akirby

What they said....... 2 stars imply an unsafe vehicle - period. Like jpd80 said - just raise the bar to 7 or 8 stars so that existing 5 star cars are still 5 star cars but the ones who can pass the tougher test get more stars.

And you don't see the contradiction in that?

It doesn't bother you that a really, really safe 5 star rated vehicle that was a top safety pick last year is suddenly touted as being unsafe now? Spin it all you want, that's the net result of this new test.

Understood but I think we hit that plateau about a decade ago or more when we added dual airbags and crumple zones and painted bumpers. Since then I think it's just been the normal rise in the cost of goods. I could be wrong - I don't think I've seen actual repair cost averages.

What does someone's opinion have to do with his actual fiscal accumen? Nothing. You hate anything labeled Republican or Conservative and you do nothing but look for ways to attack or criticize. Others do the same thing with Liberals and Democrats. It's turned into a game of college football where your team is right and your team must win so you support everything your team does and you attack everything the other team does. And that goes for both sides. It serves no purpose other than to prevent us from getting to a common ground and actually solving problems. If the Republicans got off their religious high horse and stopped talking about gay marriage and abortion (which have nothing whatsoever to do with running the country) and the Democrats would stop hating rich people then we might actually be able to have some bipartisan solutions that benefit the country.

Maybe the better question is whether insurance premiums have gone down as cars have gotten safer? I know mine haven't. This gives them an excuse not to lower premiums as cars get safer. If their costs go down due to fewer injuries but their premiums stay the same, who pockets the difference? It would be much better if they used absolute numbers rather than relative measurements. Let's go back to the old 5 star rating system from 10 or 20 years ago. Why not just add stars as cars get better? So a car that was 5 stars in 2002 would still be a 5 star today but newer cars may be 6 or 7 stars now. It keeps the relative rankings intact. Resetting the bar forces car mfrs to keep up or risk sales from poor public perception - even though the 2 star cars of today are much much better than the 5 star cars from 20 years ago. And those expenses get passed on to the customers. That's probably good when you're talking about percentage improvements in the double digits but at this point we're talking about tiny fractions of improvement in real world outcomes and at some point it's simply not worth the cost.

Until they get the web browser enabled - not much.

Strange that no source is given or even hinted at and no more information provided than what we've seen here months ago. I have no doubt that we won't see any "halo" cars right away because it's not financially responsible at this point. But I'm not sure that the proposed lineup is accurate either.

I have one although I've only used it a couple of times. They work great, especially the swing away models so you can open the rear without removing the bikes or the rack.

In other words you're just arguing semantics for no good reason.

Trailer tow should give you the hitch and everything except the ball. Trailer tow PREP only gives you the wiring and the tranny cooler IIRC.

As opposed to the Democrat's version which is also unrealistic and unsustainable?

It's not that easy to just "pull an engine out of the factory" and you also have to remember this affected tens of thousands of customers, not just one or two. What they should have done is make sure the customer has a nice vehicle to drive while waiting for repairs and may throw in something extra for the inconvenience. No mfr is equipped to fix something like this overnight.

I think trailer tow prep only includes the wiring harness and possibly the tranny cooler.

Exactly my point. Any time one side brings up a possible solution it gets shot down by the other side and we never get anywhere. We need bipartisan solutions.

It was confirmed by a Ford rep on Facebook that the hybrids gets push button start, but you're correct that the order guide doesn't say that.

Not sure about dual exhaust but Intelligent Access is only available on the Titanium.

I was just clarifying that the $700 navigation option did not include the 8" color touchscreen - that comes with MFT already.

When both sides spend all their time attacking the other side instead of focusing on what needs to be done to fix the problems and working together - we're all screwed.

You have to get MyFordTouch first then it's $795 EXTRA just for the Navigation software and maps.

Minivans are so unique they may as well be unique platforms. The features are certainly unique. It's not that it can't be done - just that it would take a big effort and a lot of resources to do it. The F150 is only sold in North America but I don't think anyone would argue that it's world class.

Sure, they could spare it but it would take more than that to pay for a new minivan. Flex is just a tophat on a shared platform. And that platform isn't suitable for a world class minivan.

Then you'll be fired like the 2 executives they just let go.

There is a huge difference between keeping a minivan that already has a competitive modern platform and a loyal customer base versus trying to develop one from scratch and add it to the manufacturing mix and take away buyers from other established brands. There is also a difference between a manufacturer like Honda who only has a few vehicles versus Ford who has many many vehicles that all require capital investment. Ford could easily go after the minivan market but it would have to give up something else to do it.

There is a huge difference between fault and responsibility. It's ultimately Ford's responsibility and I don't see Ford trying to shirk that. They're responsible for every vehicle they sell and they are fixing them. Pointing out that it was a part problem caused by a manufacturing defect is the truth and it would make me feel better that they knew exactly what failed and why and that it would not reoccur. Regardless of how much something costs, you can't expect something so mechanically complicated to never ever have a problem. It's just not realistic.