taxman100

We bought a Volkswagen. With the Grand Marquis gone, there is literally nothing else like it being sold anymore. Combine that with the fact Ford doesn't sell a minivan, and we never even looked at a Ford. If I wanted another sedan, we probably would have gotten a Chrysler 300, and even then may not have even looked at the Taurus. With Mercury gone, I have zero brand loyalty, so I considered every minivan on the market. I know the Routan is basically a nicer looking Town & Country with tighter steering and handling, but when you can buy one for $4,000 less than a comparably equipped T&C, it was not a difficult decision. You just have to shop around and find a dealer who is really motivated to unload one. It was also about $6,500 less than a comparably equipped Odyssey or Sienna. It is funny how much peer pressure influences people. I live in the upper middle class suburbs, and the default minivan purchase is by far the Odyssey, followed by the Sienna. I would say 90 percent of consumers don't even consider any other minivan brands. It is almost Pavlovian how people buy what they think their neighbors want them to buy. With globalization, brand loyalty is kind of out of date. Is a Ford with basic engineering done by Mazda, and assembled in Mexico, truly a Ford? Or, a Ford designed in Europe and built in Mexico really a Ford in the traditional sense? Most brand have been so diluted to try to appeal to as many consumers as possible that many have little cachet anymore.

Next door neighbor has a Kia - it seems to get one with the RSE and noncloth interior runs almost $34,000, and it is still a Kia. I admit that includes a sunroof and memory seats the competition won't have at that price. However, even if you get $4,000 off, you can get about the same on a Chrysler Town & Country if you shop around. I was turned off by the poor fit of the sliding doors to the body on the Sedona I looked at when I visited the auto show - maybe it was a fluke. The Volkswagen dealer from which I'm buying a Routan SE with RSE, with no trade and paying cash, gave my over $7,600 off of list price on my choice of 13 Routans. I had to travel about 100 miles to get that as the local dealers could not come close to that, and I think if I could have waited until the end of the model year, there might be higher discounts then.

The big issue with the Flex is no sliding doors - I don't my kids bouncing the back doors off of the side of my 67 Galaxie that will share the garage with our van. Sliding doors allows my wife to load into car seats, etc. without backing out of the garage. Plus it seems harder to access the 3rd row.

Of the ones we test drove (Odyssey, Town & Country, Sienna, and Routan), the Routan drove the best by far. To be fair, the Chrysler we drove was a leftover 2010, and I could not stomach the cheap feeling interior. Supposidely the 2011's improved both, but we wanted full sized captains' chairs in the 2nd row. Of the 2011's we drove, the Odyssey is by far the most expensive and the largest, the Sienna felt the cheapest, and the options are pricey. On the Routan we liked the low maintenance Leatherette vinyl interior and full size 2nd row captains chairs over a similar Town & Country. Eight passenger seating is not a priority for us, nor is the stow n' go seating. The bonus is oil changes are a snap on the new Chrysler 3.6 liter engine, as I turn my own wrenches on weekends. To make a long story short, with the Town & Country and the Routan being mostly identical, it came down to Volkswagen is selling them at hugh discounts - thousands less than the T&C if you shop around and are patient to find a motivated dealer when buying. Without the discounts, we probably would be buying a used minivan instead. With Mercury closed, I have no brand loyalty - the only minivan we didn't consider was the Kia. With options, it is really not that much cheaper than the Chrysler platform mates, and a Kia is fine as a commuter car, but not my family truckster.

My wife and I are shopping for a minivan, and we test drove an Odyssey. To us, it felt absolutely hugh, and the dealers do not seem interested in dealing much on them. You have to get an EX-L to get any kind of rear entertainment system, which lists for $36,830. It seems overpriced to me. So, does it feel smaller after you drive it a few days?

Yep - when it comes time to replace my Grand Marquis, I'll look hard at the new 2011 Chrysler 300, (the v-6 is enough for me)

Our Corolla has been a very good car - very inexpensive to own, and dependible. at 11 years old, I'd still drive it across the country if I had to. I'm not saying I'd necessary replace it with another, but at the same time, for a commuter car, I'm not interested in something where i have to read a long owner's manual to use the radio, or other features. If it has the basic power options, air conditioning, and is easy to operate, that is all most people really want. I don't really care about styling, etc. That is an issue with the minivans my wife and I are shopping - too many gadgets/etc. on one with the rear seat entertainment package. We want something that shows movies - we don't care about playing video games, or watching two shows at once. Most of them try to overwhelm you with options that I don't want to really pay to own.

I took my family to the auto show - I saw the blue Chevy, but figured it was an updated Aveo. I didn't even look at Buick, as we were shopping minivans. I did pass through the Lincoln display to see if they had a Town Car, but they did not, so I just kept truckin'.

The new Lincolns have confusing, ridiculous names, and the market pretty much views them as rebadged cheaper cars. With the shut down of Mercury, I've gotten mail from Lincoln. If I'm dropping that kind of money on a car, it won't be on a rebadged Ford. The only real Lincoln is the Town Car, and Ford gave up on that over a decade ago.

What's the difference between my 94 Grand Marquis, or my current 2002 Grand Marquis, and a 2011? It's was Ford's choice to give buyers no reason to purchase a new one that is actually worse than one that is 10 years old. Granted, a 2011 Grand Marquis, while not what it used to be, is still far better than all the rebadged Mazda's and Ford of Europe products they sell as domestic Fords.

