stpatrick90

The motortrend review seems much more positive. http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/hatchbacks/1007_2011_ford_fiesta_review/index.html I also find this intriguing, "If you want to have some real fun, though, slot it into L. Traditionally standing for Low, on Ford's latest automatic transmissions it actually represents "Lowest possible gear at the current speed." On the road, it means the transmission will hold a gear all the way to redline and even leave it if you let off the gas. Conversely, it will also drop to a lower gear as soon as is safe for the engine in order to give you as much power as possible. Out on the autocross, this feature proved absolutely brilliant, always dialing up the gear needed right on cue."

If you are talking about the new PI then I think you are wrong. During its release FMC stated that is had just as much if not more backseat room than the CVPI.

I was just looking through the new Order Guide and I noticed that the 3.5L V6 didn't get the upgrades seen in the Edge...I was wondering if the numbers in the Order Guide represent what will actually come to reality or if there is still a possibility that it will get the upgrades?

Are you that ignorant as to believe FMC is desperate with the D3 platform? Why would they have any reason to be desperate? The platform has proven to be extremely safe, capable, flexible, and reliable. The D3 is a great platform and the sooner you break your rut of insulting the better for it you will be. What is your problem with the D3? Is the only reason you hate it because in your eyes it is the nail in the Panthers coffin? Have you ever even driven a D3 car? I don't know if you have ever looked at the differences between the Civilian Impala and the Impala PI. The differences between them are far and few. An upgraded cooling system, suspension components, steel wheels, and a partition don't suffice. The new PI from Ford goes much beyond all of that. Also you can't ignore the origins of the Impala platform. The W Platform dates back to 1988!!! The D3 truly only dates back to 2005 when it was reengineered from being the Volvo P2 platform. So you have the Impala's 22 year old platform going against the new PI's 5 year old platform...time truly does represent progress. Also you have to look at how flexible each platform is. The W Platform has never seen duty in anything larger than a Full-Size sedan. On the other hand the D3 is capable of underpinning Full-Size CUVs. The durability between the two platforms is astronomical. And to call the Impala PI an outright failure would be incorrect as well. The Impala wasn't ever meant to take over the industry but rather take a share of it which it did. I concede that a uni-body car is harder to work on, however it isn't like the new PI will have any BOF competition....as I mentioned the Charger PI and Caprice PI are both uni-body as well. They all will be equally disadvantaged. Does it matter that the CV was the average family sedan back in the 70's? You do realize that is 30 years ago. There is a reason that no other brand produces a BOF sedan anymore! It just isn't reasonable to continue to invest in a platform that is that old. Plain and simple. And it isn't anyone's incompetence that the Panther hasn't been updated. The market went elsewhere. Plain and simple. As I mentioned already there is a reason that no other automaker makes a BOF sedan and don't think for a second that is because they wouldn't be able to compete with the Panther. The market for BOF sedans died a long time ago. Ford's other BOF offering are in segments that require such technology. Trucks and SUVs are inherently BOF for obvious reasons. Cars don't have to be BOF and shouldn't be and that is why the Ford has never invested in updating the Panther, not because of incompetence. Stop being so bitter about this and maybe you will be able to enjoy some of the more modern vehicles out there.

Well given the fact the current gets better gas mileage than the V6 Fusions right now makes me hesitant to believe that is the case. Belly up? Hardly. Ford just knows something about economies of scale. They have 4 different vehicles currently based off the platform and soon will be adding the 5th. The more ancient the Panthers get the less they share with any other vehicle program at FMC. That means over time it is going to get more expensive to produce the Panther. Not to mention that the Panthers need major revision to meet future safety regulations and also need entirely new powertrains and you have a situation in which that platform makes no more sense whatsoever. I don't know what you were watching but as has been mentioned numerous times FMC benchmarked the CVPI when designing the new PI and met or exceeded the CVPI in every regard. PERIOD. No ifs ands or buts. I will admit though that the new PI will be arguably more difficult to service probably which will be one of its biggest draw backs but the Charger PI and new Caprice PI are also going to be more difficult to service than a CVPI too. There is something that all those other FWD cars have in common though...they were just your average FWD family sedan with steel wheels and a few uprated pieces here and there with some lights thrown in to top it off. The new PI undoubtedly has more uprated and stronger pieces than any of those prior FWD examples. The new PI is also crash test rated for the 75 mph rear crash test just like the CVPI, something that no one else claims or contest. That demonstrates how serious Ford was with this effort. And remember there is always AWD available too. The CVPI was a great car in its time, no one questions that. Unfortunately the world is moving in a direction that exploits the CVPI greatest weakness, its age. Nothing can last forever.

