ford come back

chefster · Jul 14, 2006

ok ,I was raised and fed by my dad workin at ford,we need to put our heads together...whats it need to do to turn around?

chefster · Jul 15, 2006

wellll,ok then?

GOLDENPONY · Jul 15, 2006

Dealers should stop charging over sticker price on hot selling models.

anthony05gt · Jul 16, 2006

The union has screwed the whole situation. Ford has obligations to retired workers that it just can't maintain. GM is in the same boat. This is a fact, not my opinion. They are putting out billion$ that the private sector would never even consider because it doesn't have the unions to deal with.

Ford is making some damn good vehicles as far as I'm concerned. All of the SUV's have redesigned IRS set-ups which costed hundreds of millions to develop. The new stangs are a major achievement. They are still a bunch of idiots in a lot of areas though. Like, why does the new V-6 engine have forged internals and the 3-valve GT engine has crap. Doesn't make sense to me. A nissan V-6 makes the Ford V-6 look like and old farm tractor engine.

SVTdriver · Jul 16, 2006

anthony05gt said:
The union has screwed the whole situation. Ford has obligations to retired workers that it just can't maintain. GM is in the same boat. This is a fact, not my opinion. They are putting out billion$ that the private sector would never even consider because it doesn't have the unions to deal with.

Ford is making some damn good vehicles as far as I'm concerned. All of the SUV's have redesigned IRS set-ups which costed hundreds of millions to develop. The new stangs are a major achievement. They are still a bunch of idiots in a lot of areas though. Like, why does the new V-6 engine have forged internals and the 3-valve GT engine has crap. Doesn't make sense to me. A nissan V-6 makes the Ford V-6 look like and old farm tractor engine.

If you are only blaming the union for Ford's situation. Then you are a little short sighted. Yes unions can be a problem. There are many companies doing just fine with unions. I would be more prone to blame healthcare. If you look at hte cost of healthcare. Those companies are making BIG money. Almost to the point of unbelieveable (I have heard of oxygen machines selling for nearly 10 times what they are bought for). American car companies have had the stigma of poor quality for so long. That even when they beat some import companys. Nobody pays attention to it. Or how about the boring design of family cars like the 500. The fusion is a decent car. And may become better with the available options now. But it is not appealling to younger buyers nearly as much as the civic does.

351CJ · Jul 16, 2006

Don't blame only the unions. Management shares the blame for agreeing to those union contracts and for making many bad product & marketing decisions over the years.

SVTdriver · Jul 16, 2006

351CJ said:
Don't blame only the unions. Management shares the blame for agreeing to those union contracts and for making many bad product & marketing decisions over the years.

Very true as well. You can agree to those contracts in good times. But you need to look into the future a bit. To see how they will affect you later. If Ford didn't plan on having as many retired people as it does. then they didn't know how big and what age their workforce was.

06BLR85 · Jul 16, 2006

Maybe they can try making better cars. The only ford i like is the mustang. The suv's and cars suck. Lincoln is terrible, i dont even know why mercury exists. I want to see ford succeed as much as the next guy. But with those horrible plastic interiors there not gonna get anyware. I am no fan of BMW or Benz because they are the most unreliable cars out there now, but there such nice cars to sit in and drive. Even the new cadillacs are nice, my freind has a new CTS and it is such a nice car, it handles very well, it is ages ahead of the mustang in handling. Its nice that ford builds cars to a buget because we can afford them but they cant compete in the world market, exept with the focus.

Just my .02

SVTdriver · Jul 16, 2006

06BLR85 said:
Maybe they can try making better cars. The only ford i like is the mustang. The suv's and cars suck. Lincoln is terrible, i dont even know why mercury exists. I want to see ford succeed as much as the next guy. But with those horrible plastic interiors there not gonna get anyware. I am no fan of BMW or Benz because they are the most unreliable cars out there now, but there such nice cars to sit in and drive. Even the new cadillacs are nice, my freind has a new CTS and it is such a nice car, it handles very well, it is ages ahead of the mustang in handling. Its nice that ford builds cars to a buget because we can afford them but they cant compete in the world market, exept with the focus.

Just my .02

Just what is wrong with the plastic interior? Every car manufacturer uses plastic. My audi was originally more than most mustangs. And yet it has a plastic interior. Which is now losing some of the rubber they spray on it to make it look better. While my Cobra's interior is still the same as it was when I got it.

jchennav · Jul 16, 2006

06BLR85 said:
But with those horrible plastic interiors there not gonna get anyware. I am no fan of BMW or Benz because they are the most unreliable cars out there now, but there such nice cars to sit in and drive.

I'm rather annoyed that the sound insulation material is visible. The carpet doesn't cover all of the flooring.

Then again, the Germans have discovered the art of making cheaper-looking interiors. I drove a white 2006 Mercedes-Benz C230 with light gray interior, and could have sworn I was driving a Chevrolet Malibu or Pontiac G6. At least the sound insulation and under-dash vents aren't visible.

