igor

2010/2011 Mazda3

to keep it all in perspective .. the Cruse is a 2011 model for US - production will begin in June(ish) 2010 ... in the meantime - BEFORE THE CRUZE GOES INTO PRODUCTION - the Focus will all new and global .. anyone wants to wager that it will beat the Cruze in all aspecs ... interior, exterior, engines, suspension? I think it is funny people are so psyched over the Cruze (or Fiesta for that matter) we will not see either for about another 18 months ... Igor

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f12/tec...l-engine-69615/ God forbid Ford do the same !!!!! Igor

it s not about the chrome - it is about the interior - like the cream on black combo of the Mariner - it is very snazzy looking for a non-luxury SUV .... I am test driving a Voga Mariner right now, and the stylish interior was an immediate hit with anyone who has ridden in it. Igor

no idea of a premiere in Dallas .. I am going too, but do not know yet when Igor

did we sign away our r1st amendment right to disagree with P71? WOW how can one person dominate a thread like this? Richard used to do this (and maybe still does) - but MAN P71 ... give people some space .... we are looking at something fuy masked - and people have opinions ... I am not sure I like the MKS or the LaCrosse better - I will wait with my judgment until I see them - I drive them and see how they hold up ... the MKS is a solid effort and yes it is no better htan what Buick can put out ... but from where I sit - Lincoln was falling to the level of Mercury, and the MKS moved it up to Acura, Lexus ES/RX, and Buick level ... Nothing is holding them back to keep climbing .. not everyone has to agree with you ... Igor

he is not the first one .. another one has a Fusion Igor

three of them actually !!! nice addition, althought they look fixecd they seem like a definite improvement from the 08 http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f48/nsa...ocus-sel-67834/

re Mexican Ranger - Ranger in Mexico is offered in true crew cab - made in Argentina re "No Ranger" - see above - unless we decide to deal with the hassle of havinga car registered in Mexico ... it is out - we are not big on jump seats .. The problem with other choices is that Crew Cab is V6 only i.e. 20mph HWY - that way I truly could just get a full size truck ... but I really want something smaller - more efficient ... maybe I will wait for a few years and see what comes out. Igor

I am considering buying a small truck: - fuel efficient - seats 5 comfortably (double-crew-cab) - tows 2000 lbs - I would buy new or near-new I am coming up with GM's Colorado/Canyon on top .. any other suggestions? (Ranger is in the running in its Mexican Form .. but it is a distant chance .. ;( ) Igor

they test the base setup - Ford probably offered a more efficient axle ratio as base equipment. Igor

tomorrow - 1pm Igor

while the front is controversial - remeber what (besides SYNC) sells the Focus ... The overall design of the car is very good - it has the proportions of the Mazda3 (A+ for the class), it has incredibly looking interior, and will have some nice engines available. The only problem with the Cruze - Lutz thinks it is not needed until 2010 CY .. and we all know what will be introduction by then. Chevy is pissing away valuable 12 months of sales when 1) people are still panicked from the gas prices and economy 2) they would have a car that is newest in the segment, and fighting the aging Mazda3, and the (at times lacking) Lancer for "best looks" title 3) would offer an engine unparalleled in compeition (1.4l Turbo) 4) The best domestic competition is the 08+ Focus ... Chevy has a winner on it s hands - but they will piss away their chance at greatness .. instead - the Cruze will begine US sales AFTER the 2011 MkIII Focus - and per my information - unless Ford NA chickens out of some of hte nice stuff in the MkIII Focus - the Focus will blow the Cruze away. remember the Cruse was not built to compete with the focus in Europe - The Cruze is to be a Cheaper alternative to the Focus - and many things will reflect that ... if we get the MkIII Focus undiluted - including good options, good engines and any other nice details - the Focus will trample the Cruze ... and Chevy will once again wonder how come their great new car .. flopped. Igor

