g48150

Hey man as someone that used to be in the joint, a few words of advice... STAY OUT UNTIL THE MORTGAGE HAS BEEN PAID!!! We're probably close to the same age so let me put it in terms you'll understand. Everything has been put up for sale man, they're trying to keep everything nice and tidy so as not to disturb the future owners of all the wonderful "capital". What this means is that what you see is what you get, there is no room for growth anymore, this is definitely a time of "shrinkage"...

Since this post is really out of place in the forum that its in, I'll make the comment that no one will think of... What does KY jelly from someplace called Georgetown have ANYTHING to do with Ford Motor or ANY other automaker in the world? Now if you're talking about how KY lubes up anything that is about to penetrated, say the upcoming UAW contract talks, NOW you're in business... Oh, KY is an abbreviation for Kentucky? Oh, nothing to see here, move along...

Well there used to be a "B" lot where it was first-come first served for management off-leases, but that's long gone... Most of the old prototypes end up behind AEC, but that's shifted quite a few times since I've left. Why couldn't the tranny fit in other platforms? Tranny's are a surprise AND a mystery, don't believe me, do a quick Google search for "tranny"... Sorry...

Ahhhhhhh. I see you've never met the product planners before... Trust me, every per-"cent" counts... Penny smart and dollar stupid... That's what got us the 2008 Escape... If these product planners could take back every fiber of each car they planned out, then it really wouldn't "cost" anything in the first place, now, would it? Welcome to New Hire Orientation, the 8:00 am session, they feed you this when you're tired and you don't realize what they're telling you...

In my opinion with all the crossovers that Volvo has planned they look poised to be cut loose from the Blue Oval before the mortgage comes due. That transaction might actually pay for the first few years of mortgage payments. Once the global diesel powertrain platform is complete after 2010, look out world, Volvo will belong to someone else... They could easily get the TH!NK cars back right? They're still in the Nordic lands... Well hopefully the Piquette Project, 100% recyclable car, will be done and close to Job 1 by then...

Easy answer to a complex question. When I was still in the joint, before Kuzak was officially the "global" product czar, the product planners all wanted the 6 speed trans from the Livonia plant in the global platforms since it was the newest and most advanced. Its a good business case, that's why they are there. Enjoy!

You've heard of the Mercury Cougar I-4 right? Yeah, me neither... Upper management got TONS of discounted Mercury Cougar I-4 leases when they couldn't ship these cars for Job 1 because the engine wasn't ready. Don't have a hard time believing that Ford would let your truck sit because it doesn't have an engine in it, just imagine a perfect world where no one fought, yeah, on second thought, keep dreaming...

Trust me on this one, man, and I mean TRUST ME, Chrysler will have NO problems from Freightliner selling any to do with Sprinter vans. Freightliner is hurting for business until the 2009 rush to get pre-2010 emissions trucks, so Dodge Sprinters will be sitting pretty and ready to ship. As for the rest of that, Western Star, Sterling, AND Freightliner will continue to develop ways to increase market share in the under class 8 market, fuel economy, these days, IS a business case... After 2010 though, all bets are off, that's when concurrent engineering becomes "dead in the water"...

Well for a short term plan 18-24 months, there is no use in trying to develop a 2010 diesel, there is no business case. Much better to let someone else perfect the SCR technology and HCCI, and THEN make your own... I mean, for real.

Well after the SCR system is in place for diesel engines in a post-2010 world, why not? The emissions will be as close to gasoline engines at any point in history, and are more fuel-efficient. Add a hybrid-diesel like the Refl3x had, and pure genius, its over from that point forward folks, start counting MPGs in 100's...

This car, as it is, which is much larger than the last Taurus is just a way of keeping the American people fat and lazy. This car feeds the need for fatter people to have transportation, and THAT's how Ford is going to win people back, by building cars only fat people can fit into. Why buy a Camry when the only thing I can fit in is a fat ass Taurus.

Now THAT'S an interesting thought, do they make dunk tanks big enough for cars? (For the high-brow impaired I am suggesting that Toyota/Nissan/Honda dealerships would put said GM Malibu in a dunk tank that typically a human being would go into, ergo humor...) Now THAT'S entertainment, wait a minute here, I have an old above ground pool that's empty right now...

$20 says it Schultz cause he's pissed that Mark Fields gets the jet to Miami and he's stuck in podunk Europe...

We'll we'd all be divulging trade secrets if we told you that my man. No one wants to go to jail so you can build your own factory and beat everyone at their own game. Hint: When you do, DON'T go with UAW workers, mmmmkay...

That looks a lot like the California Edition stang that used to sit in back of Building 5 when I was still in the joint. The going rumor was that the director took it home to impress his mistress... He got a promotion from what I hear...

I am assuming that your brand new beasts have diesel engines from Navistar correct? I'll let you in on a secret, just because the vehicle appears to be "sitting" doesn't mean it has an engine in it, AND even though a judge has ordered Navistar to ship Ford diesel engines, he didn't say WHEN...

Well the first step is recognizing that you have a problem. Far as I can tell that hasn't happened yet either...

I'm not saying the Democrats are going to mop the floor with the UAW, but then again, look who signed NAFTA... What I am saying is look when Big Steel underwent privatization, the steelworkers are doing WAYYY better now than they were in the 80's no? Albeit there are ten thousands fewer now than in the 80s... All I am saying... Is give the Chinese a chance, they may not be the smartest, but they've got the most people

This should go over well... GM putting Camry in showrooms across America Hey GM is smart, I can't wait to read the tagline, "You've driven the best, come down and see the rest..." Any other new taglines from this?

I got an idea for the guys that pay the bill around here. TTAC has the GM Death Watch, Ford Death Watch, and Chrysler Suicide Watch. Why don't we have the Detroit Death Pool I, II, III, ... and so on. You could really drive up the revenue per click, click, click... Everyone wants to pile on the kill Detroit bandwagon, might as well get rich in the process...

Ahh grasshopper, not so fast... The Chinese Government just announced plans to invest in the Blackstone Group, which currently owns TRW, as well as many other auto and non-auto companies... Once the UAW has been properly "dealt" with and Hillary gets closer to being in office, expect to see more and more of Chrysler's "business" being sold off... Red up on your Mao lately?

Yes they look good. Yes they probably get mid-30's MPG. Yes they can handily get you around from point A to point B. Yes you probably stand a >75% chance of surviving getting slammed by a Hummer. No, it won't make your any bigger... you need at least 550 HP and 8 MPG for that...

Have a hot girl come out and wash the damn thing without using her hands!!! There ya go, problem solved!

This is like asking why Ice Cream has to be stored in a freezer, or why a motor oil smoothie is a BAD idea. Somethings just DON'T need to be answered okay? Think about this one, it'll really make you wonder. With all the dollar stores around with all the cheap plastic (which comes from oil) that come from China, how do we expect to keep the price of ANY refined petroleum product down... Stop the dollar stores, stop outrageous gas prices...

Well once you get past the fact that everyone that's here AFTER the pilgrims is an illegal immigrant, then you ALL realize that its water under the bridge!!! Do the Mexican Hat Dance... :happy feet: