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My thoughts on the Fiesta


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We can't even watch our fighter jets in action this year...because of this:

 

 

The demonstration season for the CF-18 in both Canada and the US was cancelled after that.....

 

Willow Run Air Show had two Alabama National Guard base F-16 Fighting Falcons going today doing demos. And one FA-18 Hornet flown by a Marine pilot. The F-16 is the sports car of the two. Unbelievably agile and power to weight ratio is breathtaking as computers keep it in air. You expect it to crash and burn like above, but somehow it stays in the air. Also one F-100 Super Sabre flown by a civilian banker out of Fort Wayne, IN. Kind of cool seeing Vietnam era supersonic figher doing demo of its capabilities. Every time he came by stands he went into afterburner and it made a pop. Very fast, but kind of sluggish compared to the F-16 and nowhere near the climbing ability. The F-16 came over the field at about 200 knots, pilot put it on its tail, and it climbed straight up vertically to 15,000 feet on its tail. When he twisted and turned at high speed, he must have been pulling 8 g's. He stayed just under Mach 1 on many passes and the compression waves on turning were incredible. The Horsemen were there also with their three P-51 Mustangs doing syncronized flying demonstration. The motors were tweaked to the extreme and they were pulling up to 5 and 6 g's. They were wing tip to wing tip and a couple times I wanted to run for cover as they did barrel roles right over my head and dove for the ground with that dive sound that they make. The also re-enacted certain WW2 battles using the 8 B-17's and two P-51's for cover and straffing runs. Nothing like the sound of a P-51 Mustang with Merlin engine at full sound at 300 feet over your head. Jack Roush of course didn't fly today, but another pilot flew his "Old Crow" P-51 Mustang for him.

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You expect it to crash and burn like above, but somehow it stays in the air.

 

Well, I doubt even if could say in the air with the trouble this jet apparently had. With that kind of damage, it will be a long time before the Transportation Safety Board of Canada comes out with an answer as to why it crashed. The military cancelled the rest of the show season after the crash. It's too bad, as it's always a joy to watch at the air shows.

 

We got the F-18 over the F-16 because it has two engines, and it was thought to be important for arctic flying. Apparently, it isn't anymore though, because it's being replaced by the F-35 in about 6 years.

Edited by suv_guy_19
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Ford really seems to be pushing form over function lately considering the Fiesta and Taurus. Being somewhat claustrophobic, I rather Ford emphasis maximizing passenger space within a given package, but how much better the Taurus is selling shows me how most people disagree.

 

Note that the 2008-2009 Taurus and its Five Hundred predecessor, which were designed with big windows to give a good outward view, were mostly ignored in the market compared to the Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum, and Dodge Charger with their gun-slit window style.

 

It isn't just Chrysler and Ford doing this type of thing; it is industry-wide, in response to an apparent desire among car buyers to not be able to see out of their own cars very well (Lexus ES350 is another example). And it is an annoying trend; recently, a driver in a newly bought (temporary registration) Chrysler 300 tried to change lanes just as I was passing him, apparently not noticing the bright green car that I was driving.

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Note that the 2008-2009 Taurus and its Five Hundred predecessor, which were designed with big windows to give a good outward view, were mostly ignored in the market compared to the Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum, and Dodge Charger with their gun-slit window style.

 

It isn't just Chrysler and Ford doing this type of thing; it is industry-wide, in response to an apparent desire among car buyers to not be able to see out of their own cars very well (Lexus ES350 is another example). And it is an annoying trend; recently, a driver in a newly bought (temporary registration) Chrysler 300 tried to change lanes just as I was passing him, apparently not noticing the bright green car that I was driving.

 

Getting back to the Fiesta, that was another compromise of form over function. It's the best looking B segment vehicle out there, but it had to give up rear seat and cargo room to become the best looking. Personally, I prefer more interior room and better outward vision over the radical, more popular styling. I also hate chrome. I understand Ford has to do what it has to do to sell new vehicles and make money. It just means I keep my 2002 Taurus longer as I like the no chrome, better outward vision better. However, my Taurus is no piece of cake backing up with its big spoiler on back restricting vision.

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Note that the 2008-2009 Taurus and its Five Hundred predecessor, which were designed with big windows to give a good outward view, were mostly ignored in the market compared to the Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum, and Dodge Charger with their gun-slit window style.

 

It isn't just Chrysler and Ford doing this type of thing; it is industry-wide, in response to an apparent desire among car buyers to not be able to see out of their own cars very well (Lexus ES350 is another example). And it is an annoying trend; recently, a driver in a newly bought (temporary registration) Chrysler 300 tried to change lanes just as I was passing him, apparently not noticing the bright green car that I was driving.

 

If people properly monitor their mirrors, and pay attention to what is on the road other than the pavement in front of them, "blind spots" should never be an issue.

