akirby

Was that Ford's fault or were they just a victim of the economic collapse?

The complicated business decision has been explained many times. There is no point repeating it here because the Ranger mafia doesn't want to understand it or accept it.

I think they already try to do that but they can't just say we're basing your allocation on customer service surveys. Ford tried to institute Blue Oval Certified program a few years ago where better dealers would get more holdback money. NC dealers sued and won and they had to scrap the program. They really need to get rid of the antiquated franchise laws but the dealers have big ties to lawmakers.

Several feature differences - sliding glass roof, lincoln ride control, THX audio, cooled seats, better leather, 3.7L V6, adaptive LED headlamps, pushbutton transmission selector, etc.

Ford agrees but their hands are fairly well tied by state franchise laws. Dealers are independent businesses and Ford can't tell them how to run their business. Every time they try they get sued and the dealers win. It's just as frustrating for Ford but the law is the law and in most cases there is little that they can actually do to force dealers to provide better service.

So go buy a Tacoma or a Frontier or wait for the Colorado. Everybody SAYS they want a midsized truck but nobody's buying them. Ford has better things to invest in.

Any phone features that don't work are caused by the phone mfr and/or carrier not supporting the proper bluetooth profiles.

You can do it yourself - you don't have to go to the dealer.

Hermosillo builds 300K + vehicles with only 3300 employees. That's 90 vehicles per employee. 4000 employees building 170K vehicles is 42.5 per employee. That is indefensible even with European vacation and work schedules.

That's why I like my dealer. They know I have X plan and sometimes they even get my pin for me (using my information). I bring my own financing so it's a cash deal. I walked into the office, signed the check, signed the title application, signed the title for my trade and walked out. 3 minutes tops. No add-ons, no BS. Refreshing.

Where the hell is the business case?

I think Ford would be very happy with 50K once they have FR online to provide additional Fusion capacity and offload Hermosillo. Might take a couple of years and another update to get there though. Baby steps. 36K would be a good start.

There are many reasons why business decisions are made other than purely financial. The typical term is "Strategic" meaning there are advantages to doing something that are either intangible (company image) or have a longer term benefit that's not immediately obvious (pathway to future vehicles e.g.).

You could probably just replace the rear valance and only connect one outlet.

You have to open the case - it doesn't pop out.

When Ford finds spare hybrid powertrains and additional Escape production capacity. I don't think they have either one right now.

That won't happen unless the EPA changes their testing procedure and/or the formula for the window sticker label. As the other mfrs catch up to Ford on hybrid EV capabilities and use of small turbo engines they'll have the same issues.

Lincoln is not in a hurry nor should they be. They should not be announcing new products too early. Why give the competition that much advance notice?

Not really sure. I lost 2 mpg just changing from Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 to BFG super sports on my 06 Fusion 3.0L. My guess would be 3-4 mpg on a hybrid but that's just a guess.

Only if the TIRES were exactly the same. I can tell you the 19" factory tires are not low rolling resistance and that can also make a significant difference.

You can't lock the car with the keyfob inside unless you use the keypad. If you lock it with the keypad it stays locked until you unlock it with the keypad or with the other keyfob. It also disables the keyfob inside the car so that if someone breaks the window or somehow gains access they can't drive away.

Hey Bob - want to have some fun? Sure! Grab that Expedition grille and front bra.....I'll get the Navigator!

A lot of dealers may not want the customer to know what's happening with their vehicle because they may have played games with the order or the priority or maybe the dealer doesn't have allocation. Or they may not want to look bad when the customer knows more than they do. I'd like to see Ford do Retail Order Verification on all orders for all vehicles. Give ROVs the same priority (10) and build them in chronological order by date received without allocation restrictions. Give the customer a website to track the order by order number and vin and provide proactive notifications when status changes.

Dodge does.

That's the one thing I'd like to see changed - although it's not that big of a deal. BTW - if you have MFT you can set the right hand LCD to navigation and it will show you the next turn and current speed limit there - you don't have to leave it on the navigation map. I keep mine on entertainment most of the time and this works well.