Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego
This discussion has been closed.
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Because of the price of fuel we now travel more in our Passat TDI / w automatic transmission. We average 32.5 mpg overall. The more highway driving we do the higher the mileage.
What I'm saying Ford, in my opinion, has the best dealer support in the nation and by adding a diesel to the 500 would make a good marriage.
I have pulled into a number of Ford dealers for oil changes and the like and the Ford dealers have been SUPER.
Oh, areound town they are fine, but the cost will never pay it in fuel savings.
Ford does have a diesel team here in the U.S. which is working on the possibility of future diesel applications. Granted, easier on trucks, they are mainly studying the feasibility of implementing them on passenger cars.
I don't think we can expect a Diesel on the 500 in this life cycle, unless they have an Ace up their sleeves...Ford is going to wait this one out. *Sleep well*
I think Ford as access to diesel engines but they are afraid to import them to the US until the EPA makes the final say on the sulfur content of our fuels here in the US. This is a BIG political issue here. The Oil Industry owns Congress (both houses) through their CAP organizations.
I would love to have the choices of diesel egines that Europe has. With the newer diesel engines and particale catchers, diesels, can burn as clean as a gas car....
I think you hit the nail on the head with the Oil Industry. For them, increased fuel efficiency is simply a loss in revenue. It is not my intent to make them evil, but let's see the facts. If I would be threatened with lower revenues by a "new" technology, then I would try to find ways to limit it as much as possible. Hybrid to that effect is too young and unpredictable, yet. But we know what Diesel technology is able to do...
If the two only knew that it could be a wonderful merger. Ford with one of the best, if not the best, dealer base in the US and VW with their superb simple enginering.
Yes the German's, French and Italians do rather well when it comes to diesel engines.
If a car the size of the 500 can get about 30 mpg it seems to me that something like the Focus should be 40+.
If fuel efficiency sold vehicles........who knows what options we would get. It now costs $50+ to gas up my F150. I see a lot of them out there, driving everyday.
For many of us in the country (rural) a more efficient gas ICE drive line is still the best choice. The few diesels available are way too costly to ever recover their initial costs in fuel economy. Same for hybrids at todays prices.
Auto makers sell cars to make profits, it is us consumers that that dictate the market. Reference this forum, the most anticipated event is the 3.5 engine.
How about some interest in a flex-fuel 3.0? Greenest option I can see out there.
lizzzard
I am interested in the 500, so I keep my eyes open for them. I have seen exactly one (1).
Meanwhile, I saw 5 Toyota prius' today. In fact I see a prius every day.
I wonder what Fords market share for cars in the Bay Area -- amazingly low.
Honda Odysseys are already all over place. Yeah, but it is Bay area.
SavetheLand -- I know what 500s look like, and I look for them. In San Carlos I have still only seen one.
Umm, want to back that up with some identifiable market share data? That sounds like a big fat stereotype to me. I know a lot of Bay Area engineers and they mostly drive SUV's.
After several visits to the dealer, I really have become to like the Freestyle, 3.0L and all.
Yet, I can not get past the CVT. While it's performance is fine, I have no confidence that it will make 150K miles as my previous Ford vehicles.
The dealer did not want to through in a warrantee to cover the transmission to 150K miles.
Whatever the merits of the CVT may be, it's reliability is not proven. With that in mind, I must consider the Freestyle price with an added cost of $2k for a tranny replacement down the road.
If in 3 years, the CVT reliability has been shown to be quite low, trade-in values will reflect it.
Now, if you meant why does Ford offer only the CVT in the Freestyle, that group is over there on Edmunds, too; though I bet ANT will answer that here. The CVT DOES get better fuel economy in the same configuration (but EPA figures say otherwise). It also handles acceleration better, and the Freestyle is a larger, heavier vehicle than the Five Hundred.
Good fortune on whatever you decide!
The CVT has undergone extensive testing, and has been used in a few European vehicles as well, where it's initial design debuted and hasn't been a cause of concern. Unfortunately there's always going to be a few that will fail like any component. Some dealers probably didn't reflash it's computers upon their acceptance provided a TSB was issued.
The Aisin 6 Speed unit can only take so much of a load, therefore the new GM/Ford JV transmission will debut along with the new Duratec35 for it's increased power.
While this may give a Ford engineer a warm fuzzy feeling. The warrantee only covers 36k miles. That only gives me a cold, wrinkled feeling.
If Ford really believes that this new transmission is just as reliable as a traditional unit, cover it with a 100K mile warrantee. In my mind the CVT is an unknown risk factor.
