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Comments
-Larry
I wouldn't believe all of the Ford Marketing propaganda. The Focus was indeed primarily designed in Britain by the Cosworth team and a collaboration of Ford N.A. engineers and consultants. The European focus is a much, much nicer car and is not built in Mexico. I'd be pretty sure the parts and engine bins are fairly different between the european and N.A. Focus.
In Europe, the higher end Focus is considered a far more up market car. In fact, they offer 21-different model versions of the car. They even offer a 1.8L turbo diesel model in Europe. It wouldn't be wise to compare the vehicles all that much.
The Ford commercials are for the most part, nothing but marketing gibberish to make the car seem more classy and upscale here in N.A.
P.S.- you are right though, the Focus is extremely well thought of, as is Ford to a lesser degree, in Europe. Then again, for people on a budget, what other choices do they have....Fiat, Vauxhall???
Anyone dumb enough not to wear a seat belt doesn't belong in the car anyway.
by Fxashun
I think Bjewettes post was concise, well written, to the point, from his heart and well with in both topic and Edmunds'Town Hall guidelines. Fxashun, this IS a Mazda Protege discussion board. Many opinions stated here are pro Mazda Protege. I'd suggest the Honda Civic Owners Club is a great place to read pro Honda Civic opinions. I guess, I'm just stating the obvious?
Respectfully,
Larry
But your assertion that it is a completely different vehicle would be false. However I do agree that the Focus ads are typical marketing BS. Of course most car ads are. Zoom Zoom!
I mean c'mon folks, let's get a grip, it's still a cumbersome minivan....that thing shouldn't be Zoom, Zooming anywhere....
http://www.rally-live.com/photos/2002/corse/diapo_406.jpg
Dinu
BTW, more of this is found at rally-live.com
What is the time table for the Protege replacement? I thought it was suppose to be a 2004 model, but I don't remember. Also, think they'll go back to calling it the 323 or just keep Protege?
Thanks again.
*screwed up the link first go around.
My 80 year old grandmother on a pair of skates 3 sizes too small handles corners better than your average minivan. *LOL*
I think the Pro platform change is due for 2004. Anyone know the latest info. I know Ford has already pushed it back once with the recent overwhelming success of the Pro and Pro5.
why do u need to lock them in the first place?
I cannot see ONE small reason to lock a car when I am inside other than the fact somebody might be fiddling away and mistakenly throws the door wide open....and not falling off but crashing the door with the car next to it.
"remember...locking the door is not like a deadbolt...it merely disengages the door lever"
FOCUS was designed by KARMANN-GHIA in Europe and is considered a Great car....Prince Charles son, Harry or william(i forget) drives one to school!!
So the original Focus is at least fit for the Royal Family.
I say the MPV "feels" safer because that is a subjective opinion. Sure, maybe the MPV makes you feel safer. Is this actually the case?
I drive 110mph or sometimes more in the Pro quite frequently. Much to my wife's dismay and chagrin. I will admit the car could feel a little nerve racking because of the pull, ride and engine noise. However, if i had to make a sudden emergency move on the highway at that speed, I'll take the PRO over ANY mini-van any day. The MPV and any Mini-van is simply not designed for high speed handling. It may feel stable in a straight line and slight highway curves, but I wouldn't want to be in at that speed in an emergency situation. Then again, i wouldn't want anyone to be in any car in that situation at that speed.
Tell me, which would you rather be in? The MPV or the Pro? Anyone else care to offer an opinion?
Anyway, gotta go. Pick back up tonight or tomorrow.
Goodnight all.
-old head
I'm not sure either vehicle is ready for a manuver at that speed.
-Larry
I know coil packs are a pretty new ignition device. I guess they replace the coil and distributor on older cars. Does anyone know if they have to be changed regularly like distributor caps and rotors used to be? Anyways, I'll be checking it more often.
Dinu
I cannot see ONE small reason to lock a car when I am inside other than the fact somebody might be fiddling away and mistakenly throws the door wide open....and not falling off but crashing the door with the car next to it. "remember...locking the door is not like a deadbolt...it merely disengages the door lever"
Wrong, chikoo!
It has always been safer to lock the doors when driving, for the simple reason they are less apt to pop open in a crash or a rollover.
My saleman pointed out the additional locking mechanism on the rear side doors which enguages when you lock the doors. It looks something like a deadbolt.
Manufacturers changed to auto-locking doors because of the rash of car-jackings at intersections a couple years ago. Remember when car theives would yank the doors open and pull the drivers out? Because you don't have this problem doesn't mean others don't and it may return at an unexpected moment. It is also wise to lock doors when traveling through dangerous neighborhoods.
