akirby

Seriously? Look, I don't condone police harassment or racial profiling and I understand why you're sensitive to the subject, but come on. Mexicans live in a crappy, violent country and can simply walk across the border to AZ - hundreds or thousands per day. How can you possibly believe there is anywhere close to that many illegal aliens from other countries in AZ? Now if you were talking about New York or Michigan then you'd have a point. But AZ?

Like I said - I'd love to see it but only if Ford was rolling in cash and totally solvent. Until then, there are much bigger fish to fry.

That's why I said and/or - I wasn't sure if it had Sync or not.

Because it's a little tough for a Russian to wade across the ocean and jump a fence to illegally enter the country. If the police want to harass you, they will, with or without this new law. Most won't have the time to do this without a good reason anyway.

A little early to be making June sales predictions. I wonder if the Lincoln figure includes the Town Car? I assume it does and probably accounts for almost half of that average.

Why do you keep bringing up the Transit Connect? It's a vehicle that cost Ford almost nothing to bring over. It's allowing Ford to enter a brand new market in which they've never competed, so every sale is a new Ford customer. It's in a market segment that will grow as fuel costs go higher. They're being cautious with volumes until they see a longer term pattern and they're ready to increase volume and produce it locally if the market will sustain it. Comparing that to a new RWD V8 sedan is like comparing apples and basketballs. The RWD V8 sedan market is small and shrinking. And Ford does not currently have a suitable existing platform to use like they did for TC, Fiesta, Taurus, etc. nor can they share such a vehicle with Europe or anywhere outside Australia. It would also need to share production facilities - it won't support an entire dedicated plant.

I agree, but I'm sure millions of people will be impressed by it nonetheless. Which is why it's a great PR stunt - nothing more.

Actually they said they would build them here if possible (if the volume makes it viable). Sales have not been "underwhelming" at all. This is not a huge market segment. What is the difference between the Transit Connect and a new RWD sedan? The Transit Connect already has an existing platform in production. I firmly believe Lincoln will get a new RWD flagship platform for a sedan and possibly a luxury coupe, but due to decisions made in the past and the economic factors it is still a few years away, although we might see something based on the Falcon as an interim solution.

But isn't that EXACTLY the point? If there was such a viable market then where are all the competitors? The Miata is barely surviving and it's the gold standard in the market. The Miata is on pace to sell 6K for the entire year, if they're lucky. 2009 was somewhere around 10K units sold (in the U.S.). The S2000 only sold about 2500 for the entire year before it was finally cancelled. Last year Pontiac only sold 4800 Solstices. So where are all these potential customers coming from and why haven't they been buying these other vehicles? I'd love to see Ford have a Miata/S2000 competitor, but there is just no way it makes good business sense today. Likewise, I don't see where this new Honda will fare any better than the others, although if it has good worldwide sales then they might be able to get by with mediocre U.S. sales. Edit: I do think a convertible version of the Fiesta or Focus would work because that's not an entirely new vehicle and requires much less investment.

Yes, parlor tricks....but great PR!

Anyone who says a manual is no longer necessary is only looking at the objective reasons (cost, fuel economy and mpg) and not the subjective reasons. Most just don't understand the subjective appeal of changing your own gears. My weekend car will definitely be a manual, but my daily driver is an automatic. I got tired of shifting my manual ranger in Atlanta traffic.

I don't think you meant it the way you said it, but you did say twice that the manual was "better". Better is an objective word that doesn't involve a personal preference. Just say that you prefer a manual because you like it - don't use the word better. And the same would go for the auto guys. I like both - they each have their benefits. And it is a fact that the real objective advantages of a manual (cost, performance, fuel economy) are no longer applicable. That doesn't make them bad or wrong. It just means you can't use those to justify getting a manual any more (not that you were - just saying in general).

You don't get it. If people would just say "I prefer a manual" or "I like to drive a manual" (or auto) then nobody would care. Manuals used to be cheaper, faster and get better mpg but that is no longer the case - yet manual fans still try to justify their choice based on those advantages that are no longer relevant. You can state your preference for one or the other without disparaging those who choose the opposite.

I thought Ford confirmed performance versions of both the Fiesta and Focus but I'm not 100% sure.

Why does everyone forget used cars and the service bay?

Can't you people read???

There are always 2 ways to more profit - increase price or cut costs. Reducing rebates is effectively a net price increase. Ford has been doing both very successfully. They're only giving up on the unprofitable sales by not fleet dumping and not overproducing. Ford was overextended and producing more cars than people wanted to buy - thus the fleet dumping and big rebates. That is far worse than cutting back production to meet actual demand which is where Ford is now. Ford didn't lose any models when it decided to close Mercury. They've actually ADDED new models such as the Fiesta and Transit Connect. Before that they added the Edge/MKX and Flex. The Fusion didn't exist before 2006 either - only the Taurus. A few years ago Lincoln only had the TC, Navigator and MKZ. Today it has the TC, Navigator, MKZ, MKX and MKT. Within 4 years there will be 7 new Lincolns. Please remind me how Ford is cutting back on models and giving away market share.

Or perhaps it's just not a priority right now. It's not a huge market to begin with and the current product is holding it's own. I believe the mandate is to figure out how to use the global platform efficiently and that may require a platform change which takes longer and requires even more resources. To me this is just like the Focus - just further down the priority list.

Geez - who wee-wee'd in your corn flakes? If Ford was rolling in cash and wanted a niche product for the heck of it then yeah, it might make sense. But there just isn't enough of a market for a small roadster right now. A convertible Fiesta - maybe, but as a Fiesta with minimal changes. Not as a unique vehicle on a shared platform. That's what I meant about the Solstice/Sky - no market.

Fixed it for you. I think that was the idea.

Who said Fiero? I was talking about the Solstice/Sky. I personally liked them but there was obviously no real business case.

Russian to English translation One of the lucky ones managed to live to get acquainted with the new Ford Explorer 2011, and also make some pictures of the crossover, to share emotions with others. The prototype was spotted at one of the busiest routes near Detroit. Even despite the fact that the prototype is covered with camouflage it gives much more precise idea about the new product than the recently released by the official teasers. Ford Explorer 2011 received a new roof spoiler, enlarged wheel arches and a new exhaust system, front fog lights appeared high. Presumably under the hood will be available 2.0-liter EcoBoost, or 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, 355 hp power (265 kW) and 474 Nm of torque. There is also an assumption that the formal presentation of the new Ford Explorer 2011 will be held on Facebook, and not the other way.

But there is no "wal-mart" type home improvement store built solely around the premise of being cheaper than the other stores. At least none that I'm aware of. The point was there are lots of people who only care about getting the cheapest price and who either can't see or don't care about the long term consequences. And it's not always the poor either.

I didn't say that everyone who shops at Wal-Mart is like that. Rather people who are like that will shop at Wal-Mart, not Target.

You missed my point entirely. I don't support protectionism or inflated wages. I do support equality in trade and making sure that american companies can compete with imports based on market driven labor rates (not inflated union contracts). The point is that if you have a chinese product that cost $18 and an American made product that cost $19, there are a lot of people who will buy the $18 product with no regard to where it's made or what impact that purchase has as part of the bigger picture just to save $1. The same goes for people who buy everything online rather than purchasing at local brick and mortar stores. Then they wonder why all their friends and family are out of work.