I grew up around German cars and they are extremely reliable if you maintain them. That means doing routine maintenance on a regular basis and making sure everything is in optimal working condition. The worse German car I have had the displeasure of experiencing is my wife's VW Passat. That thing is a nightmare. Granted that may or may not be attributed to the fact that my wife has one of the greatest propensity of hitting things. It doesn't matter how much you maintain the Passat because she will invariable find a new animal to hit or ditch to slide into and break something. Like anything the more you take care of it the longer it will last. I think that is something really lacking in today's society, people are instilled with responsibility to take care of things. That is unsettling that last line sounds a lot like something an old person would say.

http://www.leftlanen...erly-sales.html I personally find this interesting because many people here try and claim that Luxury is a purely RWD business and this demonstrates the contrary.

The Panther is dead. Plain and simple. The sooner you come to terms with that the sooner you can move on. Are you really so naive as to believe that FMC will go bankrupt the year after they close STAP? That is a laugh. The CVPI is a great car in its own right but it frankly won't meet modern day safety standards (ie Stability Control/Curtain Airbags). Granted those things can be retrofitted, however at a great cost. Then there is the whole problem that the CV has no sales outside of fleet and even that is in jeopardy as taxi fleets look to more fuel efficient models. So essentially what FMC has is the Panther platform that is so old and out of date that it shares little to no components with any other FMC vehicle. The Panthers use the 4.6 which is now being replaced (along with the 5.4) by the new 5.0 and 6.2. Combine that with the fact that the transmission is also now unique to only that vehicle. The fact that the powertrain is being phased out in the FMC lineup is further reason to cut the Panther rather than revamp it at a huge expenditure. By the time FMC would implement a new powertrain and the needed safety items you would be looking at a car that cost just as much as the new PI that is coming out, and would it be any better? The business case behind making the new PI off the D3 is undeniably the smart thing to do economically. There is no denying that any of the D3 vehicles are safe and as robust as can be. I currently have a D3 Sable and that thing is a tank and arguably has more usable interior space than a CV or GM in my experience. The fuel efficiency is phenomenal, I regularly seeing 31 mpg on the hwy and I have AWD and I drive with a lead foot. Also in my experience the trunk is much more usable than any Panther, and that is large part because of the huge flat floor un-intruded by a spare tire. So what we have already right there in the D3 is great safety, and efficiency in both size, space and fuel consumption. So what FMC smartly decided to do from a business standpoint was PI-ify the D3. If you would have paid attention to the presentation you would have noticed that FMC smartly benchmarked the CVPI in every aspect and either met that benchmark or exceeded it. That last part is in important because that means by simple reasoning we can conclude that the new PI is going to be better than the current CVPI because it meets or exceeds the CVPI (and yes that means the 75 mph rear crash test too). PS you probably should know this, but the Charger PI is not too reliable. PSS the Caprice is probably going to be some stiff competition but I feel that the volume is going to be constrained being imported and all.

I suppose but I can definitely attest that in northern regions of the US there is what seems like more 4matics and x-drives than the regular straight RWD versions. I ultimately thinks it depends on where a person lives. I know that I would always want AWD. I live in a region that it isn't uncommon to get more than 6 inches at a time and I hate to say it but that is the ground clearance of a lot of cars and when a car has to drag itself through snow there is no alternative to having AWD/4WD. And while yes in most cases it is more than possible to get places in regular RWD or even FWD vehicles but the added benefit of AWD/4WD makes coping with those inclement weather situations that much easier. That and I have a lead foot so I like to be able to pull away from a light with gusto that only can be delivered in an AWD/4WD vehicle.

