Captainp4

Sorry, my internet

Looks pretty cool, wonder if anything that small will make its way over here? With all the emphasis on one ford and world cars, they could probably import it and not worry about losing money on it if it doesn't sell that well. Though I guess that depends on if it was designed as a world car from the beginning with safety and emission regulations taken into consideration.

lol, you won't even be able to tell. I'll be doing a little over the limit, following safely, and staying in my lane.. :D edit: This is my form of civil disobedience. Screw the man!

... are we still talking mustang?

Maybe it'll be part of the GRWD platform if it ever gets going or is going or was going or..

I believe I did say I understand the txting laws, I limit myself to pretty rural areas or safer situations for that and it doesn't happen if there's traffic. I know, something unexpected can happen. I'll take my chances. The talking on the cell phone is what I don't get. I don't have both hands on the wheel when I'm driving and not talking, so what's the point of a hands free device? It's stupid and it's a law that panders to the lowest common denominator of dumbass that can't drive and talk at the same time. Kind of like chewing gum and walking down the sidewalk. I'll keep talking on my phone when I drive and just pay whatever ticket they decide to give me. As far as my attitude about my skills, I have a lot of experience and miles and most people that know me would vouch that I can do some above average things behind the wheel, not saying I'm Michael Schumacher, just that I'm not your average joe shmoe that doesn't know what the hell they're doing behind the wheel. This doesn't mean I still can't learn more, or that I can't become a better driver.

That and a lot less room in the car. Seems a little far fetched for a Mustang, maybe on a new ford supercar, but seems a little out there for a mustang....

I really don't get how people can't talk on the phone and drive at the same time. It's just like talking to a passenger for me. I see some people swerving all over the road, driving under the speed limit, etc, and it blows my mind because I don't do that when I'm on the phone and driving. Yes, I've been known to txt and drive as well, and there's a little lane drift, but it stays in the lane and I always keep my stopping distances safe and always leave myself an out on either side when possible, just a habit from driving with a trailer. I completely understand the no txting and driving laws, because it is kind of dangerous for people that can't do two things at once. Yes, someone will come and tell me that I'm a dangerous driver, and some study shows this or that, and blah blah blah, but I guarantee I'm still a better driver while talking on the phone than 90% of people out there when they aren't talking on the phone, just the nature of growing up around motorized vehicles and learning to drive in big trucks with big trailers, you drive well and you drive safe.

x a brazillion

I think this could be a great thing if done properly with a unique body for the guys that tow huge 5th wheels (though I read they aren't doing a dually, which doesn't make any sense with the target market..this thing needs to be the be all, end all of towing if they do it!). However, if it's a choice between this and a new lincoln flagship, a rwd sport-luxury, etc I think they need to get the cars done first and then if that works out they can give this a shot if they have some extra budget to play around with and can absorb a failure - though I really don't think it would be a failure. If you look at even the offroad world alone, the desert racers out in Cali, the amount of money they spend on their tow rigs and decking them out is astounding, not to mention the high dollar trailers, and on top of that the high dollar race vehicles there is a huge market for something like this. Then you have the retirees with the fifth wheel campers. Then the guys that are bombing out their diesel trucks running around "rollin' coal, yo!", as much as those types annoy the hell out of me, they have a lot of money and need attention and a Lincoln pickup truck will give them that! These types would get by with the F250 based Lincoln truck, because they generally don't tow much of anything, they just race their diesel trucks - so increased comfort, style, and power would be appealing to them.

Seems like there would be something in the ECU that could be reprogrammed to defeat the problem.

I know they already have a lot of engine options, but I think they could use a taller deck 5.0 (maybe somewhere around a 5.8) to compete with the 5.6-6.0 range from the other guys. Probably end up around the same hp level as the 5.0 with a better tq curve and higher peak tq number. Somewhat like the 4.6 and 5.4 combo. This could possibly be the base engine for the superduty as well. I also wonder if the 3.5 ecoboost will make it into the superduties or if it has the durability to move a truck like that around with a load. Though, with as big as the superduties are it might end up spooling the turboes so much you don't see any real world fuel economy increases. On the other hand, it has nearly the peak torque of the 6.2 and a much better curve. I think if they put the 3.7 and 6 speed into the older trucks it would walk all over the old 300 with the extra gears to get it spinning, but with the weight of the newer F150 compared to the older ones with the 300 it might end up being pretty close with a few thousand pounds loaded on a trailer.

Ah, that makes more sense. I would like to drive one of these, but I have no intention of buying one, I have to have a one ton for my work and towing needs, so I'm not sure if I should sign up for this or not.