I am wondering what the cost difference would be to overhaul a 6sp vs. CVT?
If I only kept my cars 3 or 4 years I would not care, but I usually drive my cars into the grave.
My Cougar, MGM and Expedition transmissions have set the bar at 165k trouble free miles. So guess what I expect out of the CVT?
Fords have typically had good trannys, this is just new unproven technology in the US market. Keep in mind, if someone really likes a vehicle, they will overlook almost all the negatives.
But at $2k extra, the car is less appealing.
Remember, Ford can't assume you will properly maintain the vehicle and operate it in a reasonable fashion, either. Many owners don't, including modifying their vehicles, then expect FOMOCO to make them whole when their actions or inactions cause the vehicle to fail....
Mark
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=9639
Bought mine there for the Explorer I own. Very pleasant buying experience. I saved over $600.00 vs. buying in Southern California!
Did the IIHS test bumper strength on the 500 and Montego?? I mean low speed crashes.
Do these results also include the Freestyle too?
But this begs the question. Do most of us think the Five Hundred should have a bigger, stronger engine? Yes, despite Ford's arguments about good gas mileage and making back performance by using 6 speed automatics or a CVT transmission.
I also agree that the 500 needs a more powerful engine, period. Again the marketing reasons are just as important as the practical ones. For all the pre-release hype about the CVT and 6 speed making up the difference, the 500 consistently gets beaten by significant margins by the Chrysler 300 with the 3.5 V6; which Ford showed in some early literature as being about on par with the 500 performance wise. It's less about what you need that what you get for your dollar. I've driven a 500 with the CVT, and I found the power to be adequate, but if a rival gets me noticeably more power for the money, that's a significant advantage.
The Ford Escape uses a different CVT that Ford calls an eCVT and its my understanding that its planetary gear based rather than chain based. Not withstanding same, the Escape Hybrid receives a 150k warranty on unique hybrid components, including the eCVT, in green states such as CA, PA, NY,NJ, DE, CT, MA.
Mark
Remember one thing, though. Today this car's strength is the interrior room and comfort, along with an exellent trunk. This car is also ellegant, more so than the new Avalon.
So what is the deal with the new 3.0 VCT?
The trunk doesn't pop open because it has a linkage and gas strut design and this design means there is little force initially due to the lack of mechanical advantage of the gas struts until the trunk gets open further. On the plus side, you will not have the gooseneck hinges intruding on trunk space like you did with older designs, like my Taurus. So the tradeoff here is more trunk space but no pop open trunk. I think the no trunk intrusion is more valuable than the pop open trunk. Also the gas struts act as dampers when closing, so the faster you try to slam it, the resistance goes up, unlike the torsion bar springs and gooseneck hinges of old.
The fact the rear doors do not unlock is more of a safety feature for keeping young children from getting out on their own. Note also, if the front doors are like my Taurus, they do not "unlock themselves" but they do allow opening the door from the inside without pressing the unlock button, as the inside door latch overides the locks. A quick press of the unlock button lets the rear passengers out, but I suppose this is a little less convenient.
As far as power and noise level, this has been noted many times, with most people claiming the power levels are adequate, if not earth shattering, and engine noise levels are only noticeable during hard acceleration. Once under way, it quiets down nicely.
Did your test Five hundred have adjustable pedals? If so, you may have been able to adjust those to get you closer to the steering wheel.
I would be curious as to whether gmctruck test drove a 6 speed or a CVT. I own an AWD SEL and I have not had any problems with lack of power....that is not to say I would not be interested in a more powerful engine, I would be...
Automatic unlocking of all doors is a safety hazard in this day and age. It is NOT that difficult to open a door...sheesh, the switch is on the door or just pull up the button....This is just a difference from your current vehicle(s), and you will quickly adapt. Note the useful numerical keyless entry on the exterior of the driver's door. You will be amazed how handy that is and how quickly one becomes used to that!
Noise levels are MUCH lower on the SEL and SE, which do not come with the low profile 18 inch tires that the Limited does....
If you don't floor the pedal than you may experience "poor midrange acceleration". This takes some getting use to because most people who drive this type of car don't go around flooring them. However because of the electronic throttle, there is no way to hurt the engine.
If you have a CVT and don't think you are getting good acceleration, try flooring it.
Mark
Ford did have good incentives on the 500... plus I would get the X-plan discount. It was tempting, but I'm not ready to pull the trigger just yet. I've always been a GM man, so it's hard to make the switch to unfamiliar territory :shades: ... but I do have a Volvo.