mackinaw

You're right, it was 1989. Hard to believe it was 21 years ago.

I have very fond memories of my 1988 Taurus SHO.

From tonight's Automotive News, "Ford executives told dealers Sunday at the make meeting (2010 NADA conference) that the small Mercury is coming in 2011, the same year the Focus arrives. Two dealers who attended the meeting say the car will be called the Mercury Tracer."

Saw an orange Raptor in Traverse City, Michigan yesterday (2/13).

I saw 3, all together, on southbound US-23 (between Flint and Ann Arbor) about two weeks ago.

I found this on the "John's Journal" section of the Autoline website. Catch interview #3. Mulally offers some insight to the future of Mercury (think "C" class cars), offers hope for those who want diesel engines in N.A. (if they can get the emission control cost down), leaves the door open for a Ranger type of truck in N.A., and says that the Mustang will be around "forever." http://www.autolinedetroit.tv/journal/?p=7983

From today's Automotive News. Article by Jamie LaReau: "Ford expects to sell more passenger cars into commercial fleets during the first quarter compared with last year as large corporations restock inventory." "That's a first because, typically, Ford's biggest sellers into commercial fleets are pickup trucks and vans." "One reason for the boost is the improving economy, which frees corporate purse strings to buy more fleet vehicles, says Jim Farley, Ford's group vice president of global marketing in an interview with Automotive News. Also, the strength of the residual values on the Fusion sedan is making it attractive to large corporations, Farley adds." “We're seeing a whole new group of clients come to us saying we want to buy Fusions,” Farley says. “We've never had that before, at least in the recent past, and that has really grown our commercial fleet business.”

Here's Mulally's views on Mercury. From an interview in last week's Automotive News, "The Mercury brand will continue to represent a “value proposition” between Ford's products and Lincoln's premium products."

Even our friend Bob Lutz likes the 2012 Focus calling it, "pretty impressive, a nice car." http://detnews.com/article/20100114/OPINIO...ch-at-the-NAIAS

From today's Automotive News. Article by Jamie LaReau: "Ford may consider selling its luxury Lincoln brand outside of North America, Mark Fields says. “Potentially, but we are focusing Lincoln here in North America for right now,” Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, said here yesterday at the auto show. “We don’t have any plans at this point to take it global. That doesn’t mean in the future we wouldn’t look at that, but it’s very important for us to focus on North America.” "Selling Lincoln overseas would fill a void created by Ford’s shrinking luxury portfolio and help rebuild the brand after U.S. sales fell to a 28-year low last year. "Ford, for example, will lose its luxury presence in China, a fast-growing market, when it completes its planned sale of Volvo. Jaguar and Land Rover, divested by Ford in 2008, also sell in China. "Addressing another Lincoln topic, Fields declined to comment on the prospects for the brand getting a small car." Here's the link, but note that AN is a subscription-only site. http://www.autonews.com/

Go to the Automotive News website and look, in the "Breaking News" column for the article, "Ford will boost output of big SUVs."

The article said that a future hybrid to be built at MAP would be based on the "global C-car program."

No can do, Automotive News is a subscription-only site.

Curious to see if they stick on a different grill and tailights and call it good, or if they'll try to do something at least a little different.

From a Mark Field's interview just posted in today's Automotive News, article by Jamie LaReau: "In the Lincoln Mercury stable, Lincoln will get the bulk of new products going forward. Fields noted that Mercury is still slated to receive a new compact car, which will go into production late this year. It’s a derivative of the 2012 Ford Focus, unveiled today at the Detroit show."

It looks like quite a bit is in store for Michigan Assembly. Ford will be investing anther $450 million dollars for production of a "next-generation hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicle. Production will commence in 2012 and create 1,000 new jobs." "The Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., will be the production site of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full battery electric vehicles, all of which will be built off the company's new global C-car platform." "In addition to building the Ford Focus Electric and next-generation hybrid and plug-in hybrid in Metro Detroit, Ford said it is bringing battery system design and development in-house." "Ford will design advanced lithium-ion battery systems in-house for the next-generation hybrid in Michigan and move production of the battery packs from Mexico to Michigan. The production site will be announced at a later date." Full article here: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100111/AU...0-Michigan-jobs

Hot off the press: http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/autosho....php?blogid=518

Then-Chrysler COO, Wolfgang Bernhard, drove the Dodge Tomahawk on stage at the 2003 NAIAS.

No kidding! Do the clay modelers rough out the basic shape and let the computer "finish" it? Or vice-versa? Just curious.

Which begs the question, any speculation as to what platform any new Mustang be based on?

Mark Phelan, of the Detroit Free Press, has already seen the 2012 Focus. His comments, "The 2012 Ford Focus has stunning looks and features foreign brands can't match." I suspect that a pic of the new Focus will greet us tomorrow morning, on the front page, on both of the Detroit papers.

What's NY mean? This may be one of several design exercises for a future Mustang. The one that wins may look entirely different.

I was surprised, and pleased, they still did models in clay. Figured everything would be computer-generated today.

So who won the Mustang/Camaro YTD battle?

Not quite, at least for the Taurus. From a July, 2009 USA Today article, "Taurus is the first true Mulally Ford — shepherded from start to finish — since he hired on as CEO in September 2006. Engineers were assigned in June 2007, and he gave them two years: "I said, 'What if we go back and make the very best Taurus we possibly can? How long will that take?' And they said, 'Three or four years.' I said, 'I don't think that works for me. We need to get back in the game fast.' That's where the two years came from." Full article here: http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2009-0...rd-taurus_N.htm