bobbyd

Just saw TV ads for the 2012 Focus with $1000 rebates! We need to get that price down to be competitive with the Elantra and Cruze...even though both of the aforementioned competitors have no spare tires as standard equipment.

I have been looking for a reasonable/affordable/durable way to make my Taurus SEL plain aluminum wheels look better. I wanted to first get them polished, but discovered that process results in pitting and other flaws. I then discovered PVD (physical vapor disposition) chrome coating at Detroit Wheel in Troy. Unreal. They actually have stock Wheels for almost every car maker. The process gives the wheel (SEL plain bland grey aluminum) a beautiful chrome like finish with a clear coat and its actually better/lighter than chrome and won't peel or chip like chrome. Does anyone know much more about PVD wheels, since I'm very anxious to take my TAURUS in and slap on 4 of these new (in stock) chrome wheels.

ICE, thanks for Taurus file. The 2013 Guide still shows the old 2011/2012 wheels for all 3 models. I hope they update that? Even the SHO wheels are the old 2011/2012 style. I see I can't get the 19 inch wheel on the SEL unless I order the 202A package with all the extra expensive options I do NOT want. Bummer. The SEL standard features add remote start (useless) and SYNC /My Ford Touch (don't need) which is going to drive the base price up BIG TIME. Add the usual new model price increase and this 2013 SEL is going to cost another extra $1000 or so. Very depressing. Why doesn't Ford ever learn to consider what buyers want...bigger wheels...without forcing them to also take $2500 in added options to get it? (Wahhhh!) Update (Dec 20): I just talked to Ford Media Customer Service...the wheels will NOT change for 2013 Model. SHO will have an option wheel. ICE, your order guide is accurate. I think I might wait till the Fusion comes out in August! quote name='ice-capades' timestamp='1324147065' post='751565'] Attached is a copy of the 2013 Taurus Order Guide which includes illustrations of the wheels available along with all the information that dealers are using to place initial orders. Hope this helps.

I'm not too savy on downloads. You mentioned Ice has the order guide to download on the 2013 Taurus. How do I find it?

Just read that Ford has tough competition from Charger and Impala for Crown Vic replacements. Ford Taurus is AWD and the other 2 are RWD. Impala is fastest followed by Charger. Both well over 150MPH. The AWD Taurus was about 148 MPH...but the Taurus was superior in slalom and quick turn obstacles. The one thing that nobody mentioned was the huge 20 cubic ft of cargo volume in the Taurus . The Charger was 5 cubic ft less. ..that's a lot less room. I would think that they also should consider the 5.0 Mustang, which beats both the Hemi Challenger and Big block Camaro...if they are looking for flat out speed. Its going to hurt Ford somewhat to see us lose the 70% domination that our Crown Victoria has had for many years.

I am desperately searching for any photos of the 2013 Taurus SEL. I only see the SHO or an April 2010 NY auto show clip of the Limited. Ford Media keeps sending me the 2013 brochure that basically has everything about the SHO. Job-1 for the Taurus is a little over 8 weeks away (Feb) and yet no pics of the top seller SEL model. anyone have info?

Ranger sold over 7000 units in one month. Sales increase of 85%. Maybe Ford should extend that production in Twin Cities. 7000+ is a big number of sales.

Hmmm.. sounds like you and BrewFan are doing a tag team. I love how you use the "reliable source" as your reference, but you don't work for Ford and that I must prove your reliable source wrong. Its the same as saying "I have proof from a 'RELIABLE SOURCE' that pigs fly...now I'll admit I'm wrong when you can prove they don't fly!" Childish! On the contrary, these lifetime lease retirees do NOT pay insurance, they Do get new cars every year, unlimited mileage and they can let ANYONE drive these cars. They also get ANY car of choice...not specific slow sellers. I worked at Ford for over 30 yrs, and do not need "reliable sources" to justify my comments like yourself( who NEVER worked at Ford). The bottom line was intended to be cost savings, but you and your friend refer to it as jealousy....! Its obvious that I've opened a wound that you guys want the moderator to remove to the employee forum to avoid any more publicity. Personally, I think you would not be trying to defend this PERK unless you had some benefit from it. quote name='scode1' timestamp='1322079165' post='747436'] I cant speak as to the reason why Ford doesn't open it up to more people, maybee it would be too large to manage. You keep missing the point that the eligible Lessee's PAYs for the car every month. I don't work for Ford but these bennifits have been in place a long time and I feel the employees that earned it deserve it. Again I have been told by a reliable source that the program turns a profit. I'll admit I'm wrong when you can prove it doesn't. It is obvious that you must be jealous of those people for some reason. Happy Hollidays!

