FORD Fires CEO.........

[NY_refugee87]

Anyways...

Good for Ford.

Looks at GM leading to the bankruptcy...

GM should have canned Wagoner who led them there... GM and Ford were guilty as sin for platform sharing... very subtle differences in the interiors exteriors and command 20k more for the exact same car or suv...

Platform sharing keeps cost of production down. But how can you justify a 90k dollar escalade when an LTZ Tahoe can be had for 55k that look better than the Cadillac?
In ford's case, Navigators vs Expeditions. You can get an expedition platinum for less than the navigator, and it has everything the navigator has...

MKX-rebadged Edge with headlights that swivel in the direction you steer. Still has a junk PTU that the edge has... same engines transmissions the edge has...

I love how stupid this is though... blame Trump for a corporation failure when he's not in charge of it... he merely wanted to revise the tax code and other regulations back to keep costs down to ensure jobs wouldn't be lost...

He didn't step into the board room take the helm of the company and lead it to success or failure... this is the equivalent of blaming obama for a botched surgery...
I'm no obama fan, but I wouldn't blame him for a doctor's misdiagnosis or a surgeons failure...

You can despise the man all you want but he can't be held accountable for a company or individuals failure to succeed. It's the actions of the company and its leaders that do. He only took the issues outside of the board rooms controls and rolled them back to help industry... not cripple it... had he raised taxes, had he made stricter requirements and demands on vehicles increasing the expense of production and cutting into the company's profitability then sure... Condemn him to hell for hurting Ford.

Market is driven by consumption and demand...

When FoMoCo wants 50k after taxes for a stripped down crew cab work truck... how can you justify that when you can buy the same offering from Chevy GMC or Dodge for less? Go on, get the msrp off the website... that's not what you are paying at the dealership... not with their hold back and their need to profit off of a sale as well...

Case in point... my 14 LTZ Z71 first brand new vehicle I ever bought. 58k after taxes tags and registration. Has EVERY option available rear dvd player heated and air conditioned seats navigation my link (chevy version of sync that actually works) you name it, this truck has it, to get the same in a Ford with D plan pricing was 61k and had an inferior warranty, slower 0-60 time, and inferior gas mileage... The only offering from Ford at that time was either a platinum or a special ordered lariat...
Oh yeah and the insurance is cheaper because the body on mine isn't built out of aluminum...

78k got me a 16 duramax, a lift, wheels and tires. Again LTZ Z71. Minus the rear dvd player... that's not going to get me an aluminum bodied F350 crew cab lariat/platinum with a lift, wheels and tires... a crew cab 350 platinum to match what I have would have been a 80k dollar truck... again, no lift, no wheels, no tires.
For 57k I'd have an XLT chit box, I don't buy junk. Even when I bought my used older truck, it was fully loaded. I dont settle for less. If I'm going to be married to it payment wise for any duration of time, that things going to be fully decked out. And it better be quick on acceleration.


Both of these trucks were on dealer lots. Not on Edmunds or chevy website...
For every claim that an F150 base model to Silverado or Ram base model can be had for sub 20k I ask you find that truck on any dealers lot. You won't, nobody buys chit boxes that are stripped down. Compare the prices of loaded out vehicles that's where the difference is.

Innovation? Ecoboost. No.
Innovation is taking a V8 and disabling the lifters hydraulically and cutting power to the DI fuel injectors ans coils, based on engine load to reduce the engine to a 4 cylinder... not shoving 2 hair dryers on a V6 with 4 overhead camshafts... more moving parts, more heat, more friction, more to go wrong...

Mustangs. You couldn't give me one. Nor a camaro. I'm highly biased towards the challenger a much comfortable and more visually appealing car that you can see out of and still has 1 camshaft. Not 4...

[oberon_1]

Originally Posted by sonnymarkjiz

Hmm in the DC and VA area, I've seen plenty of Fusion Taxi's and Cop Cars. (Well, for the cop cars, I may be mixing up the Fusion with the Taurus). But I know that the Fusion is def a taxi cab in this area.

It's the Taurus, which is bigger than Fusion. In NY, most new taxis are SUV.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by oberon_1

It's the Taurus, which is bigger than Fusion. In NY, most new taxis are SUV.

I was just in NYC - the taxis are a mix of Prius, Fusion Hybrid, Nissan NV200, Camry Hybrid. You might see some old Escape Hybrid and Altima Hybrid still in use.

[NY_refugee87]

Originally Posted by sonnymarkjiz

I had a 2012 GT and that interior was solid, IMO. No rattles, no squeaks, nothing at all. Even the leather (pleather) seats held up pretty well. Shoot, the only reason I sold her was because of the gas mileage due to my commute. I even loved the cheap gimmicky features like the ambient lighting that could change colors depending on what color you set it to.

And I mean, it's a Ford, not a BMW. Of course it won't be put together as well. But, they have come up a lot in quality.

I'd buy a new Mustang...if it weren't like 50K. F that. But for 30K, sure, I'd love a new GT again.

Exactly! They can't justify 55k on a GT... you can get far better in an audi or BMW or Mercedes WITH a better warranty...

I don't see 55k in material or workmanship when I see a mustang...

I'd be willing to bet a Mustang, at current production methods probably costs ford 25-30k to produce a fully loaded car they're commanding 50k for.
The cylinder heads are still cast, with machining for the cam bearing surface... they aren't solid billet machined on a fancy 100k dollar Haas lathe... so it can't be in the heads... the rotating assembly isn't some exotic forged alloy nitrided knife edged lightened and with pistons rings rods and wrist pins, balanced to within 1/10th of a gram...

The interior is still pleather...
Plastic buttons
Plastic snap to fit interior panels.
Sure they made leaps and bounds on the audio systems. Used to be buy a new vehicle head to best buy and have them install a stereo, speaker, amps, subs.
Gauge of sheet metal is thin. Can't be in the body...
Everything done production wise is for weight and cost savings...
Radiators are chintzy soft aluminum, wouldn't be surprised if they're recycled beer cans, with plastic tanks crimped on. Not copper cores brazed to metal tanks...


One thing the auto industry doesn't have anymore especially the domestics...
Real wood grain interior, with chrome knobs, chrome buttons, chrome door handles... it's all plastic. Yeah weight savings, but how do you justify it?
I know. The stealerships! The middle man. I'd be interested in seeing if the auto industry follows Amazon and other online retailers to where they ship direct to the customer like a pair of shoes etc. See if there'd be any cost savings there.

All the modules, replacing standard fuse panels... like a body control module for example... think a window switch has voltage going to it and once the switch is closed it feeds voltage to the window motor to make it go up or down? Nope. Need a computer to say yup, dude hit the button to go down, send the signal to the window motor to go down!
Thats just one example as to why I can justify a 50k dollar asking price. Over engineered junk.

You won't see me take my lifted pig mudding. It's all electronics last thing I need is a control module to fry back feed voltage damage 5k in electronics and leave me stranded due to water intrusion. For that I'd just get an old K10 and have at it.
It's only lifted to gain more clearance on the beat up sand/dirt access road where I dump debris... otherwise the frame rails would be slamming the ground on a stock height truck...