Why not quit dicking around and pumping out bland/semi-bland cars (like the Taurus and 500!) and take a hint (or hints) from your division down under.......(aka Ford of Australia)

Turbo V6's....Modern V8's, 6 speed trannys and some great design work if I've ever seen it (when compared to what Billy's been peddling up here).

The LTD/Fairlaine (http://www.ford.com.au/range/fairlane/models/) family would be a good replacement for the Crown Vic (or at least the 500....) while the Falcon/Fairmont (http://www.ford.com.au/range/falcon/models/) family (the largest....w/9 models) could attone for Ford's past indiscretions with it's midsizers (remember the Countour?? How about the '96 Taurus re-design?) That would go far in knocking Honda/Toyota/Hyundai off balance if not dethroning 1 or more of them........

SVT would also do well to take some hints from its FPV (http://www.fpv.com.au/index.asp) cousin. Mustangs and Sport Tracs are all well and good, but c'mon, variety is the spice of life!

The aussie model fords are very good now. Unfortunately I dont know much about their american counterparts so I cant say to much.

What he said.


Where are you from Huskerz?

Well A: the markets are different..

Not everyone is looking for a GTO/styled car..

Alot of people are looking for more refined cars, or cars that don't look like they should be driven by a teenager..

Which is why they have the 500..And why they have the Fusion..Same goes for their entire mercury and Lincoln linup..

You'd be suprized the small percentage of consumers that are concerned with "performance"..

Which is why they have the Focus/Mustang/Fusion(Awd V6)

the contour was a piece of crap in every trim except the SVT, even then from a visual standpoint it would NEVER knock a tiburon down....completely different consumer groups..

Of course Drifster, completely understandable.........

Ford has made some errors here though in two basic areas......1) Design and 2) Technology
While they've rectified them somewhat with the Fusion, they could do better.

The Fusion represents a 'happy medium' between 'sedate' and 'excess'......something it should work more on (on it's own though, not by 'borrowing' a design/components from it's partner Mazda)

The technology on the other hand is a given. It's something that must be addressed.

People have been driving around in cars w/4 speed trannies since the seventies. While the super-lux brands (BMW, Mercedes etc.) have been the ones pioneering new transmission tech. w/their 6 & 7 speeds, the tech. has slowly been dripping down to brands like Honda (which has standardized the use of 5-spds and who offers a 6-spd stick on the Accord).

Power is a much bigger issue here. With the exception of increasingly popular inline fours.........V6's are the 'bread and butter' engines so to speak. Yet while GM has been continually refining it's sixes (even supercharging them back in the late 90's) Ford has kept falling and falling behind. The V6 on the base model Chevrolet Impala is a 211 HP V6......with an additional 240hp V6 available.

The only V6 offered on the 500 is rated at only 203hp (only 8 less than the Impala, I know....) while the V6 in the Fusion is rated at 221hp. Now all 'performance' issues aside, these engines are still lagging behind when it comes to even the lower end Japanese competition. (Honda/244hp V6; Hyundai/235hp V6......surprisingly Toyota falls in line behind Chevrolet w/a 190hp V6 and 211hp opt. V6)

I don't think you could mistake any of these cars for something a teenager would salivate over.......

The LTD/Fairlaine is refinement at work while the Falcon/Fairmont honestly, looks like a cross between the 2nd gen. ('92-95') Taurus and the current gen. Chevrolet Impala......not exactly the kind of rides you'd see the 'Fast N Furious' set crowding around.

As for what I said about the SVT/FPV connection........I meant that as a suggestion for Ford, to possibly go after people driving mid-upper scale sports sedans, like the Mazdaspeed 6, Subaru Legacy 2.5GT and the like. Plus, it would help Ford take the lead in the so-called 'rebirth' of muscle.

All that would be left is some tinkering w/the engines (to appease the Gov't & EPA) and they'd be good to go......

Dude..I live in PHX arizona...I know what "Fords been dishing up in the states"

Fords 500 was NOT a response for the 300C ..because the 300c was a cry for Bently Status by chrysler...

The same V6 is found in the ford Fusion...making 201HP(not 203)...and has the same AWD platform....

Sorry bout that Drifster.......thought U lived abroad.

When I said the 500 was a response to Chrysler's 300C, I only said that in the sense that Ford wanted to create it's own new 'flagship' sedan.

I think they should.
Manily the luxury models and small amounts of the FPV's.
Maybe a similar idea with GM and Holden.

Lincoln/Mercury have a lot to show in near future for the US Ford luxe lineup.

But Jaguar and Aston will remain Ford's premium models.

I hate fords, mostly for their drivers. Drive a euro V6 and suddenly every XR6 wants a piece of you. Almost as bad as Astra drivers. And my old man's AU falcon tried to kill me in the wet with its plastic tyres numerous times.

That said, I like the look of the new BA's.

Sell their botox'd wives down back alleys

What response the 300C has been around since the 50's

Did you even read what I said in my follow up??

The Chrysler 300C is seen as a new 'flagship' for DCX. Ford responded by issuing a new 'flagship' of it's own, the 500 *(though it's important to note it wasn't designed as a direct competitor)

Except it's not..

DCX's new flagship is NOT the 300c, considering they're more concerned with Merc's sales than Chryslers.....

They've got the Magnum/Charger/Ram ETC ETC ETC to make their $ in the american market..

Chrysler cars are for people who want Chrysler cars.

You never go CAR shopping and come home in a Seabring/Pacifica

older sebring convertible maybe but yeah true

I think Ford would make alot of better cars if they took some styling advice off of FPV. Also, engines.

Performance cars are great but that won't help much. Look at mitsubishi they have the Evo line and that doesn't mean they are on top of autosales. Toyota has no performance cars and they are on top of sales right now. The basic thing ford needs to do is build cars people actually want. The Ford Focus is an excellent car but its dated the "newer" one is the same car that came out a couple years ago but with updated parts.

Creating performance cars will also alienate many custromers. Ford depends a lot on fleet sales of vanilla cars like the 500, and taurus. There are also those that just want basic transportation who will only use 120hp out of the potential 400 stuffing a big V8 will have, which is a big waste of money. Charging people for v8s when they want a 4 cyl will decrease sales.

The Ford Mustang is a car that is one of Ford best sellers but you can't depend on a single product for a long time (BMW's 3series accounts for more than 40% of their sales but now they are making newer products and diversifying). High performance cars don't sell as much just look at the Pontiac GTO.

Bland cars sell well (toyota Camry, Ford Mondeo) Ford just has to make them more attractive.

There are also those that just want basic transportation who will only use 120hp out of the potential 400 stuffing a big V8 will have, which is a big waste of money.

Why don't people just buy Mondeo's and Focus' then.

Because there are so many better alternatives out there.

Okay guys, I'll admit I prolly missed the target on this, however another poster got it almost dead on. So for all of you thinkin of replying......follow the link below to go to his thread instead.

http://www.sportscarforums.com/f8/seven-ways-forward-job-one-bring-10088.html

i hate Ford truck drivers. i loathe them. then again, i also hate Buick drivers. what happened to me today... man, some people are real jerks.

What is he talking about ? I don't really understand.......

i hate Ford truck drivers. i loathe them. then again, i also hate Buick drivers. what happened to me today... man, some people are real jerks.Uhh... yea... :-k