OTOH, if I had the disposable cash, there would be a Ford-GT sitting next to my Vette.
Posted on 01/07/2007 7:50:16 AM PST by Flavius
I just got one, too. Good car.
Ford isn't quite as bad as GM, but they do seem to be in the business of creating one debacle after another. I have an 1997 F150 with a 4.2L. Look up "Ford 4.2L Hydro-locking" on google--there are literally thousands of people with this engine problem. And it's just one of many for Ford. They can redesign the exterior until they're blue in the face and it won't fix the problems under the hood.
Are you as concerned about other things your dollars may support as you are about unions?
You may not like them, but union workers here are your fellow Americans, and they spend their earnings here, and pay their share of taxes here, and companies like Ford and GM do too.
"Take a reasonable car (insert one here, say VW bug/corona/510/civic/Bclass)
and continue to improve it"
Bingo. You have to start with a reasonable car. Ford didn't. The 500 is one of the worst cars ever. If you start with an Edsel, you will still have an Edsel when you are finished.
The latest Mustang was a good idea. The Focus may be salvagable. The 500 is a turkey.
The main problem here is that Ford has not had "a better idea" in 40 years. The low price market has gone to the Koreans. Since Ford can't compete in the low price market, they are stuck with competing against Toyota, Honda and Nissan. No contest. Ford loses.
My Ford is a 1988 F-250 diesel, with 180,000 miles on it. Only my "new" 2002 Jeep has fewer, with 52,000.
Others include:
'93 Geo Metro with 215,000
'95 Chevy S-10 Blazer with 220,000
'87 P-30 Chevy/Grummon stepvan with 500,000 miles on the chassis (300,000 on the motor)
'80 Chevy Malibu with 200,000+ (converted to right-hand drive for mail delivery)
'66 International M-800 Metro-Mite with over 200-300,000 miles on it (I have no idea how many times the odometer has rolled over, only that I've put 130,000 of those miles on it)
Last but not least, a '80 Mercedes 240 diesel with 450,000 miles, only thing that's been changed is the clutch (3 times)
Personally, I like the Ford trucks more than their cars....
Outstanding. BUMP!
When Ford downsized the Taurus(which was number one car in US market)..they lost their market share. I really liked the final version of the larger Taurus. Had two as company cars and drove them a total of 150k. When they downsized I chose the Intrepid and others went to the Camry.
End of story.
Our friends will not even look at American cars..I think Ford is doomed.
"When Ford downsized the Taurus"
I didn't know they ever downsized the Taurus. Really?
The "tall sedan" was supposed to appeal to SUV owners, who were accustomed to a more commanding view of surrounding traffic, as well as to older people who have difficulty getting in and out of a more traditional, lower seating position. Funny, they're not marketing it that way. The styling is inoffensive enough, but they continued with the rounded theme at a time when the market is going for a more defined, linear look. It looks dated, in other words. The underpinnings are from the Volvo S-80, which is a good, solid, well-engineered car. Too bad they put that anemic, pushrod V-6 in it. My folks are the target market, they always buy American; they took a look at the Five Hundred, test drove it and didn't like it. They bought an 06 Impala LT.
Today, both Chevy and Ford (and to a smaller extent Daimler-Chrysler) are struggling to survive, while Toyota and Honda are grabbing market share.
Whoever lived and drove a car in the '70s has seen this happen before, when GM made 5 different cars, and just put a different name on the grill....
I like my Ford 500 although after having 2 buicks I agree with the power issue.
I also had one of the first year's of the Taurus line back in the 80's - loved the looks and interior but the engine ate oil. When they "slimmed" them down though, IMO they ruined the looks and my sister says she has vision problems with hers (blind spots) and won't let the kids drive it.
hehe
I love my Vette. :-)
I didn't see any reference to the workers in the previous posts. Nice straw man, though.
Are you crazy? Ummm... don't answer that. ;-) (J/K)
I don't even change the oil myself. However, I do put in my own gas at the gas stations. LOL!
In 1986 after graduating from college and getting my first professional position I bought a new Ford. It was a a car from hell! From driving it off from the Ford Dealer's lot having the radio failed on the drive home to having the transmission fail within the first three thousand miles, taking it back to the dealer numerous times to for virtually every problem and than eventually getting into a horrible accident (after which I went through 18 months of physical therapy) due to the brakes failing with less than 10,000 miles. Yes, the state I lived in even did an investigation into the accident I was in and found that it was the fault of FORD for putting on faulty mechanics for the brakes on my Ford. \
After my accident I took the information on the accident and went to the dealer, Ford and talked with the Ford Zone representative. The Ford Zone Representative laughed at me and said you can sue Ford, we will tie it up in court and you will get nothing because we have deeper pockets than you have.
I will never ever under any circumstances buy another FORD!!!!
I HOPE FORD GOES OUT OF BUSINESS!!!!!!!!!
Hey Ford you screwed me! I hope you go out of business!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO TELL EVERYONE WHAT GARBAGE YOU PRODUCE! I HOPE TO STOP EVERYONE WHO I KNOW IS CONSIDERING PURCHASING ONE OF YOUR PIECES OF GARBAGE!
OTOH, if I had the disposable cash, there would be a Ford-GT sitting next to my Vette.
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