grbeck
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Posts posted by grbeck
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1 hour ago, rmc523 said:
I guess Subaru buyers are different....maybe they'll like this?
Subaru has a lot of brand loyalty, so I can see current owners trading for this. It's not as though the current ones are selling because of their handsome looks.
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I would have thought that Chevrolet fares better among the ultra-wealthy, as it sells the Corvette and Suburban/Tahoe. Although I see more top-trim-level F-150s than comparable Silverados.
The high-end editions of the F-Series and Expedition are popular with business owners who want to drive something nice, but don't want to drive up in a high-end brand that could alienate paying clients.
Honda isn't on the list, which isn't surprising, as around here it is very much a middle class/upper middle class brand. It's not driven by the credit-challenged, but also not driven much by the rich. At times the parking lot during school events looks like a Honda dealership with all of the Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys and Pilots. But those people are neither rich nor low-income. I'm guessing Toyota makes it because of the Prius, Sequoia and Land Cruiser.
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If I recall correctly, this one was cobbled together quickly after Cadillac saw the Lincoln Aviator.
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The Equinox sales are surprising. I haven't seen that many on the road around here, and buyers in this area aren't adverse to buying Chevy trucks and crossovers.
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Don't give them any ideas....
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14 hours ago, jpd80 said:
This was inevitable given Ford’s desire to make vehicles more profitable
but instead of addressing spiralling costs, Ford chose to add even more
complexity by adding compulsory features that drove up both costs
and prices.
Im tempering my criticism of Ford because of what’s happening over at VW,
the consequences of their poor judgement and loss of return buyers makes
Ford’s problem look minuscule in comparison. Which is why I think that there’s
a chance that Ford can transform itself, that seems to happen right at the brink..
Ford always seems to be at its best when its back is against the wall.
The company has more trouble handling success.
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2 hours ago, akirby said:
It is frustrating. But I’m afraid they would have to clean house and start from scratch to be cost competitive and develop entirely new smaller cars and crossovers for Europe (that wouldn’t sell here). It would be massively expensive. Some of that could be done with new EVs but the commercial side is doing great.Even if Ford does clean house and start from scratch...will it be worth the effort? The European market is largely stagnant. Several European countries are experiencing a decline in population, and the population is aging. Those conditions aren't exactly conducive to future sales growth.
Honda, for example, has essentially packed up and left. Even VW is in trouble.
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2 hours ago, akirby said:
Daughter’s 2014 2.0 escape has 140k no engine issues. My 2018 3.55 F150 has 45k no engine issues. My 2013 2.0 Fusion was 6 yrs old with 60k no engine issues. My two neighbor’s F150s (both 3.5eb) have over 100k no engine issues.
Turbo or turbo related failures happen but they’re not common.
We have 160,000 miles on our 2014 Escape SE, and the engine has not had a problem.
The transmission, on the other hand, failed completely at 113,000 miles. This is apparently common on Escapes of that vintage. (A friend had his 2014 Escape's transmission fail at 80,000 miles!).
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17 hours ago, akirby said:
Theyre not bulletproof but they’re still good overall. And the Toyota faithful don’t care either way.To a point.
I grew up in the 1970s...the same thing could have been said about the A-, B- and C-body Oldsmobiles with gasoline engines. (My parents regularly bought Delta 88s). And then...
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4 hours ago, Sherminator98 said:
I still believe that this entire "merger" was pushed by the Japanese government to bail out Nissan.
Honda has always been proud of its independence. I therefore can't believe company leadership, on its own, said, "Hey, let's merge with Nissan!"
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2 hours ago, Rick73 said:
Many of these Japanese and Korean cars at dealers in my area are closer to $30k, particularly Honda Civic. Basic Nissan Versa with steel wheels and 5-speed manual start at $17,190 MSRP. That’s a different level of affordability. 😀
Most Civics are around $30,000, and the Accords are in the high $30s and low $40s. That is only "cheap" compared to $60,000 pickups and $75,000 large SUVs.
The Civic is a nice car - so nice that it appears to be taking a big bite out of Accord sales.
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2 hours ago, akirby said:
The quote isn’t about lying, the quote is saying that you can use statistics to distort facts and draw invalid conclusions.
The implication is that Buicks are cheaper than Chevys, but if you compare a Buick vehicle with the same size and type of Chevy vehicle the Buick will be more expensive.
Again it’s like saying Ohio State has never won a SEC championship. Technically it’s true but they aren’t eligible to even compete for one.
I remember looking at a Chevrolet Suburban at the Harrisburg Auto Show a few years ago and the sticker price was over $70,0000. And that was BEFORE the Pandemic and big run-up in prices we've experienced over the past few years. Buick had nothing comparable then, and still doesn't.
And then there is the Corvette...again, Buick has nothing comparable. Those high-price Chevrolets skew the figures when we compare the brands.
I would say that the days of a Buick being more prestigious than a Chevrolet are long gone. It's not 1965 anymore.
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1 hour ago, Sherminator98 said:
Ford is in half decent shape and it appears they got ahead of the game in some places, though I think pulling passenger production out of Ford of EU might not be the best course, it might be for Ford itself.
Judging by recent headlines, Ford isn't the only one facing serious challenges in Europe.
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1 hour ago, morgan20 said:
Yea, true dat. Why are so many head honcho big shots in the automotive industry narcissistic psychopaths?
Generally, one doesn't succeed in big business, politics or show business by being a shrinking violet.
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On 12/1/2024 at 5:52 PM, akirby said:
Because they’re cheaper. Thats the Nissan formula.It's interesting how often a Nissan Altima is the offending vehicle in various car crash compilation videos on Youtube.
