akirby

The point was dealers will almost always recommend more frequent oil changes than the mfr requires for no other reason than to drum up business - one way or the other. It doesn't mean anything with regards to engine life or oil quality.

You think that just might have a little something to do with cash flow?

That's overkill for most of today's engines. 5,000 - 7,500 miles is command and recommended. 3/3K is just wasting oil.

He meant unibody as opposed to BOF.

You do realize that your oil pressure gauge is just an idiot light in disguise? It doesn't show actual oil pressure - it either shows normal or low based on a preset threshold. On second thought - I don't know when they made that change so it's possible the early ones had a real OP gauge. But not any in the last 10 years or so.

I was agreeing with you 100%. I was also pointing out that they couldn't possibly use that against the 2010 fusion even if they wanted to.

Yes, but Ford has publicly said that the 2010 Fusion does not use those Toyota licensed patents. They must have redesigned the software to avoid that problem. So now they can't even use that against Ford.

Check the overflow bottle. They tend to crack and it's hard to find.

Simple - Ford management made it a company wide priority so everyone contributed. In the past, without the corporate mandate, each group looked out only for themselves and if fuel economy wasn't one of their performance goals - they didn't care.

Good grief - I wasn't even talking specifically about Hyundais or you - I was just saying that Antaus had a point that the best warranty in the world isn't enough if you must continually use the warranty because it keeps breaking. Some people (NOT YOU) think that having the warranty is all that matters and don't take into account the inconvenience factor. It was a general statement - don't take it personally.

Ever hear the phrase "cutting off your nose to spite your face"? I bet you see yourself as a UAW worker first and a Ford employee second (or third or fourth) - right? And you wonder why the public doesn't like you....... If you don't like how a company treats you - go find another one that treats you better. Or start your own company and YOU make the rules. You're not ENTITLED to anything.

You're missing the point. The point is some people buy a product because it has a long warranty without considering the actual reliability. And when they do they realize they never should have bought it in the first place - regardless of the warranty. My wife's grandmother had a Curtis Mathes TV that had been repaired once every 2 years as long as she had it. When it finally died she was going to get a new one. I asked her why and she said it had a warranty and they would come to the house to fix it (it was a console). I told her if she bought a TV that didn't need to be repaired every 2 years then it really didn't matter. She had never thought about it that way.

So why does Toyota make a hybrid Camry? The Fusion is a direct Camry competitor, not Prius.

I NEVER said auto workers wages were too high. I just said that it should be up to the market to decide what they're worth. If it's such a tough job that not many people can do it then the wages and benefits will reflect that.

Bingo! But these guys don't want to hear it. They still believe Ford's only reason for existence is to provide them a job with great pay and benefits for life. They don't understand that it's a business that has to compete to stay in business and to do that requires changes.

My company has been downsizing IT for 7 or 8 years. I have numerous friends and acquaintances that were downsized. They all found jobs elsewhere that were just as good if not better (the ones that had skills). I am more than prepared to find another job if necessary - I've even considered leaving on my own. That's the way it works in the real world. Unfortunately for auto workers you can't go somewhere else and get the same pay and benefits. That should tell you something.

I wouldn't have to if you idiots would get a clue.

There are plenty of factories doing similar work. How is building a car any different from building a tractor, dump truck or ship? Why aren't the transplant auto workers in the same "market" - don't they build cars the same way? Extortion is only against the law when it's not a union contract negotiation. Threatening to hurt a company financially by shutting down production unless you get what you want is extortion. It may be legal extortion but it's still extortion.

All I want is for companies to be able to control their costs and for wages and benefits to be market based - like the rest of the country - and not based on extorted contracts.

Not if they want to win. Let's say they find some unknown player on the cheap that turns out to be a stud. What happens when his contract is up? Teams start bidding on his services and if you want to keep that good player then you have to pay him or he'll go to another team. Jobs in the private sector are no different. You have to pay to keep good employees or they'll leave. Why is that so hard to understand?

Give me what I want or I'll STRIKE! That's not negotiation - it's extortion, plain and simple.

"Foreign" companies don't "set" pay standards any more than anyone else in the U.S. Why do fast food workers make minimum wage? Because it's a job any idiot can do with no skill and there are normally thousands of people willing to work there. Except in my area where they couldn't get enough workers so they were offering $10/hour AND a signing bonus - just to work at Wendy's. The point is the market decided what that job was worth in that area at that time based on supply and demand. That's how it should work. And I'm not jealous of anybody. The salary range for the kind of work I do is $80k-$140k. If my employer decided to give me a pay cut then I could easily go to another company and make as much if not more than I'm making now. And that's why they won't cut my pay. The UAW successfully circumvented the free market through extortion tactics while the mfrs were making boatloads of money and were a virtual monopoly. Now it's time for a market adjustment. If it works for all other factory type jobs then I don't see why it's wrong for autoworkers.

But wages aren't even the biggest problem - it's the FORCED jobs bank and other work rules that handcuff the mfrs. Make the jobs bank optional at the company's discretion - just like every other business. If it makes sense to keep people on payroll they will. If not they won't. It shouldn't be mandatory. Give the companies flexibility to address health care costs by increasing copays or decreasing benefits as necessary. Just like every other company has been doing for decades. Give the companies the ability to lay people off as necessary. Negotiate early retirements and good severance packages to help but accept that in some cases workers have to leave the payroll. Work out a deal between Ford, GM and Chrysler so workers can transfer and retain their benefits. Allow unproductive employees to be disciplined or terminated for cause - just like every other business.

Pay should be based on market rates - period. If I'm starting a new company and I need employees, I have to pay more than the competition in order to get the best people. Or I can pay less and get less qualified employees. The UAW's idea of fair pay and benefits has been inflated due to years of extortion tactics which were allowed by the D3 because they were making tons of money. The gravy train is over and a market adjustment is past due.

I was going to leave as requested but you asked me a direct question, so I'll respond and then I'll leave. I'm neither ignorant nor jealous. I have a college degree and 22 years experience in IT. I'm here because I love Ford and I want to see it succeed and continue to build world class vehicles. You have a public perception problem and while this particular forum may not be widely seen there are hundreds of others with similar comments by autoworkers that serve only to fuel the public backlash against Ford, GM and Chrysler. There are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people who refuse to buy a Ford simply because of the UAW and autoworker's attitudes. Just listen to the attitudes expressed in the congressional hearings. I'm not saying it's right or even deserved, but it's reality and there is a huge financial impact. Anybody who doesn't see that has blinders on.