 

I have heard people complain about "blind spots" in the 300, but never noticed it when I had a rental. Pay attention to your surroundings, and you'll be fine.

 

But like what is becoming the norm in society, it's easier to blame something else, then admit your own fault.

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If people properly monitor their mirrors, and pay attention to what is on the road other than the pavement in front of them, "blind spots" should never be an issue.

 

I have heard people complain about "blind spots" in the 300, but never noticed it when I had a rental. Pay attention to your surroundings, and you'll be fine.

 

But like what is becoming the norm in society, it's easier to blame something else, then admit your own fault.

 

I got flamed over on the edge forum when people went nuts trying to retrofit the blind spot mirrors to previous models. They were trying to justify it as a "safety" upgrade because it eliminated blind spots. When I told them that my edge didn't have any blind spots due to the way my mirrors were adjusted and the ability of my head to rotate 90 degrees to the left and right before changing lanes. Let's just say my position wasn't warmly welcomed. Modders don't like to have their excuses debunked.

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If people properly monitor their mirrors, and pay attention to what is on the road other than the pavement in front of them, "blind spots" should never be an issue.

 

Most drivers were taught in driving school to adjust their side mirrors so that they can see the side of their own car, which uselessly duplicates the coverage of their center mirror (unless they are driving something with center mirror rear visibility like a cargo van with no rear windows). The big C-pillars in many new cars these days block the direct (turning one's head) view of the rear quarter overlapping area which is not covered by this mirror adjustment.

 

(Of course, in vehicles with no center mirror visibility, or when towing a long trailer, one does need to see down the side of one's vehicle (and trailer), but such vehicles should have multiple side mirrors to minimize blind spots.)

 

Why they don't teach the method of adjusting side mirrors to cover the rear quarter overlapping area (and not uselessly duplicate the view of the center mirror) is a mystery to me. One day in very slow moving traffic while moving slightly faster than the next lane, I counted cars by whether I could see the driver in the side mirror when I was in the rear quarter overlapping area. Something like only 1 in 20 cars had the side mirror adjusted that way. So it would be best to assume that the rear quarter overlapping area is a mirror blind spot for most other drivers (even if you adjust your own mirrors to cover it), and that that area is particularly dangerous when you are near a vehicle with a large C-pillar.

Edited by tjl
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http://green.autoblog.com/2010/08/09/report-honda-to-price-fit-hybrid-at-18-600-in-japan/#comments

 

Hybrid Fit in the works, $18,600 in Japan, 70mpg. I don't know how (if?) that'll translate to an American version in terms of price and mileage, but either way, if a Hybrid Fit does come to NA, I really hope Ford takes this on as a challenge for the Fiesta. I'd like to see some serious competition between Ford and Honda on this segment so that we can enjoy the outcome. A hybrid Fit option would make it even harder for me to choose the Fiesta, so lets see some tit-for-tat exchanges like we see with the pony cars and pickups!

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Most drivers were taught in driving school to adjust their side mirrors so that they can see the side of their own car, which uselessly duplicates the coverage of their center mirror (unless they are driving something with center mirror rear visibility like a cargo van with no rear windows). The big C-pillars in many new cars these days block the direct (turning one's head) view of the rear quarter overlapping area which is not covered by this mirror adjustment.

 

(Of course, in vehicles with no center mirror visibility, or when towing a long trailer, one does need to see down the side of one's vehicle (and trailer), but such vehicles should have multiple side mirrors to minimize blind spots.)

 

Why they don't teach the method of adjusting side mirrors to cover the rear quarter overlapping area (and not uselessly duplicate the view of the center mirror) is a mystery to me. One day in very slow moving traffic while moving slightly faster than the next lane, I counted cars by whether I could see the driver in the side mirror when I was in the rear quarter overlapping area. Something like only 1 in 20 cars had the side mirror adjusted that way. So it would be best to assume that the rear quarter overlapping area is a mirror blind spot for most other drivers (even if you adjust your own mirrors to cover it), and that that area is particularly dangerous when you are near a vehicle with a large C-pillar.

[/quote)

 

How about federal laws mandating spotter mirrors on all new vehicles like Ford is doing on most of their lineup. Ford is even using spotter mirrors on their new Fiesta and standard on Edge and new Escape. Driving defensively is a lost art anyway with Zombie driving being the norm now. We have Zombie banks, Zombie financial system, and Zombie drivers more intent on their phone conversations and checking their smart screen while driving nowhere. Adjusting mirrors is the least of our problems out there. Btw, there is a way of adjusting the mirror so that there is no blind spot, but it's not taught in DE because of possible lawsuits resulting if driver doesn't do it correctly. And for guys like me it's a lost cause in that my brain automatically turns my neck as in unconditional reflex to check my blindspot. Lots of auto drivers fail to understand that tractor trailer drivers can't check their blind spot and will stay in their blind spot way too long. Defensive driving again is a lost art form.

