akirby

Or perhaps it's just not a priority right now. It's not a huge market to begin with and the current product is holding it's own. I believe the mandate is to figure out how to use the global platform efficiently and that may require a platform change which takes longer and requires even more resources. To me this is just like the Focus - just further down the priority list.

Geez - who wee-wee'd in your corn flakes? If Ford was rolling in cash and wanted a niche product for the heck of it then yeah, it might make sense. But there just isn't enough of a market for a small roadster right now. A convertible Fiesta - maybe, but as a Fiesta with minimal changes. Not as a unique vehicle on a shared platform. That's what I meant about the Solstice/Sky - no market.

Fixed it for you. I think that was the idea.

Who said Fiero? I was talking about the Solstice/Sky. I personally liked them but there was obviously no real business case.

Russian to English translation One of the lucky ones managed to live to get acquainted with the new Ford Explorer 2011, and also make some pictures of the crossover, to share emotions with others. The prototype was spotted at one of the busiest routes near Detroit. Even despite the fact that the prototype is covered with camouflage it gives much more precise idea about the new product than the recently released by the official teasers. Ford Explorer 2011 received a new roof spoiler, enlarged wheel arches and a new exhaust system, front fog lights appeared high. Presumably under the hood will be available 2.0-liter EcoBoost, or 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, 355 hp power (265 kW) and 474 Nm of torque. There is also an assumption that the formal presentation of the new Ford Explorer 2011 will be held on Facebook, and not the other way.

But there is no "wal-mart" type home improvement store built solely around the premise of being cheaper than the other stores. At least none that I'm aware of. The point was there are lots of people who only care about getting the cheapest price and who either can't see or don't care about the long term consequences. And it's not always the poor either.

I didn't say that everyone who shops at Wal-Mart is like that. Rather people who are like that will shop at Wal-Mart, not Target.

You missed my point entirely. I don't support protectionism or inflated wages. I do support equality in trade and making sure that american companies can compete with imports based on market driven labor rates (not inflated union contracts). The point is that if you have a chinese product that cost $18 and an American made product that cost $19, there are a lot of people who will buy the $18 product with no regard to where it's made or what impact that purchase has as part of the bigger picture just to save $1. The same goes for people who buy everything online rather than purchasing at local brick and mortar stores. Then they wonder why all their friends and family are out of work.

I was referring to the people who want the absolute cheapest product available. That doesn't apply to Macy's or Home Depot shoppers in most cases.

Sorry - I must have misread the SRA comment. But I still thought SRA was preferred for rock crawling.

People have always bought cheap stuff from Wal-Mart even when they had jobs. Sadly, for most people it's all about their bottom line on a day to day basis and they're not willing to spend more in the short term to realize any long term benefit.

How did this work out for GM? Is there enough market to support this?

What about the switch from a SRA w/leaf springs to IRS? I thought that's exactly what killed the Explorer for serious off-roaders in 2002.

The problem with these arguments is that we don't know to compare it to because we haven't seen the future plan for Ford and Lincoln together. And that includes the dealerships and dealer experiences. This is just step 1 - consolidate and eliminate. I trust that the plan for Ford/Lincoln is better than the plan would have been for Ford/Mercury/Lincoln. Any speculation as to how keeping Mercury would have been better is not only pointless - it's way too soon.

And Chrysler (minivans).

RTFM https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenance/owners_manuals/default.asp

Not only that - they don't realize that they are paying for the maintenance either way. Pay me now (included in the cost of the vehicle) or pay me later (per visit). It's all perception. I expect Lincoln to match this starting with the 2011 models since that hasn't been announced yet.

I think it's nice and nicely executed. But I still don't see a big market for it no matter how good it is.

I was just joking around - nothing wrong with Kona blue. But I've loved Grabber Blue with black stripes ever since I saw that 69 (or was it a 70/71) Boss 302.

Why on earth would you want Kona blue when Grabber Blue is available??? It doesn't get any better than grabber blue with black stripes.

My liftgate is closer to 10 seconds, but then again we don't use it a lot and when we do it's always with the garage door open. And I did say "almost"...........

You could try reading the owner's manual and/or Sync (there's a clue) supplement.

It's almost a moot point if you have the power liftgate. I did like using the glass when loading or unloading from trips since you didn't have to worry about stuff falling out.

Go check Camry sales vs. ES350 sales. As price goes up, sales go down. Mercury sales are significantly fleet and employee sales. Lincoln has almost no fleet and lots of conquest sales. And with the higher transaction prices it's a fair guess to say that Lincoln was more profitable even on lower volume.

I guess you guys don't understand the concept of teasers.