dtoups

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere, but Consumer Reports picks the Flex over the CX-9, GM triplets, Pilot, etc. in the November issue.

could be part of the press fleet, too. there's usually one in any major city.

much of the suspension is shared as well.

170k and still running strong. 35 mpg (except on race days); original clutch, too.

we rented one for a week; unremarkable to drive, but it got more comments at gas stations, hotels, etc. than anything i've driven in years (probably a half-dozen).

i won't wade into the merits of the story as a whole, but i can tell you that euro-fords-as-mercuries might go a long way toward keeping loyalists in the fold. After owning a dozen Fords, I've purchased a Mazda6 wagon, a Dodge van and a Volkswagen GTi in the last year because Ford didn't have a competive product, certainly not one I or my family drooled over. Ten years ago, I bled Ford blue. Now? Not so much. And if I -- and you guys -- aren't excited by what we see, why on earth would anybody else be?

http://www.latimes.com/classified/automoti...a-home-highway1