tbone

Apparently not.

I had a CX5 rental and I was impressed by the quality of the materials used in it. The only thing I didn’t like was the contour of the seat, which didn’t fit me particularly well, and the lack of touchscreen. It drove nice, but was not particularly powerful. All in all, a nice vehicle.

I don’t think it’s a terrible plan. As long as you change the looks, interior, and enhance the drivetrain periodically, it would probably work out. How much does the frame and greenhouse really have to change if you are starting from a decent position.

I have a lot of respect for Koreans. They have made major strides in building competent and decent looking vehicles. They have done impressive work on transitioning from a discount brand to what most would probably consider a mainstream brand. With that said, I’ve had a number of their sedans and SUVs as rentals and don’t really like their driving dynamics, but someone looking for an appliance certainly wouldn’t care. Regarding this comparison, it is what it is I guess, but I did just see a Limited Explorer 4x4 advertised for $46k after discounts so you can certainly get an Explorer comparably equipped for a similar price, and from my perspective the Explorer nameplate carries a little more weight behind it.

I have to agree with you. They are pretty basic looking, and don’t appeal to me much in those trims.

Mom surprised you don’t see it. I do as well.

Too bad they don’t make a production version of this. It makes the car more compelling in a crowded market segment.

According to TFL, the GM twins outsold the F Series for the quarter. I didn’t actually listen to the whole thing because I don’t care that much, but it is noteworthy.

If you’ve never had it, you may be pleasantly surprised by the pano roof. I would never order one without it now that I have had it.

Congrats on the new ride! Good looking truck. I really like the Super Duties, only if my garage was bigger...

The kit on my son’s truck is Rough Country. Very reasonably priced.

I’m not aware of them voiding warranty unless Ford can prove the aftermarket part caused the failure. This is is my son’s truck with the kit.

I just read they were pricing this kit at $1495 before installation, which I don’t find to be reasonable for what you are getting.

I put the 2” leveling kit on my son’s 2012 F150. It definitely gave it a bigger stance and allowed it clear bigger tires. It’s basically a cheap lift kit. One thing it does do is firm up the suspension, which people may or may not like. I personally liked it. His kit included longer shocks for the rear as well.

I disagree with you on it not being nice. I find my Fusion to be every bit as nice as the Accords I’ve been in as well as the Camrys. What hurt the Fusion was the extremely mild refresh it was given with virtually no change on the interior. Otherwise it was still a solid platform.

Glad to hear everything worked out for your son, and I too am thankful for the advancements in safety. Regarding the headlights, the headlights in my 2016 Fusion are average at best, however they are only the halogens. I have not reviewed their criteria for headlights to pass complete judgement on it, but I know there are Fusions with better headlight tech. I’m curious to know how much weight they are giving the headlights, because the headlights are not the deciding factor in the occupant’s survivability in a crash.

Great idea, tax all the people who don’t think like you, because that is what you are suggesting. That affects everyone across the political spectrum.

It’s not a particularly attractive drawing.

The Ford Fusion is clearly not on the IIHS top safety pick list but I know four sets of parents that would disagree with them. Three Fusions, two current gen, one previous gen were involved. All the kids walked away with zero significant injuries and no medical attention. These were all major frontal collisions, and each of the Fusions were totaled in these accidents. My son was a passenger in one of them. I tried to attach photos but they erred out.

I don’t completely disagree with you regarding swinging for the fences, but perhaps Fords strategy is to provide the two distinctively different vehicles to cover all the bases in the segment. Whereas the others have to compromise their styling one way or the other. Time will tell.

TFL had a segment on what they had heard on the Dakota, and frankly there still isn’t much detail out there about. I would not count it out yet. As an aside, I was originally high on the Gladiator, but now that I have seen a few in the wild, it isn’t quite as appealing as I thought. It really only looks good in the Rubicon version and I feel the others are just meh. Of, course the others could be built through the aftermarket to look good. I’m curious how the sales are going verses expectations.

Happens to the best of us😉

It seamed like a fairly mild tune to get to a 4.44 0 to 60 time. I’m curious to hear what some of our performance minded posters have to say about this.

Both of those are pretty sweet!

I don’t like when they do that. I find it misleading.