The times they are a changing.........

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: exranger06
My Explorer has been the most reliable vehicle my family has ever had. It is the reason I'm a Ford fan, and is the reason I bought my Ranger. Still extremely happy with both vehicles. One day I WILL have a Mustang!!

I don't think someone can compare vehicles to other appliances and other products, like dishwashing soap. At least not in America, where so much of the population is so passionate about autos, racing, and motorsports. Heck, you guys come on here almost every day to talk about cars. Are you also members of dishwashing soap forums? Didn't think so.


Exactly. For people who come to a site to talk about something as menial (and the majority of the populous would likely state insignificant) as motor oil. And then to not only judge, but condemn those who are loyal to a particular brand of automobile seems a touch hypocritical.

A vehicle is the second most expensive thing the average person will buy in their life. Comparing that to dish soap; something that costs half as much as a litre of many of the oils people put in their cars on this site is ludicrous.

 

[97prizm]

My dad has always been a Ford guy. From 60's mustangs to the ford escort that my parents bought new in 1995. Now the dealer was dishonest as the escort my parents purchased was wrecked and rebuilt then sold as new. This is not Corporate Fords fault by any means. The escort lasted 205,000 until a piece of the valve seat broke off. The problem is that Ford does not build any "sport" sedans akin to Audi or BMW. You cant buy any large Sedans from for with a manual transmission. I along with my parents refuse to drive an automatic. Unfortunately a VW or audi may be our only option for a manual transmission vehicle.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: 97prizm

My dad has always been a Ford guy. From 60's mustangs to the ford escort that my parents bought new in 1995. Now the dealer was dishonest as the escort my parents purchased was wrecked and rebuilt then sold as new. This is not Corporate Fords fault by any means. The escort lasted 205,000 until a piece of the valve seat broke off. The problem is that Ford does not build any "sport" sedans akin to Audi or BMW. You cant buy any large Sedans from for with a manual transmission. I along with my parents refuse to drive an automatic. Unfortunately a VW or audi may be our only option for a manual transmission vehicle.


What are you gonna do when there aren't any manual transmissions as an option? Give an automatic a chance, they aren't that bad.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: rudolphna
Originally Posted By: 97prizm

My dad has always been a Ford guy. From 60's mustangs to the ford escort that my parents bought new in 1995. Now the dealer was dishonest as the escort my parents purchased was wrecked and rebuilt then sold as new. This is not Corporate Fords fault by any means. The escort lasted 205,000 until a piece of the valve seat broke off. The problem is that Ford does not build any "sport" sedans akin to Audi or BMW. You cant buy any large Sedans from for with a manual transmission. I along with my parents refuse to drive an automatic. Unfortunately a VW or audi may be our only option for a manual transmission vehicle.


What are you gonna do when there aren't any manual transmissions as an option? Give an automatic a chance, they aren't that bad.


Ford PowerShift, VW DSG, and other twin-clutch/clutchless manual trans are probably the future for sports/sporty cars. The clutch pedal may disappear eventually, but as long as there are interal combustion engines I don't think the manual trans will ever completely disappear, especially when there are fuel economy gains to be had with them when used in conjunction with some creative tuning.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
A vehicle is the second most expensive thing the average person will buy in their life. Comparing that to dish soap; something that costs half as much as a litre of many of the oils people put in their cars on this site is ludicrous.


Some people just can't hide their hate of American car companies.

 

[fdcg27]

The mechanical integrity of Ford products extends back a few years, in my experience.
In September 1997, we bought a brand new Aerostar.
It now has 170K, no outer body rust through, still looks pretty good underneath, AC still works great, and it runs strong.
We bought the Aero because we needed a minivan and it was We've kept it because it has been as durable and reliable mechanically as any Honda (we've had six) or Mercedes (we've had four) that we've ever owned.
Ford has built some trouble-free long-lived product for years.
Not all the good machines have Euro or Japanese badges.
I'm in no way a Ford fan-buy, but you have to give credit to a manufacturer when its due them.
And, no, the Boeing guy had nothing to do with it.

 

[silverrat]

Originally Posted By: rudolphna
Originally Posted By: 97prizm

My dad has always been a Ford guy. From 60's mustangs to the ford escort that my parents bought new in 1995. Now the dealer was dishonest as the escort my parents purchased was wrecked and rebuilt then sold as new. This is not Corporate Fords fault by any means. The escort lasted 205,000 until a piece of the valve seat broke off. The problem is that Ford does not build any "sport" sedans akin to Audi or BMW. You cant buy any large Sedans from for with a manual transmission. I along with my parents refuse to drive an automatic. Unfortunately a VW or audi may be our only option for a manual transmission vehicle.


What are you gonna do when there aren't any manual transmissions as an option? Give an automatic a chance, they aren't that bad.


How about you give manual a chance before you think an automatic is good enough.

 

[rationull]

Originally Posted By: rudolphna

What are you gonna do when there aren't any manual transmissions as an option? Give an automatic a chance, they aren't that bad.