which means that it is set for faliure in a stable-sized, net-loss, decreasing-income and other demographic situations. I would not let Bush touch SS with a 100mile pole - but it needs refoming. The road trust fund works - the money paid today is to be paid out tomorrow for repairs to be done the day after (you know that is a simplification, but you get the picture) - if the needs start overtaking the income, the people responsible for the increased need (the drivers today and yesterday) are the ones that can pay for it with an increase in gas tax. The system is good - but - BUT - only if not abused - and that is not happening. I think we should look at the EU Infrastructure Fund and Choesion Fund and other EU grant making institutions. They seem to do well in preventing the type of hijaking seemingly common in US - they have other issues (Issues of their own), but those can be reduced in translating them to US. Igor

rofl PC .. that was a god one That said, I do not think there is any capacity contraint on the Fusion besides the I4 production. With the I4 production in line, and hybrids on sale, we should see some healthy sales - the same goes with the Focus, although there it goes for building more SYNC / SEL/SES models. Igor

BOF construction - besides cabs and police (fleet customers) everyone prefers unitbody for better ride, handling, lower weight, and many other advantages. Sure you cannot drive over curbs and rails, but Ford is RETAIL motor company - its primary focus is on Retail customers. And there is very little they can do with the BOF construction to make retail customers care. If there is any way to sell RWD cars in Ford's lineup, it is on unitbody platform. Igor

Morisso are you sure your dealer did not mess up? with so many people getting theirs - I do not see a reason why you do nto even have a VIN .... now you are WAY closer to the process than I am, but from the reading of threads here, it seems 8/10 when an order goes awry, it is because the dealer failed to do something ... Igor

Ford cannot sell the same car in 5 sizes ... (Ka, Fiesta, Focus, Mondeo.Fusion, Taurus) - Kinetic design needs to evolve ... the Mondeo to S-Max to Fiesta progression was good .. this is too ... LAZY - it really is a stubbed Fiesta design ... and they should have made it MUCH more daring. The Fiat 500 is bland as well, but sells on nostalgia - those olf 500's were ecverywhere (and were another 3 sizes smaller) -but Ka sold on edginess, and the new one while handsome - LACKS it ... even the C1/107/Aygo triplets have some edgy details and design .. this is bland ... Kuzak, and Mays - PLEASE light some fire under Martin Smith's ass ... I hope this is just and aberration, but if the 2011 Focus looks like a bigger Fiesta we ALL will be in trouble - a BIG ONE! Igor

I never said they would be one trick pony .. however anything with a frame underneath has just became a quickly declining segment .. it wil lstabilize, but it will be at a lower volume. Even larger unitbody vehicles like Flex, Taurus etc will have to settle for some decline over the next year or so. Ford will NOT STOP makign these vehicles, but besides milking the most of the declining segments they have only one optoion - milk the heck out of the newly popular ssegments - if the C2 vehicles fail, Ford is done for - they will become GMC or something similarly meaningless and limited in scope. C2 is the one big shot they have in the next 2 years to make a splash in the marketplace and turn their fortunes around .. sure the others are also important, they need the small cars the most .. and not just for the sales. They need them to learn how to sell small cars profitably. if they can make money on the FOcus,m they can make MORE money on Fusion, Edge, and even F150 you get my drift? This is their chance to truly turn their culture around. This GIANT project is 1) truly global - this is not Fiesta, where Ford EU is delivering a completed car for assembly in Mexico - Ford is working together globally developing this platform and all the cars 2) it is small and efficient - so it is something Ford NA is not used to - not on this scale .. yet 3) it is positioned so it can make money and make sense for the bottom line of the company - it is not just an appendix to make good impression on the journalists - it is truly an integral part of the plan. Truly thie C2 is the TRUE culture change inside the company, The leadership has changed, but the company will not haver a chance to learn how to operate under this new mindset before C2 - that is why it is SO CRUCIAL for Ford. The rest of the lineup will not disappear, but Ford and Ford NA epsecially has been doing a good job already there. But they have to learn how to make great, profitable, global, small cars... and that will be a big lesson to learn. And if they learn it, and can do it - the rest of the company, and the rest of the lineup will only benefit. Igor