Are they doing this at dealerships? If so, that Aberdeen location is probably going to be Hinder Ford.. Though, I have no idea how they would set up a "drag strip" in that area, it's very small..

Oh, I also owned an '00 F150 for a couple of years and had no rust issues with it at all (again with the salt and snow in this area).

We do snow plowing with, for the most part, one ton trucks. They are subjected to the worst of the worst when it comes to salt and abuse. They do get cleaned after each and every storm, but it's near impossible to get the salt off of everything. '99 and up and bodies have held up pretty damn well, the '00 has a hole in the lower drive side cab corner in the back and the tailgate on that one rusted to nothing and basically disintegrated (though there was some damage from landscape season before hand, so that probably allowed the corrosion to get started). The biggest issue we have with the superdutys is the lack of a drip rail above the window. With the window open and plowing water/salt/grime/mix drips right off where the windshield wipers throw the junk, right into the power locks/windows buttons and none of them work correctly on any of the trucks we have (3 with power lock/window). The 80-97 trucks (our main example is a '95 85k mile truck) lose the beds pretty quick on above the wheelwell and tailgates go. The frame is complete trash, the crossmember holding the cab up is rusted through, I replaced the rear shackles and hangers, etc, etc. I learned to drive in this truck and both dad and I are pretty attached to it, so we're having a hard time letting her go. I've been tasked with rebuilding her into a mud bogger/trail truck for dad, the rust is just relentless on this one though Broncos of any year loose the tailgate pretty quickly, and of course above the rear wheelwell, the floors on the '78/79, door jambs, on and on. I'm on my second body on my '78 and I still had to cut out a large amount of rust over the rear wheel well, but it is a trail only truck, I needed to cut it out for my 39.5x14" boggers anyway :shades:

You are correct, I was speaking of the '12 world focus I'm not a huge fan of the current focus in any of its forms, honestly.

lol, this should be a real ad....

Yeah, I've never been a fan of the sedan version of most of the smaller cars out, with a few exceptions (the WRX/imprezza is one I can think of right off the top of my head). I bought a mazda3 in hatch in '06 because I liked the style better. The zx3 and zx5 focii were far preferred and better looking IMO. The newest Focus, however, for some reason I think I like the sedan version better than the hatch! On the fiesta though I do prefer the hatch once again.

Yep, water under the bridge at this point, I just think of it when it gets compared to the wrong class of car in some of these articles..

It's kind of annoying that people are still comparing it's sales numbers to Camry and Accord. It sucks the way things happened that the Fusion ended up with it's name and the Taurus ended up so large. The fusion should have been named Taurus from the beginning and the larger sedan either a new name or something from the past as one of Ford's larger cars (galaxy maybe?). Not that it really makes a difference, but maybe Fusion (if named Taurus) would have picked up momentum a lot earlier and moved it's way to the top of the heap for sales numbers quicker due to name recognition.

How much weight does this new explorer save on the old one? I have a feeling that if ford had gone through and optimized the BOF explorer for fuel economy using their "1 percenters" approach coupled with the new engines, new transmissions, a more aero friendly body, maybe even an "active suspension" to get the ride height down on the highway for aero reasons (this one might be a little far fetched for a mainstream product cost wise), used high strength steal to get the weight down, etc they could have come very close, if not matched the fuel economy of the d3 explorer. It pains me as an enthusiast to see the explorer "neutered", but I do see the business reasons for it and sharing the costs across D3. Personally, I would have named it something else and let the explorer live on to move to the/a new ranger platform and produce a two version called Bronco, but who knows if that would be a sound business decision or not. All that said, I've never owned an explorer nor do I plan on owning one, so my opinion doesn't mean much in this situation. A new Bronco, on the other hand, to go with my '78 (rockcrawler/mudrig/trail machine big block tire smoking monster :D ) might interest me enough to buy me a new one assuming solid axled (or at least solidly capable and able to handle some big meats) and living up to the Bronco name.

With the power numbers and tow rating on the 3.5 ecoboost in the F150 I wonder if it will ever make its way into the superduty as a base engine maybe. My initial thinking is that it wouldn't be durable enough, but with the trailer rating on the F150 it makes me think it might be. Maybe a 5.0 ecoboost is a diesel alternative or 6.2 alternative. What do you guys think?

Oh yeah, I remember reading about "o-ringing" blocks when turning the boost way up on certain diesels - possibly that has to do with the head gasket seal, not real sure on that. I didn't read all the way through it, but how close to production specs do the motors have to be?

Maybe a thinner bore too for more cylinder wall thickness so they can turn the boost up?