NickF1011 Posted November 16, 2006 Author Share Posted November 16, 2006 Hey rotaries are cool. At 7000 RPM. When they don't flood. When they don't get oil hungry. When they actually make the advertised horsepower.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 Sure, I ended up with a Mazda, which Ford owns PART of. But how many people know that? Not too many. They see a Mazda and see a Japanese car and not an American one. Yep, that's how my girlfriend ended up with a B3000 several years ago, after her parents convinced her to not buy American The first thing I did when I saw it is point out all the Ford emblems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Reynolds Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 When they actually make the advertised horsepower.... Oh yeah I forgot about that. Fun car though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 oh yah, forgot the other reason why I love ford so much.....the back seat of my girlfriends thunderbird....ummm...good memories! of course i have fond memories of the back seat of a dodge colt-probably why i have back problems 25 years later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 The Ford BRAND needs to have the "gotta have" products that will make its BRAND image stand out in the public's mind again. Can they be 'gotta have' if they ain't 'gotta have' for you? Ford Edge is going to be the 'it' car in 2007. 'Everybody' wants one. Thing is, Ford's taking the brand away from producing vehicles tailored for performance enthusiasts. It's one of the reasons why SVT has a lower profile. The SVT products are not necessarily going to draw in the customers that Ford's seeking. Granted, there will always be a place for performance tuning, but you'll see less of a focus on it, because it's less important to Ford's core customer base. Customer focused engineering means you spend time and money on the stuff that matters to your customers, not what you would prefer as Mr. In Charge of Everything Guy. And if you think about it, even the Mustang has always had a sort of practicality and broad appeal that the F-bodies lacked, and that the Corvette doesn't have. You can get performance Mustangs, and you need to have them to keep the vehicle credible, but in the end, it's not just about performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro-man Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 That, combined with the overall poor level of dealer service (the dreaded "they all do that" as the answer to whatever brought you into the service department) spurred me to look at other brands. Oh God! My dealer even has xeroxed hand-outs explaining that "they all do that"!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 uh that looks alot like the MKS to me yep, it is: Sorry about the mix-up. By "this site" I meant Blueovalnews. Wheels magazine in Australia ran article about the Orion Falcon with the sketch of an MKS veiled by a superimposed sheet. Didn't fool the Ford Australia Forum posters at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlsaylor Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 I've been a supporter of Ford for some time, but I recently had to ask myself why? They build no products I want to buy. And yes, I own a Mustang, but the current one doesn't appeal to me. It became too large and the GT500 is simply unattainable and ridiculously heavy for its already-too-large size. I wouldn't consider buying an S197 to replace my '97 Cobra. While I certainly appreciate that everyone likes what they will I am always surprised at S197 fans who come down so hard on the new Mustang, especially the GT500. Now don't get me wrong as I liked the S197-based Mustangs and very nearly bought a 98 SVT Cobra myself. But I didn't purchase that car because dynamically, and in erms of power, it wasn't what I had hoped for or expected. Liking a car is one thing...that car ebing good enough to convince you to buy it is another. Given that the S197 Mustang GT's I have driven pretty easily shamed their previous generation Cobra cousins in every dynamic respect, and surprised me greatly with their level of refinement in general, I will be in the market for a GT500 in roughly a year (when ADM's can reasonably be expected to largely go away) Put simply I suppose I am the exact opposite of you relative to the Mustang. Even having been offered a very good deal the 98 SVT Cobra I looked at just didn't appeal to me enough to convince me that I really wanted one. In contrast, for me the S197 has appeal in spades. And when the ADM's disappear I would be willing to pay full sticker for a GT500 packages the way I want it. I simply find the S197 to be a better performance car, and Mustang, in every respect. Yeah the interior could stand to be better, and they under-tired the GT500 so drastically it is ridiculous. But they are absolutely a bargain despite some cheaper touches(at sticker) and I can always buy better rubber. Frankly, the real question is wether the majority of Mustang enthusiasts, and the buying public, agrees with me or with you. While I respect your opinion on the subject I would have to surmise that the ridiculous ADM's the GT500 has sutained, along with the obvious and long lived demand the new Mustang GT has generated, would lend themselves to the idea that Ford made the right choice with the new car. More to the point, the fact that I think the new Mustang is a quantum leap in every way is one of the reasons that I, unlike you, have not begun to wonder why I still find myself drawn to the Ford brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted November 16, 2006 Author Share Posted November 16, 2006 (edited) Can they be 'gotta have' if they ain't 'gotta have' for you? Ford Edge is going to be the 'it' car in 2007. 'Everybody' wants one. Thing is, Ford's taking the brand away from producing vehicles tailored for performance enthusiasts. It's one of the reasons why SVT has a lower profile. The SVT products are not necessarily going to draw in the customers that Ford's seeking. Granted, there will always be a place for performance tuning, but you'll see less of a focus on it, because it's less important to Ford's core customer base. Customer focused engineering means you spend time and money on the stuff that matters to your customers, not what you would prefer as Mr. In Charge of Everything Guy. Wow. If I wanted Ford to become Toyota, I would be a Toyota fan. :boring: Ford can't recover and lose their identity in the process. Well, they could I guess, but they'd alienate a lot of their current customer base I think. None of what you described is a "bold move". American automakers need to EMBRACE their performance heritage, not abandon it. Edited November 16, 2006 by NickF1011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 Wow. If I wanted Ford to become Toyota, I would be a Toyota fan. :boring: Ford can't recover and lose their identity in the process. Well, they could I guess, but they'd alienate a lot of their current customer base I think. None of what you described is a "bold move". American automakers need to EMBRACE their performance heritage, not abandon it. Well, you exaggerate my meaning somewhat. Fords are not intended for the 'car-as-appliance' crowd, as Toyota has pretty well cornered the market. Neither are they (in general) intended for people that will pay a premium for a true sports-touring car. Ford cars are for people that want 'sporty', not 'sports'. This means Ford needs performance cred (through racing, the performance Mustangs, aftermarket kits, and so forth), but the core Ford audience doesn't want to pay the price in comfort that a true sports-touring car (like the Mazda6, Mazda3, etc.) demands. It sounds like 'dumbing down' the brand, but it's not, really. Ford has historically been a brand full of bread and butter products with the occasional high performance offering. I see no reason Ford should abandon that going forward. Form some partnerships with aftermarket tuners to create special editions of the Fusion, Focus, Mustang, etc., let SVT work on the Mustang and trucks, and direct most of the product development efforts to satisfying the 1.3M people (give or take) that buy Ford cars every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro-man Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 ..........Ford cars are for people that want 'sporty', not 'sports'...........Ford has historically been a brand full of bread and butter products with the occasional high performance offering. I see no reason Ford should abandon that going forward. I agree with your last statement. However this word "sporty", makes me extremely uncomfortable. I never really wanted the word "sporty" associated with anything I own. I remember when I bought my brand new '83 Mazda B2000 PU - the salesman seemed positively shocked that I didn't go for the "sporty" striping option....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALincoln4ever Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Why i still like Ford? - I have been a current owner of BMWs for the past 12 years. However, when I was a teenager, I had the pleasure once to drive the finest car I have ever driven in my life before or since. It was a new 1987 Lincoln Mark VII LSC. It was everything all the others werent. It was fast and sporty, yet it was very luxurious. The BMWs and MBs of the day couldn't match the level of refinement that was in the Mark. However, when I got enough money to buy one they were gone replaced by the over grown Mark VIII, then by the 4 door LS. I am still waiting for Ford to produce that great true American coupe again. Do they hear me you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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