akirby

I think the rear clipped corners are a huge improvement and make the car leaner and sleeker. I much prefer the 2011 to any of the previous ones and I'm in the market for a V6 convertible next Spring.

The U.S. Treasury only owns 61 percent of the shares (912M) and is only selling 412M in the IPO. I assume GM still owns the other 39% of the shares and will be using the proceeds from the sale of those shares to pay down their other debts.

It was the pace car for the Ford 400 NASCAR race in Homestead yesterday. Looked nice!

Exactly. I don't think they can combine then if the model names are totally different. Isn't that why the Sport Trac is the Explorer Sport Trac so sales can be counted under Explorer? And Camry Solara?

Apples and oranges. You don't put roll cages in production vehicles. You have to add the strength and energy absorption in without compromising weight or visual appeal.

Right, because every other auto mfr does a complete redesign of a vehicle that's only 3.5 years old. Come on - Ford did more with the Fusion MCE than most companies do with full redesigns. The greenhouse was about the only thing they didn't change. Also try to remember that during this time Ford was investing heavily in a new Fiesta, new Focus, new Taurus, new Mustang and F150 engines, MyTouch, Hybrid technology, electric vehicles, etc. etc. I think you're expectations are WAY too high given the circumstances.

If you're asking what the difference is in the engines the T in Ti-VCT means 'Twin" as in Twin Independent Variable cam timing - it varies the timing on both the intake and exhaust.

I know Dean, that's my point. The dealer can sell at X plan without a PIN but they don't get the $600 spiff check. If they sell it with the PIN they get the $600 spiff check. If the buyer has a pin or access to a pin why would you turn it down unless you were somehow getting more than $600? I could understand selling it at that price for someone who couldn't get a PIN because you could lose the sale.

But that's not the point. There are plenty of award winning designs that I don't like, but that doesn't make them bad designs just because I don't like them. If 9 out of 10 people like Ford's new designs then you can't call them a failure even if you personally don't like them. If people would just stop applying objective terms to their subjective personal opinions and stick with "I like it" or "I don't like it" then we wouldn't have these arguments.

Actually it IS required. You must let the dealer know immediately if you're using X plan. Without X plan what was your doc fee? I can't imagine the dealer giving up $600 for no reason.

If you have a suitable dealer network to carry out the maintenance.

Yes, except those single styling cues actually work for the most part.

We know - that was an old post.

Exactly! Although I think you may be a little biased on that one. But seriously - RX350? About as bland as you can get. Mercedes? Hardly any better. Infiniti? Way too wierd. SRX? Way too small. The Lambda Caddy might have a chance but I doubt it. Certainly not BMW although the X5 isn't bad.

Absolutely. However, "I don't like it" is an opinion. The following statements are not opinions. The last 3 NEW car tophat designs are the Focus, Fiesta and Taurus. All are best in class. Fusion/MKZ/Edge/MKX were MCEs - no greenhouse changes. Which midsized luxury CUV do you think is so much better than the MKX?

Way too swoopy for me and way too Camry like. And all of their cars now look the same, don't they?

The small car market has always been big, even in the 90s. It's just that Ford wasn't able to compete in it (neither was GM and Chrysler) and SUVs were so much bigger. And CUVs were just starting to show up. When Ford had all it's eggs in one basket, the eggs were all full sized and mid sized BOF pickups and SUVs and RWD sedans. When gas went through the roof and the economy tanked, what did people STOP buying? They stopped buying full sized and mid sized BOF pickups and SUVs and RWD sedans. Ranger and Tacoma sales did not increase during this time period. They've continued to decline for years. What did they start buying more of? Hybrids and B/C cars and crossovers. The only competitive vehicle that Ford had during that time was the Escape. The Focus did ok but not great. And Ford didn't even have a B car to sell. You're correct - Ford doesn't have the RWD sedan or small BOF pickup market covered. But if gas or the economy takes a bad turn we know from past experience that those aren't what people will be buying. So why cover a market that won't exist? Having multiple CUVs doesn't hurt anything. They could cancel some if necessary and still have enough volume to keep the plants running. That's the benefit of shared platforms and manufacturing facilities. So let me rephrase my earlier statement - Ford has the important market segments covered - full range of cars from B to D with both fuel efficient and performance models - along with small to midsized crossovers and full size trucks and SUVs. They also have a more fuel efficient F150. Also by getting rid of excess production capacity Ford doesn't have the overhead that it did 4 years ago. So once again you're just mad that Ford isn't building a vehicle to fit your desires, but you can't really make a valid business case for it. And you certainly can't make a valid case that Ford has put all their eggs in one basket just because you don't like CUVs.

Wow - you sure don't let facts get in the way of your opinions, do you? What stopped selling 3-4 years ago? BOF trucks and SUVs. Crossovers held their own. Rangers and Tacomas stayed the same or actually dropped. What increased? Hybrids, small cars and small crossovers/suvs. Escape sales went through the roof. Ford was hurt because they lost a ton of truck and suv sales and they did not have the hybrids or small cars that people wanted. That's why Ford spent so much money and effort on getting the Fiesta and redesigned Focus out the door and moving the Explorer to a crossover platform. They also got the Fusion hybrid out the door and brought in the Transit Connect. Next year we get plug in hybrids and electric vehicles. Nobody is better positioned for future market changes than Ford. They have full sized BOF trucks and SUVs, a full line of crossovers and a full line of cars from the Taurus SHO to the Fiesta SFE. Please explain one market segment that Ford wouldn't be competitive in. Because I think they have them all covered - finally.

Please tell me you aren't counting withholding as "paying payroll taxes". If you don't owe any income tax in April then you get back everything that was withheld, therefore you didn't pay income tax.

Before the hidden led B pillar version, Ford's SUVs had the buttons either on the black B pillar so they blended in or they were built into the rubber window surround on the bottom of the window on the driver's side. They work much better there than below the door handle. But again those both require new doors.

They have - it's called Fiesta, Focus, Explorer, Transit Connect, Hybrids, Electric vehicles, Edge, Escape, MKX. etc. The problem 3 years ago is Ford didn't have the product diversity it does now. If you remember Ranger sales were also down in that time period, not up. I love Rangers as much as anyone. I drove 2 for over 10 years. There is a small market available (100k - 150k) but at what cost? All of the new CUVs and SUVs share platforms with high volume cars and trucks. What is dooming the ranger is the lack of a suitable high volume shared platform and the lack of a shared assembly plant. T6 was the best hope but because the F150 is too big for ROTW Ford is stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one. Ranger is a victim of circumstances but I don't think it's really dead - just waiting to be reincarnated.

But then it might not ever let you in. (sorry - I had to) :shades:

http://www.gokeyless.com/product.php?id=194&main=3

What about the 50% of Americans that don't pay ANY income tax? And why does income tax need to be based on a percentage of income? If I earn $100K per year do I need twice as many congress people/interstate highways/bills/laws/military protection as someone who makes $50K/year? Nobody pays FICA above a fixed amount. Why can't income taxes be the same way? Why are we punishing people who are (mostly) very hard workers while lazy bums sit at home and collect welfare for doing nothing? As for the business owner, he probably didn't have those 2 extra employees before the tax cuts. So the tax cuts allowed him to create 2 extra jobs which will no longer exist.