treating people honestly and openly is the way to go," she said." ...Especially when mandated by the federal government. Note the omission of that tiny detail: "Toyota said late Tuesday it would halt sales of some of its top-selling models, including Camry and Corolla, to fix gas pedals that could stick and cause unintended acceleration. Last week, Toyota issued a recall affecting 2.3 million vehicles." Someone got this very wrong. Swizco

I recall shimming my old 900SS required two shims per valve, due to the desmodromic configuration. What a pain in the a__: I wonder if that pic will work?

Got it! I am familiar with the different valvetrain configurations, just not their definitions. I had shims in my old 1982 GS1100L street bike - I had them shimmed right on. I recall that with shims, you can adjust the valve clearances without pulling the cams. The Ford motors sound like valve adjustments will require a lot more work. Great stuff, guys! We need more tech-heavy content on this site (and in life).

This is a teachable moment: DAMB...? Cylinder bores 'siamesed'? Help us non-powertrain people with these terms, oh Engine-Guru!

I didn't think Ford had any powertrain plants where they do 100% hot test, though I'm out of my depth on this. Are they doing this with the new powertrains? Those warranty calls could also be misdiagnosed chain whine - I heard a lot more of that than valve noise. Swizco