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Sixt9coug

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Everything posted by Sixt9coug

  1. I looked up Sunset in my color formula software from work. We have formulas already available so that's good. Reading the formula it's black, with some of the Xirallic pearls it there. Mostly green pearl, and some of the blue too. From what I can make of it, just picture a slightly greener version of Tuxedo Black. Similar cuts of the pearl, so the effect will be similar. Just a slightly different hue.
  2. I feel like I'm repeating myself here but it wasn't just one disinterested salesperson. Ford dealers - 1st one - Had none on the lot, didn't even bother to try to sell another. No offer to follow up, call back or anything. 2nd dealer - Didn't have a properly equipped one on the lot, however, they did have one to test drive. Gave some idea of options, took their phone number, Uncle's email, and my Aunt's email and said he would compile what was available and follow up with them. Dealer never called, emailed or returned phone calls. 3rd dealer - Through AAA's auto buying program. Talked about what was available but quoted a higher price than the AAA rate. Immediately lost a chance for a sale with that. Lexus dealers 1st dealer - Tried to push a sale in a color combination that my Uncle did not want. He took their info and promised to follow up after searching for what they were looking for. He never called back, just had excuses when he was called, and was just an unreliable salesman. 2nd dealer - Did not have the car, but said he would look into what was available and get back to them. He was the FIRST salesman to actually follow up on that promise. Found the car, got the sale. I think I said it before, but I bought my Ranger from Ford dealer #2 in 2009 and had a much smoother experience. It still sucks but whatever. It's done now.
  3. They actually did go to two different Ford dealers. One prominant one in Long Beach, then one in Cerritos. Dean offered help as well, but by that time they were already looking at the Lexus.
  4. The initial Lexus dealer they looked at didn't even have their inventory listed on the site. However, it's one of the largest Lexus dealers here in SoCal. The Ford dealers were just as bad as the first Lexus dealer. The only dealer that got it right was the one that got the sale. Customer lets them know what they want, dealer follows up, dealer finds a car, customer buys car and is happy. It just took way too long to get to this point, and it's not Ford nor Lexus that's at fault here. It's the shitty dealers and employees that can't be bothered apparently to do their job. It's a shame though, as even though their new ES is a nice enough car, I still find the Fusion much more visually distinctive and exciting overall. Their new Highlander is nice enough too, but still. Another family member recently bought a new Explorer however, so I will get to check that out this weekend so it's not a total loss.
  5. Alright, I figured it was a time to update. Please, no personal attacks on them this time ok? Just stating what happened ok? Family members still tried to chase down a Fusion with the same dealers they initially worked with but still never got calls back after initial conversations. Eventually, they decided to try the AAA Auto buying program to track down something. They filled out the form for and waited. A day or so later, one dealer called with some information, and they talked price. Well, they said that the dealer was only quoting sticker price, and not the AAA rate. I assume this is close to X-Plan pricing, so after that experience, they decided maybe it wasn't meant to be with the Ford after all. So off to the Lexus dealers. They went to a Lexus dealer near the Ford dealer they were looking at. After some looking, my Uncle decided that the ES was more what he was looking for so he wanted to get one. He wanted gold (blech) with a tan interior (meh). Well, Lexus of Cerritos.... I mean, some unamed Lexus dealership said that they didn't have any gold ones in stock, and that it wasn't a popular color choice. However, he had a silver/black one in stock. Uncle does not want that and he doesn't like black interiors. He asked them to try and find another one in the color combo he wanted. Well, kind of like the Ford dealer, he waited and got no return call. He waited more, and no return calls. So I'm at their house last week fixing a printer problem, and I hear him on the phone with Cerritos Lexus.... err... Lexus dealer that shall not be named.... and he's still trying to get it through to him that he doesn't want a silver car, but the dealer basically refuses to find a gold one. So he has had enough with them, so he calls another dealer. Newport Beach Lexus is called, he gets a salesman, and that guy says he can look through local inventory and see what he can find. He will then call back the following day with details. Guess what? This salesman actually follows through, he actually calls back and finds what they have been looking for. Two days later Uncle has a car in his driveway. So after this, all the hassle and after a month of actually trying to purchase a car, they succeeded. I'm still bummed it's not a Ford, but they honestly believe right now that it was more the particular dealer they were at. They are still open to a Ford in the future, but they have sworn off of any dealer in the Cerritos Auto Square completely now. The Ford and Lexus dealers there were their 2nd and 3rd bad experiences with that auto mall. The first being a Honda dealer a few years ago. It sucks two potential sales are lost because of a bad dealership experience. Two sales? Oh, I neglected to mention. The hand-me-down Camry from my first post was given to my Uncle's brother instead of my cousin. So my Aunt decided to add a 2013 Highlander to their household along with the new Lexus as well.