Sounds good...nothing better than ice cold beer...or cold beer in a frosted mug. Yeah, I agree Matt and Carl aren't brothers. My friend was an avid #88 Follower...he had so much Jarrett stuff....and when Jarrett turned traitor.....it was almost nuclear around him. I finally recall an interview with goofy Mikey Waltrip defending Toyota about it being assembled in Kentucky and a group of guys behind him shouting : USA...USA...USA! It was great, he was so upset and kept turning around and staring at them as they continued: USA..USA..USA! They finally broke to a commercial. A classic moment I will keep forever!!! Look at his boogity idiot brother doing those Toyota Tundra commercials to make people laugh as he drove his Japanese truck across some lawns. He would also wear the Toyota symbol on shirts during interviews or whenever he could push the brand. Pathetic. I say: put the Waltrips in a burlap bag and hit it with a 2 x 4 and you'll never hit the wrong one. As far as Kurt Busch....didn't catch his latest rant. Looks like that 'short term wife" got fed up with him pretty quick after the marriage. quote name='NLPRacing' timestamp='1322070487' post='747416'] Plus, the beer is cheaper and colder at my house. At least Atlanta wasn't a chase race. Also, I don't think Carl and Matt are the best of friends, remember a few years ago? Jarrett's a jackass. When Jarrett switched to MWR so Mikey Waltrip could use his champion's provisional (which he earned while driving a FoMoCo sponsored Ford) to get at least one Toyota in the race since the rest of them were too slow to qualify on their own (unless they were cheating), he was out touting how the Camry was "Made in America" and that the Fusion was an import. This coming from a guy that owns a Ford dealership! Speaking of whiners, did you see act like a baby again?

That was terrible news about Jeremy and his drug problem. I'm thinking poor David Ragan has lost his job at Roush and wondering whats going to happen to him. Once you lose your ride for one of the few Big teams...its almost impossible to ever recover. Its tough on marriages too...how many drivers do you know that have been married without divorce.....maybe Rusty? I'll bet you can only count them on one hand. What does a driver do who loses his ride or gets too old. Kinda like a football player. They better have a back up! I wonder if they could apply for social security disability... ! !ob, no other skills ....!!uote name='blksn8k2' timestamp='1322068893' post='747407'] Penske did run Fords for a few years when Rusty Wallace and Jeremy Mayfield and later Ryan Newman were his drivers. That was probably prior to Mayfield's drug problems although he was crazy enough to bump Earnhardt senior out of his way to win a race at Pocono so he could have been on something then too. Prior to that when it a just a one car operation Rusty was in a Pontiac. When Dodge came back into the sport Penske was one of the first teams to switch right after Ray Evernham bought out the Elliotts and switched them to Dodge. Evernham's team eventually morphed into the current Richard Petty Motorsports and now they are back in the Ford camp. Last I heard Evernham was back at Hendrick but not directly involved in NASCAR. Damn, this is starting to sound more like Survivor than the WWE.

Yeah right, if the Company supposedly turns a profit, then why not allow it for all the retirees who are non-management? I'll use your answer: "the employee excelled to a level of management through years of hard work for a 'perk'..." Ha! Ha! How self serving can you get. OK...lets rap this up. Its obvious you are in that group of 'Lease Car For Life Beneficiaries'...so, I would say this: You can either agree with me...or admit you're wrong! You choose. Happy Holiday to all!

