Edgey

Ford is trying out a new "Omni Directional" seating alternative to the 3rd row seat. The passenger can chose how they want to sit and in what direction they will face. This has eliminated the cost of a 3rd row seat.

You Lie! That's a MKZ on that Mustang!

Sorry, I fixed it now. These images came from one of the Bold Moves episodes. This is the finalized production version of the car, it will not change substantially, particularly in its dimensions. Once we start seeing prototypes on the road, then we'll get a better sense of its proportions. I'm still amazed that Ford allowed this footage to get out, the whole car is right there and it's definitely not the concept!

I must have that! Even if I have to buy a GM to get it! I'm sure Ford will have a version in about 6 years, that's usually how long it takes them to catch up to GM gizmology.

Ha, those were actually quite amusing! The Mark LT actually has a stunningly gorgeous interior, but so does the F-150. I don't think the Mark LT is a terrible vehicle, especially since the truck it's based on is world class!

Does anybody have problems with a clunking sound coming from the rear suspension of their Focus sedan? My sister has a new Focus and she says she hears clunking at low speeds. Does anybody else have a similar complaint? I suspect this is not a mechanical problem, but a flaw in the design of the car. I've heard others complain about suspension noise in the Focus.

It's beginning to look like Ford is avoiding the 'one product fits all' approach by losing the 'stripper' model option. The Edge and Escape duo seem like a good example of Ford's attempt to provide an appealing option at every price point without harming the image of the more expensive products. The Freestyle and Fairlane may do the same. If you look at these sneak peak images, you can see that the Fairlane is a higher-end product and should cost a few grand more than a Freestyle. If Ford were to lose the Freestyle, they would have to cheapen the Fairlane to fill its shoes.

I'm amazed at what little difference the 6-speed transmission seems to make. Some of the cars ranked best in their class have 4-speeds!

Lets hope the Edge makes the list next year. No Freestyle eh?

I never really liked the Reflex, especially the front-end which looks like it swallowed a Fusion. I'm anxious to see Ford come up with an alternative to the razor grille, there's something about that design that is really bothering me. It's too the point where I will only consider the Mercury/Lincoln version of Ford products because of the razor grille design. Thankfully, certain vehicles have escaped it like the new Escape, but I'm not sure I can get behind something THAT generic.

Hey, you're preaching to the choir here, I'm just curious what sort of bad news we are in for. God knows such bad news will have an enormous impact Ford's public relations.

Can anybody here crunch the numbers to find out what sort of drop we are going to be looking at once the Taurus supplies are gone? How far down the totem poll will that drop Ford, behind Chrysler?

GM fans probably don't realize how good they've got it. They will soon have access to most of their companies global portfolio, from Australia to Europe. While Ford continues to isolate its NA operations to the point of extreme obsolescence.

The Focus Coupe is sort of dumpy looking...for a coupe. But I have a feeling it will service the market a lot better since it's a better compromise between style and function.

Indeed I meant Escape, not Edge. I'm cosntantly slipping on those names.

Yankee Candle was sold to whom? I know the wife is a huge consumer of their products, especially with that whole 'tart' concept. Anyway, was Aston Martin sold? Why haven't I seen a news article?

C2 is a good 4-5 years away so the timing is about right.

The Escape was based on the 626...so the Edge is really riding on some antique parts. I'm not sure it really matters, but improved drive trains would really help. A better body design would also be really welcome!

Hmmm, poor Mazda! Ford and Mazda design just don't work well together, especially the interior. It doesn't surprise me that there is no sheet metal differentiation since the expense isn't really justified now that Mazda has two other CUV alternatives. Actually, the Mazda looks a tad like a boxier Saturn Outlook.

I wonder if this means production of the Freestyle will be suspended for two months after the shutdown. Conventional wisdom would assume that they would need to prepare for the new model production in one big factory refit prior to the sedan dates, and then phase in the new Freestyle while the factory is running. That is unless, the Freestyle goes down a different assembly line, but that doesn't sound very flexible. While we are on the topic of Ford's peculiar handling of the Freestyle, I wonder if the cancellation of the Mercury variant has anything to do with Fairlane. Perhaps Mercury is getting a version of that? Perhaps the Freestyle will be phased out and they have cancelled plans for an extensive uprdate? Speculation is fun! Once the Fairlane was greenlighted, it seems Ford's plans for Freestyle changed. We haven't even seen a test mule that wasn't a Mercury. It's all a little peculiar.

The commercial is very clever, the silence (while the car is in the air) is what first alerted me to the commercial. You were probably watching ABC tonight? Anyway, the Plymouth Acclaim they trashed was actually in good condition. But I am surprised they chose to show a Chrysler jump starting another dead Chrysler. They could have picked an old Taurus, Contour, Lumina, whatever. The Dodge Nitro looks awesome. The first attractive Dodge in a long time.

Why is the Freestyle so much later? I assume the Montego also starts 4/16/07?

Well....No, I would never get an orange Edge. Actually, I'm not likely to get an Edge at all...but I'm sort of stuck with the name now. I really like Silver Birch...or black.

We've owned several Lincoln LSs, a 2000 and a 2004. They substantially softened the suspension and handling of the LS in the 2003 update. They gave it gobs more power, but handling REALLY suffered!

Nah, it's purple, don't want that! I'm uneasy with trendy colors.