  6. Black Tuesday is still naturally fermented. As are Sam Adams Utopias (this year's release is 29%!) Unlike other cheater beers in the ABV wars that utilize freeze distillation to get into the stratosphere. BrewDog, I'm looking at you.... However, seeing that it's still yeast, malts, hops and water at it's most basic level, I still consider it "beer". A beautiful, malty, sweet delicious bourboney stout.
  7. and here I was gonna offer you a very, very fine Imperial Stout.... lol. I know absolutely nothing about fine Vodka. However, I have 5 friends here... They range from 18.2%abv and 19.2%abv. It's a polar opposite from Vodka, but a bourbon barrel imperial stout is a fine, fine drink indeed.
  8. Tim, yeah Uncle didn't want the black interior, but my Aunt is ok with it. So I am sure that it's not a big deal. It's not a deal killer at all. In fact, my Aunt is the one that wants the white pearl color, Uncle wants gold (yuck) but my Aunt is overiding his decision there (thankfully, I think it's the new Fusions worst color). You are also right about the Highlander with the leather, it was a dealer done item and I'm pretty sure it probably went out to a local shop to get the covers. The issue with the wheels was a similar situation, they would want the other wheels, but even as a dealer added option they were told it couldn't be done, which was strange. BrewfanGRB - No worries. if it makes you feel any better I was almost ready to delete my last post to you too. However, I fell into an episode of Breaking Bad and kept typing while listening to it in the background. It just kind of kept typing and I would have hated it to throw it all away. I understand your point, but of course, I feel differently. No harm, no foul. If you are ever in SoCal, I will gladly buy you a beer. But none of that sissy light stuff..... I'm a beer snob after all.
  9. I'll talk to her and see if they've made any more headway this week then bring it up as an option. She's not gonna try to screw anyone over on the price, she knows what they sell for and she knows they are a new model so there's exactly bumpkis available for rebates and stuff.
  10. I'm not anti-Toyota but I've flirted with buying an FR-S after my disappointing experience with a Mustang GT rental, however my 6'0 fat ass looks weird in them. Also I've owned nothing but Fords, I'm Ford loyal yet I'm not anti-(brand X). Being loyal to a particular brand does not equal being anti-something else. She is assertive, I've seen her in action. They left the first dealer because they were out, so they had nothing to show, yet they also made no effort to see what else might have been out there. Driving a couple of cities over to check out another dealer that DID have one in stock though I know means that they are both totally not serious about this whole thing of course. I mean, I know when I'm set on buying a Toyota in the first place the first thing I do is waste my own time by pretending to look at a bunch of other cars first. They bought the last new car 8 years ago. From the same dealer as the other two. The Highlander and the Camry were special order. The Corolla was the only "off the lot" deal. The Highlander was purchased with leather which wasn't available on the option package they wanted. They know how to order a car. It's not their first time, and regardless of what has been said on here before, buying a car 8 years ago wasn't all that different than it is today. Especially when you consider that they bought an Asian car.... you know.... the ones that pretty much are responsible for the whole "Package 300AB" stuff that's the norm in the industry. Yet beyond that fact, they managed to get the car equipped how they wanted, even though particular options weren't necessarily available on their option package. So obviously, they don't have a problem paying for something even if it's a dealer add on. They research, they know what's available, and they are disappointed that the dealer is not even entertaining certain options as a dealer add on, knowing full well it's not going to be free. As far as this - "But how is the salesperson supposed to get them a vehicle that might not exist?" tidbit........ Well... Step 1 - Find out what the customer wants . . . . . . . We are still waiting for the salesperson to get to that point. White pearl, 2.0L, Titanium*, Spoiler delete, Pioneer stereo, preferably no ambient lighting but IIRC, that's standard ont he TItanium. The only asterisk is that they MIGHT be interested in an SE if they can option it similarly to the Titanium, however, that's something that would be better determined while sitting in the car. But maybe that's asking too much of the salesperson now. Apparantly their only function now is to sign the contract and hand you the keys.
