kstwister

The IRS on the Expy/Nav is kind of the calling card and without it, all the interior space for second and expecially third rows goes to sh!t. I really hope IRS stays. The Expy handles way better than a F150, as it should. It's not like they have to reinvent the wheel to keep the IRS after a refresh either. My guess they could adapt it to the F150. (Lightning anyone?) I'd like to know about powertrains too. My guess is the 5.0 and 6.2 will be added with the 6.2 as a Navigator only option??? Either way you've got 302 cubes moving 6000 pounds down the road. They are doing it now with the 5.4/331 cid but the motors are always the first to get bashed in the reviews. I think the 6 speed autos really help. Anybody in the know have any info on when the powertrains will get updated?? We're in the market and if I have to wait 9+ months for a 5.0 I might. Of course that would mean I could get an "old" 5.4 model at a discount!!!

My wild ass guess is that the new old GM will be $20 or less within 6 months after the euphoria wears off and people realize it's still basically the same organization ran by basically the same people that literally ran itself into the ground less than 2 years ago. They have "trimmed fat" but they did it by f'ing all their previous investors while totally relying on the unearned generousity of Uncle Sam (taxpayers like you and me). It just appears to me that there is A LOT of blue sky priced into this offering and I don't understand why. Good luck GM, you'll need it! I'm just hoping this brings Ford stock up even more. :shades:

FWIW: My mother, a litle old lady Mercury owner from way back, just bought a 2010 Ford Escape XLT I4 AWD. I'd would consider her as the "typical" demographic. Their was not enough difference in the Mariner and the Escape to say boo about. She was very pleased with the Ford. I'm sure there are a few Mercury or die diehards but the actual volume of those types of car buyers has just got to be super low.

Good looking coon rod. Have fun with it. Regarding the seats: Econoline vans of that period had some basic vinyl low back buckets that might look good in your car. Might check the local junkyards and see what you can find. If they haven't all been handed to the crusher you could probably score a set and the brackets for cheap if you do your own wrenching....and obviously you do. Finding a bench seat that's not totally junk is getting tougher. Good luck!

We pop the glass seperately from the door all the time on our '02. It would really be disappointing if they did drop that feature. Wonder if the hinge point for the glass is above the plastic wind deflector (or under) as shown on this pic? That would make sense....to have the hinges hidden under the deflector....maybe. We'll see. I imagine it'll still uses the same electric solenoid as the current setups to activate the latch. I'm really anxious to see one on the road. I hope that Ford kept some of they "truck" attitude.

Now for me the real question is this, would Jill do ads in the bikini shown above? I'd buy that for a dollar! In all seriousness though, the fate of Mercury is a sad one but in these times it is necessary to keep aware of the greater good. Right now, that means Ford's continued profitability and as Fields puts it, focus on the customer. The rest will take care of itself. RIP Mercury.

I just love how much money a person or company suddenly starts "making" after they file a BK and generally f@ck all the creditors involved. I don't really know the math on this deal nor do I really care to. But, I wonder of these supposed repayments would have even serviced the debt on their balances before? Just makes me wonder if they can handle themselves even now and manage the debt they exited the BK with. It'll be interesting. I hope the US gov't and all of us as taxpayers get that money back but I couldn't give a shit about GM. End of rant.

That looks a lot like a Taurus wagon and I'm assuming it's sitting on a Ranger-esque 4wd platform. Kinda glad that one didn't make the cut but apparently it's worked out for Subaru.....

"You think you hate it now, just wait till you drive it!" Let's hope Ford's offering doesnt' receive this kind of reception. I love the new Taurus. It we didn't have three kids, I'd be all over a new SHO. Not too sure about it as a new cop offering though. However, Ford did this back in the early 90's with their 2nd gen SHO's. They had them running around here with the LX Mustangs for a while. Those Taurus(es?) had the dog dish hub caps, no spoilers, and no ground effects but if you popped the hoods, they had the Yamaha motors.

I remember that! Great commercial, chunks of rocks as big as bowling balls flying as the Ford hit that hill at full ramming speed. Always curious how they got that Chevy to stick to the bed like that....

I saw the pics a while back. You have a sharp looking truck. 15.7 around town is pretty good for that size of machine, at least by today's standards. We have the 4.6 and 3.73s in our Explorer. It's been a great vehicle for us. It's really snappy with the gearing but mileage has never been what I had hoped. It is terrible around our small town, about 12 mpg. On the road it is better at ~17mpg or so average. Course we have three kids and typically hauling a bunch of junk. For basically the same economy/mileage I'm really thinking how nice it would be to have the extra room! Glad to hear that 20 mpg is within the realm of possibility and that FOMOCO seems to have the 6 speed auto sorted.

Hey all, new poster and long time reader. Just thought I'd chime in. I feel our '02 Explorer has more room in the third row for the two that'll fit back there than the 2nd. I don't know the numbers regarding the space but it sure "feels" bigger back there. Head room is good for me, I'm 5'11'. I do agree on the storage behind the 3rd row though, it's tight. We've got 3 kids that aren't getting any smaller. Our next move will probably be to an Expy. Can't get behind the Flex's looks yet..... Great site by the way! I appreciate all the info that's shared on here.