You know, I kind of like driving automatics occasionally just for something different. For whatever reason though I only like them in big cars -- our Suburban, the Caprice or LeSabre my family used to have, and even my wife's old Volvo 850 to some extent (though that car would've been better with an MT). The lack of effort and the disconnect between engine sound and acceleration can enhance the boaty feel of a big boaty car.

But in a DD, barring health problems or very, very severe traffic ALL the time, MT all the way for me. I don't dislike ATs for what they are, but when driven correctly MTs are more engaging, cheaper to buy, cheaper to maintain, cheaper to repair, and less likely to need repair.

When there are no MTs as an option, I will buy an AT. But, I will miss MTs.

Oh and, to be on topic. If my less practical side wins out and I end up getting a 2011 Mustang (V6 or V8), it'll for darn sure be a 6MT!

 

[rjacket]

Originally Posted By: 97prizm

My dad has always been a Ford guy. From 60's mustangs to the ford escort that my parents bought new in 1995. Now the dealer was dishonest as the escort my parents purchased was wrecked and rebuilt then sold as new. This is not Corporate Fords fault by any means. The escort lasted 205,000 until a piece of the valve seat broke off. The problem is that Ford does not build any "sport" sedans akin to Audi or BMW. You cant buy any large Sedans from for with a manual transmission. I along with my parents refuse to drive an automatic. Unfortunately a VW or audi may be our only option for a manual transmission vehicle.


Why don't you import a European Ford? The exchange rate right now might actually make it competitive in price.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
And, no, the Boeing guy had nothing to do with it.


He didn't have as much to do with it as some people think. From what I've read his biggest contribution to Ford is helping with internal efficiency and communication. The loan, the quality improvements, the renewed focus on product was all planned or in place at least a couple years before he took over. He was the driving force behind selling Jag/LR/Aston, Mazda and now Volvo though and I believe that will be good for Ford in the long run. Ford was apparently wasting a lot of financial and engineering resources of Jag.

 

[oilboy123]

Originally Posted By: rjacket
I would agree that credit should go to Mullaly. Bringing in a complete outsider often brings common sense to large companies.

A couple of interesting things I read about him.

1) He didn't give up his Lexus LS (you know the model that was top of JD Power's reliability survey for 10 years in a row). It sent a message about what they needed to aspire to

2) He immediately reversed the marketing foolishness. Some whizz kid had decided to have all models beginning with an F (for Ford). So you had Focus, Fusion, Five Hundred etc etc. He couldn't believe that they carried the logic to the point where they dropped the Taurus name for Five Hundred. Simply by renaming Five Hundred as Taurus, those sales went up significantly.

I also like the story behind the Fusion Hybrid. Apparently the engineers achieved 39mpg but were sent back to get it over the psychological barrier of 40. Again, it was done for the marketing effect but it is nice to see a company doing good engineering and then not failing due to poor marketing as opposed to what I think the recent history of the domestics is which was too much of a reliance of marketing.


Mullaly also said why are you getting rid of the Taurus the best selling car......Ford was certainly making bonehead decisions at times. Mullaly is a very sharp guy.

 

[38sho]

I love my SHO, its not a Ford engine, but hey, Ford had the idea to package it together and sell it with a Ford badge and a Ford body! The only thing Ford on the engine is the ignition system.

I just beat the snot out of it constantly and it keeps humming right along, and if you drive it like a grandma its almost good on gas.... and if you drive it like an animal.... it will take out older mustangs!

its a fun car that nothing else I've driven competes with it. Maybe like a 90-93 Accord sedan with a H22 swap would be something I'd put in the same class, albeit its slower. It is still a fun, wierd, rare car to have fun in and wind the motor up to high rpm's!

I like the old Mark 7's, Mark 8's, Panther class cars, 5.0 fox bodies, Focus(older ones), and the Fusion.......

Ford has been comming up with some winners here and there and people are giving them a chance that aren't normal Ford owners.....

too bad I didn't buy Ford stock when it was low, people are making a killing!

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: 38sho

I like the old Mark 7's, Mark 8's, Panther class cars, 5.0 fox bodies, Focus(older ones), and the Fusion.......



I worked on a 10 man crew awhile back and everyone in the group had either a Mark 7,Mark 8,Panther or 5.0 fox bodies...You never in your life saw a group of guys get along so well...The ages were 18-85...We even hung out on weekends helping each other work on our cars during cookouts.

 

[Tornado Red]

Can I get a Taurus wagon with a 2.5- or 3.0-liter turbo diesel engine and a six-speed manual transmission? If so, sign me up.

 

[oilboy123]

Originally Posted By: Tornado Red
Can I get a Taurus wagon with a 2.5- or 3.0-liter turbo diesel engine and a six-speed manual transmission? If so, sign me up.


We should have cars that come in all types of configurations. Taurus hatchback, wagon, diesel etc.

 

[subiedriver]

I would definitely buy a Ford over a GM, our 2003 F-150 has been a great truck, still is. The 5.4 is a good, reliable, strong puller.