twintornados

Ya know..I read that article and came away with a sense that Fiat is not going to kill the division (Dodge) but will rightfully euthanize several of its poorest performers...Sebring, Avenger, and Nitro to name a few....all are out of step with today' marketplace and need to be scrapped....I see several Fiat built cars under that Dodge banner...but as for Fiat itself? Not a large rollout...not yet.

I am curious as to why Mercury would be showing a '68 Cougar off for...makes you go, "Hmmmmm...." Could be getting ready for a new Cougar to hit the scene?? :shades:

I was perusing the Ford global website and I see that Ford has intro'ed Mercury in the middle east....I also see it available in Mexico....interesting ideas here Ford....hope you continue to grow that marquee.

I stopped at my local Ford dealership today....sure enough, it still says "Explorer" on the badge...but in smaller print under the Larger "SPORT TRAC" letters on the trim tag....about the same as the "XLT" lettering .....it definitely is a Sport Trac with the "Explorer" trim as opposed to a few years ago when it was an Explorer with a "Sport Trac" trim.....

How much you wanna bet that the crew cab Ranger gets called Sport Trac....the latest re-design is something I really like, but the fuel economy is horrid. Ford needs to address that with a lighter design and EcoBoost technology.

Agreed...I was looking at Expedition and F150 and I wonder if the doors from Expy would fit on F150...body lines look the same but the Expy doors don't have the twin level side windows like the F150 and Super Duties do...the box top edge follows the higher window on F150, making the box itself taller. Now, if the F150 had Expy doors on it, then the box could be redesigned with a lower top rail height thus making the vehicle look "less huge", then go on with a chassis lightening program, taking out weight without compromising the vehicle where ever you can...ie, composite bed panels, smaller size rear axle, lighter duty spring packs, more use of aluminum in key areas....viola F100 is born! Here is a project that should be green lighted as it can be done pretty much straight out of the parts bins....except the box panels of course.... Thoughts?? Hey RMC....fire up your programs and make it so....LOL

or, seeing as he already modified the vehicle, he could just go and order some new sockets and install 'em himself...he already messed with the design of the vehicle and now you would propose that Ford repair it for free so he can do it again...better hope his insurance company doesn't find out when the car catches fire due to inferior product being added to the car....

Would SPORT TRAC (sorry for the caps...it is how Ford has it on the site) migrate to the proposed new T6 Ranger platform?

Was browsing the Ford website and I see that Explorer Sport Trac is now simply SPORT TRAC....I wonder why the change? Will SPORT TRAC live on after Explorer moves to D4 chassis?

Good interview....

ahhhhh.....mlhm5 has him beat, hands down....

....and that is only 80% accurate

...and it looks like mattie the cry baby, aka P71, found a new home too....

Cue Ford Jellymoulds in 5....4....3.....2.....

I remember that truck, it was ham-strung by Ford due to there being an F250 Super Duty as well....you basically had 2 F250's to choose from and due to the slim difference in price...most people opted for the Super Duty version. Yes...todays' F150 could easily become F250, thus allowing a lighter duty F150 to debut....

I have always thought that any proposed F100 and Expedition should share mechanicals and sheet metal...doors, grilles, interiors, suspensions.

F250 would share sheet metal and frames with F150...

I've always felt that F250 should "come down" to the F150 frame and F150 allowed to move back down market into the lighter duty realm.

And lesbians everywhere rejoice in that!!

This just in from the desk of "Maximum" Bob lutz: Lucerne to be replaced with a rear drive variant of a Holden Commodore and we will call it--- Electra Then, on the following day, Fritz Henderson will announce that: "Bob Lutz is nutz about Buick"

Or a seventies era Artic Cat snowmobile

It makes sense because, currently, Flatrock produces both the Mazda 6 as well as Mustang....two vastly different cars. By moving Mustang to STAP, it would make room for MKZ which shares more with Mazda 6 and create room at Hermosillo for a CUV of EcoSport dimensions. Then STAP can be "flex'ed" to produce GRWD for a host of products from Ford that need to be rear drive, as follows; Mustang Crown Victoria replacement Grand Marquis replacement Town Car replacement Future Mercury Cougar and Lincoln MKR roadsters Possibly an Explorer sized SUV (New uni-body Expedition??) All manufactured at STAP so that the cost sharing can be best exploited for maximizing profits on GRWD. Now, it is up to the CAW to ensure that Ford sees the value of STAP and her CAW workforce as the best in term of efficiency and productivity.

The only problem is we would be enjoying that bacon sandwich at a chinese deli

Actually, they spend a lot of time talking to grocery stores...those little discount cards that most grocers offer so that you then swipe them at the register to get promotions at checkouts? They use them to help the Proctor and Gambles of the world see exactly what you are purchasing as it all gets tallied into the grocers data banks. Valuable data that is both useful and profitable. You can bet your last dollar that P&G, Kraft, ADM, and all the other food conglomerates talk to the grocer.....

Ya know...I really like the idea of Mercury, and Ford needs to bolster the division that Edsel built with both product and marketing. I am currently restoring my 1976 Montego MX....the nose badge reads "Lincoln Mercury Division" and also has a hood ornament that is the classic Lincoln "crosshairs" style..... Mercury will do well once Ford puts her back on the right track....you never saw Lincoln station wagons "back in the day", no offense to the MKT, but it should have been a Mercury, but it is out there and doing reasonably well (thank god). I think Ford should reintroduce Mercury as the "Lincoln Mercury" division on the flanks of all current Mercury products and future offerings as well....Play up that connection....it won't hurt Lincoln sales. Co-advertise Lincoln and Mercury as the upscale offerings they are.