akirby

So you know more about trucks than Ford who makes the best selling vehicle in the country for decades and who has been making F series trucks for over 50 years? The same Ford that went from near bankruptcy to billions in profits in 3 years? You can say you want a Ranger and you prefer a Ranger and there are people out there who would buy a new Ranger but you can't possibly say that Ford is making a mistake because you don't know what they know. You don't know what they're planning for the F series. You don't know what they're planning for a Ranger replacement. You don't know any of the data behind any of the business cases. The only numbers you need to know are these: Full sized truck volume > 1.5M small/midsized truck volume - < 200K It's like saying that Coca-Cola is doomed because they canceled Minute Maid Grape soda.

You think it's easy or cheap to add a new vehicle to existing factories? Especially for a vehicle that might sell 100K if they're lucky? There is no doubt it could be done and probably turn a profit at some point but you also have to consider all of the other projects that Ford is pursuing and you have to ask yourself whether those projects are more important than building a new Ranger here. This notion that Ford has unlimited resources and can build whatever they want to build whenever they want to build it is ridiculous. There are only so many resources to go around.

Because the F150 already has 50 zillion option combinations........

Because there are people who want to buy one! DUH! Haven't you been paying attention? Ford has to build whatever anybody wants to buy. It's their God given right as car consumers.

Ford moved away from the Haldex system years ago.

How can you "trick" the EPA?

I expect a class action lawsuit any day now. What makes Ford think they can get away with this?

Bingo.

Guess we'll see a HUGE jump in Tacoma sales too.......... NOT!

THIS. ^^^ The people who are complaining are only concerned with what THEY want and they either don't understand or don't care about Ford from a business standpoint. And this is where the trouble usually starts with certain people saying what Ford needs to do or not do as opposed to what they would like Ford to do.

If more consumers were willing to buy manuals then Ford would offer them. Don't blame Ford because consumers won't buy them.

Remember that most luxury car buyers don't do their own maintenance so they'll be visiting at least every 6 months or so. And that's one of the big appeals to luxury buyers IMO - a cushy service experience. You can debate styling all day long. There is no right or wrong answer - there are buyers for all types of styling if its done well. Lincoln will not be a cushy ride with no power or handling. OTOH there probably won't be a barn burner M/AMG/CTS-V top end model right away either. There is a sweet spot (IMO) for Lincoln with elegant styling, modern unique features, excellent materials and dealership experience and above average power and handling with ecoboost engines and AWD and electronic ride control. If that formula is applied to all 7 vehicles then Lincoln could easily make a run at the top selling luxury spot within a few years.

You don't understand the difference between an opinion and an incorrect fact. Until you do.....

I didn't say I agreed with it - just trying to understand it. In the future the Lincolns will have unique sheetmetal and drivetrains so it shouldn't be a concern. But I couldn't come up with any other reason why a SEL Edge had HIDs but the Sport did not. I do know that CAFE can play a part. Back in 2000 the newly introduced LS went through a short period where they deleted the audiophile stereo and the rear headrests from the Sport model so they could get the LS into a lower weight class for CAFE. I don't think that's the case here but strange option combinations can be driven by CAFE or other seemingly unrelated requirements.

So you're allowed to voice your opinion but Nick isn't allowed to voice his if it disagrees with yours? Doesn't that work both ways?

The Sport Edge has the same engine as the MKX so that told me they were holding back the HIDs to differentiate the Edge and MKX. But in this case the MKZ gets the 3.7L V6 and the Fusion doesn't so that theory doesn't hold here. Maybe they'll be announced later. This one is baffling.

Mondeo was always more upscale and more expensive than Fusion. Although with all of the differentiation with Lincoln now you'd think HIDs would be offered on the Fusion.

I think this has reached such a level of absurdity that there is only one sane way to respond to these arguments......

Local dealer has over 50 in stock. Doesn't sound artificially limited to me.

Do you understand how leasing works? If the residuals were really that high and not a temporary market condition then Toyota would be able to lease you a Tacoma for pennies a month.

Motor Trend????? Seriously???? Go down to your local Toyota dealer and tell them you want to lease a new Tacoma with a 75% residual. Let me know when they quit laughing. BS.

The Tacoma is not old crap - why isn't it selling 200K+? I call BS. Tacoma resale is no better than 55% after 3 years. The used car market for Panthers was huge but that didn't translate to sales of new ones.

dupe