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Ford Mustang (2004 and earlier)

2124 messages,  Last post on Aug 24, 2010 at 1:12 PM

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What is this discussion about? Ford Mustang, Coupe

Messages Page 184 of 213

#1827 of 2124 Re: 2002 Mustang fuel tank [perritt] by sirgallant

Sep 13, 2005 (1:11 pm)

Replying to: perritt (Apr 24, 2002 7:34 am)
I do believe you have the wrong car. The one you're thinking of is the Pinto. Back in '76 or thereabouts Mother Earth News did an expose on the Pinto. When rear-ended at less than 35 mph the frame would buckle, the doors would jam and the gas tank would explode. Ford knew about it but refused to do anything because they wanted to manufacture a car that would cost less than $2000 MSRP. To rectify the problem it required the installation of a 1 pound, $11.00 baflle but that would have put the price over $2000. Ford calculated the cost of human life including suffering and loss of limbs, burial and other costs and determined it would be cheaper to deal with those costs than it would be to do a recall on all the Pintos on the road. After Mother Earth released their article, it resulted in lawsuits and Lee Iacocca's dismissal. I doubt Ford would be stupid enough to make the same mistake twice. And if so, I imagine it would have made the news by now.

#1828 of 2124 Re: 2002 Mustang fuel tank [sirgallant] by nvbanker

Sep 13, 2005 (4:33 pm)

Replying to: sirgallant (Sep 13, 2005 1:11 pm)
Where do you get your facts, man? That infamous memo has been falsely represented. A 1991 Rutgers Law Review article showed that the memo did not pertain to Pintos or even to Ford products.
The memo dealt with American cars in general. Plus, it wasn't about rear-end collisions and exploding gas tanks, but rollovers.
Finally, the reason it assigned a monetary value to a human life was because federal regulators wanted Ford and other auto companies to use that concept, not because greedy executives wanted to find a way to justify not making product improvements. Federal regulators employed that very concept in their deliberations over the efficacy of proposed regulations.
Auto makers could make a car that is completely safe in virtually every circumstance...and it would cost about $1 million a copy. Cost-benefit analysis is an integral part of the regulatory process, not a device employed by greedy, heartless executives to foist unsafe products on the public.
This is why I approach this entire episode with a healthy dose of skepticism. (That, and the idea that companies, like individuals, are innocent until PROVEN guilty. And I do not consider an adverse verdict, a spate of news stories featuring hysterical CR-V owners, or a pronouncement by Ralph Nader or Joan Claybrook to be proof of guilt.)
Too many of these scares - the Ford Pinto gas tank case, the Audi unintended acceleration fiasco, the GM pickups with the allegedly hazardous "side saddle" gas tanks - have collapsed once all of the facts were brought to light.

#1829 of 2124 woahhhh.. twilight zone by kyleknicks

Sep 13, 2005 (8:30 pm)

that was a post from 2002 that sirgallant replied to.... talk about delay reaction..

#1830 of 2124 Re: woahhhh.. twilight zone [kyleknicks] by rorr

Sep 14, 2005 (6:32 am)

Replying to: kyleknicks (Sep 13, 2005 8:30 pm)
Weeeelll.......
 
The original poster was asking a question and ended his post with "and I await your response".
 
I guess sirgallant just figured the original poster had waited long enough.

#1831 of 2124 I have to be more careful..... by nvbanker

Sep 14, 2005 (2:51 pm)

Those time warps can kill ya......

#1832 of 2124 Re: 2004 mustang [needtoys] by medontemike

Sep 15, 2005 (4:29 am)

Replying to: needtoys (Aug 09, 2005 5:34 pm)
I Have a 2004 Mustang convertible with 6 and 5 speed manual. The car is great except for drieability problems. THe engine hangs at the rpm that i am shifting at. In addition the car continues down the road at the same speed without touching the accelerator or the cruise control on. Anyone know of a solution. PS I have had the dealer look at this but they claim that all settings are within spec.
 
Thanks Medontemike

#1833 of 2124 2004 Mustang Driveability problems by medontemike

Sep 15, 2005 (5:52 am)

I have a 2004 Mustang convertible with 6 and 5 speed manual. The car is great except for drieability problems. THe engine hangs at the rpm that i am shifting at. In addition the car continues down the road at the same speed without touching the accelerator or the cruise control on. Anyone know of a solution. PS I have had the dealer look at this but they claim that all settings are within spec.
  
Thanks Medontemike

#1834 of 2124 conv care by rps

Sep 16, 2005 (8:47 am)

be nice, this is my first post. i have a '00gt with white conv top. bought car in dec 04. how do you keep the top clean. raggtopp doesn't work very well. anyone have any home made solutions or another market brand that does work?

#1835 of 2124 Re: 04? [mschmal] by dispencer1

Sep 17, 2005 (6:17 pm)

Replying to: mschmal (Aug 20, 2005 10:45 am)
I made the mistake last spring of ordering a 2006 Solara Convertible. Rode like a truck -you felt every pebble in the road except when you were diriving it on the highway. Really stiff. Convertible flex was awful -whole car shook. Everybody loves it though - it is a Toyota. I dumped the car after 352 miles . I'm sure that I'm the only person in the world who didn't like it. It just felt wierd compared to my GM cars. Lost a couple of thousand dollars but it was better than driving that piece of crap for three or four years. Interior was beautiful but the car just wasn't smooth. I already have a, '03 Deville for the road and a Malibu (daily driver) and Avalanche (wife's real estate car) so I looked around for a fun car and bought a 2000 Mustang V6 convertible with 42,000 miles. Performance Red! I detailed it and even got second place in the Lubbock Mustang Club show in Lubbock last month. So far it is great. No convertible flex I can notice. Rear end feels funny -I'm used to front wheel drive GM cars. My '01 Malibu rides like a Cadillac compared to the Mustang but the Mustang is really fun to drive and feels like a sports car. I'll probably sell it in a couple of years and get an '06 but I've driven the '05 and there really isn't a light year worth of difference between my '01 and the '05. It is a little smoother and feels tighter but it was new. I'm sorry that I went for so many years without purchasing a Mustang. I'm really enjoying mine.

#1836 of 2124 Re: conv care [rps] by dispencer1

Sep 17, 2005 (6:21 pm)

Replying to: rps (Sep 16, 2005 8:47 am)
I've used Raggtop on my '01 convertible with a black top. The top looks great after an application. I would certainly scrub the top with whatever Ford recommends, but after it is clean, the Raggtop final coat should make it look nice. Perhaps Ford sells a top cleaner.

Messages Page 184 of 213

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