markfnc

Why has Chrysler been number 1 in mini vans forever? Innovation and good ideas that moms like. 1.) First mini van period 2.) probably first with cup holder 3.) first with seat teathers for baby seat 4.) first with built in booster seat for toddlers 5.) first with multi cup holders 6.) fold and go seats 7.) etc etc this new one looks good, and will continue to sell. Even though the market may shrink, there is still enough of a market to keep a factory busy with 2 shifts. just like the explorer can do. the Fairlane will get stuck down due to the non sliding door. Every time our 5 year old opens the doors I thank goodness it is slding as he woud continue to smash the next car.

What worries me about sales is the cost. I did a build my ford on the web today and for another $1K I can get the Freestyle with the 3rd row of seats and more room. Yes, the Edge is better looking, but still... The the common person who likes the look of the Fusion will say I can get a nice equipped Fusion for $18k, the Edge is a Fusion Wagon (even if it is not), but it costs $25-26K.

Here is another in the area that is really big, and new. http://www.wakefieldfordonline.com/ Maybe 25-30 miles from the previous one.

Crossroads Ford in Cary, NC . at the time it was built 4-5 months ago, largest indoor showroom. http://www.crossroadsford.com/ web site , look at that show room

Well here in NC I can't think of any dealers in the Raleigh Durham area + 50 miles that has not been completly overhauled or is not brand new in the past 5-10 years. Maybe some small town here and there. That is the same with all brands not just Ford. Closed the Pontiac / GMC dealership, and they moved to the Cadillabc /Olds when Olds went out. Closed Jeep moved it to the Chylser Dodge when Plymouth went out. etc etc

I think it is a good idea. Mercedes did that in the 70's & 80's. I would have had a 100,000 badge on my 1992 Ranger, 1994 Taurus, and 2001 Taurus Wagon. Currently at 35,000 on the 2005 Freestar.

I know they want saftey. I thought they should all be given a stock body to be put over the roll cage. Then add rear spolier /front air dam to increase or decease speed to make them competative. Even if the body was thin sheet metal like they use, but ini the exact shape and size of a real "Fusion", "Monte Carlo", "Charger".

that is the key. making the most cars / trucks in the same factory, operating 24/7 3 shifts. lowers factory overhead per vehicle.

thanks for the advice. I was not thinking of the back of the head.

I am in NC and have yet to see one on the road. The big ford store has about 10 on the lot up front.

I have a 5 year old. I can't find any saftey ratings for the king cab ranger with the sideways little seats front or side crash. Do you think it is safe for a 5 year old in a booster seat to sit back there?

Ok, i'm stupid. What is the Galaxie? Is it the new name of the upcoming Fairlane? We love our freestar. Big gas tank, good mileage. We like the 3rd row folding flat, or turning around for tailgating. we like the saftey ratings, how it drives, it is quiet. we had a 2000 taurus wagon before we got the 2005 freestar, and loved the taurus too.

1983 was when Motor Trend lost all credibility. http://www.renaultusa.org/english/press.html

I was looking at Explorers yesterday, transmission made in France? What is that about?

Glad you got that of your chest, hope you feel better. Landslide is a big word, and there is no way that a 1 vote Senate majority is a landslide.

what you were watching was the "monster jam" series. Big Foot is not part of that, and is kind of a one man show.

Here , Here. Our son is 5. No concept of the door swinging open. We have a Freestar and we would go to the Fairlane, if it had sliding doors. Otherwise, it is just the Freestyle again. It needs to look different than a mini van on the outside (the Fairlane does), but have the practicality of the mini van on the inside. The Freestyle does not. The Freestyle has the 3rd seat, and it does face forward so it is a step up from our previous Taurus Wagon.

I agree with the original post. Be it Bush, Kerry, Gore or fill in the blank, it always amazes me what bad public speakers they are. I am not a speaker in my job, but i took speach in college, and some of thier speaches would maybe get a "C" at best. I remember the 2000 election debates, and thinking Gore had been in public office for 25 years and Bush not as long, but I never heard so many "uhh, ahh, etc"

If the Fusion is indeed "not connecting" then it seems dangerous that all /most future Fords are supposed to look like it. I don't think I have ever seen a Fusion ad on TV. I have seen that Freestyle ad on Grey's Anatomy. I don't know if I've ever sen a 500 ad.

