wescoent

My experience indicates otherwise. Not to mention, add ANY precipitation to the mix, and your M3 is in the ditch choking on my exhaust.

I knew about this a few weeks ago, but I wanted to wait for the press to get wind of it. Basically, Ford's investment in RWD cars depended solely on whether Australians REALLY wanted them. Guess what... they do not. Ford's market research has indicated that Australian customers would prefer extra feature content and refinement at a given price, versus RWD. Did you wonder why the 4.0L I6 got a reprieve? It was because Ford didn't feel there was any point to re-engineering the Falcon for a RWD-mounted 3.5L V6, because the architecture will be dead soon anyway. You want RWD? Too bad no one else does. I'll take my Audi RS4 against any piece of junk RWD garbage you can throw at it.

http://www.lincoln.com/futurevehicles/ Check the video... towards the end, they show the MKR Concept, and another MKR-looking vehicle next to it... what IS that? Coupe?

WAY ahead of you guys

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/09/2010-fo...eage-23-34-mpg/ Unstoppable...

The answer is really quite simple... it's the global economy. As long as Americans continue to demand lower prices, and as long as we're willing to do business with countries with lower cost of living and the consequent lower labor cost, there will CONTINUE to be downward pressure on American wages. Not complicated. A very long time ago, American leaders concluded that a prosperous GLOBAL economy would be the BEST way to create and preserve global peace. A world of seperate, siloed economies, as it was for thousands of years beforehand, breeds war. In effect, we are trading some of our wealth for peace, both in DoD budgets to act as "The Big Stick", as well as lower wages for average Americans compared to a generation ago. Our standard of living improves, for sure, but we just need to work harder for it to ensure that WWIII never happens. If you prefer a world of isolationism and constant war, so be it. I mean a REAL war, not this fake police-nanny business in Iraq. I mean full-on, country versus country fight to the death war, as it was for thousands of years before we embraced a true global economy. I'm not saying whether this is right or wrong... it's just the way things are. If people don't like it, they're quite free to elect Ron Paul and his disciples. Nothing's stopping them, so why don't they?

Leasing, in effect, is just paying for depreciation. If you want a new car, and want a new car on a regular basis, there's no other way to go.

That third link almost made me laugh out loud. So, a study in the early 1980's indicated a high liklihood for children to make more than their parents, and a study around our time now indicated that it has slowed down. Once again proving that you can make statistics say anything you want, as long as you selectively leave out variables. Our friend at the Chicago Fed failed to adjust for inflation. If you made 10% more in 1980 than your parents did in 1960, you officially moved DOWN several economic classes in comparison. People today are capable of moving up in economic class as much as they are willing to work for, and this is the bottom line. State college is very high quality, and very affordable. If you're not willing to assume the "risk" of debt, then why should you feel entitled to the reward?

EU diesels are not clean. When gas was 4 something, and diesel was 5 something? Yeah, okay.

Ma Bell INVENTED the cell phone

The truth lies somewhere in between socialism and capitalism. If you get too close to either side, you end up with "undesirable" effects on people. People have a choice to be a commodity, or to be a resource. An interesting story my friend in HR tells is the different value systems that developed in Europe and Africa. In Europe, people were abundant, and land was scarce. Therefore, land became the most valuable thing in European society, and thousands died in wars over it. In Africa, land was abundant, but people were scarce, and therefore, people became the most valuable thing, hence the rise of slavery. It is not merely an issue of rarity, but economic utility also comes into play. I have a friend from college who farted a lot, and relatively, fart-gas is rare. But fart-gas has no economic utility, and therefore, he got laughed at instead of paid for it. Therefore, a person must, in their own way, make themselves rare from the perspective of economic utility. The same is true for land. What possible incentive does a new business have to locate in Michigan? Here in New Jersey, we have a government fairly hostile to business, yet our economy continues to be hot, because of our proximity to New York City and all of its unique people and businesses. What makes Michigan and its people UNIQUE and VALUABLE?

Ford is studying a 2.7L V6 as a low cost alternative to a 2.0L EcoBoost. This engine does not exist in the real world. There is no Lincoln compact.

There are actually THREE issues. Fiesta EcoNetic does not pass US emissions, by a long shot. They would need to redesign the powertrain, and suck a ton of mileage off of it to make it meet the standards. Imperial Gallons are not US gallons. EPA test cycle is much more aggressive than the UK one.

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/will121808.php3

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/09/autoblo...-fusion-hybrid/ Yowzers.

40 years ago? When the US was the only industrial game in the world and GM was the world's largest company?

When was the last time they allowed an outright failure?

What Ford needs is a new Thunderbird. Stretch the Mustang by 3" at the B-pillar, wrap it in T-bird sheetmetal, put in an IRS out back, soften up the seating, slap an extra $3,000 on the price, and you're good to go.

No strings attached? Seriously? Limits on executive pay, a massive dilution of shareholder value, an agreement to modify mortgages, and CLOSE government scrutiny of banking operations? I'd love to hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth if GM had to undergo the same treatment. The government is yet to allow an automaker to go down... can't say the same about the banks.

I suppose by the same logic, BMW just killed the 3-Series because its refresh didn't match the 330hp Infiniti G37...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1228171440...hs&ru=yahoo -Mulally will cut salary to $1 if Ford ever needs to use the federal line of credit -GM to reduce debt and cut brands -Chrysler to seek alliance with another automaker New Ford Products: -Battery powered commercial van by 2011 -Battery powered compact sedan by 2011 -Plug-in hybrid model in 2012

Every single bank you mention, with the exception of Citi, is dead or run by the government now. A "bank-style" bailout would mean a shutdown of Chrysler, a government takeover of GM, and Ford getting billions to cherry pick assets it wants.

Unless this is T6... in which case, you ARE looking at the next Ranger.

-Mustang Special Edition (GT500?) -Lincoln MKT -Ford Fiesta NA-spec -Ford Focus Concept -Mercury Focus Concept -Ford Taurus -Lincoln MKS EcoBoost

Like with the Dodge Ram rebadged as the next gen Nissan Titan?