guyatherton

I saw that - I like the blue and red as insert colors but do not want my center stack to be in those bright colors. I wish Ford would allow the silver or black finish to be options rather than force people to either go for black leather (I assume white contrast stitching) or buy extra the silver/black interior pieces and then get them fitted.

Does anyone know if the second row bench moves for and aft? I ask because I test drove an SE today and was very impressed but could not get the second row to move - huge space for second row passengers and I wanted to move the seat forward to increase third row legroom but couldn`t find out how (nor could the salesman). Is it possible?

You make a valid point about Honda/Toyota realising differences between the two regions. Some companies do make it work though. Mazda, Subaru, BMW and MB have essentially the same vehicles in both Europe and North America.

Thanks for clearing up the coffee case, although having any hot liquid between your legs (120 or 180 deg C) is not a good idea and there are plenty of frivilous law suits in the US.

I agree during the time period you mention reliability (not quality in terms of fit or finish) were not the best. After 2005 seems to have improved. Anyway this is not a VW forum and I don`t own a VW. The main point was that European products (in this case Ford) are good and worthy of import to the US.

a) I live here in North Carolina - American enough for you? B) the woman had put the hot coffee (any other kind back then, before iced coffee became popular0 between her legs as she drove - she should take personal responsibility for being so stupid c) I am not generalising - to say all VW's in the US are crap is generalising. VW's have issues in Europe but their reputation would suffer (like the big 3's have) if they kept making cxrap. Why is it that Toyota has less than 5% market share in the UK. People there value quality, design and riving fun - hence Vauxhall, Ford and the German makes are popular and rightly so. Lets get back tot he matter in hand - Ford of Europe products are on the whole good and there will be some market for them. For those people who just want a car to go A to B and do not care for style, design innovation or fun then there are Toyotas to buy.

I am not saying VW sends crap to the US maybe as the previous poster said the attitude of US consumers is to moan more when there is no real cause to (US known for its tendency to sue for no cause - hot coffee at MacDonalds for example!) and also that US consumers do not look after their cars as much. That is probably why Toyota hardly change the Corolla from generation to generation because once it works they don`t want to risk sending out something new which is likely to have a higher failure rate. In Europe cars are revised often - think BMW 3 series and with each generation you have first year issues. Toyota plays it safe by offering essentially the same product for decades. The Corolla is still on disc drums (unheard of in Europe). So the bottom line is cultural differences, so maybe European Ford products won`t sell well in the US. The US consumer will miss out.

I agree VW has bad reliability in the US but in Europe their rankings are better (about average). There image would take a hit if reliability stayed low for a prolonged period - much like the Big3's image took a hit because of the 70'2 and 80's. I also don`t think having VW's built in Mexico helps them quality wise.

In most seven seaters the rear seats are really only child friendly so the S-Max is no worse. The S-Max would be a good fit because you have the option of a relatively fuel efficient seven seater (2-4 adults plus children) or your only other choice is the Flex (less efficient and more expensive I expect) and the Expedition. Edge is fine but if you need those extra seats (even occassionally) then it loses out.

Quality isn`t really just or even mainly reliability. Quality is fit and finish and the Mini definetely deserves its alledgely high price. It has quality materials and is well put together. That is the reason why Ford of Europe products in part cost more than NA. The quality of plastics and the fit is just better in Europe than America because consumers there care about those things more. Just the way it is.

The S-Max seats seven, so it offer something the Edge does not plus it is sufficiently different to the Flex to have a market.