UltimateX

I think it looks sad, perhaps some prozac would help it.

And they haven't had 5 to 8 years to rust out yet.

Too bad that they didn't include the Taurus X in the review. I would have liked to see how it compared.

The European tests are much more optimistic than the US counterpart, even before the US adjusted the number down for 2008. I would like to see the results of Euro cars run under the US tests.

That is want I thought when I got my Taurus X, but I don't notice it anymore.

So do I, I figure the product will be of higher quality, the pollution to manufacture the product will be lower and the money will recirculate in the US economy helping to pay our taxes and the wealth generated means people can afford my products (indirectly, we don't sell retail). I also try to avoid Chinese products at all costs. I have been burned too many times buying low quality Chinese products that wear out or self destruct after a very short time. The seem to be precisely engineered to self destruct right after you throw the receipt away. As the saying goes, "Only a rich man can afford cheap tools", I think it applies to much more than tools.

Looks like you can now get a Limited with 7 seats and a power liftgate. Last year the only way to get the liftgate on a Limited was to order the Ultimate package which included the heated captions chairs.

Was she blond by chance. Just wondering.

That is all fine and good if you have small children, but unfortunately a lot those third row are designed for 3 children or zero teenagers. I just brought a Taurus X because I have 2 kids aged 11 and 13 and I wanted a vehicle where I could put extra teens in the back. 8 seat belts mean nothing if there is only room for 5. A vehicle is a least a 5 year investment, so the question you really should ask you self, is not do my kids fit back there now, it is will my kids fit back there in 5 years. To put that in prospective, in 5 years I will be packing my son off to college. I think the Flex is targeting a slightly older demographic than you realize. Now that we don't have car seats and we don't need minivans and we are looking for hipper vehicles. Of course in our children's eye we are inversely hipper.

I'd rather it be tough for the rescuers than easy for the coroner. Easy coffin to coffin transfer is not what I am looking for in a car.

Well Honda's large car Accord may be a little bit of a gas guzzler, but you can always move down to there mid sized offering. Oh right, they don't have a mid sized offering. Can someone explain to me how Honda decided to walk away from their bread and butter mid sized car segment?

There is an advanced option that you can turn on, that will eliminate all the voice prompts and make the system much easier and faster to interact with.

There is so much light pollution in this area, you can see surprising well in the more commercial area, with all the street lights and parking lights. I miss being able to see the stars at night.

Maybe it is the type of drivers that drive Honda and Toyota especially. They often times do not seem to be in tune with their appliance, I mean car. Every time I see this, I cringe, it is usually near a well lite area like a shopping center with lots of street lights, and I have seen them drive as much as a mile or more this way.

I have been noticing a lot of cars driving around after dark lately with their headlights off. I live in a urban area with lots of street lights, so lights are more for being seen that for seeing. Inevitably they are either a Honda or a Toyota with the electroluminescence gauges. Usually I see a dark car drive by with a brilliantly light gauge cluster visible as they drive by. In the old days when the gauges were dark and hard to read, you turned on the lights. These types of gauges seem to be more trouble than they are worth. They have to be actively lite in the day and when you are forced to turn on the headlights because of rain, the auto dim and become difficult to read. Is it just me, or are these an answer to a question that nobody asked? At the very least automatic headlights should be requirement for these types of gauge clusters. I wonder if this sort of design negligence could lead to some sort of legal action against those manufactures in the future.

The Taurus X without the console has a hole in the carpet to accept the console that has a plastic insert covering it. All you need to do is remove the console and order the insert. There was another post discussing this and they even identified the part number that needed to be ordered.

I finally picked up my factory ordered Taurus X Limit on Monday. It is dark ink blue with the stone interior and chrome wheels and it's absolutely beautiful. Why isn't Ford advertising this vehicle, it has the room of an SUV, the practicality of mini van and the low slung look of a wagon. I am not a fan of the bloated SUV look and would not be caught dead in a mini van and my previous vehicle was a Sable Wagon. For those of us out there with a family, it seems the prefect blend utility, practically, style and fuel efficiency. Ford you are sitting on a winner and you don't even know it.

Remember when Saeco/Canondale was riding super light bikes about 5 years ago and they actually were epoxying brass weights to there frames as a protest/marketing ploy.

I have a Colnago MXL with Record, a Trek Portland commuter and a Trek 8500 with XTR. Easily 10K to 12K worth of bikes. Throw in cloths, tires chains, wheels, headlights, tools etc. and I would guess I have spent 20K to 25K over the last 12 years. Back when I was a little younger, a little leaner and lot poorer, I had a $2000 dollar car, a $4000 dollar bike and I was putting 4000 miles a year on the bike and only 3000 miles a year on the car.

Ford sales of the Taurus X were up 45% year over year for December when compared to the Freestyle. I agree however that they do need to do something about advertising.

The sales figures are in for December and the Taurus X is up 45% compared to the Freestyle. The Taurus was down slightly (I didn't calculate the percentage). Amazing considering how little they spent.

Comparing the Taurus X/Freestyle to the previous years Freestyle, there is a 45% increase. Not bad for a neglected step-child with no advertising.

Actually it is a very good review. They gave it a four star rating where as the 08 Highlander only got 3 stars. They are rightly critical of Ford marketing or lack there of. They praise the 3rd rows room, handling and criticize the paltry towing. Here what they have to say about the Highlander. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/reviews/t...r-sport-review/ A few moments behind the wheel of the Highlander and you’ll know that Toyota’s chassis gurus have sacrificed all possibility of dynamic satisfaction to the gods of Novocain. The steering is light enough to turn with your eyelashes (closed course, professional driver), yet so slow your mind tends to drift before a major change of direction can be achieved. The brakes are effective enough, but so soft in their operation you expect to hear a pneumatic exhale when you’re done. Even in the "sport" variant, body roll is as bongo board bad.

Cerebus did basically get Chrysler for free. Look where it got them. The lesson here is: "How to make a little money in the auto industry. First start with a lot of money."

"The truck that's changing it all", Ya, the engine, the transmission, the tailgate, the driveshaft.... Very soon they will have changed it all.