Darryl, so what is your opinion on the last week's announcement? 6 C-cars, double I4 production .. all in the next 2 years - I cannot think opf a more blatant way to state "oour culture has changed" Flex is what it is - a large 7 seater vehicle - it is on top of its class FE wise - and there will alwayus be SOME people that will need more than five (or more than five + 2) seats. They will need full-sized third row - and if they do, there is no handicap for Flex - it is tied for best in class mileage (and it has the best mileage if you exclude the half-size smaller Highlander) Ford is re-focusing very swiftly - as the statement from last week said - they are betting the house on C-cars - not even Cd cars - they are going straight for C- card: Focus Focus CC Capri Kuga/Escape C-Max and there may be more. These will all e exclusively (or primarily) I4 vehicles with MPG (at least) in the very high 20's and most in the mid-to-high-30's These are the cars Ford is betting the house on - they are breaking even on Focus and anything else they sell. They are even breaking even on hybrids. they have spent over a year now frantically realigning the company so they DO become Honda or Toyota in making money on all (most) of their vehicles (even Honda and Toyota lose money on hybrids - Ford does not anymore). Sure yuou might say "too late" but I do not think so - turnaround takes place, and we have known that the models that are coming will not come before 2010. the Fiesta is the only one truly sorely missed in the lineup at the present, and it is the one that truly needs sped up (but that is impossible at this time). The others are coming as was expected since 2006 when Mark Fields and Bill Ford positioned Ford NA on the trajectory to make profitable small cars. I think your doom and gloom is MUCH more appropriate of GM and Chrysler or of Ford before Mulally, before Fields, and before Kuzak. Small cars are KING at Ford right now. C2 is the cornerstone of their next 10 years - they are betting the farm that these six new small cars will save the company. They are sweating blood to make sure that they will be best-in-class, competitively priced, yet profitable. They are perfectly AGREEING with you assertions. Igor

they will be RWD - this is all part of the GRWD platform plan ... I am not sure yet whether they will be downsized to Falcon size, or kept (AU) Fairlane sized .... names may change, but not sure yet. Wescoent seems on top of the GRWD news ... he might know a bit more ... Thunderbird is also apparently set to return (in 2012 as 2013 model) as a small(ish) 2-seat roadster version of the Mustang - Apparently the idea is to position the bottom versions as Miata/Kappa competition (albeit a bit larger) and the top versions as Corvette competition. Igor

replacements begin production in 2011 as 2012 models. they will be untibody Igor

rofl .. I think fuel efficient cars .. like Prius should pay extra taxes .. after all you can drive some 600 mile on the same amount of fuel as (say) Mustang uses in 200 miles .. that is THREE TIMES the damage to the roads !!! Someone ought to look into this and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Leave the Public transport fund intact - there is already miniscule amount of money in it - at least compared to what is needed - let Public trasport fluorish now thyat it is needed, and desirable .... we finally hav an opportunity to catch up to the rest of the developed world and remedy 60 years of neglect ... please do not eff this up Igor

Panthers will be replaced with new cars in 2011 as 2012 models. Names might change. Igor

I have a deep dislike of the 6.0l and 6.4l Powerstroke engines ... so I would wait for the 6.7 - however if you buy a 2009 now, you will be up for another tyruck by the time the 6.7l comes out. The 6.4l seems much less problem prone than the old 6.0l, but maybe it would be a good idea to count your luck and just keep the problem free 6.4l you have than spinning the weel again. Ford has a contract with Navistar through at least the beginning of 2012 - so they cannot release another engine before then. BTW the 6.7l is shaping up to be some impressive engine ... it will have the inboardd exhaust the way the 4.5l Duramax will have, it will be all Ford, and it will be all new. I have a big trust in Ford (much more than Navistar) and expect this engine to leave the 6.4l in the dust. Igor