And those are the volume leaders in MBenz and BMW lineups? I get what you are saying but I think high performance cars are not a place that an automaker should focus when they are trying to recreate themselves. They should focus on building mainstream cars first and foremost and in that regard AWD is the best compromise.

I think it is naive of anyone to think that Ford won't engineer the new PI to be as good or if not better than the CV. During the presentation it was clear that Ford used the CV as a bench mark with which they wanted to meet or exceed in every regard.

For some reason I keep thinking Kuga...

http://blog.caranddriver.com/ford-c-max-spied-testing-around-town-but-why/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+caranddriver/blog+(Car+and+Driver+Blog)&utm_content=Google+Reader Car and Driver claim that this is the Ford C-Max. For some reason I am getting this sense that it isn't but can't put my finger on it. What do you all think?

Very true. My initial excitement with the notion of buying this has worn off. I have realized that with the way I drive that the transmission would grenade itself. Shows how shitty my day was when this was the most exciting thing haha...I guess the Edge or MKX are still proving to be the front runners.

Yes and no. My wife and I want to replace her Passat this summer with a new vehicle. We have been leaning towards the Edge and MKX because of the greater cargo room but largely that is the only reason. The only other thing we are looking for in our next car is AWD as the car that is being replaced has AWD. We have already looked at the MKS and Taurus SHO and we liked both of them but thought it would be nice to try something different other than another sedan so that took us to the Edge and MKX. But if this is a viable and reliable option come this summer it will definitely be under consideration.

My only question is how long will the transmission last? Ford engineered the transmission to only withstand so much. I thought that 350 lb/ft was the limit? If they the transmission can truly withstand this over the longterm I would be more than willing to spend the extra $4000. I am looking to replace the Passat this year and was leaning towards the new MKX or Edge but if the MKS can be boosted like that...

I really like the design. But my only gripe is that the c-pillar is really big which might inhibit vision.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583998,00.html

True it has happened before but I don't ever recall it being ever on this large of scale before. This is really bad for Toyota. Together the Camry, Corolla, and RAV4 are the top three selling vehicles for Toyota.

I have had the displeasure of driving a Lumina from that time period and is is exactly like you say. It feels quick at slow speeds but at anything above 50 is like the power is absent. The slowest car I have ever owned was and still is my 1990 Jeep Cherokee which isn't exactly slow.

I am for some reason really fond of it. I think in a darker color it would be even better. It is different and in my opinion that isn't a bad thing

I am astonished that the Mariner performed so poorly in their testing. I just had a 2009 Ford Escape V6 AWD for a rental following having a RAV4 V6 for a rental the week before. The RAV4 was a bit quicker but road worse in my opinion and exhibitted worse road noise. However my biggest surprise comes from the handling performance of the Mariner because I can honestly without a doubt say the Escape I had as a rental was noticeably quicker through the corners! I mean there seemed to be a bit more body roll but it was much more resistant to plow wide and allowed me to carry the speed more. I do have to say something though...the Escape stability control system would intervene abruptly if you went anywhere near the brakes in a hard corner, especially compared to the RAV4's stability control system. However if you drive smoothly you go much quicker in the Escape.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/2010-terrain-vs-cr-v-rav4-tiguan-mariner-outlander-forester-grand-vitara-comparison-tests/

I have a question. I have looked at all the press releases and such for the new MKX and can't find whether or not the MKX will continue to have standard FWD or will it be getting now standard AWD given the power increase? EDIT: Nevermind I went to the Lincoln website and went to the MKX's new page and it will be standard with FWD afterall. That thing ought to provide quite the tug at the wheel.

I have considerable seat time pulling with a F-150 with consistent 7-10% grades and can honestly say that I have never encountered a problem where the truck was unable to maitain or accelerate (granted not quickly). And this is with a 2004 Ford F-150 with the 5.4 and the old four speed. This advertisement is clearly biased.