grbeck

Congratulations! I test drove the Flex when Ford had it at the Carlisle All-Ford Nationals. Very comfortable and roomy, with near-perfect height for entry and exit. I really liked the Flex, particularly with the optional white roof. My wife, however, didn't like them - she still refers to the Flex as "the vehicle that looks like a hearse." That seemed to be quite common among the people I know - the wife was the one who didn't like the Flex. (They prefer crossovers or SUVs.) The husband liked it.

If they are branded as Chryslers or Dodges, they might have a chance. Otherwise, this is a mature market with plenty of choices available to customers. It will be tough to launch a new nameplate in North America.

True. Plus, they quickly get expensive when equipped in the manner buyers in this class expect.

Judging by the reaction of most GM fans, they do not view the new Blazer as a treat.

That would be interesting, but GM needs more than rumors about a vehicle to compete.

I don't believe that Americans are any more eager to buy a Peugoet than they were to buy Fiats.

But it's still a Jeep...that brand equity isn't going to disappear overnight. The one left out in the cold will likely be GM, as it has nothing to counter the Jeep or the Bronco at this point.

The design of the Escape interior isn't the problem. If anything, as others have noted, it looks cleaner and more logically designed than the interiors of its chief competitors. My concern - based on what I saw at the dealer - is that the Titanium version of the Escape looks plain on the outside.

One of our local Ford dealers had three new Escapes on the lot. The exterior fit-and-finish were good - far better than the first 2020 Explorer and Aviator shipped to a Ford-Lincoln dealer. (This dealer also had several 2020 Explorers on the lot, and in exterior fit-and-finish, they were head-and-shoulders about the first Explorers and Aviators, too.) If there is a problem with the Escape, it's that they look somewhat plain, even in higher trim levels. One of the Escapes was a Titanium model with a $40,000 sticker. I had a hard time believing it was the Titanium model. There was nothing wrong with the styling, but the wheels and trim did not give it a "$40,000 look."

No, I'm saying that Mary Barra will not be following the typical negotiating playbook that has been used by GM executives over the past few decades. It has nothing to do with any alleged "payback."

A big change is that for decades GM management would talk tough, and then essentially roll over and give the UAW most of what it wanted (and white-collar employees approved, as that meant more pay and benefits for them, too). Whatever one can say about Mary Barra, I do not get the impression she is going to follow that playbook. She realizes that it's not 1965 anymore, and GM cannot afford to cave and try to pass along higher costs to customers.

One of the complaints has been that executives still get a fat payday even if they drive the company right into a ditch.

It always seem to me that GM management would talk tough, and even do things to antagonize the union (for example, moving the dies to the full-size pickups in the late 1990s), and then essentially cave during the negotiations. Mary Barra does not strike me as being willing to follow that playbook.

With the 1994 Dodge Ram pickup, supposedly about 25 percent of the people in the focus group loved it, but the rest hated it. Chrysler's share of the full-size pickup truck market was so low - the Dodge pickup hadn't been fully redone since the early 1970s - that even if only 25 percent of potential customers bought it, that would make it a major success by Chrysler's standards.

Bob Lutz has said that the Aztek fared poorly in focus groups, but the executive in charge of bringing it to market was determined to ignore all criticism of the vehicle - both internal and external.

From what I've read, the focus group feedback on the Aztek was overwhelmingly negative, but GM management chose to ignore it. Don't blame the Aztek on the focus groups.

What are the incentives being offered for the Escalade? I recall that Cadillac began slapping hefty incentives on the Escalade when the new Navigator arrived. I can't believe much has changed since that time.

Yes, but Honda isn't going to spend the money necessary to engineer and build a rear-wheel-drive platform. It's interesting how the drivetrain layout can change the character of a vehicle. I saw a 2020 Ford Explorer at the local grocery store yesterday, and it has an entirely different character from its predecessor. The new platform makes it look more premium and upscale than its predecessor. The vehicle just has much more "presence," as compared to the prior generation.

It looks good, although how it will fare in a market turning away from traditional sedans remains to be seen. Supposedly Acura will only offer five vehicles - the NSX, a new-generation TLX and ILX, and the MDX and RDX.

That would give Ford all sorts of opportunities to trumpet the new vehicle's roots. For example, Ford could say that in 1964, the practical Falcon was used as the basis for the Mustang, which influenced the development of sporty cars both here and overseas (Toyota Celica, for example). Now, over 50 years later, we have come full circle, as the Mustang's heritage and strong brand name are serving as the basis for a new generation of practical vehicles designed to address concerns regarding our future. Or something...

The Escape is an established nameplate (it has been on the market for close to 20 years). At this point, it's strong enough to stand on its own. Plus, it would "water down" the Bronco name...my wife has a 2014 Escape and loves it, but I can't see her being too excited about any Bronco, baby or otherwise. She has expressed interest in the new Escape. Leave the Escape for buyers such as her.

The pre-bankruptcy 2000s were the era of the "Halo Vehicle" at GM (no doubt driven by Lutz). There was the Cadillac XLR, Chevrolet SSR, Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice. These vehicles were supposed to draw the curious to the showrooms of their respective parent brands. The hope was that these people would then buy a more mundane vehicle. The real problem, of course, was that Halo Vehicles can't compensate for mediocre bread-and-butter offerings. The Saturn Sky, for example, couldn't hide the fact that regular Saturns weren't competitive with a contemporary Ford, let alone a Honda or a Toyota.

Drove by our Ford dealer last night (LB Smith Ford-Lincoln in Lemoyne). A blue 2020 Explorer was parked in front. Didn't get a chance to look it over closely, but it looked good from the road.

That's because Saturn only made money for one year, from what I've read. The warm-and-fuzzy commercials and Tennessee "homecomings" were not enough to compensate for the continued losses racked up by Saturn.

The other rationale was that Buick gave the dealers a line of passenger cars to sell. With Buick cars going away, that is one less reason to keep Buick around.