  11. I've thought of that too. He's somewhere in OC right? I think I know which dealer (not many OC dealerships off the 405 after all...), and his isn't the one that's been discussed here so he's still ok by me lol.
  12. It's probably more of the principle of the sales tax increase rather than the number itself. It's not the raw numbers of the money, but they don't want to pay it in tax. If they are going to have to pay $75 extra for something, why pay it in tax when it can be put towards something more tangible? Like the car itself maybe. My Aunt is very, very assertive by the way. By nature of her role at work, she is. She also believes customer service is important. Keep in mind, they aren't asking the salesman to do them a favor here, they are asking him to do his job. Hell, I do a sales position at work. If I get a lead on a new account and don't act on it, what then? What if the customer goes to the competition? Toyota is potentially losing a sale here due to lack of product. However, Ford would be losing a sale due to service. Which is worse long term? After over 20 years of Toyota ownership, they have the chance to finally win someone over and the chance is being blown. As far as effort on there part, they've been to more than one dealership already. How many do they need to go to just to find a salesman that's willing to work with them to find them the car they want? They aren't buying another car to save gas money, to keep up with the Jonse's or to replace a car. The 97 Camry is being handed down to their youngest daughter, so the Fusion would be an addition to the fleet. That's all.
  13. BTW, I live in Southern California and when i went looking around at the Focus when it came out I stopped at the same dealer I bought my Ranger from. They had 8 in stock. 8. One of the larger Ford dealers out here. Not even 10. When I bought my Ranger, they didn't have one in stock at that dealer either. All they had was basic strippo work models. Eventually, we found one at a dealer 50 miles away and they worked out a trade. Even in more of an urban area, it's still not 100% that you will find anything even close to what you want on the lot ready to take home the same day. EDIT - I just checked their inventory now. They have more Focus' now (38) but only 9 Fusions. 3 of them have the 2.0L, and none are Titaniums so that would be a no-go.
  14. Both of them are professionals and work for Boeing. I suspect their respect for Mullaly has a huge reason of why they want a Ford rather than a Toyota this time around. Money isn't the issue as they plan to pay for either the Fusion or the Lexus in cash. Yes, customer service is the issue. My point for this thread is that despite the huge strides that Ford has made with it's product, even when a customer is coming from a competing brand, at least in this case they are still treated like the dealer is doing them a favor by selling them the car. As for the salesman that did not have the car in stock to begin with, offering to follow up, search local dealers, or even make an effort to help make a sale would have been appreciated. Rather, to be basically brushed off puts a really, really bad taste with people especially when they have never bought from your company before. (yes, I am aware dealers are independant of Ford, but when they know the dealer experience is going to be poor, people are less likely to return.)
  15. But as I mentioned in the first post, they want the Fusion, not a Camry. In fact, they aren't even considering the new Camry as an option. They are also not biased against Ford, they have simply been loyal to Toyota. Loyalty to Toyota is not mutually exclusive with anti-Ford. My Aunt and her husband have purchased their cars from the same Toyota dealer in the past and have had good experiences. It's not even about haggling them down on the price, so the comparisons to "someone else will come along and buy it" are unfounded. They realize and have planned to pay around $31-$33K on the new Fusion. However, the lack of attentiveness, interest or follow up on the part of the salesperson is killing the experience for them. That was just at this one particular dealership. The other dealers they went to "received only one Fusion and it sold right away" with no real interest to help them further from that point. They would like to buy the car before the year is over. Lovely CA passed a sales tax hike after the new year, so they would like to get a deal done then. When time is of the essence, the salespersons seem to show very little in the way of a sense of urgency. If they order a car, and it takes 8 weeks to get here, will the official sale take place now, or when the car is actually delivered? If it's the latter, then they will have to pay the higher tax rate so that might not work. Basically what they are looking for is a 2013 Fusion, likely a Titanium model with the Pioneer radio, and spoiler delete in pearl white. My uncle would prefer to not have the ambient lighting or a moonroof (he thinks the lighting looks childish). They considered the SE model (whichever is the just sub-Titanium trim), but they like the Titanium wheels better (the lack of being able to choose what wheels you want on the car these days bothered him, but wasn't a deal breaker). It doesn't seem that hard to do, but the lack of effort on part of the dealership bothers them.