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If people properly monitor their mirrors, and pay attention to what is on the road other than the pavement in front of them, "blind spots" should never be an issue.

 

I have heard people complain about "blind spots" in the 300, but never noticed it when I had a rental. Pay attention to your surroundings, and you'll be fine.

 

But like what is becoming the norm in society, it's easier to blame something else, then admit your own fault.

The whole blind spot thing always baffled me, I adjust my mirrors so the cars in my rearview enter the sideview while still in the rearview and then into my vision while still in the sideview. I don't remember being taught how to adjust my mirrors when I was learning to drive but that was almost thirty years ago! So I don't know if they teach it different now or not. It just seams like common sense to me to adjust the mirrors this way. Everyone just needs to take a little time to adjust seats and mirrors properly, but it seesm this is to much work for most people, so many today have absolutely no respect for anyone else. I agree the driving today is worse than ever with a few of the big things being not moving over to the right of the lane or onto the shoulder when making a right turn. Speeding up to blow through yellow lights and even just turned reds, almost got rear ended a bunch of times because of this. No courtesy of every other car when merging. I can go on all day but I will stop my rant now.

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It would be nice for something like that to appear, but don't get your hopes up too high. The 2010 Honda Insight is based on the Fit platform, but is a disappointment in that is smaller inside and less sporty than the Fit, while its fuel economy is not a game changing improvement (it is smaller than the Toyota Prius but gets worse fuel economy). Honda's IMA hybrid system is less aggressive than the systems that Toyota and Ford use, so Honda hybrids do not get as large gains in fuel economy.

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Adjusting mirrors is the least of our problems out there. Btw, there is a way of adjusting the mirror so that there is no blind spot, but it's not taught in DE because of possible lawsuits resulting if driver doesn't do it correctly. And for guys like me it's a lost cause in that my brain automatically turns my neck as in unconditional reflex to check my blindspot. Lots of auto drivers fail to understand that tractor trailer drivers can't check their blind spot and will stay in their blind spot way too long. Defensive driving again is a lost art form.

 

Covering the "blind spot" by properly adjusting the side mirrors helps even if you turn your head for a last check before changing lanes. By covering the "blind spot" with your side mirrors, you can more easily monitor the traffic around you as you are just driving along.

 

As far as other driver's blind spots go, if you cannot see the driver of the other car either directly or in his/her mirrors, s/he cannot see you -- i.e. you are in his/her blind spot (especially true for the 18 wheel trucks as you mention). Best to get out of there as soon as you can.

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We've heard from a reviewer and some sales people.

 

So last night I took out a Fiesta SES hatchback and a Focus SE, back-to-back, as I am in the market for a new commuter car (the pickup sucks too much gas for the long commute)

 

 

 

 

 

I love the “got to save gas” as a rationalization to buy a new car. Simple math would show that your F150 can be driven anywhere between 65,000 and 80,000 miles on just the price of a new Fiesta, never mind taxes, fees, insurance and the operating cost of the smaller vehicle.

 

Just fess up and say – “I have an itching to get a new toy, so I went to look at a Fiesta…”

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I love the “got to save gas” as a rationalization to buy a new car. Simple math would show that your F150 can be driven anywhere between 65,000 and 80,000 miles on just the price of a new Fiesta, never mind taxes, fees, insurance and the operating cost of the smaller vehicle.

 

Just fess up and say – “I have an itching to get a new toy, so I went to look at a Fiesta…”

 

80,000 for me would be about 3 years of driving. Seems like a reasonable turnover time to me if I owned a truck that I planned on owning for several years.

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I love the “got to save gas” as a rationalization to buy a new car. Simple math would show that your F150 can be driven anywhere between 65,000 and 80,000 miles on just the price of a new Fiesta, never mind taxes, fees, insurance and the operating cost of the smaller vehicle.

 

Just fess up and say – “I have an itching to get a new toy, so I went to look at a Fiesta…”

 

 

 

Nope. Have both now. The truck stays, it isnt going anywhere. The Escort is getting long in the tooth and it's either get another commuter car or spend a few thousand on new brakes, tires, clutch, timing belt etc.

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ya, Fiesta is definitely a perfect second car for commuting purposes. For me, it would be a first car, so no matter what I get, I'll be burning a shit load more gas than I am now, I just want to get the one that'll burn the least. And then one that'll be easiest to park. We've got my girlfriend's parents' Fit for a few weeks right now, and we live downtown, so the small footprint opens up a lot of parking possibilities. Some of the spots I've nabbed recently wouldn't fly if the car were a foot or two longer.

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