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1 hour ago, Sherminator98 said:
Some more info:
https://nypost.com/2024/12/02/business/stellantis-shares-tumble-after-ceo-carlos-tavares-abrupt-resignation/
Well I don't think the EU uses CAFE, but I think the information is generally correct.The European Union air quality regulations use the CAFE acronym, too.
It stands for "Clean Air For Europe."
This story, and the story of Nissan's travails, show that, however much we criticize Ford leadership, it could be worse. Much, much worse...
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On 11/14/2024 at 3:51 PM, atomcat68 said:
I love the interior, but the exterior looks like a typical CUV. I'm not sure if Acura at this point can be considered a real luxury brand as their "sweet spot" seems to be entry level cars with not enough to distinguish them from Honda counterparts. I feel they could put a premium trim in Hondas and get better results.
At this point, Acura is for Honda loyalists who want something beyond the top trim level Honda, but don't want to leave the Honda family.
The local Acura dealer is literally right next door to the Honda dealer...and owned by the same parent corporation.
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On 11/5/2024 at 8:41 AM, rmc523 said:
Good month overall, some highlights:
F-series way up vs. last year - its losses for the year have trimmed to 8500 (it was down 22.5k YTD last month)
Ranger is finally waking up.
Lightning down a lot this month.
Lincoln had some fantastic numbers, though I think it was also an abnormally low month last year, but even so 9,349 for the month is good.....and around levels from back when they had sedans in the lineup too. It'll be interesting to see if this volume can be maintained. I also wonder what the breakdown of Nautilus sales are of old vs. new model.
Bronco finally back up after 4 straight months of declining sales vs last year.
Regarding Nautilus sales - if our local dealers are any indication, they have been sold out of the prior generation for months.
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18 minutes ago, akirby said:
That nose…. 😱
I thought the beak of a decade ago was bad...
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43 minutes ago, silvrsvt said:
It also shows you how hard it is to go into a crowded segment with a overpriced product that doesn't even match up with what your brand is about. Its like Alfa said hey lets change the grill on this and sell it as a Dodge without much else done to it and are shocked when its not successful.
It it was in the $30-35K range it would sell better but most of them seem to be well north of that.
The local dealer had two Hornets at the Harrisburg Auto Show earlier this year.
Both were priced in the high $40s, which is far too much for that segment.
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16 minutes ago, Flying68 said:
Almost every 3 row SUV (except for full size) will have less room in the 2nd row than almost all 2 row SUV/CUV's. The only way to get that 3rd row in is to reduce 2nd row leg room while making the 3rd row practically useless. Getting adults in all 3 rows comfortably is for minivans and full size SUV's.
MY wife wants three rows of seats because we are being asked to transport friends and/or team mates of our kids to various events. She wants the extra seating capacity.
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19 hours ago, DeluxeStang said:
I'd recommend an escape hybrid for your wife. Escape hybrids are notoriously reliable, some would say even more reliable than your old focus.
I believe Farley say Ford is aiming to have long term quality that's on par, or superior to Toyota and Honda. He mentioned that in their latest earnings call unless I'm mistaken. But I do agree with you. Short term quality is nice, but I want Ford to be the go to brand when it comes to cars that are considered reliable even when they have 200k miles on them.
I wouldn't be surprised if that's the reputation some Ford models in a few decades, the maverick is already seen as the spiritual successor to the 90s rangers, including in the reliability department. So it's not all bad. It sounds things are turning around. Hacket did a lot of damage to the company imo, and that includes quality, but Farley seems determined to right the ship. Good guy, the best leader Ford's had in decades imo.
The challenge for us is that our teens want more room in the back seat, and my wife wants a vehicle with three rows of seats. The new Escape is nice, but not big enough in that regard.
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There are several aspects of quality. There is workmanship (build quality), short-term quality and long-term quality (i.e., reliability).
Based our on our ownership experiences, Ford needs to make sure long-term quality is consistently good. Our 2005 Focus SE sedan was a beast - went 235,000 miles with only two major problems (alternator went at about 130,000 miles and idle air-control valve soon after that). The engine and transmission were fine when we traded it, and the air conditioning still blew ice-cold air. And my wife didn't baby that car. If anything, I had to repeatedly remind her to schedule regular maintenance for that car.The Focus was so good that, without hesitation, we traded it on an off-lease 2014 Escape SE that had only 4,000 miles on the odometer. At 95,000 miles the radio head unit failed completely, and the automatic transmission went out completely at 113,000 miles. (Our experience was not unique - the transmission in a friend's 2014 Escape failed at 75,000 miles!) It also took the dealer seven months to get a replacement transmission. That has soured my wife on Ford. I like the new Explorer - particularly the 2025 model - but I haven't been hearing consistently good things about those.
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1 hour ago, Kev-Mo said:
I'm just a fan of Ford Trucks, I don't know the in's and out's of all the labor contracts, asking for help comprehending how it works.
Please help me understand why it has to be Mexico? Why can't Ford just produce in the 'right to work' southern states like all the Asian manufacturers that seem to doing just fine?
It really looks bad when Toyota, Honda and Hyundai/Kia can produce in the 'USA' but all of our home teams are in Mexico.
Why can't Ford go to TX or Mississippi or Alabama or and other of the many places?
It seems absurd to me that a company like Ford has to be unionized in the USA but can go to Mexico and not be. That's a 100% recipe to suck jobs from the USA. Who came up with that bad idea?
As I understand it, the contract with the UAW specifically states that it will represent line workers at all Ford plants located within the U.S.
Ford could try to remove that provision during future contract negotiations, but if we thought that this strike was nasty...
2026 RAV4 Debuts (Hybrid only)
in Competing Products
Posted
Ford will release 24 revisions to its current plans during the same time period.