It has the curves, but it's the proportions that make the Escape look more bloated/ stubby.  

I’ll keep this brief….. I feel like bad decisions conspired against Ford’s RWD plans.   Back in 2008 Falcon/Territory platform was offered as the start of a global RWD strategy (crown Vic replacement in Middle East markets) but Mullaly would have none of it when D3 was the chosen FWD/AWD platform. Fields had to wait until Mullaly retired before green light for CD6 then saw it whittled away to two vehicles.   The big makeup go Ford Aus was developing T6 Ranger/Everest/ Mazda BT50 and then all the current T6.2s  Biukding products thst have to meet regs in over a 100 countries is really challenging.

Haha, interesting analogy.  I actually liked the side profile of the gray one as a starting point but I didn’t build it out from there. Perhaps I’ll see how that one could evolve.  

Yes, I’m aware regarding delivery.  I’m thankful I do not to deal with those ridiculous fees with my dealer.

Unfortunately until states or the fed start to regulate it, it will be nearly impossible to have consistent fees and paperwork. No chance the dealer lobbies don’t prevent that. 

Ford has been trying to do a global RWD platform since dew98 Lincoln LS.  They make grandiose plans then those plans get scaled back for various reasons.  

I've seen $900 doc fees on Toyotas.  It's ridiculous.

I think it boils down to the market-I guess Ford was expecting to sell larger cars when the C2 met 70-80% of the market needs.  It also might boil down to desperation to a point too. 

If c2 is Ford's greatest success in recent memory, cd6 up until this point has been one of their biggest disappointments. The fact that it's so underutilized is depressing, especially when it seems like a capable platform. 

During my summer as a student intern at Ford, I briefly got to drive a '70 Boss 302.  My boss was with me, so I had to tread lightly.  Still, for a few fleeting moments, I was Dan Gurney.