I dont' know if its because I've been driving Small 4 banger , manual transmission COmpact cars all my life.. but I am renting a 1998 Ford Taurus and its a really comfortable Highway cruiser. Gas mileage sucks but the seating position is nice too. In my opinion the quality feeling is better than GM and Chrysler Products. ALthough in my opinion the Hyundai Sonata and the Suzuki Verona(Daewoo) is a better car, the Ford Taurus ain't bad.
Change my mind about Ford.
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The suspension/steering tuning on the taurus feels really great. I rented one with 16" wheels and it cornered better than my saturns. Nice and quiet inside too and a very solid feeling car. Though at 27mpg highway with a 3.0 liter/4 speed my old cutlass ciera with 150,000 miles, 3.3L/3 speed looked better at 30mpg.
The midsize sedan segment is ultra-competitive and they're all quite nice cars. Be true to your userID and test drive a Sonata 5 speed... another fine ride.
PS, a rental 1998?
The midsize sedan segment is ultra-competitive and they're all quite nice cars. Be true to your userID and test drive a Sonata 5 speed... another fine ride.
PS, a rental 1998?
Maybe ''Rent a Wreck''? Rentals for trips could make more and more sense. Dump your guzzler for something appropriate for your day to day driving. Easier to park and more room in the garage for your oil stash. For the few times a year, rent something for that big trip. Don't forget Home Depot, a truck big enough for the big jobs, $20 for the first hour. Recently a second hour free special.
Ford may have come a long ways. The truth is, when I bought my Cavalier 3 years ago, I was so turned off by their marketing hype, I didn't even look at what they had. Did look at a Neon. They wanted the same dollar for no tach, no ABS, and a smaller gas tank. Maybe just as well. I could be on my third head gasket and maybe out $1,000 for fixing the Bosch ABS. Don't know anybody that had problems with the GM ABS. I'll manage with GM's ''quality feeling'', pushing 70 K and the only parts I have bought so far are filter elements and a set of windshield blades.
Ford may have come a long ways. The truth is, when I bought my Cavalier 3 years ago, I was so turned off by their marketing hype, I didn't even look at what they had. Did look at a Neon. They wanted the same dollar for no tach, no ABS, and a smaller gas tank. Maybe just as well. I could be on my third head gasket and maybe out $1,000 for fixing the Bosch ABS. Don't know anybody that had problems with the GM ABS. I'll manage with GM's ''quality feeling'', pushing 70 K and the only parts I have bought so far are filter elements and a set of windshield blades.
I test drove a V-6 Sonata yesterday here in Michigan and I test drove a 5 speed 4 banger in Virginia. both are nice.. i prefer a 5 speed. but yeah.. the Taurus handling is great. Well its a Courtesy car, they are lending it to me until my fix my Spindle I ruined, in my car.. they are trying to find a used part because a Hyundai Spindle is 500 bucks ,, where as a used one is 75 bucks.. so I am waiting.. its been 4 days so far. but I like the comfortable Taurus.. so I dont' midn. I did drive a 1996 Oldsmobile Cutlass.. and it was very very smooth and quiet.. but the handling was mediocre(Bouncy Cadillac like) and the Interior quality was horrible.
Labman: Ford.. possibly the best American car company?
Our 2002 ford focus ZTS is a solid dependable car thus far and its closing in on 40K miles. I did change the brakes/rotors out myself at 35k miles (bought them without checking the pads first) and the stock pads still were still Very thick. I changed them out anyway (low dust pads) The car handles great, is much bigger than the 2000 corolla it replaced, it gets great Oil analysis reports thus far.
The main problem with why American Car companies cant compete is the HUGE amount it has to spend on retirement pay, workers comp, health insurance. I remember reading that for every GM car sold 1500.00 goes to fund employee/retiree health insurance policies, whereas the Japanese govt pays covers their auto industry health expenses. 1500.00 will raise the quality of any car immensly. They need to restructure their health and retiree benefits-otherwise there arent going to be any US auto plants left.
The main problem with why American Car companies cant compete is the HUGE amount it has to spend on retirement pay, workers comp, health insurance. I remember reading that for every GM car sold 1500.00 goes to fund employee/retiree health insurance policies, whereas the Japanese govt pays covers their auto industry health expenses. 1500.00 will raise the quality of any car immensly. They need to restructure their health and retiree benefits-otherwise there arent going to be any US auto plants left.
