wescoent

Euro front: US front:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/08/out-n-a...-goes-shopping/ Looks like someone is nervous about the Ecoboost Flex...

Huh... Ford is advertising a product? Since when do they do THAT?

Damn... looks like they're going for award winning again. Cannot wait to see more.

*blink* When did THIS come about?

The exterior and interior do not share a single visible panel from the 09 to the 10.

Had the Mustang Mafia not shot out the kneecaps of the Thunderbird product team, the 3.8L SC would have been MUCH more potent, and it would have blown the Mustang out of the water. Even in 1996... the Thunderbird was scheduled to get the Cobra DOHC V8, but again... Mustang Mafia took it out.

The blue 5-door is Euro-spec, but the red car is the one we're getting... the only difference is the front clip design.

Seriously. Am I the only one here who remembers driving cars built between 1978 and 1988? A 12-second 0-60 time was a dream come true for some of those heaps. Yet I don't recall ever having merging problems on highway ramps.

No nav... just OnStar turn by turn voice directions.

And people fear what they do not understand... my point exactly. Ford can't be expected to educate a whole generation about the benefits of RWD just so they can sell a Falcon here. That money could be better spent on improving the Taurus, which does almost everything the Falcon does anyway, and Americans are comfortable with its FWD and AWD already. People will quiet up about performance once they drive an EcoBoost Taurus. Believe me... I used to be "give me RWD, or give me DEATH!" until I drove my first performance Audi. I've been an AWD convert ever since. Not only can I hang with much better RWD cars in performance, but I can also drive it in the winter.

It's not just an issue of fuel consumption. Americans are scared to death of RWD, even with all the electronic nannies. I know quite a few people who were considering the 300 and Charger before they found out it was RWD. The next problem is that with AWD, the price becomes very high, and people then stop considering it altogether. You can still get into a Fusion I4 automatic for about $24,000 nicely equipped that gets great mileage and is snow-worthy.

300C and Charger have dramatic style going for them, as well as AWD. If we import the Falcon as-is, it's DOA. That's my point.

I did so a few weeks ago. Genesis 4.6 vs MKS AWD. Genesis was faster in a straight line, and that was pretty much the only advantage it had over the MKS, in my opinion. MKS felt planted and neutral in handling, where the Genesis... not so much. Interior quality, fit and finish, and overall feel was like comparing a 1992 Lexus LS400 (Genesis) to a 2008 Lexus LS460 (MKS). Interior noise also left a lot to be desired in the Genesis. Overall... Genesis is a decent first-effort by Hyundai, but it was obvious who had been building luxury cars for 50 years after driving them back to back.

The Panther Mafia isn't hard to understand... they're just like the punk managers of dead-end neglected P&Ls. They cry and moan and piss over EVERYTHING else the company invests in, because in THEIR eyes, ANY investment made outside their little P&L is money that COULD have gone to them. Americans DO NOT WANT a midsized-large mainstream-styled affordable RWD sedan. The Pontiac G8 proves this beyond a shadow of a doubt. The Pontiac G8 IS the Ford Falcon in every way, yet they won't sell no matter what Pontiac does. The segment is DEAD. The only reason the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sell is because of their dramatic style (far more so than the super-vanilla Falcon or G8) and available AWD.

I like the clear gauge pods on the concept... they look almost like champagne glasses. Clear pods with adjustable colored backlighting would make for a nifty Ultimate package option.

Wait a minute... I recall seeing that Malibu dash somewhere... about 14 years ago... OH SNAP!

What competition? The Camaro is going to weigh 3,950 lbs in V8 trim... that's 500 lbs more than the Mustang GT. Challenger R/T can't even keep up with the current Mustang GT. Can't the Bullitt/Shelby GT already hit 4.9 seconds to 60? That engine tune will be standard in the 2010 Mustang.

Adaptive cruise is critical. Once you have it, you never want to go back.

We'll see. The Flex got vetoed by the woman I live with, because she doesn't dig the giant box look, and I want to see what BMW is doing with the X5 when the time comes to buy.

During the New York International Auto Show, myself and some people from work took the afternoon off to go see the cars. These folks (as well as myself) are the usual European-biased brand snobs, whose idea of a Lincoln is the black Town Car that ferries us around the city. Money is not an issue. They were absolutely CAPTIVATED by the Lincoln MKT concept. They loved the grill, clean sides, and gull-wing like taillight assembly in the back. Their only question was whether or not it had all-wheel drive. This is a multi-purpose luxury vehicle. For my friends, I know exactly what they would do with it. During the week, their wives would drive their kids around in it. This is a six person vehicle, so assume each family has two kids, plus the occasional need to cart around other kids. During weekend evenings, it's a vehicle for dinner dates. During some weekends, it's a vehicle you'd fold two rows of seats down, and use to drive to upstate New York or Pennsylvania to go pick up antique furniture with. Obviously, there are MANY vehicles out there that satisfy these needs. Lincoln mentioned the Audi Q7 and Mercedes-Benz R-Class. Frankly, any one isn't that much better than the others, so these vehicles are largely sold on STYLE. Whether you like it or not, the Lincoln MKT is a VERY stylish vehicle, and people with money will buy at least 20,000 of these a year. I was bouncing around the idea of ordering a Lincoln MKS, but I realized that while the MKS is stylish and useful, I simply don't want to drive a vehicle that large without the utility of a crossover or SUV. Now, I'm bouncing around the idea of a Lincoln MKT. Things I'd want: -Smooth ride, secure handling, and vault-quiet interior -NVH should be smooth as butter -Quality interior feel -EcoBoost engine with at least 340hp, with some kind of manual-shift feature -AWD -Vista Roof -Adaptive Cruise Control -20" rims That's all I'm looking for. Anything else would be icing on the cake, and I'd like to keep it under $65,000 please.

Production back end is somewhat less raked...

http://www.the2010mustang.com/

http://www.leftlanenews.com/lincoln-mkz-future.html

Holy bodykit, Batman.