I taped that great race where Bill Elliott won at Talladega after 2 laps down in the Coors Ford. Wow, NASCAR had to slow the Fords down so, as you said, they invented the restrictor plate that gave clear benefit to the GM teams. Then NASCAR changed when the France family brought Toyota into the group. Dale Jarrett who Ford had sponsored for a long time jumped makers to Toyota...we all had to destroy all of the memorable Jarrett collectibles. Bill Elliott starts driving Chevies. Ugh. no loyalty.... such is life ! Look at how Toyota and mostly Honda took over Indy cars from Ford and Chevy. The Indianapolis Great American Race (Indy 500) is ALL JAPANESE logos. The Truck series is mostly Toyota trucks...though Chevy has a few..but not dominant. It looks the same for Sprint Cup soon with Toyota gaining many more sponsors and better drivers. (No loyalty) It is one true fact that viewers have diminished after Toyota joined..but it was also helped by the poor economy. Bottom line, Ford has a tough road ahead...too many bigger teams with much more money and very good engine builders with the Chevy and Toyota teams. I want the old days back. Dream on! Here is a good note: Roger Penske owns the strong Dodge teams who compete against Ford. Ford has had a long standing business contract with Penske. They handle all of Ford's logistics operations that support our Assembly plants. In plain terms, Ford pays them to pick up and deliver the parts that are assembled on all North American vehicles...a huge multi-million dollar business. you would think that they would be sponsoring and owning Fords....Nope. Its a different world between business and racing.

Well, at least you were at home and not at the bar drinking. Designated drivers are hard to come by. One point I want to mention and we can get on with our lives. Matt Kenseth , was in front of Carl with the lead at Atlanta and he did not "Burtonize" (do you like that title) the situation but rather made Carl work for it to get under him for the lead. As you continued to watch, Stewart (3rd place)comes up after that behind Matt (2nd)....and Kenseth made no attempt to "Race him" (Block)...and instead let Tony scoot by. I refer to the "Race Him" quote since at the end of the race when Brad Keslowski was clearly blocking Carl....Mr Jarrett (I LOVE TOYOTA) quickly said..."He's just racing him for position and that's what he should be doing..." Pleeeze! Carl fell 8-10 cars back trying to get around the whining polishman! It was over by then! Keslowski was penalized $25,000 for a previous whine! Wahhhh! Stay loyal to Ford...not like Jarrett who went to Toyotal Sorry, but I'm still ticked that Carl lost...you don't easily win a championship....its going to be tougher in 2012...more Toyotas and Chevies will outnumber the one Ford Team. Take care!

OK..I started this battle mostly based on the potential of cost savings for the company. Its clearly evident this respondent is not on the same page as myself. Its like Republicans vs Democrats. One side wants to save and one side wants to spend. I can understand why he defends the LIFETIME LEASE PROGRAM. ITS A GREAT PERK for doing NOTHING!

I disagree...please read Jay Hart's attached article. The Chevy drivers...Burton, Harvick, Gordon etc...had a mandate to NOT LET FORD WIN. Your personal 'armchair' quarterback thoughts about Carl going too slow out of the pits and other nonsense about not being too aggressive are unfounded. I don't recall seeing anyone but Carl driving the #99 car. Who made you judge and jury. You are watching this from a TV set in your living room...if not at a bar ..drinking too much. Case in point, Burton knew it was the 2nd to last race and with one lap left...and Carl would win the Championship the way they finished. It was a deliberate CHEAP pull over move that NASCAR should have penalized , or at least questioned to caution the other drivers not to try. By the way, not any of the Ford drivers stooped to that level. Since you are so concentrated on Carl not capitalizing on so many opportunities...I can only imagine what additional NEGATIVE COMMENTS you would be saying if Carl did win the championship , despite Burton's cheap move...........on the other hand ...forget it. I think you belong on the CHEVY FORUM.....!

Now don't be so sarcastic...you are pretty close with your numbers of EXECUTIVE LEVELS.....but lets also help you understand In ADDITION to executive levels we must include 'supervisors' and 'managers'. GS9 levels and up get the lease cars. Most executive levels often qualify for at least '2' lease cars. Key word is LIFETIME!!!! Nobody deserves that....other than Alan Mulally.

Wow...I did not know that about Burton giving Stewart the point...which eventually was the Championship. Maybe besides being Chevy buddies...Burton was a former Rousch driver before leaving the Ford Team. thank you for that info. Man, I feel for Carl. Good man. I'm having a hard time with this loss, I can't imagine how he feels. These opportunities do NOT come easily.

Ford stopped with salary pension program in 2001.

Good info...Carl was not getting good mileage like Tony (55 laps average)..and Carl did come in for 2 tires after Tony took his last stop. I think it would have been closer if Brad Keslowski (who dislikes Carl) refused to move over, like Kenseth did for Tony earlier. By the time Carl wasted a number of laps stuck behind Brad it was too late. Tony was already 1.3 seconds ahead and Carl did not have the HP to catch him. I can't imagine how Carl feels this morning, but he did not blame anyone and was a real gentleman.

