Schpark

Thanks Fordman and Intrepid...

Can you please provide some instructions on how to filter by Forum? I can't seem to find it.

With the 6 speed manual available as well!

Nevermind.

You seem to have forgot that going from FWD to AWD costs more than a set of winter tires. Plus with winter tires the summer tires last longer. So net, yes you will save money with FWD and winter tires. I have also been on icy roads where no one could get going and I motored away in my Focus with Michelin X-Ice XI-3's. Prior to the winter tires that car with normal all seasons was the worst winter car I have ever driven. It was downright scary. The Flex showed almost as much improvement.

I live in MN and bought a FWD Flex to save on gas and reduce complexity. I put some winter tires on it and I we are good to go. My wife really likes not having to deal with "tire slipping techniques" to turn a corner. The only thing that would cause it to get stuck would be deep snow that would also get an AWD Flex stuck.

My garage door opener has a function to disable the remotes.

I had it worked out before I stepped into the dealership. And as I stated I went with their first offered price. Can't get any quicker than that.

I had a relationship with a salesman that since retired so I had to find a new one. My method gave me an idea of how each dealership behaves and I am happy with my choice. I will give them the first shot for my next purchase. They did not try the monthly payment scheme or say come on in and lets see etc. They answered the question I asked and provided prompt responses to any clarifications I requested. They did not try to steer the exchange which was refreshing. All I need from the dealers is to give me their price. I can determine on my own whether to take the 0% or rebate etc. I understand not everyone is like this. For me $500 is not negligible.

I don't want to haggle or play games but I don't want to get screwed either. So what I did was email 4-5 dealers saying I wanted their best price and would place a factory order (I gave them the exact details of what the order would be). I ended up with quotes that varied by more than $500 for the dealers that answered, 1 that wanted to play games and would not give a price, and 1 did not respond until too late and also sounded like they wanted to play games. (I already placed the order). I went with the low bidder (I did not try to extract any more as it was a reasonable price) and it was low key and painless for both sides.

Unless there is an absurd additional dealer profit line on the window.....

That's one of the reasons we got the Flex since we could get heated cloth seats.

I'll take 1 and 3 then. Nevermind. I thought this was a pick any two proposal. i do not think you meant it that way.

Schpark, on 16 May 2014 - 2:30 PM, said: Perhaps I wasn't clear. I get 22 mpg average. I get about 26 traveling at 70-75 highway.

Wow. I am getting 22 on a 2003 Taurus with the 3.0 Duratec, how does the newer 3.0 Duratec get less in the Fusion?

Nice. I was thinking more along this line. No, I wasn't. Yes I was. http://www.mindspring.com/~mfpatton/sketch.htm

I feel like we are watching a Monty Python skit.

There is one piece of useful information it gives; it can show the slight drop in rpms when the torque converter locks up. I found this useful for troubleshooting when I got a P1744 code on my Taurus. Watching the Tach I could tell that the torque converter was actually locking up.

And it's awesome. But the wife rarely lets me drive it.

Disconnect the battery first.

I still have a working one (last time I fired it up was years ago). Astrosmash was the best!

Search for "Sync my iTunes"

Is there a ambient temperature range where it does not engage regardless of engine temp? It would make sense to disable it say below 0 F and above 90 F (or around there) to allow the interior heating/cooling systems to maintain cabin temps. imagine being in stop and go traffic at either extreme.

What if you are trying to get your car to warm up in sub-zero temps. Stopping the engine is not going to help.

Unfortunately your breath is not low humidity. I've picked up my kids after activities and they fog up the windows with their breath/sweat even in a warm car. If you shut the doors and let the car sit you will get frost on the inside of the windows unless you let it reach equilibrium with the outside ambient. I usually open all 4 doors to let this happen quicker and then shut them after a short time.