I had a 1997 or 1998 Taurus with the 3.0L Vulcan as a loaner for about a month while my 1995 Ford Contour V6/5speed was waiting on new rear brake calipers, which were backordered (and apparently made in Germany). I brought it in because the parking brake was sticking in freezing weather, for which Ford issued a TSB; the TSB said nothing about replacing rear calipers, but they wanted to replace them anyway.
The Taurus wasn't a bad car, but I couldn't wait to get my Contour back.
The Taurus has a soft suspension, the engine was down 30HP from my Contour, it's a heavier car, rear drum brakes not discs, and the transmission really acted stupid sometimes, in addition to taking what I thought to be an excessively long time to engage after putting it in drive. (I had to force myself to wait a couple of seconds before applying the gas; otherwise I would cause it to chirp the tires).
In all fairness, I don't know if the transmission goofyness I noticed might just have been an issue with that loaner car. Might have been low on fluid or something; I didn't check.
It is available with a more powerful engine, and some people like soft suspensions. Just not me.
The Taurus wasn't a bad car, but I couldn't wait to get my Contour back.
The Taurus has a soft suspension, the engine was down 30HP from my Contour, it's a heavier car, rear drum brakes not discs, and the transmission really acted stupid sometimes, in addition to taking what I thought to be an excessively long time to engage after putting it in drive. (I had to force myself to wait a couple of seconds before applying the gas; otherwise I would cause it to chirp the tires).
In all fairness, I don't know if the transmission goofyness I noticed might just have been an issue with that loaner car. Might have been low on fluid or something; I didn't check.
It is available with a more powerful engine, and some people like soft suspensions. Just not me.
They depreciate so quickly that you get a lot of car for the money with a second-hand taurus. You see 2005's for about half the original MSRP. You probably wont get the trouble-free miles out of them that you would with a camry or accord, but purchase cost/up front $ is way less.
G/luck
Joel
G/luck
Joel
you answered your own question, it feels good because you are used to compact 4cyl cars.
Go drive a new Accord V6 or Camry V6 and come back and tell us how the Taurus feels then.
I've driven lots of them as rentals (Hertz owned by Ford) and yeah they drive ok. Personally the fit, finish, and reliability are not there IMO. Also, they look ugly.
Go drive a new Accord V6 or Camry V6 and come back and tell us how the Taurus feels then.
I've driven lots of them as rentals (Hertz owned by Ford) and yeah they drive ok. Personally the fit, finish, and reliability are not there IMO. Also, they look ugly.
If Ford, GM, DC, or VW had that extra margin, quality would be the last area they'd spend it on. They would give it to the shareholders or fly-by-night executives, or invest it in China, or in other companies. These companies are only interested in short term gain relative to their immediate competitors (and last year's model). They don't realistically compete with Toyota, Honda, or even Nissan except on paper or in their ads. Quality is a corporate attitude or philosophy that comes more from dedication and patience and employee (and supplier) loyalty, trust, and skill than from just spending money. If you as a company have decided that you want quality in your product line, you look up the formulas and statistics in the book, and you and your suppliers follow them to the letter year in and year out. That's what Hyundai (and Porsche apparently) has done. There are no shortcuts, but also no tricks or secrets. Sure it's more expensive, but the reward is satisfied customers in the long term. To Ford, 'quality' is just another corporate and marketing buzzword.
^^^I've heard that UAW get upset easily. A aquintance of mine used to be some Supervisor at a GM plant and if the UAW would get upset. they would do things like damage the cars and stuff. dunno if its true or not. I mean i always heard these factory workers are making lots of $$$
It's been my experience that most managers seem to think that all of the answers are in a book, and also that any process can be documented to the point that an ex-McDonald's fry cook could do it.
Fords are a maintenance nightmare! That 98 Taurus calls for 5.5 hrs just to R&R the radiator.
Most shops won't replace a Heater or Evap in one because it ends up taking 3 days.
The trucks are not any better. Gotta either remove the cab or the engine to get the heads off the engine after the sparkplugs shoot out taking the threads with them.
Good enough reasons for me not to own one.
Most shops won't replace a Heater or Evap in one because it ends up taking 3 days.
The trucks are not any better. Gotta either remove the cab or the engine to get the heads off the engine after the sparkplugs shoot out taking the threads with them.
Good enough reasons for me not to own one.
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