akirby

The TC and the HHR are completely different vehicles. TC was built for commercial use and adapted to consumer use. HHR was built for consumer use and adapted to commercial use. Apples and oranges. Let me rephrase my statement - MOST small and midsized truck buyers switched to other vehicles like cars, crossovers or full-sized trucks. The only evidence you need for this is the fact that sales dropped from 2 MILLION per year to 250 thousand. That is a 85+% reduction in the market. Combine that with increased sales of smaller cars and crossovers in the same period and the conclusion is undeniable. The fact that other mfrs are willing to go after such a small market segment doesn't change that fact. Ford is simply spending that money on other things like dedicated hybrids (C-max). Stop being blinded by your individual preferences and try to look at the bigger picture.

Let's be honest. If it was RWD built on a $21K mustang platform you wouldn't be saying that.

If you built a Ranger with 3000 lb payload and 5000 lb towing it would cost almost as much as a F150 and get almost the same (crappy) fuel economy. MOST buyers (not everybody) would opt for the F150 with more capability in that situation. The number of buyers who would buy such a vehicle and NOT just get the F150 is very small and that's why it's not worth the effort. The only real market left for smaller trucks is one that gets outstanding fuel economy and the only way to do that is to go really small and light. Why can't you people just face the cold hard fact that most Ranger buyers switched to high mpg cars and crossovers or back to full size trucks? You may not like it but don't blame Ford for selling what people want to buy. And the TC doesn't have any other Ford competitors so every sale is incremental.

So how do you guys describe your Bordeaux Red Fusions? Maroon? Burgundy? Dark Red? I had 2 vehices in similar colors and my wife refused to call them red.

Even customers don't consider the actual needs of the customer. If creating the top selling vehicle which at its peak was over 1M units does not constitute "reasoned judgement" then I don't know what does. Would you rather they GAVE those sales to the other guys by making an inferior vehicle? How would that constitute "reasoned judgement"? You just don't like the choices that U.S. consumers make when purchasing a vehicle because it doesn't match YOUR preferences.

I checked mine today and it's perfectly aligned.

Last year.

Money talks Bobby.

I don't believe they ever ruled out a compact pickup. They just said it wouldn't be a Ranger.

Do you always argue with yourself?

True but that doesn't explain why the entire market shrank from 2M vehicles to 250K. There were still good choices to be had like the Tacoma and Frontier.

Yes but not that low (I don't think).

But I bet the diesel's torque is available much lower in the rpm band. Horsepower doesn't mean much in a Diesel. The 5.0L gasser and the 6.7L powerstroke both make about 400 hp but the diesel has 800 lb/ft of torque while the gasser is less than half of that.

Herd mentality. They're scared to publish something contrary to the others for fear of being wrong. Safety in numbers whether they're right or wrong.

Bad stamping dies - sent back to Dearborn for repair. Bad headlamp lenses - supplier goofed. 1.6L engine fires - poor engineering Those were the major Fusion problems - none of which were related to the factory or factory location or workers.

Yes, you were wrong. No need to be sorry about it. They built the original Fusion and MKZ for SEVEN years without these issues including launching them as brand new. This has NOTHING to do with Hermosillo and everything to do with engineering and parts suppliers.

When I read this I got a mental picture of your car wandering around the neighborhood, confused and lost........

Ping ice-capades. He usually posts them.

Did you not read the quote from Ford? 1000 lb payload, 3000 lb towing, super fuel economy. That's the ticket and it's not a new Ranger.

Absolutely incorrect. Hermosillo has been Ford's #1 plant for quality for the last decade or so. They built the original Fusion, Zephyr/MKZ there for 7 years without a hitch. This has to do with rushing a new product out too fast with a new platform and new suppliers. These problems would have occurred regardless of the factory location.

This was a much bigger deal when gas engines went Tango Uniform after 100K miles. Not the case anymore. The bigger payment/up front cash outlay of $4500 outweighs the long term benefits for most buyers.

That depends on how long you're planning to keep it. If you're planning to keep it 10+ years then it's much less important than if you're trading in 3-5 years.

It doesn't really matter. People don't listen to reviewers. If they did the Camry wouldn't be the best selling midsized sedan.

The market isn't the same as it was. People who used to buy Rangers switched to other vehicles. The market went from 2M to 250K. The only way to get it back is to give people a game changer like they described.

Good point. I actually bought 2 3-way switches and wired them up on the worktable and used a voltmeter to figure out how they worked. Now I can wire it up any way I need to - power in one switch, load out the other, power and load at the same switch, power at the fixture, etc. etc. Drove me crazy until I figured it out.