06BLR85 · Jul 17, 2006

well its not just the use of plastics, its how there used. look at the int. of a escalade vs. a range rover. the mustang is plastic and so is the vette, and those cars look good. But when it comes to a focus or f-150,

APowers · Jul 17, 2006

Man you cant use the Germans as an arguement;
I am an electrical engineer that works with some of the most forefront technology that exist in industry. I have worked with some of the best from all countries that is out there. The Germans are currently marketing machinery based and designed to operate with windows 3.11. Yea it comes with a more modern interface, but the technology is 10 years behind the US.
I am in the tech field, I hold the same view of the ricers as I do the Germans. I will never own a nissan, honda, mercedes, or bmw.
If it is in my driveway, it will be American made, American Muscle(300hp+) stock, and preferable in a UAW plant.

chefster · Jul 17, 2006

ok ,unions aside[they did protect workers rights when it was needed] and plastic...they have the talent,the tech..what do they need to do with it?

SVTdriver · Jul 17, 2006

chefster said:
ok ,unions aside[they did protect workers rights when it was needed] and plastic...they have the talent,the tech..what do they need to do with it?

Make cars that are more exciting to the younger buyers (Think Scion). Which thne starts to get people buying Fords as they are younger. Change the focus. It has been the same basic body shape since it's introduction. The Fusion is already being cahnged with more options. The 500 needs something to make it look less rental fleet car. Come out with a hybird car that looks better than the imports.

06BLR85 · Jul 17, 2006

SVTdriver said:
Make cars that are more exciting to the younger buyers (Think Scion). Which thne starts to get people buying Fords as they are younger. Change the focus. It has been the same basic body shape since it's introduction. The Fusion is already being cahnged with more options. The 500 needs something to make it look less rental fleet car. Come out with a hybird car that looks better than the imports.

Well said.

In europe they love the focus and the ford mondeo which is basicly a 500, but they love it over there, its one of the best selling cars, it sells as much as a 3 series. Its supposed to be really fun to drive and fast. and it looks pretty good.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GKQqVYt-lXM&search=ford mondeo

Rock36 · Jul 17, 2006

06BLR85 said:
Well said.

In europe they love the focus and the ford mondeo which is basicly a 500, but they love it over there, its one of the best selling cars, it sells as much as a 3 series. Its supposed to be really fun to drive and fast. and it looks pretty good.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GKQqVYt-lXM&search=ford mondeo

You aren't kidding man. I am stationed in Europe currently and I was blown away when Iby the number of Fords on the road when I got here. I hadn't even heard of the Mondeo until I arrived in Germany. Ford also has a vehicle called the Ka and Fiesta over here, which are really affordable economy cars priced from around $9000-$16000. The Mondeo, Focus, and Fiesta all have ST models which are somewhat similar to SVT in that they have a little bit of a performance tweak to them. Note: I said similar to SVT, not exactly the same.

The Focus ST here in Europe is a turbo 5 cylinder with 225hp, which is better than the SVT Focus of a few years ago. The Mondeo ST has a 3.0L V6 with 226hp. Both have the option of 6 speed manual transmissions to boot! Personally, a 5 speed manual suits me just fine, but I know a lot of people like the idea of having a 6 speed.

The name of the game here in Europe (well Germany at least) seems to be geared towards a balance of economy and performance. Their gas prices completely eclipse ours in the United States, and they generally can't or don't choose to spend as much on cars either. So vehicles like the Ka, Fiesta, Focus, and Mondeo do well in that environment.

SVTdriver · Jul 17, 2006

Rock36 said:
You aren't kidding man. I am stationed in Europe currently and I was blown away when Iby the number of Fords on the road when I got here. I hadn't even heard of the Mondeo until I arrived in Germany. Ford also has a vehicle called the Ka and Fiesta over here, which are really affordable economy cars priced from around $9000-$16000. The Mondeo, Focus, and Fiesta all have ST models which are somewhat similar to SVT in that they have a little bit of a performance tweak to them. Note: I said similar to SVT, not exactly the same.

The Focus ST here in Europe is a turbo 5 cylinder with 225hp, which is better than the SVT Focus of a few years ago. The Mondeo ST has a 3.0L V6 with 226hp. Both have the option of 6 speed manual transmissions to boot! Personally, a 5 speed manual suits me just fine, but I know a lot of people like the idea of having a 6 speed.

The name of the game here in Europe (well Germany at least) seems to be geared towards a balance of economy and performance. Their gas prices completely eclipse ours in the United States, and they generally can't or don't choose to spend as much on cars either. So vehicles like the Ka, Fiesta, Focus, and Mondeo do well in that environment.

It's not just that. But the Puma over in europe. That's a sweet little car for the tuner market. Looks and performance wise. but it's not coming here anytime soon. Neither is the Ka (Which had a terribly funny ad campaign). Ford seems to have either given up or decided not to compete in the tuner market here.

chefster · Jul 18, 2006

Not to mention the hot cars in Australia,I don't get it?Even at Detroit auto show, the focus was hard to find and only in a Grandpa version ,while toyota had the whipped up scion...?

351CJ · Jul 18, 2006

06BLR85 said:
Even the new cadillacs are nice, my freind has a new CTS and it is such a nice car, it handles very well, it is ages ahead of the mustang in handling.

You got to be putting us on!

The CTS is the poster child for ugly cheap looking plastic car interiors.
Add to that how butt ugly the exterior of the CTS is and you have a double looser.

351CJ · Jul 18, 2006

06BLR85 said:
Well said.

In europe they love the focus and the ford mondeo which is basicly a 500, but they love it over there, its one of the best selling cars, it sells as much as a 3 series. Its supposed to be really fun to drive and fast. and it looks pretty good.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GKQqVYt-lXM&search=ford mondeo

You are seriously misinformed. The Mondeo and 500 are completely different vehicles built on totally different platforms.

ford come back

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