Ford Five Hundred Spy Photos

[robertlane]

Ford Five Hundred next-generation photos:

 

http://www.blueovalnews.com/index.php?cate...p17_sectionid=9

[BORG]

Great photos!

 

I like what I'm seeing, the detailing and proportions of the new front-end seems to work well. It looks like they've redone the fenders to fit with the new look. That's a relief since I had feared the Mach 3 grille was going be squeezed inappropriately into the existing design.

 

The added detailing certainly moves the 500 up market and farther from the Fusion.

 

Hopefully the interior will receive substantial improvements, it's one of the areas Ford has yet to demonstrate a comeptitive edge.

[FStephenMasek]

Excellent! It seems possible that Ford has decided to expedite the revisions and not wait until one year from now to bring out the revised styling (and hopefully the new engine, transmission, and interior upgraqdes/revisions). I hope that it is not just wishful thinking on my part. the sooner they get the revised vehicles on the road, the sooner they experience a sales boom.

 

The revised Freestyle and its Mercury twin are also needed ASAP as alternatives offering far better fuel mileage than the Explorer and Mountaineer. With the new 3.5 V6 and 6-speed, the only people who would really need or want an Explorer or Mountaineer would be:

 

1) Those towing heavy loads (they may as well buy an Expedition); and,

 

2) Those who insist on rear wheel drive (the excellent Volvo-type AWD system seems to me to be an excellent alternative to RWD, as it should eliminate all of the front wheel drive short comings)

 

The Explorer and Mountaineer are the best they have ever been (except for the interior door handles), but their poor fuel mileage dooms them to ever declining sales.

Edited April 8, 2006 by FStephenMasek

[ehaase]

The Five Hundred is my favorite large FWD car. Had it been the 1996 or 2000 Taurus, it would have been a smash success. Unfortunately, Ford has lost the mid/large FWD market to the Japanese and the Impala to a lesser extent, and 250 hp and a 3 bar grille won't increase Five Hundred sales by much.

[Ken F.]

A few months back I was considering a job change that would have required that I buy a different car. I did a fair amount of research and I found the 500 to be an incredible car. I only saw one draw back. I felt it was under powered. It left me with the impression that the 3.0 really had to work hard to get the job done. I think additional powertrain options will really help sales.

 

I also think there is tremendous potential for a diesel option, IF mated with the properly calibrated transmission. A low reving diesel would give superior fuel economy, but it would have to be calibrated like the new 6 speed autos behind the GM Duramax and soon to be released Cummins/Ram. (double overdrive)

 

I have had (3) diesel pick-ups in the last 6 years and they all drove like the transmission was calibrated for a gas motor. Don't get me wrong, I really like the diesel truck I have now . . . but I would like it even more if it turned around 1500 RPM @ 75 MPH. It's definately got the torque to sustain that speed.

 

It will be interesing to see what kind of fuel economy the Durmax and Cummins produce with double overdrive.

 

And use a Ford designed and built diesel. It sure sounds like they know what's going on across the pond.

 

Ken.

[Red Star]

Looks good.

[controller]

Too late. The image of the vehicle is tarnished.

 

Hopefully, they have a plan in the works for a replacement. :mellow:

 

What do you think of the front end of the tundra and honda pilot? Look familiar?

[silvrsvt]

Too late. The image of the vehicle is tarnished.

 

Hopefully, they have a plan in the works for a replacement. :mellow:

 

Hey how about we do something different, like the Japanese do...keep the name but keep improving it! The First Civics, Corrorlas and Camaries where nothing to write home about, now they are household names and when someone asks, what type of car should I buy...you can fill in one of those three names I just listed before, because they've been around for years.

 

Detroit needs to get away from dropping names every 10-15 years just because they can or just totally fuck it up

[swenson88]

Hey how about we do something different, like the Japanese do...keep the name but keep improving it! The First Civics, Corrorlas and Camaries where nothing to write home about, now they are household names and when someone asks, what type of car should I buy...you can fill in one of those three names I just listed before, because they've been around for years.

 

Detroit needs to get away from dropping names every 10-15 years just because they can or just totally fuck it up

 

My sentiments exactly. Some of those Japanese nameplates date back to the 60's. How many domestic sedans have nameplates that go back that far? The Charger? Dropped for decades and used to be on a coupe. Impala? Again, dropped for years in between, very different vehicle than it started out as. Same thing with Malibu. Crown Vic/Marquis? Only because the damn car hasn't been updated in decades! (a little exaggeration there). Taurus - dead. Tempo - dead. Escort - dead. Contour - dead. Kind of ridiculous. There's a huge contigent of people who are going to buy a vehicle based on reputation alone - these people will not look at a 500 or Fusion because they have NO reputation yet. That's a problem.

