WHY WHY WHY Wont ford

[Laker]

Bring this here!?!?

http://www.thetorquereport.com/2008/02/melborne_2008_preview_allnew_2.html

[Capt.Insane-o]

Nice looking car... I likey the truck version too.

[Laker]

Nice looking car... I likey the truck version too.

EXACTLY!

[Capt.Insane-o]

I noticed the trend on I-75 here is either death trap econobox or crew cab diesel 1 ton going 85. The mid size vehicle range save for mini vans seems to be a tough market..at least around here.

[Laker]

The Corridor from Kalamazoo to Ann Arbor on I95 has always been my favorite.
If you’re not going 90mph you’re being ran off the road.
I did it in 47 min once with my 87 5.0 Mustang:cool:

[GP-1]

I don't know..... Looks like a Ford GTO. It was a pretty cool idea, but I think way more people liked the car than bought them. Even though it'd never sell enough nowadays, I wish they'd bring back something along the lines of the original Plymouth RoadRunner... Nothing fancy, no frills, just a car with a big motor. The last of these was the late 80's LX Mustangs.. A cool, fast car for not too much money... Gone forever, because nobody can live without AC, leather seats and power everything.

[CAPTAIN CAMPER]

Hey ac and 500hp why not

[Stitch King]

Getting cars from other countries sold in the U.S. market is difficult due to FMVSS and EPA requirements.

It can be done. Lutz proved that with the GTO. However Ford is still stinging from the last "World Car" they tried to bring into the U.S. Market. Contour and Mistique were really rebodied Mondeo's. They were awesome cars for the european market but did not catch on in the U.S. Plus they don't know how to do anything other than plain vanilla here in the U.S.

Look up the 49 concept. That could have been the 500/Taurus but the focus groups killed it.

[Pro300x24LD]

The Corridor from Kalamazoo to Ann Arbor on I95 has always been my favorite.
If you’re not going 90mph you’re being ran off the road.
I did it in 47 min once with my 87 5.0 Mustang:cool:You mean 94.

You either get stuck behind a semi traveling .5 mph faster then the truck he is passing, or your getting tailed by a FIG trying to go 90. Every FIG that passes me going 90 I laugh as they are pulled over by a state trooper two miles later....that area is pretty heavily enforced these days.

[Stitch King]

What's a FIG?

[David]

I guess the GTO sealed the deal for Ford. The GTO didn't sell. Now if the Pontiac G8 sells, Ford might think about it.

Of course nothing is selling now...

[Stitch King]

The GTO didn't sell.

Anyone know the sales volumes? Did it even hit the targets?

I will say that the press is unkind to the Domestics. I won't even touch a Car and Driver rag. They are so in love with BMW that they can't say a good thing about the American brands. C&D Blasted Ford for failing with the latest Thunderbird. Not sure what they consider a failure, but the Thunderbird met all of it's sales projections. Ford never planned to sell a million of them. It was built off of the normal line at the Wixom plant and they could not have made more than 30-40k a year if they wanted to. Where's the failure?

[Dukeofchippewa]

I'd buy one in a heartbeat.:)

[Pro300x24LD]

What's a FIG?

Illinois Guy

[1BadAction]

Anyone know the sales volumes? Did it even hit the targets?

Kind of. I think in late 05 and 06/7 the sales started going crazy, but in 04 and early 05, the dealers screwing the customer for tens of thousands over invoice hurt them. bad. the resale never recovered from the cars that sat on lots because of the pricing, therefore if you have one now its not worth much more than the material it's made of.

they also put chit all season tires on them that were like trying to get traction with rocks. don't even get me started on the piss-ant suspension bushings they put in the NA spec car, lame 2-piece driveshaft, and underdampened, too soft suspension.

anyways, if ford brought this car over, un-altered (except for emissions), they might have a hit. I gurantee they would f it up tho, be it suspension changes, engine choices, or body changes, whatever. I doubt that Ford would let a 4-door car perform better than a mustang GT, which is sad. Same thing goes for if they would have offered the Marauder with the 5.4 engine from the Cobra, I might be driving one of those instead of my TrailBlazerSS.

[MirageSmackII]

Here's another car they won't sell here, though built for a different market. Gets 65 MPG, but Ford says Americans won't buy a diesel, so they won't bring/build it here. No wonder they're going bankrupt.

http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/bbdp/ford-wont-sell-65-mpg-fiesta-in-us/164929

[Tango]

I noticed the trend on I-75 here is either death trap econobox or crew cab diesel 1 ton going 85. The mid size vehicle range save for mini vans seems to be a tough market..at least around here.

Yep... Nothing like rolling 80+ when you are moving 20,000 pounds down the freeway. Would you know, those little econoboxes will still pull out in front of you?!??

http://www.pixxbytango.com/photos/358675665_Mpzun-L.jpg