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Another Ford in the driveway


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As you may have heard me mention a time or two (or ten), the leased Cruze my wife brought into our relationship was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect woman. 

 

The *long* lease term is finally up next month, and we took advantage of a weak market to upgrade her last night. 

 

A close cousin of mine is Sr. G.M. for a family owned chain of 15 dealerships around central Ohio, and his office is based in the brand-new Ford spec building a few miles up the road from home. Last night, we brought home a very gently used 4WD Explorer XLT in Magnetic with black leather interior and seemingly every option box checked save for the Pano roof. She couldn't be happier, and neither could I. She really warmed up to driving my Flex over the last couple years, but likes the higher seating position and "more nimble" feel of the Explorer. 

 

I finally traded in my '08 Fusion that's been a glorified driveway decoration since I got the Flex, and with a small down payment we are paying considerably *less* than she was for that awful leased shitbox Cruze. 

 

Interestingly, as we were finalizing the numbers he told me that the Ford lot has been absolutely swamped with new car sales in the last 2 weeks. They're working under minimized staffing due to the "Safer at Home" rules, but each of the sales associates are juggling 2 or 3 deals at a time most evenings. In the last 30 days, this one lot alone is down by 145 inventory units. He's been told not to expect significant deliveries to begin for another 6 to 8 weeks at least. 

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Other than the shitty weather-looks great!!   I imagine a lot of the dealer's will scramble to start and buy off-lease fleet vehicles from rental car companies to fill their gaps until production gets up to normal levels. 

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29 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

Congrats!

 

What powertrain does it have and what does the Flex have?

 

Just curious with the "nimble" comment, as I find the Flex more planted/sporting than that gen Explorer.

 

The both have the 3.5 / 6A ?

 

I'm convinced to her, "nimble" means the corner lean from the increased height. 

 

She is *not* a car person. Asked me to pick something for her and tell her where to sign.

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6 hours ago, kyle said:

Other than the shitty weather-looks great!!   I imagine a lot of the dealer's will scramble to start and buy off-lease fleet vehicles from rental car companies to fill their gaps until production gets up to normal levels. 

 

We've had rain for the last 10 days or so. The little bridge over the Licking River to get into our corner of the neighborhood was washed over with a few inches of water for the last few days.

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38 minutes ago, PREMiERdrum said:

 

The both have the 3.5 / 6A ?

 

I'm convinced to her, "nimble" means the corner lean from the increased height. 

 

She is *not* a car person. Asked me to pick something for her and tell her where to sign.

 

Haha, well with that assessment, then yes, I'd agree with her, Explorer is more "nimble" than Flex. haha.

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I know about the 'bringing a GM into the marriage' thing.  My wife brought a 1996 Cavalier into our marriage back in '98.  Her next vehicle was a 2003 Escape, and that was all it took to convert that Chevy girl to a Ford woman.  Nothing but Fords (and a Mercury) have been in our garage since.  Her mom now drives Fords too.  I'm sure my Chevy-loving father-in-law is still shaking his head as he looks down on us from above.  ? 

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28 minutes ago, fordmantpw said:

I know about the 'bringing a GM into the marriage' thing.  My wife brought a 1996 Cavalier into our marriage back in '98.  Her next vehicle was a 2003 Escape, and that was all it took to convert that Chevy girl to a Ford woman.  Nothing but Fords (and a Mercury) have been in our garage since.  Her mom now drives Fords too.  I'm sure my Chevy-loving father-in-law is still shaking his head as he looks down on us from above.  ? 

Her family is mainly "Jeep people" but they fell in love with the Flex the second I bought it. As of today, my wife has an Explorer, her brother is shopping an Edge (from my cousin), and her parents are considering replacing their Cherokee with an Escape.

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3 hours ago, akirby said:

Well I guess I'm the guilty party in my house - when we got married I had a 75 Olds Cutlass POS and she had an Escort.   From there we owned a few Hondas before switching to Ford.

 

An Escort?  No, I would say she was the guilty party! ?

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8 hours ago, akirby said:

Well I guess I'm the guilty party in my house - when we got married I had a 75 Olds Cutlass POS and she had an Escort.   From there we owned a few Hondas before switching to Ford.


I can see why you drove Honda’s for a while. 

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38 minutes ago, jasonj80 said:


I can see why you drove Honda’s for a while. 


No kidding.  We had a used 81 accord, then I bought a new 86 Acura integra 3 door hatchback.  Loved that car.  Wife got a 88 Civic sedan and a 90 accord before switching to a Ford Explorer.  I got a Ranger in 1990.  Those Hondas were leaps and bounds ahead of the domestic cars in the late 80s early 90s.

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