I had a homeless man try to get in my car at a traffic light stop. He grabbed the door handle and hung on as I drove off. The light had NOT changed to green, I was getting out of there! He yelled a few obsenities as I dragged him a few feet. The door wasn't locked and I was in the heart of a small town I was passing through at night. This wasn't during the car-jackings we read about in the 1980s - 1990s, it was 40 years ago. I never forgot it and have locked my doors ever since, now that they are electric and controlled from the driver's side. They weren't 40 years ago and American cars were big and wide.
If you don't lock the doors while in motion the only thing holding them closed is the latch. Think of locking them as insurance against the *unexpected* and the *uninvited*. Use all of your car's safety features, they are there for a reason.
fowler3
The Dunlop 730's are good handling tires, but users report increasing noise with wear.
I think 215/50 is overkill for the pro's weight. They will be more likely to hydroplane, be heavier, will likely need wider wheels, will reduce fuel economy. If you intend to change wheels, increase horsepower, and only drive in the dry, [or only care about how things look] 215/50 may make sense.
SO-3 would be nice but I think they would probably be alot more than the potenza 730's which are still on the pricey side here in Canada.
Tires by tomciviletti
Your dead nut right, Tom. Thanks for bringing me back to reality! I'm either going with the 195/55TR/15 Yokohama Avid T4 all-seasons, the 205/50TR/15 Yokohama Avid T4 all-seasons, or 205/50HR/15 Dunlop SP Sport A2 all-seasons. I will need to re-tire both my Protege's before their due for PA State Inspection in June. Yikes, $750.00+ out of pocket. :-)))
-Larry
I used to drive cross country for Carmax and drove a few MPV's long distance. The MPV is a very nice looking and equipped minivan, but seriously underengined up until now. I've never seen a V6 rev that high at cruising speed. Have no problem with the driving dynamics just that durn short gearing made it thiirsty at high speeds.
Proextwo- I have no problem with someone posting pro Protege stuff. But at least be truthful and honest. Like I said in my post, we both know that the engine is new for this year for starters. What other technology is left after all aluminum and variable valve timing? I don't want a 2002 Civic either but I'm just cheap. And I do own a Protege but the reason I own a Protege was cause it looked cool, drove great, and I could dump some negative equity in a inexpensive car with 0% financing not because it had 3 more Hp, 16" wheels, or 4 wheel discs which are REAL Protege advantages.
No need to do the Civic vs. Protege thing. But what I mean was if you don't want a Civic any more just say so, don't make up stuff to justify it to yourself.
It's like the blank circle thing in Consumer Reports. No one mentions the Asterix on page 26 which indicates just as I said that it was a new model year so there was not enough data, nor that every other circle is at least half red in every other safety or value standard.
Larry, check out TireRack's reviews of the Dunlops vs. the Avids before you make your decision. The Dunlops scored above 8 out of 10 in every category but one. The AVID V4s didn't make 8 out of 10 in ANY category. The only category the Dunlops got less than 8 out of 10 in was snow traction, where they got a 7.6. The AVIDs got a miserable 4.3 in the same category. Also look at the treadwear ratings and warranty. Granted, the Avid is close (45,000 miles), but the Dunlop is still higher (50,000 miles). I sweated over this same decision for a while but believe I made a really good choice. And like I said, these tires did really well on a 200-mile trip in the rain on I-95 two weekends ago. Very confidence-inspiring, compared with the Poortenzas where every wet trip was a white-knuckled, prayer-saying scare.
The SP Sports are a brand-new design using the latest state-of-the-art. Go to Dunlop's site (www.dunloptire.com) and read about the technology that's in these tires. Not to say Yokohama's a bad tire -- not at all -- but I'd go with Dunlops -- heck, I DID go with Dunlops!
Meade
From behind the car, however, they look really aggressive -- probably because you can then see the whole 3/4-inch difference in width, and I think the tire's pair of wide grooves enhances that look to make the tire look even wider.
The tires handle very well -- I think we've all read enough about that. But what really impresses me is the quietness and smoothness of these tires. There are spots on my expressway drive to work where pavement variations and grooved pavement would cause the old Bridgestones to drone and vibrate the car, making parts of the interior rattle. Heck, they were noisy all the time. These tires, by comparison, are QUIET! And they must be absorbing all of those pavement variations, because it's like I'm driving a new car again. (My Protege is about to turn 35,000 miles.)
I have some pics of my 2000 ES with those tires on it in my photos folder at the Yahoo! group if you're interested in seeing what the car looks like with them on it. I've also got a close-up of the tread.
Meade
I've read the test data and reviews for most of the tires in this catergory, plus polled a lot of other enthusiests. This tire rates very high in nearly every catergory and it's less posh name keeps the price incredibly reasonable. I run Arctic Alpins in the winter so a summer-only tire is do-able for me.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/kumho/ku_712.jsp
Are we on for the noon chat Meade?
Dinu