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Automotive News & Views What about the future of Ford Inc?? 
1858 messages, Last post on Oct 16, 2006 at 6:25 AM
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Replying to: mariner7 (Oct 20, 2005 3:44 am) Sure Ghosn has made Nissan one of the most profitable automakers but in the US they still are not outselling Honda or Toyota. Besides, Nissan needs to work on improving their quality/reliability anyway. Their reliability has been dipping since Ghosn took over. In my opinion Nissan has to get back to being on the most reliable nameplates in the automobile industry like they were in the 80's and 90's. It was just 5-6 years ago their cars were just as reliable or nearly reliable as Honda and Toyota. Infiniti's quality is still up there though. |
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Replying to: nippononly (Oct 18, 2005 3:48 pm) "Price may have been the thing, but really, for the younger set it often comes down to how much bling it has. How much does it show off the wealth? The G and especially the Escalade do this well, while the Navigator is more conservative." You know when the original Navigator first came out somewhere around 97-98 it was a popular car in the rap video's. The newer one you never see in the rap video's. You always see Benz sedan's or Caddy;s(Escalades)in the rap video's now. Your theory on how much bling it has is right on at least on the current Escalade vs current Navigator topic. Beaides, the First Escalade which was released for the 99 model year I think was basically a rebadged Chevy Tahoe. Gm just put a Caddy emblem onto the Tahoe I think and said here's our new Caddy SUV which is basically a Chevy but just with a Caddy emblem on it.
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Replying to: nvbanker (Oct 17, 2005 11:54 am) Uh I agree with you for the most part but I;m kinda nuetral with you on the Asians don;t make exciting cars. The reason being Mazda was very influential in developing the Escape SUV for Ford(see Mazda Tribute.) Also, Ford's new Fusion is based off the Mazda 6 platform.
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Replying to: grbeck (Oct 19, 2005 6:54 pm) Other than that, I think Ford is doing well. They need to restyle Focus and make it more refined do they catch the non-traditional buyers that was a 3door, 5door or a wagon in a compact... (more traditional compact buyers will go to Mazda to give Ford $$).. and for midsize the roles reverse: if you want nontraditional choices go to Mazda and get 6. For the traditional loking cars go to Fusion. I think it will work. Igor |
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Replying to: carguy58 (Oct 20, 2005 9:38 am) I agree that Ford benefits from mazda.. I thin kthey are smart in doing so without killing the mazda spirit. However, I am upset that the only way for Ford to sell cars to average joe is to be CHEAPER AND BETTER than Honda.. and that is a market distortion.. Igor
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Replying to: igor2 (Oct 20, 2005 10:10 am) While I've always been a Ford fan, I don't know of one car Ford has had until the Fusion that was even close to a comparable Honda, and it remains to be seen how good the Fusion is. Thank God the Taurus is gone. My wife has an '03 (company car) and while it is reliable it is a POS in every other area. Rattles, gutless v6, horrible trans shift quality, and an overall feeling of cheapness, it gets replaced in a few months, I hope it's not another Taurus. Ford let this car die on the vine and it should have been updated or replaced about 2-3 years ago. The fact that Ford still keeps the Vulcan 3.0 around makes me almost ashamed to be a Ford fan. An Accord with a 4cyl feels like a rocket compared to a Taurus with the Vulcan which is lucky to get 25mpg. I find the 500 disappointing, sure it's on a good platform, but it sorely needs a better powerplant to be considered among the top sedans in its price range. The Duratec 3.0 isn't impressive and even adding VVT it still won't match the Honda in terms of power and refinement. Honda's 3.0l v6 is very impressive and for '06 the freshened Accord sedan will offer the v6 with a 6 speed manual. Mazda has always made impressive engines. I wish Ford would let Mazda develop Ford's v6s instead of the other way around. The best thing Ford ever did was use Mazda sourced 4 cylinders. |
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Replying to: igor2 (Oct 20, 2005 10:10 am) |
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the mainstream cars might last forever, but I can't stand the lack of driving dynamics. They almost make a Buick seem like the driver is involved. Also not impressed with the insides of a Camry (layout, seat comfort, ergonomics n general). Same with the Corolla, which has a very uncomfortable driving position. To be fair, I actually own a Toyota (ok, a Scion tC), which even though it has the same engine as a Camry, feels like a polar oposite car. I do like the Accord quite a bit though, and seriously considered buying one (stickshift only, please). That's why the Fusion interested me. I like the Mazda 6, but found the seats to be uncomfortable, otherwise I probably would have bought one, plus it had some headroom issues. Both things the Fusion cured.
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Replying to: varmint (Oct 20, 2005 8:59 am)  .
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Replying to: carguy58 (Oct 20, 2005 9:31 am) Other than the optional engine in the 4WD - what's changed with the Escalade? The Navigator is more substance, less bling, that's true.
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