I worked 4 10's for 3 years, and loved it. At this point the union needs to be looking at any way to make the company more profitable.

check out these station wagon stats from stationwagon.com Quote... 12. What was the biggest station wagon ever made? The best answer to this question came from Mark Sadowski, so I've quoted it here: "In the days of custom coach work wheelbase length was the accepted way of judging the size of a car. Now that automobiles are built with considerable front and rear end overhang this is no longer a sufficient category. The 1951 Chrysler New Yorker Town and Country, at 131.5", had the largest wheelbase ever used on a station wagon. Close runners up include the 1947-1948 Buick Roadmaster Estate (129"), the 1939-1941 Packard 120 (127"), and the 1971-1976 Buick Estate, Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, and Pontiac Safari (also 127"). Weight is also a good indicator of station wagon size, but now that we live in the days of weight saving materials this too must be considered in light of other evidence. The following figures are for the three seat wagons. The heaviest wagons of all would seem to be the 1971-1976 Buick Estate, Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, and Pontiac Safari, with the 1974 Buick and Oldsmobile taking the honors at 5182 lbs. shipping weight each. Other contenders include the 1974-1977 Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Polara/Monaco ( the 1975 Chrysler Town and Country weighing 5050 lbs.), the big GM wagon's slightly smaller sister, the 1971-1976 full-size Chevrolet (125" wheelbase), with the 1975 Kingswood weighing 5036 lbs., and finally, the 1969-1978 Ford and Mercury full-size wagons (the 1975 Mercury Colony Park weighing 4878 lbs.). Overall body length has become more of a factor in judging car size only since the 1950's when "longer, lower, wider" became the mantra of the day. The longest station wagons of all time would seem to be the 1971-1976 Buick Estate, Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, and Pontiac Safari, with the 1975-1976 Buick nosing out her shorter triplets at 231.8". Other noteworthy vehicles include the 1967-1973 Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Polara/Monaco ( the 1973 Town and Country measuring 229.6"), the 1974-1977 Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Polara Monaco ( the 1976 Dodge Royal Monaco measuring 229.5") and the 1971-1976 full-size Chevrolet station wagons with the 1974-1976 models measuring 229". Interior volume has become the prime determinant of automobile size only since the E.P.A. began publishing its nifty consumer guides in 1982. But therein lies a problem. Most of the truly huge station wagons seem to have been built before 1982 ( in fact up until 1978). However, the E.P.A.'s figures are largely derived from the product of headroom, legroom, and interior width (shoulder room, I think!?!). This knowledge, combined with the figures derived from a 1976 consumer guide which I examined at the local public library shortly before they threw it away has enabled me to come up with the following interior volume estimates. The station wagons with the greatest interior volume (passenger volume plus cargo volume) would seem to be the 1971-1976 full-size GM wagons with approximately 184 cubic feet of volume. Other leading wagons are the 1974-1977 Chrysler Town and Country and Dodge Polara/Monaco (177 cubic feet), the 1991-1996 full-size GM station wagons (170 cubic feet according to the E.P.A.) and the 1969-1978 full-size Ford and Mercury station wagons (169 cubic feet). The preponderance of information suggests that the largest station wagons of all time were the 1971-1976 Buick Estate, Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser , and Pontiac Safari, with the slight edge given to the 1974-1976 Buicks." If you think you have some documented evidence that shows the "biggest" wagon you can find in any category, e-mail us and let us know; we'll post it here for everyone to see. On a related note, what is the smallest station wagon? My best guess is the Austin Mini wagon (for sale in the USA starting in 1959-1960). Wheelbase was 80 inches; overall length was 130 inches. Height was 53 inches. In person, they are tiny....I saw the one that the Eastwood Company owns in a parking lot Maine. .....unquote

I got a 1994 in late 93 Taurus as a company car. I rear eneded someone one, and later was rear eneded by someone else. After all that and 155,000 miles, the car still had no sqeaks or rattles. Still looked like new (of course with the wrekcs it had 2 new paint jobs), and interior was still nice. When I left the company in 1996, it was transfered to the office mail car, and was still going in 1999 the last I knew. I had a 2001 Taurus Wagon, we drove that until 2005 it had 125,000 miles, but had developed $$$$$ transmission problems. So we traded for a Freestar. Right now I may be chaging from a company car (Dodge Durango) to an allowance. I can get a Tarus SEL with leather, sun roof with 8000 miles for $13,000. I would take that deal and drive it fro 200,000 muiles over the next 4-5 years. Does anyone have pictures of the last one coming off the line yet?

I don't care about the name change, but they should have put the Fusion /Edge assembly at Chicago or Atlanta, and the 500 / Freestyle at Atlanta /Chicago. I would guess Ford was hoping that sales of Fusion /Edge + 500 / Freestyle would total or be greater than the Taurus. The company needs to maximize the use of individual plants to work 3 shifts at 1 plant rather than 1 shift at 3 plants. it reduces plant overhead, as it is spread out over more vehicles. Share platforms/ frames to reduce plants prodcing diiferent frames .

Here is an article from MSNBC today. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15338425/?GT1=8618

I still think the down fall of Mercury /Plymouth both came in 1976/7 (?) with the introduction of the Mercury Monarch - Ford Granada and the Plymouth Volare - Dodge Aspen. Previous to this Chyrsler had the Valiant and Dart, and Ford had the Maverick - ?. To that point the cars were the same underneasth, but looked differnt. With the new cars in 76/77 the only real difference was the grill.