tjl

Comparing the actual cars, it would be hard to choose the Yaris over the Fiesta for any reason (including fuel economy, a traditional Toyota strength over Ford that no longer applies with the Fiesta). According to every review, the Fiesta is a better drive than the Fit (which is no slouch in that category), but the Fit may still win over those who value its clever folding seats for better cargo utility. The Versa might still win some who value its very large interior (EPA midsize interior room) even though it is not that impressive a car otherwise. The Accent, Rio, and Aveo may be cheaper than the Fiesta, but that is about all that they have going for them against the Fiesta. Versus the Civic and Corolla (and indeed most of the market-perceived next larger size class), the Fiesta probably wins handily on everything except for interior room. Of course, redesigns are coming soon in this class, including the Cruze, Civic, Elantra, and Ford's own Focus, so that may not hold true for that long. That may depend partly on how much of an effect Ford's improved brand image makes. The original Focus got rave reviews, but Ford's poor brand image held it back. Most years, it did not even outsell the by-then-decrepit Cavalier, even when rebates brought the actual price down to Cavalier levels. Ford's brand image has been improving lately (and Toyota's has been falling), and fuel economy is likely to no longer be a disadvantage for small Fords compared to small Hondas and Toyotas, so there is a chance of greater success this time around.

About how much will it cost, and will it be available in colors and fabrics to match the interiors available on the SE trim (the colors available appear to match the SES trim, which has different non-black colors from the SE trim)?

A web search for "ford fiesta armrest" reveals that some aftermarket armrest vendors are already offering aftermarket armrests for the current Fiesta (as it is for sale in other markets).

The owner's manual PDF that was posted previously mentions that the Fiesta has a 150,000 mile timing belt change interval. There does not seem to be any chatter on the web (from owners in countries where the current Fiesta is already being sold) about the current Fiesta's timing belt and whether it is difficult or expensive to change, or if it has a tendency to fail early. Which I guess is a good thing, but the newness of the car means that not a lot of owners would have reached that mileage. Anyone have any thoughts on the matter?

The F-150 today is available with regular cab, choice of 40/20/40 split bench or bucket seats in either vinyl or cloth, vinyl floor (rubber or carpet floor mats available), manual windows, and steel wheels to go with EFI, disc brakes, and modern safety features including standard ESC and side airbags. However, air conditioning is standard. MSRP is $22,795 including destination for a base truck with no extra cost options (perhaps $115 more if the XL Decor Group is needed to get the 40/20/40 split bench seats).

Ford's Focus announcement: http://www.thefordstory.com/our-plan-progr...ocus-announced/ More about the next Focus: http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/focus/2012/

The top selling "clunker" replacement so far is the Ford Focus, edging out the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Toyota Prius. The Ford Escape was number 5. However, various model years of Ford Explorers (1994-1999) took six of the top ten most common "clunkers" traded in. http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_cont...ns-and-new-cars

One thing you can do is go to insurance company web sites and try their insurance premium quoters for various cars before you decide which one you want to buy (or, if you have already decided, find out what insurance costs will be compared to your old car before you buy).

True, no Coupe S. MyKey might also be of interest to those who have to valet park their cars. Though this type of application may be more useful if you have something like a Mustang.

ABS and ESC standard for 2010... better late than never. (For 2009, ABS + ESC is an optional package that seems to be very rare on cars actually sitting on dealer lots, based on inventory searches.) It seems also that they changed the suspensions. For 2010, the suspensions are: Sedan S and SE, Coupe S: base suspension, no rear stabilizer bar and 15" wheels Sedan SEL, Coupe SE: "enhanced" suspension with rear stabilizer bar and 16" wheels Sedan and Coupe SES: "performance enhanced" suspension with rear stabilizer bar and 17" wheels

How is it more aggressive than the usual way that modern fuel injected engines inject zero fuel when the accelerator is not pressed during deceleration or when coasting down a hill in gear with the engine rpm at a speed higher than idle speed?

Top gear * final drive ratios: Manual: 0.68 * 4.388 = 2.984 Automatic with 4-cylinder: .746 * 3.06 = 2.283 Automatic with 6-cylinder: .746 * 3.59 = 2.678

Last time I looked, all cars made by each company have the same score (see http://www.levelfieldinstitute.org/compare.php for specific models)-- i.e. no differentiation between models based on where the models are designed or manufactured. It also left out embarassing examples like the Chevrolet Aveo, and apparently couldn't figure out whether Mexico is in North America (compare the Chrysler PT Cruiser and Volkswagen Jetta, both made in Mexico, on that site). If you look closely, the organization was made from big 3 retirees, whose motivation is probably mainly to get people to buy from the big 3 to prop up the pensions as long as possible. I.e. the above link is best used if you are concerned about pensions per car, as opposed to jobs per car. If you want to "buy American", there are probably better resources to compare specific models, at least with respect to manufacturing related jobs, such as: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa...ewType=standard (although even this does not distinguish between Canada and the US for parts content) For design jobs, you would have to read about where the design was done (not always completely obvious, and sometimes with bits of design from design centers all around the world).