  16. And it's not going well. Here's the situation. My Aunt has been a very loyal Toyota customer for the last..... well, since her 1985 Tercel. Currently her houshold has an 97 Camry, an 03 Highlander and an 04 Corolla. All three of them were bought new, and they obviously hold onto their cars for a long time. However, it is time for her daughter to start driving so they decided that they want to give her the 97 Camry, which means they will need something new to add to the fleet so her husband can drive. After first debating a new Lexus (likely an IS) they decided that they really, really liked the 2013 Fusion and they waited for it to come out so they can take a look. After calling around to find out that most dealers had a short stock, they finally found one at a local SoCal dealership. They made an appointment to go check it out, and they came back with a few impressions. Pro - The 2.0 Ecoboost "was a rocket ship" with onle a 1mpg penalty over the 1.6 - They love the looks of the car - Price is right in line of what they expected. $10K cheaper than the Lexus they were looking at. Cons - Husband wishes he could get an interior color other than black - Husband wants to special order with different wheels, but he has been told "it can't be done" by the dealer. When they bought their previous Highlander, they went to the dealer and they were able to option out that car to their liking. They basically got a 4cylinder model loaded up with just about everything a Limited model would have, with the exception of the fog lamps. They liked that they were able to do that. However, he seemed a bit bitter that he is told that he can't get the wheels he wants. Gripe number 2 (which is a really big one for him) is that they are trying to buy this car in a hurry. CA sales tax is going up at the beginning of next year, so they are in the market to buy before the increase. They told this to the salesman, and he mentioned he would check stock and availability for what they had for the car. He would also put together and email him some information so he can see what's available for the 2013 models. They agreed to this, and the salesman said he would have this info to him by Tuesday (a couple of weeks ago now). So far? Nothing. He has not had any follow up from the dealer and now he's pissed. No calls, no emails, nothing. My relatives are very customer service oriented people. One of the reasons they have bought Toyotas in the past was because of the service they have received at the dealership level with helping them get the car they wanted. However, their first time at the Ford dealer they have left unhappy, even though they are enamored with the car itself. So right now, they are looking back at the Lexus IS instead. I'm trying to convince them to check out a different dealer, or to push them back this way. They still love the Fusion, but even these seemingly minor details really, really irk them. Service matters, and they feel like they are being brushed off for no good reason. I'll see if they come around. After all, they only have about another month before they want to pull the trigger with a purchase.
  17. Hertz rents them for $125 a day before taxes, insurance, airport fees and whatnot. I scrounged around online a bit and found a coupon code for them that wound up with me paying about $130 a day AFTER the fees, taxes and insurance were all included so it wasn't THAT bad. Not cheap, by any means, but not terrible either. It was a 4 day rental so it was $523 out the door. They rent the Camaro SS and Challenger R/T for the same price as well, and if you want a Camaro SS convertible, they do those too. I don't think they rent the GT convertibles though.
  18. I drive my 94 about 65 miles a day during the week. It's a stick too and I don't find it a pain to deal with. It's pretty much a daily driver except for the weekends though. The GF likes my Ranger more. Even in my SoCal commute though, I don't find the manual to be a problem. To those SoCal folks, I take the 91-->57--->60 freeways every morning. Being a 1994, it's not perfect, I mean, it's almost 20 years old now, but it's still a ton of fun. I need to lower the damn thing though. It sits way too high.
  19. I suppose the million dollar question then is, what makes a Mustang? The 2013 was a nice car. However, it felt more along the lines of what a modern Mercury Cougar would be more suited to than a Mustang itself. I've only owned one Mustang, my 1994, in all years of my car ownership. I have however owned 4 Mercury Cougars. They were all larger, more refined, and more suited to the touring aspect rather than the sporting pretentions of the Mustang. Two cars, two seperate identities. Where I feel Ford has lost me on this car is that due to the compact product offerings in todays world, the overlap and seperate niches than must be covered by one car now may attract new buyers, retain some and lose others. I feel I belong in the last group. As great of a car as the new GT is, it doesn't say "Mustang" to me. I feel I would like the car more if it wasn't as wide, if it was a tick shorter, the window openings were lower and the front end wasn't so damn high (my girlfriend couldn't even see over the dash very well while riding in the passengers seat at 5'3). I'm 31 years old. I remember fawning over the 1994 Mustang when it came out. I remember being giddy like a school girl when the 99's came out and my Mom actually rented one and I got to try it out. Both of those felt right. I grew up riding in the back seat of Moms '74 Mustang II and Mom's first new car was a '96 Mustang. I've done restorations on a '65 and '67 Mustang as well. Friends of mine have owned Fox's (including an aquantance that owns a Coyote powered '86 notchback). I've been around Mustangs of all sorts and the new one feels like it's 1971 all over again and the car is just way too big for it's mission now and trying to be everything to everyone all over again. I hope the new one is a bit smaller, and I might even be able to deal with added refinement. I would like to love the Mustang again instead of merely like it. FWIW, I'm curious now to drive an FR-S now to compare.
