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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: stickguy (Oct 20, 2005 10:59 am) I agree the current interior in the Camry is pretty boring looking. I have sat in a couple current Camry's. I didn't find seat comfort a problem. The interior was just very bland. With the Corolla I think the steering wheel is too high for smaller sized(height-wise)drivers. "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." I don;t think the Mazda 6 has headroom issue unless your 6 foot. I sat in one and it was perfectly sized for my needs. |
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Replying to: nvbanker (Oct 20, 2005 6:52 pm) I think the Escalade was redesigned on the exterior for the 02 model year if I'm not mistaken.
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Replying to: chuck1959 (Oct 21, 2005 6:57 am) Well the reason people will say Toyota and Honda are American made is because most of their line of cars are built in North America now. Toyota has a plant in Kenucky and in 1 plant in Canada. Also Honda has 2 plants in Ohio I think and 1 plant in Canada. |
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Replying to: lweiss (Oct 21, 2005 4:21 am) I wouldn't be so quick to say "the era of the big gas hogs is over". If fuel prices go down again maybe the big hog SUV trend will unfortunately make a come back. Of course as well all know though everything goes in cycles. In the 80's/early 90's it was sports coupes that everybody wanted. By 1996 nobody wanted a 2 door car anymore. In the 70's/early 80's everybody was driving big tank looking cars. Of course the(supposed)gas shortage drove some people to buy Honda and Toyota supcompact cars and away from their Domestic Big 3 big tank looking cars. BTW, last month was a great month sales wise for compact cars like the Nissan Sentra, Mazda 3, and Honda Civic. It was also a great sales month for a mid-sized car like the Nissan Altima as well. "Ford needs (like GM and maybe D-C), to get their products more aligned with reality- no more Expedition/Explorer situations where they depend on regular people to drive fully featured commercial vehicles- at least not in great numbers. Feel sorry for the people that did buy those models in the last year- big payments, big fuel costs, horrible resale values." I don't sorry for people who bought a big gas guzzling SUV unless they need it if they have a big family. I am a single person in my mid 20's and very anti SUV. I don't need an SUV because I have no use for it. Thats why I never understood the SUV trend that started in the mid 90's. Why would you buy a big SUV in the first place if you don't have a big family and you have no adequete use for it? Your thing about resale value on SUV's maybe right on target now they might have horrible resale value because nobody wants one but in 2 years they might have better resale value if the gas prices dip down sgnificantly like they did in the late 90's. |
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Replying to: nvbanker (Oct 21, 2005 2:00 pm) Dang! Fuel prices are that bad people are going for Cavaliers.
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Replying to: carguy58 (Oct 22, 2005 6:47 pm) It was 01 - there was no 00 Escalade. But it still to this day, has the Silverado interior with some wood and leather added here and there. |
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Replying to: carguy58 (Oct 22, 2005 7:18 pm) Exactly. |
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When I bought my black 2000 Focus ZTS, I really wanted to believe in the quality of American cars. For a while I really had faith too, because the design of the Focus was outstanding both in terms of looks and performance. But 9 recalls and and equal number of other non-recall defects later I lost faith in the idea that the car might be reliable (it wasn't) and even began to wonder whether it was safe. That experience led me to say never again would I buy a new Ford (who knows if I'll live up to that, but that's what I said). Hundreds of thousands of people every year seem to have made the same choice I did, and Ford's share of the US market in the last 6 years has plunged from something like 24% down to 18%, with no end yet clearly in sight. In the meantime, they have come out with two cars I like, the 500 and the Fusion, but quality is still clearly as issue, as the following article reveals: http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0510/23/A01-358226.htm In spite of all their brave talk about quality, it is still a challenge to match Toyota or Honda as Ford outsources more of their parts, cuts costs, and shifts production to places like Mexico. I guess I'm still a little bitter about my Focus, but I think it's more American to buy an Accord built in Ohio than a Fusion built in Mexico. Sure the Accord costs more than the Fusion, but the quality and the feeling that you're supporting American workers is--to me--worth it. I hope Ford can pull up, but I don't hope it so much that I'd buy one of their cars again. Not yet, anyway.
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Replying to: benjaminh (Oct 23, 2005 9:48 am) From your article - "The biggest issues we've had for 2004 were the diesel engines," said Jerry Reynolds, whose Prestige Ford in Garland, Texas, is one of the nation's highest volume Ford dealers. "We were spending a lot of money trying to fix them." The Power Stroke diesel engine is made for Ford by Navistar. So was the 7.3L Power Stroke, which was a great engine. The 6.0L puts out more power, with less weight, size and fuel consumption - but it had a problem with the engine control system that really cost Ford a fortune. Ford is actively pursuing another diesel partner to make their Diesels in the future. Relations with Navistar have deteriorated significantly for Ford. I think you're painting the whole company unjustly - however, I don't blame you for being uncomfortable in chancing another Ford. But all their products aren't bad, all their launches aren't flawed - (the F-150 in 2004, the Mustang in 2005 for example) and every company has issues from time to time.
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Replying to: chuck1959 (Oct 21, 2005 6:55 am) I chalk it up to the median age of the average domestic buyer....they're just not at the point in their lives anymore where 2 doors make sense, other than for a fun weekend car. |
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