For what it is worth, here are the 2009 EPA numbers for some competitors (4-cylinder automatic): Malibu: 22/33 (6-speed auto) or 22/30 (4-speed auto) Camry: 21/31 Accord: 21/30 Sonata: 22/32 Altima: 23/31 The 2009 Fusion at 20/28 falls short here, but the 2010 Fusion S leads at 23/34. If the 2010 Fusion SE and SEL have EPA numbers of 22/31, that would put them in this pack, ahead of the Malibu (4-speed), Camry, and Accord, but behind the Malibu (6-speed), Altima, and Sonata.

According to that web page, the automatic with the 4-cylinder has a very tall 6th * final drive gear, significantly taller than either the manual or the automatic with the 6-cylinder. Manual: 0.68 * 4.388 = 2.984 Automatic with 4-cylinder: .746 * 3.06 = 2.283 Automatic with 6-cylinder: .746 * 3.59 = 2.678

Perhaps the S trim is just barely under an EPA weight class threshold, while the SE is just barely above? Something like that happened with the 2005 and 2006 Honda Accord Hybrid. The main difference between the two model years was the moonroof on the 2006 model that was absent on the 2005 model. This pushed the car up one EPA weight class, resulting in lower EPA fuel economy for the 2006 model.

They are, however, giving smokin' deals on the 2009 Fusions. In January, I saw an ad run for two consecutive fridays for new 2009 Ford Fusion S manual for $11,977 (3 at this price). According to that dealer's on-line inventory, those three cars were still there the monday after the second ad. Another Ford dealer put out an ad of $6,500 off MSRP on new 2009 Ford Fusions (40+ at various option levels).

The Cougar's hatch is sharply sloped, giving little additional room. Some other cars like the Acura Integra and RSX are similar. But the Focus hatchback is not as sloped, so there is more additional height available for things that are "just slightly too tall to fit in the trunk". Some other cars like the VW Golf, Toyota Matrix, and Pontiac Vibe are similar in this respect. Where a hatchback becomes a bigger advantage is when you have a large piece of cargo that does not fit in the trunk of a sedan. When the back seats go down, the hatchback's cargo area is a fairly large contiguous space, while a sedan's cargo area with the seats down is not a very convenient shape for bulky cargo (sort of like an L shape), unless you just need extra length to fit it in. Computer monitors and televisions (especially new in the box) in the CRT days were common examples of items that were a hassle to fit in sedans, but fit easily even in small hatchbacks. A station wagon is, of course, even better for cargo carrying.

A hatchback or wagon has a taller cargo area (when the cargo cover is removed). While you would not want to fill it up to the ceiling, that makes it easier to throw in a few tall items (e.g. potted plants). When the seats go down for bulky or odd shaped cargo, such cargo fits into a hatchback or wagon much more easily. The same can be said for a van or SUV, but a hatchback or wagon lets you get that utility without giving up handling or fuel economy like you would with a van or high riding SUV.

I would hope so too, but I would not count on it. In the interests of space efficiency (to allow for more interior room in a given size car), car companies are cramming things in more tightly than they did before.

Among the Toyota lineup, the Prius' interior volume is most comparable to the Matrix. Both are hatchbacks with 96 ft^3 of passenger room inside. The Matrix does have more cargo room, presumably because the Prius' batteries take up some room under the cargo area floor. The most comparable Ford product in terms of passenger interior volume would be the recently discontinued Focus wagon, which also had 96 ft^3 of passenger interior volume, but much more cargo room than the Matrix or Prius (the Focus wagon was EPA classified as a midsize station wagon, not a small station wagon). The Prius' passenger + cargo room barely puts it into the lower end of the EPA midsize range, while the Camry and Fusion are near the upper end of the EPA midsize range. Note that two of their market competitors, the Honda Accord and Hyundai Sonata, have nosed their way into the EPA full size range. Market perception of car size may be different from the car's actual interior room. For example, the Chevrolet Cobalt is usually viewed as a larger car than the Chevrolet Aveo. It is larger on the outside, but the Aveo actually has more interior room. The Ford Focus and Mazda 3 are actually some of the largest compact cars in terms of interior room, though the Hyundai Elantra has even more interior room, nosing into the EPA midsize class.