[Traveler]

Two things I'd like to see with the Five-Hundred, besides the obvious Fusion treatment. Revising the C-pillar from being open window to solid sheetmetal. Currently, it reminds me of the early 90s Crown Vic and the early Taurus. The CV later adopted the GM C-pillar treatment (as currently used) and looked much better. The other least likely to happen is I'd like to see the front portion of the car from the windshield cowl forward extended to lengthen the car forward with a slightly shorter-looking rear deck.

[NickF1011]

Two things I'd like to see with the Five-Hundred, besides the obvious Fusion treatment. Revising the C-pillar from being open window to solid sheetmetal.

 

That'd make for one mother of a blind spot. :party2:

[Traveler]

That'd make for one mother of a blind spot. :party2:

 

I don't really think it would be that big a deal. It isn't on the Vic and the Fusion doesn't have this old predominantly Ford remnant and I rarely see a car that has such terrible blind spots that you can't adjust for. In a way, I think the shape of the 500 currently looks too symmetrical and the profile too bland. I realize that gone are the days where most Americans actually like the traditional long hood of days gone by, but I still do. Its what I remember and its what I'm familiar with, driving both a Ram and Mustangs for many years. With the 500, the front slopes off like the back. and the distance from the middle to either the front or back look almost an identical amount of distance. I think filling in the rear C-pillar window would modify that somewhat. Look at the Fusion from the side profile and then the 500 and you can see at least my perspective. Anyway, with the proper mirror positioning, most vehicles don't have that big of blind spots. Probably the worst offender is the Magnum and even I could live with it.

 

Actually the worst blind spot I've seen on a vehicle is on trucks. When you have a full-size truck that sits up high on the rear and have the tailgate up, many cars literally disappear right behind you if they're close at low speed or sitting still and really there is no fix for it when in many cases it necessary to have the tailgate up.

[NickF1011]

I don't really think it would be that big a deal. It isn't on the Vic and the Fusion doesn't have this old predominantly Ford remnant and I rarely see a car that has such terrible blind spots that you can't adjust for.

 

Well, the Crown Vic and Fusion both have a more traditional 3-box shape to them with more pronounced separation between the rear glass and roofline. The curvish profile on the Five Hundred doesn't lend the C-pillar design to be quite as neatly tucked against the trailing edge of the rear doors as it does on a lot of other sedans. The only real way to remedy the situation is to change the roofline, which I'm sure is still several years down the road.

[dauntlessVsix]

Well, the Crown Vic and Fusion both have a more traditional 3-box shape to them with more pronounced separation between the rear glass and roofline. The curvish profile on the Five Hundred doesn't lend the C-pillar design to be quite as neatly tucked against the trailing edge of the rear doors as it does on a lot of other sedans. The only real way to remedy the situation is to change the roofline, which I'm sure is still several years down the road.

 

What if they were to do something similar to what was on the Impala SS back in the 90's?

The belt line on the Impala is a little lower than the 500's but it might still look ok.

[cheri/ck]

Too late. The image of the vehicle is tarnished.

 

Hopefully, they have a plan in the works for a replacement. :mellow:

 

 

I think it looks better. The front-end appears to have some styling cues now and somehow that awful roof line blends into the rest of the car a little better. And, I doubt that it is too late for the 500. Due to Ford's lack of advertising, very few people really know it exists anyway.

 

Some new and improved styling plus the engine that it should have had at introduction, might just be enough to turn this vehicle into a winner.

[02SilverStroke]

I think it looks better. The front-end appears to have some styling cues now and somehow that awful roof line blends into the rest of the car a little better. And, I doubt that it is too late for the 500. Due to Ford's lack of advertising, very few people really know it exists anyway.

 

Some new and improved styling plus the engine that it should have had at introduction, might just be enough to turn this vehicle into a winner.

I agree with the lack of advertising. There was plenty of advertising when it was first introduced, then not much. When the Fusion came out, they went bonkers on ads and seemed to forget the other vehicles. People need to see the ads to buy the products. The entire car does look better with the new grille and taillights. It would be nice to see a similar "Fusion-type" grille on the Crown Vic. C'mon Ford, start advertising the Five Hundred, please!!!!

 

Hey how about we do something different, like the Japanese do...keep the name but keep improving it! The First Civics, Corrorlas and Camaries where nothing to write home about, now they are household names and when someone asks, what type of car should I buy...you can fill in one of those three names I just listed before, because they've been around for years.

