MGolden

It's everywhere that there is a shortage of engineers. We get them at my work out of school and they suck. Most Mechanicals have no clue what a screw driver is, but they got straight A's......

If there were sliding doors on the flex i would buy it. It suffers a little in behind the third seat room compared to my van but the sliding doors are the killer for me. Throw some sliders (powered of course) at the flex and it would be a "cool" minivan in my opinion. I love everything about the Mazda5 except the size. It looks great for a micro-van.

Such as?

So can some of you insiders sum up the status of this motor? Is there a job1 scheduled for anything other than the F150? E-serie? Superduty? Expy/Navy? If not I would assume this thing is just a fading dream of mine.......

I always used to laugh at the Yuppy in his BMW who thaught he was hot $shit in his little coupe because it was "expensive"; then you have my F250 diesel that cost 50% more. But i am just a redneck.....

Make me a samich.....

My old crippled uncle has an F250 with the step. This is a great feature for him and he is upset of the poor attempt to make fun of it. He would beat Howie Long with his cane if he had the chance.

My dad has a fleet of superduty trucks, ~12 as of now. He has had mainly powerstrokes over the past 10 years and puts around 50-60k a year on them. They always get fully loaded and sometimes run offroad. He started buying a few gas engines, 5.4 and v10, as replacements a few years ago. He discovered that they have no trouble going 300k miles. He basically gets rid of the trucks with around 300k on them becasue the chassis and body are shot, not because the engine didnt last long enough. There are sacrifices in driveablilty though, at least with the 5.4.

What shit (specifically) are you talking about?

ever been there?

Which is what? Cite specifics please.....

Just curious, where was it stated that it was OHV and not OHC? Igor, can you confirm this?

Didnt a few engineers from this project leave (or get fired) early on in the project and go to GM? Maybe thats where the similarity in exhaust/intake comes from?

Yeah, and people used to ride horse n buggy before cars were invented; i concede they were tougher. My point is that the sliders are so much better that i gave up buying the coolest baby mover on the road for the convenience of this one feature. I am driving a Dodge for goodness sakes.........Thats how much i like the sliders.

I quite often get rental minivans at work so i took one home not long ago. We strapped in the car seats and ran it around a few days after work before it had to be returned. After getting back into the Expedition, it was quickly apparent how much easier it is to have kids ride in a minivan. From the rear seat access, to the sliding doors when parked beside other cars; cargo room and more, It was superior in all things functionally. It was time to replace my Expedition with another baby mover. We went and drove the Flex and really fell in love with it. It is by far the nicest inside-out Ford product i have ever seen. I encourage everyone to go visit one at a dealer. I sat down at a dealer and worked out a model i could afford and left it at that. After talking with my wife, we both agreed that it would functionally be the same as our Expy. There is just no way around the convenience of a minivan for access. I could have lived without the extra room behhind the third seat. The rear seat access is comparable if you get the buckets in the middle row. The one thing that was the hangup was the sliding doors. We ended up getting a used minivan and I am not sorry. After going to the store and getting the kids and a carseat out of the vehicle I reallized how great the sliders are. I realize Ford claims that the Flex was not targeted at minivan people, however it is a people mover. I really wish this thing had sliders, no matter how small they would be, it would be easier for everyone to access the vehicle. If it did I would be driving around in a cool baby mover......... Are there still plans of a Lincoln version? Initially it was leaked that the lincoln version would have different access, though i doubt it would be sliders. Just some thoughts. -Matt

I would really like to see slider doors on the Flex. They are untouchable for convenience, especially in a congested parking lot.

Is there a version of this currently in Australia? I thought they had a new 5.0L DOHC. -Matt

I hope they offer it with 3 rows of seats and sliders. If you have several kids in car seats, you just cant beat sliders. This could be there "in" to the minivan market again if they play there cards right. Diesel would be sweet, i know someone wiht the dodge that gets 26mpg highway, though it isnt a powerhouse. Please make a family version :hyper:

I am goiing to need a new vehicle within the next year. I would like to buy another Ford but i am struggling to find something fit for a family. I currently have an Expy. We love it but the fuel milage is hurtful. My Dad has an 08 expy and it gets 1.5-2 mpg better than our '05, but still bad. I would settle for a minivan, but nothing from ford. I am interested in the Flex, but the third row access sucks (supposedly the lincoln version is different). I would absolutely love a full size van if i could get 4x4 (without a Quigley kit). I know Chevy now offers AWD in there 1500 vans. I dont want to drive a Chevy, but as of now, i might have to. Any chance Ford will follow suit? Matt

The lincoln version of the flex is supposed to have different third row access than the Ford version. Can anyone provide any updated information on this? I like this vehicle and would like it to be a replacement for a minivan, but, the third row access is an issue. There is no way around the convenience of the sliding door. Even if it has some sort of suicide door, it will still suck placing car seats in a parking lot. Also, is there any report that the Ford version will get this on future models? Any updates would be appreciated. Matt

Can anyone confirm if the expy and nav will launch diesels the same time as the F150? Matt

Try a can of Dry Gas just to make sure its not in the fuel; its cheep and easy. My Dad, has an '08, not sure if it does this or not. Ironically he had an Armada and moved to the Expy, I know he couldnt be happier. Hang in there I'm sure something will work out.

Seems that the 60mpg F150 :shrug: with Hyd Launch Assist rumor has resurfaced. I was wondering if anyone knows the REAL status of this technology? http://www.truckblog.com/story-1505-2009_f...sist_technology thanks MATT

Does anyone know the status on the Fusion Hybrid? Is it still in the works? Any approximate dates for release?

I have a feeling that it is coming from the vent system, so your assesment about the ac makes sense to me. Does this thing have the " fresh air flap" that the '04-current f150 has? Do you knwo what i am talking about? I thinkg that when yoiu shut your car off, a vent door opens allowing some fresh air circulation to occur. The f150 would clunk, maybe this one rattles? anyone else have any thoughts?