theDuff

Finally! Thank you. I hate it when people get all worked up over mules!

First On Race Day! :happy feet:

All of your bad vibes from dealer service can probable be attributed to one thing: you never built a relationship with a dealership mechanic. You probably (I'm guessing here) only dealt with a "service writer". At your favorite independant garage you probably know your mechanic, or its the owner, or the guy who talks with all the customers also fixes all the cars. If you find a good dealership mechanic who has a wealth of brand knowledge and experience, build a repoir with this man, and always request him, you would never look back. The mechanic knows you will be a repeat customer (future money) and will likely bend over backwards for you, maybe even throw in some free service and or advice. A service writer ........... not so much. He's looking to roll your vehicle as quickly as possible and will have an 18 year old lube tech replace that chipped badge for you. A few of us on here are dealership mechanics, and we're damn good. So, please, leave the mechanics out of your dealership bashing. Sure, some shops aren't run that well (both independant and dealership) but everyone of them has at least one guy (ours has about three, maybe three and a half) that are very talented, and can fix anything...... on a Ford anyway.... :shades:

I'm getting sick of this. A dealership transmission specialist is way more likely to do an internal trans repair than an independant garage. (Unless of course the independant is a tranny shop named "trans plus" or whatever.) Ask me how I know. If the chain slips on the variators you might as well replace the whole thing. Hmmmm.... $4000 for a new chain and variators, plus filters, seals and gaskets; or $5000 for a new one with a Ford warranty. Plus, there is no way an independant has all the special tools just to split the case on one, or all the special tools to reinstall the case half. Trust me, its quite a contraption. About 30 pieces to each tool. No one should let an independant touch one of these things. I wouldn't even let them flush it because they might put the wrong fluid in which will cause failure. Again, ask me how I know.

I felt the same way. I have a Fusion Sport and think the "h-gate" shifter is far superior to paddles or buttons .... but after sitting in a new focus, I don't think they had room to allow the shift lever to move one inch to the right! The end of the shifter bezel is, literally, right up against the shift gate. They would have to widen the console which would impede on passenger leg room and is already fairly cramped. Every inch counts I guess.

Nah. All aluminum. It could be liquid cooled or not. Very expensive.

You wouldn't want to wait for the ST? Or do you prefer the sedan? Personally, I would want the extra horsepower. Maybe a year or two down the road, if the 1.6 eco is available, you'll get your wish.

You got it backwards. The only mount you can see in that picture is actually the roll restrictor. The other two are beneath the battery and to the left (in that picture) of the timing belt.

Protege'? Or is that the same thing? I was just contesting that the '98 Fiesta was not the first vehicle to have this, unless TRA means something else.

Nah. They're mounted to the subframe. It does have a roll restrictor mounted to the strut tower though. Not sure what "TRA" means, but the Escort has had its powerpack hung from the body since, at least, 1991.

That's a great idea! I'll do that next time its slow. You're not having a problem getting that payed, since they haven't been delivered yet? I did 10B20 on all the stock units, of course, but I figured I'd have a hard time getting 11-04-18 paid on a stock unit since there's no one to complain about it acting up, warranty period hasn't started, and whatnot.

They're selling as fast as they come in. I'd say we've recieved, roughly, 25 units. We have TWO on the lot, and two more just got dropped off last night. One is a 29K Titanium :eek5: It is badass though. You, literally, need to go to the dealer everyday to see one you might want. We had a loaded SEL hatch on the showroom floor for roughly eight hours before it was sold.

Its a lot easier to see in person.

Ford calls it a "parking brake".

I drove one yesterday to listen for a noise that wasn't there :rolleyes: The torque steer is there. Most noticeable from a stop and 3/4 to full throttle. Really though, you have to really pay attention. Its not like a ZX2 or anything. I didn't really have to fight it. I acually had to let go of the wheel to really notice it pulling. (It pulls right) This vehicle had awd. There is no way, in my opinion, that this vehicle should take dead last in any comparo. It is gorgious inside and out. The only nvh I was able to detect was wind noise at 80 mph. (It was very windy yesterday) The guy who works in the next stall over is 6' 6". He was able to position himself in the second row, then move to the third row and still be comfortable. I asked him if he could ride to Chicago in that third row (about a three hour drive). He said no problem. His head wasn't touching the headliner (about and inch or two left). He didn't have both knees on one side of the seatback in front of him. So two 6 and a half foot people could sit one in front of the other in the back two rows! I would be shocked if you could do this in the other five vehicles tested. I don't think you can do that in an Expedition! I'll check tomorrow. I really could go on and on ... the switchgear, the interior materials, fit and finish, how much better mft is now (I did every update at work for 10B20), the "gotta have it" factor ... but I'm sure everyone understands.

Isn't the stock price directly related to this?

SPI's were very reliable. Just change the timing belt every 100k and it'll run forever. I saw a few that dropped the intake valve seat but I would still prefer that engine over the zetec.

You get them in the door with 42 mpg's and they leave with an SEL. :shades:

According to their superbowl ad, Chevy's Cruze gets 42 highway. I thought they'd try to match that.

Oh c'mon. They upgraded the front radius arm bushings a couple years ago. What else could it possibly need. :sarcasm:

No, you were right. Just had a '10 in and it had an iron block. Funny the 2V was all aluminum. Guess the 3V hit whatever mileage target without an exotic block.

Not to beat a dead horse, but... They changed the plug design again in the '08 model year iirc. It has a 9/16" hex like the two piece plugs, but the socket I bought specifically for the two piece plug is not deep enough for the new design. Now I need yet another specialty spark plug tool! You guys wouldn't believe how many different tools I have for Ford spark plugs alone. Two (soon to be three I guess) sockets, helicoil installer kit, porceline extracters, porceline pusher, and a cordless 3/8 impact (I know it has more uses than spark plugs but it's the only thing that can get those two piece plugs out without breaking them and I wouldn't have shelled out the $350 for it had it not). Ok, rant over. I feel better now.

Sure about that? The 2V 4.6 in the Explorers from '02-'05 were all aluminum. I'm not sure about the '06 and up 3V.

Did you make sure the phone volume is up all the way? Sometimes there are seperate volume levels on a phone: phone to your ear volume, speakerphone volume, bluetooth volume. Try this. Call your wife using sync. When you know the call is going through, try adjusting the volume on your phone. Hope this fixes it for you and you don't have to make a trip back to the dealer.

Focus was primarily engineered in Germany, correct? That would be why we didn't see a bunch of Focus mules running around Detroit until the design was revealed. It wouldn't make sense to me if FOE is doing most of the work on the Esacape/Kuga. How many Escapes are sold compared to Kugas? Would traditional Escape buyers be okay with a decidedly euro one?