Smaller with steel rims is my preference. Dirt cheap to maintain, though on some cars, they do look pretty bad.

Sweet - you know how resale drops like a stone - might some some low/no mile Grand Marquis out there.

Manufacturers are getting ready for the draconian fuel economy requirements coming in a few years that will prevent you from buying anything you really want to own, yet can still afford. My wife and I are getting a minivan later this year. She looked at the Mazda5 and said there is no way she is driving something that small when we can get a bigger vehicle for only a few thousand more.

Don't forget too small for the amount of money they are asking. Right now you should be buying the types of vehicles that will not be available in a few years - like anything you really want to own. Little crackerbox cars will be available forever, and since that is all Big Brother wants you to drive, you may as well put it off as long as possible.

Rather homely. I don't think Hyundai's new styling is going to age well.

My Mercury dealership in Columbus saw the writing on the wall, and when Ford approached him about selling, he sold the dealership his family owned for 55 years back to Ford in 2008, who closed it. I liked Mercury, but truth be told, it was the Panther platform that made me buy my two Grand Marquis. Now that it is gone, I have no brand loyalty. When we buy a minivan early next year, I'll shop based upon price, features, and quality, but the brand will have little influence. Of course, you have to actually sell a minivan to be considered.

Hideous overpriced crackerbox car. How far Lincoln has fallen.

This week is "Panther Appreciation Week" at the website "The Truth About Cars". It is a good week to remember a platform from the time in the past when Ford actually designed products in their home country, for their home country. A lot of Panther love over there this week, which is ironic since the platform is so greatly hated on this Ford fanboy site. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/

Yep - I don't understand how buying a Ford any much different than buying any foreign nameplate - take your choice. Should I buy an Accord built up the road in Marysville, OH, or a Fusion built in Mexico, and full of Mexican and Chinese parts? I give Ford credit for not being on the government dole, but they are an American corporation - short term profits that benefit upper management is their main goal, then stockholders, and customers come down the list, just before employees.

Interesting how this website has turned into a giant cheerleading section for any and all decisions made by Ford. I remember in the old days where it was a much more even handed place. Let's be honest - Ford blew it with this platform, and is replacing it with an inferior product because they can build a large sedan that can be cobbed off of a global platform on the cheap. Sure, the new federal CAFE requirements are part of it, but Ford gave up on this platform over a decade ago. When the 2003 major up was cancelled, and just a few chassis improvements were done, the writing was on the wall. Even though I could pay cash for a new car, my wife and I are keeping what we have and driving them as long as possible. Long term durability and reliability is main attributes I look for, which doesn't appear promising with the upcoming vehicles and all the new technology. As Toyota found out with drive by wire, which is why I keep my old school Corolla instead of buying a new one.

The Panther is about the only real car left. I go to the car show every year, and I always come away realizing how overpriced and cheap feeling these "modern" designs seem to me. I sit in them and think there is no way any of them are worth the amount of money asked to buy them. It is only going to get much worse with all the new fuel economy requirements. I see a future of vehicles with tons of electrical problems, tin foil transmissions, etc. I'm torn on buying a new Grand Marquis - I'd like to get one before the stop production, but Ford has cheapened them up so much in the last 5-6 years that I'd most likely notice all the corners they have cut on the car. As mentioned by it's detractors, Ford has invested so little effort in the platform that there is little reason to buy a new one that is very little changed from a used one. I might just wait another five years and buy a used Town Car to replace the Grand Marquis when it hits 200,000 miles. It's not just Ford - most new cars are very underwhelming unless you don't realize how cheaply they are built today.

Mercury is going away partially because they are taking Lincoln downmarket - in effect Lincoln becomes Mercury with a Lincoln badge on it. Killing Mercury is a sign of the direction Lincoln is moving. The writing was on the wall when they closed Wixom and started building Lincolns in 3rd world countries. Now they are seriously considering building a crackerbox Lincoln off of the Focus platform. If I have a choice of a Lexus made in Japan, or a Lincoln made in Mexico, I'll pay the extra for the car built in Japan. I know a number of people who buy a Lexus over a Toyota because it is still made in Japan. Count me out on most new cars - none of them are worth anywhere close to what they ask for them. When you could buy a Grand Marquis for under $20k a few years ago, that was a deal. A Grand Marquis at $26k - not so much. I understand the upcoming CAFE requirements, but no one really wants to buy that crap unless they are forced to do so by the socialists in Washington.

With Ford neglecting the Grand Marquis, of course Mercury is going to die. The Grand Marquis is Mercury, and no attempting to market to women or make Mercury some kind of restyled European Ford is going to replace the lost sales of what was Mercury's traditional buyer - middle class professional men with families. Without the Grand Marquis, there is no reason for Mercury. Hence, the neglect of the Panther platform killed the entire division. That is why my Mercury dealer, who had sold them for 54 years, sold his Mercury dealer back to Ford and closed up back in 2008. He knew the market well enough to see how this would play out.

I've been considering ordering a 2011 model year Grand Marquis, but it looks like, just as it has been since 2005, to be no changes unless Ford has figured out how to decontent it some more. Hence no reason to buy a new one when you can buy a two year old one for substantially less money, and still run it for another 150,000 miles. My 2002 is still superior to a newer one for equipment and content, so not much reason to buy a new car for a few more years.