probeGT

Coming down I-75 southbound tonight after The Posies/Brendan Benson concert in Detroit. Came upon two cars, a hatch and sedan, with manufacturer plates. At first, I thought the sedan was the new Focus, although it didn't look as nice as I thought it would . . . and at first I thought the car in front of it was a previous-generation Focus hatchback because the lights were up on the C-pillar, not wrapped into the fender. Now, I don't know what they were, unless they were just Frankensteins to test powertrains or something. They definitely had lots of equipment inside, and wind sensors on the roofs. THey also definitely weren't previous or current gen Foci . So that's my theory. . . any ideas? They exited about two exits before entering Ohio, so they clearly weren't looking to try them out on good roads.

Leave it to a Kat to spot that.

I find the tail light design to be awesome. . . loved it when I first saw it at last year's Detroit show.

I would like a time machine now to take me forward to 2012. :happy feet:

The Mustang is the Mustang, but it's not for everyone. A lot of young people, even those well past Gen X, want something a bit smaller . . . it's been my argument that if Ford had kept the Probe and kept it competitive, the blue oval would have a heckuva lot more relevance to people born after 1970.

They might have said 20% better than A V-6, not necessarily 20% better than THAT V-6!

The silver will look pretty cool, too, I think.

I wish they'd get a little more adventurous with that C-pillar/rear greenhouse area so everything didn't look like the Freestyle and my 2003 Escape.

Could this article actually be an April Fool's prank that they were too stupid to post on the right day?

That article is quite possibly the worst thing I've ever read on the Internet.

Here's what CD said about the new Probe in August 1992: "The new 2.5-liter 24-valve V-6 gives up none of the turbo's performance, but it sets the class standard for refinement and pulls to 7000 rpm as eagerly as another V-type engine with red heads made in Italy." This proves 2 things: 1. CD keeps endlessly recycling its writing; 2. Maybe the 2011 Mustang is finally a worthy successor to my Probe :happy feet:

Yeah, they also took a cheap and unwarranted shot at the Focus a few years back. . . I don't even remember what it was. But, it is nice when the shoe's on the other foot. I'm all for piling on 'Yoda.

Hey there . . . it's been a long time since I rented a car, but will be going to California wine country in late April for a wedding. I want to rent a car, and would like to have a Ford of some type. Which rental company gives you the best chance of this? I know back in the day it used to be Hertz. They don't really let you actually specify a make either, do they? Thanks for whatever input anyone has.

Well, it's always nice to dream . . .

I have a friend of a friend who has a Mercury Comet he wants to sell . . . anybody know of an enthusiast site for people who are into these cars? Thanks!

Front page of the Times. . . pretty much ground zero of the "liberal media" . . . LINK

Toyota admits braking problem with Prius . . . http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/04/toyota-prius-brakes-have_n_448874.html "Would you like to die with gas or electric?"

If they were in Ohio, the 90 who didn't raise hands might just be right . . .

NYTimes has a short article testing SHO. Guy loves the car, the engine, everything. . . literally says nothing bad about it throughout the article. But then ends with this: But if the highly anticipated EcoBoost engine is just a more efficient way to propel a big bodacious American car down the highway faster, do we really want to go down that road again? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/automobiles/autoreviews/17taurus.html?hpw

Purdying up that turbo piping could be a nice job for some aftermarket action. . .

From what I can tell of the grille, I think I'm going to like it . . . although I also like the current Edge grille. I think I'll like this treatment better on the Edge, just like I think the new grille on the Fusion is much better.

Free market, baby! End of discussion. . . case closed.

Thanks for Fusion Hybrid (first Ford on C&D 10-best in a while . . .) Thanks for Transit Connect (I don't know why, but I love it) Thanks for overall improvement in quality of your television advertising

By this same logic, we--the shareholders, the curious, etc.--should also be "in the loop" when a company is negotiating with a potential CEO or other executive, or handing out bonuses, etc. I'm for openness in all of it . . . but we only ever get to peek in at it when it involves the little guys . . .

Yes, and all this happens just before Detroit was finally able to give Americans what they truly wanted--gigantic SUVs with FINS!