  20. I hated to make the comparison for fear of hate and ire, but off idle around town, with the automatic the car really, REALLY reminded me of an F150 while driving it. Higher in the revs it was much more entertaining but.... well... yeah.
  21. My Aunt has been a die-hard Toyota loyalist for... well..... let's put it this way. She had an 85 Tercel. Followed by a 97 Camry. Then her daughter bought an 03 Corolla. Then the family now has an 04 Highlander. WIth her husbands car (the 97 Camry) getting a bit older now, they were thinking about getting a Lexus. However, after taking a look at the new cars that are coming out, her husband decided he wants a 2013 Fusion. He loves the car and as soon as they hit the lots he wants to check them out and possibly put this family into their first domestic car in over 20 years. That's saying something. Don't screw it up Ford.
  22. It had a 66 Impala for a good chunk of the film before they ended up in a Yellow/Green 69 Dodge Charger. Running from the cops through the California walnut groves. Yee haw!
  23. I HATED the side window louvers. They were HORRIBLE to live with. I did not mention those because well, yeah they are a dealer add-on thing and I know that without them the car would have better visibility. The wing was bad too. It cut probably 20% of the rear windows view.If I bought one I would forgo the stripes. In fact, If I was gonna buy one, it would be a GT with a manual trans, Brembos, SYNC, leather, spoiler delete, no stripes and the 3.55s. So basically, the go-fast goodies and a plain wrapper. Hmm.... basically it would be the 2013 version of what my 94 looks like.... minus the P71 wheels.... As far as the 2013, the steering was great, and it was fun to dial through the menus to change the steering feels from "sport", "comfort" and "normal". You really did feel a difference. You mentioned brakes..... well, I thought the brakes were a little iffy to be honest. My 94 with the Cobra front brakes seemed more confident. I am running larger and probably slightly more aggressive tires though so that's probably not really fair. Plus the 2013 can get the Brembo upgrade too so... ehh.... it can be dealt with. I thought the trunk was a good size. We got 2 duffel bags, two laptop bags and a cooler in the trunk of ours with some room to spare. Not bad. I went into this last week with high hopes of possibly talking myself into buying one of these cars and somehow, I really came away thinking that my 94 is "more fun" to drive overall. In fact, my Mom has been wanting a new Mustang too recently. However, I took her for a drive in the rental and she even told me today that she thinks she's gonna wait to see what the 2015(?) has in store. She thinks the 2013 is too big for her. (especially when I parked it next to her '02) This is coming from a woman who has had 3 Mustangs already and she wouldn't want to drive anything else. As far as the market.... if you are in to old car chase movies, this is the market featured at the beginning of Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. As part of our trip, my buddy and I ran around the walnut groves of Linden, CA and went through Sonora, CA in search of a few of the filming locations from the movie. A nice little side trip after our week of brewery hopping. HOPping...... get it? yuck yuck yuck
  24. I, of course, also have a 69 Cougar Tim . The weight of the new Mustang wasn't really noticeable. They are around 3,600lbs iirc, and that's not toooo bad in today's market. It's only about 100lbs heavier than my Cougar (3,520) and 200 more than my Mustang (3,400). I know the size issue has been covered, but after getting a ton of seat time in this one the whole "bathtub" experience of the interior really came through. The car was actually even pretty hard to see out of when backing up, although not anywhere near in the same league as the last Camaro I was in (dear god, you'd think that car was mid-engined with it's rear sight lines).
  25. 6'0 and about 245lbs. I'm a big boy. Headroom oddly enough wasn't a problem in the car as I've heard in other reviews. Although a telescoping wheel would have been nice I still fit behind the wheel ok. Hell, we put about 1,200 miles on the over 4 days so I got plenty of interior miles lol
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