 

Detroit needs to get away from dropping names every 10-15 years just because they can or just totally fuck it up

Great observation. For the life of me, I don't why in the world Detroit wants to give a new version of a car a new name, or they "resurrect" an old name to put it on a car totally different than the original. For example, an Impala now is nothing like the old ones, same for the Chevy Malibu. If you want a suitable "old" name for a "new" car, why didn't Ford give the Five Hundred the "Fairlane" name instead. Mercury named their version, the Montego. One of the strangest ones is the "Monterey". That once was the name of a very nice Mercury sedan, now it's the name of a minivan. Go figure. I don't think today's people are looking back at history when bring back the old names. Who knows, one day the "Crown Victoria" name might be on a luxury pickup.

[paint551]

Excellent! It seems possible that Ford has decided to expedite the revisions and not wait until one year from now to bring out the revised styling (and hopefully the new engine, transmission, and interior upgraqdes/revisions). I hope that it is not just wishful thinking on my part. the sooner they get the revised vehicles on the road, the sooner they experience a sales boom.

 

The revised Freestyle and its Mercury twin are also needed ASAP as alternatives offering far better fuel mileage than the Explorer and Mountaineer. With the new 3.5 V6 and 6-speed, the only people who would really need or want an Explorer or Mountaineer would be:

 

1) Those towing heavy loads (they may as well buy an Expedition); and,

 

2) Those who insist on rear wheel drive (the excellent Volvo-type AWD system seems to me to be an excellent alternative to RWD, as it should eliminate all of the front wheel drive short comings)

 

The Explorer and Mountaineer are the best they have ever been (except for the interior door handles), but their poor fuel mileage dooms them to ever declining sales.

 

 

that is the 08 500 you are looking at the 07 lool the same only changes are sat. radio and a new color the o8's due out next spring.

[2005Explorer]

My sentiments exactly. Some of those Japanese nameplates date back to the 60's. How many domestic sedans have nameplates that go back that far? The Charger? Dropped for decades and used to be on a coupe. Impala? Again, dropped for years in between, very different vehicle than it started out as. Same thing with Malibu. Crown Vic/Marquis? Only because the damn car hasn't been updated in decades! (a little exaggeration there). Taurus - dead. Tempo - dead. Escort - dead. Contour - dead. Kind of ridiculous. There's a huge contigent of people who are going to buy a vehicle based on reputation alone - these people will not look at a 500 or Fusion because they have NO reputation yet. That's a problem.

 

I would agree for the most part. I think there are some names that needed to be dropped over the years because of a bad reputation. Ford was smart in replacing the Pinto with the Escort and the same goes for the Explorer replacing the Bronco II. Both of those names were very tarnished with safety issues.

 

Now with all of that said, it seems funny that Ford has much more of a facination with nameplate replacement on their passenger cars then on their trucks and SUV's. F-Series, Econoline (which is actually E-series now, but still referred to as an Econoline), Ranger, Expedition and Escape (which are still kind of new), and Explorer seem to keep their nameplates even when they are redesigned.

Edited May 22, 2006 by 2005Explorer

[NickF1011]

I would agree for the most part. I think there are some names that needed to be dropped over the years because of a bad reputation. Ford was smart in replacing the Pinto with the Escort and the same goes for the Explorer replacing the Bronco II. Both of those names were very tarnished with safety issues.

 

Now with all of that said, it seems funny that Ford has much more of a facination with nameplate replacement on their passenger cars then on their trucks and SUV's. F-Series, Econoline (which is actually E-series now, but still referred to as an Econoline), Ranger, Expedition and Escape (which are still kind of new), and Explorer seem to keep their nameplates even when they are redesigned.

 

Ford has a reputation for quality trucks though. The names possess a value. If you don't think names like Tempo, Taurus, and Contour were as tarnished as Pinto and Bronco II, you haven't been listening to consumers very much.

 

I would say there are far more people who would have IGNORED the Fusion if it was called Taurus than there are people who would go look at the Fusion BECAUSE it was named Taurus.

[FStephenMasek]

Where are photos of the 2008 interiors? If Ford leaked the exterior photos, al least by driving or parking them in obvious places, then they need to park them at a restaurant or shopping center long enough to allow photos of the interiors to be taken. Upgrading the interior is the other key thing needed, now that we know that the engine and exterior appearance problems have been fixed.

[Topgun]

Ford Five Hundred next-generation photos:

 

http://www.blueovalnews.com/index.php?cate...p17_sectionid=9

Wow such a drastic change for 08 :shrug:

[Noah Harbinger]

Wow such a drastic change for 08 :shrug:

 

It's pretty much exactly what we're expecting... 3-Bar Fusionesque front and 3.5L engine, a pretty major change for the 2-year point. As long as it isn't terribly ugly I'm getting one.

 

I know, I know, you've got an axe to grind, working at a plant whose only product is another, older, full-sized sedan... I really hope they stick a hurricane in the CV and make it look like a 427, or do something to keep the CV alive.

 

Just, try not to cut off your nose to spite your face. The 500's profitable to Ford and, hopefully, will help keep your pension afloat.