OK...lets assume a low number of 5,000 retirees on Lifetime Lease, multiplied by your supposed $5K per year. I come up with $25 million a yr. Don't you think that can be better spent rather than a supposed business expense? To me, this ides of LIFETIME LEASE was proposed by the exact same group who knew they were getting kicked out.

Just a comment about the statement that management pensions will be higher if not given the Lease For Life benefit. Why do you think they were given the perk? Do you think that Ford was trying to keep them as managers/executives? Of course not, but instead they wanted them out. What does that suggest about their performance and position they had.? They were NOT needed anymore. FYI to all viewers who did NOT work at Ford under the Jac Nasser regime. Ford had an explosion of wasteful spending...including a huge appointment of new management levels created..that were never removed. In our department it was a ratio of 3-4 workers per supervisor. Ford was top Heavy...across the board. As we all know, Jac was probably the worse leader in Ford's 100 yrs. Ford grew progressively worse since then, until Mulally arrived. Ford had to reduce the huge flock of unnecessary leaders. In 2007 the reorganization commenced, 30% retired and Ford began to recover. So, in closing it does matter how the dollars are distributed and allowing a retiree, who initially was part of the over staffing problem, a LIFETIME LEASE CAR BENEFIT. It is not in anyway a bottom line asset. Please review the compensations for the majority of any Fortune 500 companies and you will not find compensations similar to this program that lasts more than a year or so. Ford has allowed this as a LIFETIME BENEFIT. Remember, this perk is in addition to the hefty retiree pensions they also received. (OK, I'm ready for those LB's to attack...hit me with your best shot)

You can always spot those respondents who are on the lease program with their opposition. The short answer is trying to dig Ford out of debt. The estimated "INCREMENTAL" $20 million that Ford spends on the management LEASE FOR LIFE benefit may not solve our debt, but it would help. If our position was not $15 billion in debt, I would be less concerned, but the facts are there is a war going on...against the economy and all those other competitors attacking our profits.Please refer to the Ford World Magazine where Ford asks retirees for suggestions on how to reduce costs. Every little bit counts!

OK, its not what us Ford lovers wanted , but Carl came close to a Championship win. Nobody can realize how hard this was emotionally to accept defeat , especially after losing by only 1 silly point. . Carl stayed away from trash talking and that alone deserves my respect. Every time Carl has been interviewed throughout the year, he ALWAYS thanked Ford and promoted the Blue Oval. Now that the season is over and we look to next racing season, I must throw in a suggestion. Its the ENGINE dept. I am an old school guy who followed Ford when Davey Allison was our hero and Robert Yates was the engine builder. He was dominant. Robert's son, Doug Yates, has replaced his dad and coupled up with Rousch on engine development. The problem is that the competition has caught up and now with Toyota approved with their new engine and a clear dominant performance from the Chevy of Stewart in the past month or so....Ford needs a new man to head up the engine group. Ford lost 3 experimental engines in the race and thankfully Carl was not a victim, but he clearly could not pass Stewart in the last few races that were left. Some will argue that its car set up...but it ALWAYS comes down to Horsepower. I love Jack Rousch, but as he ages and some of his guys have jumped to Toyota ....we need anew man if we are going to take the championship next year. Just a thought.

Sounds unfair to me. New lease car every year, unlimited mileage, allowing all family members or friends to use this car with free car insurance for the rest of their lives as retirees. A reward? Recall the fact that these "compensated retirees" were in charge as the company recorded record losses and was on the brink of collapse until Mulally arrived and CLEANED HOUSE. So Ford rewards the same management team with this Golden Parachute....while still in $15 billion debt.??? Its a tough pill to swallow for the regular salary retiree who just saw his health care coverage almost increase by 100%.

I am a retired salary Ford worker who just finished applying for my 2012 medical coverage. As all retirees under 65 have learned, our medical coverage had an incredible increase. After the FAIR alliance questioned Ford about the increase, the answer was basically that times are tough and competition even tougher for the company. HERE IS MY QUESTION: IS IT TRUE THAT FORD RETIRED MANAGERS STILL ARE ALLOWED TO USE THE LEASE CAR PROGRAM ENTITLEMENT? I ask that since if everything is so tough at Ford, why are these retired managers being allowed a perk like this?