Ford Freestyle - Taurus X

sundhario1 · July 2005

FORD PLEASE BRING THIS CAR TO THE US!!!!!!!

http://www.webwombat.com.au/motoring/news/news0011.htm

northlakes · July 2005

I saw two new Freebie ads on ABC tonight. the first looked like the California coast. The second seemed to be red rocks of Arizona. Both emphasized the same message: Handling and gas mileage like a sedan, seats up to seven, available AWD, and five star front and side crash ratings. It did a good job of showing the load/space flexibility. Keep it up Ford... :shades:

cdndriver2 · July 2005

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY to my southern neighbours and especially the ones who drive Freestyles. :shades:

oldgwth · July 2005

Thanks cdndriver2 and a Happy but late Canada day to you from a Freestyle driver and happy owner.

carkid · July 2005

The 2006 Freestyle will have a Navigation system as an option on the Limited style!!

Ford Website

stever · July 2005

hmmm, try this instead if Carkid's link doesn't work for you:

https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/2006fleetshowroom/2006-Freestyle.asp

Steve, Host

tim156 · July 2005

I don't remember what network I was watching, but I also saw two Freestyle ads last night. I read somewhere that sales numbers were up for the month of June so maybe Ford is going to finally start advertising the car. Hey northlakes, we need to get out of the house.

skovatch · July 2005

For a long time I wished I had waited when I first about this, but after pursuing my latest programming hobby I'm not complaining too much anymore. We just took a weekend trip from Cleveland to Put-in-Bay/Kelley's Island, and I made use of my handheld Garmin Legend C, loaded up with maps for Northern Ohio. No, it's not the same as a built-in, nationwide-coverage, voice-direction system like the Hybrid Escape or Chrysler 300, but it performed beautifully, and had an interface at least as good as what you'd find in a Hertz NeverLost system.

Anyway, does Ford currently have navigation in any of its offerings? I'd expect it to look a lot like the Hertz system from Magellan, given their history of cooperation.

skovatch · July 2005

For those who were following along... about a month ago I finally took my Freestyle in to the dealer to have them look at my engine surge issues. Unfortunately, my bug with the car was returned to me as 'not reproducible'. They claim they hooked up their diagnostic equipment to the computer, drove it and couldn't get the problem to happen.

However, I'm now wondering if that diagnostic equipment did something else, because I'm having a much harder time reproducing it. I have noticed that if I don't aggressively accelerate onto the highway, I don't have the problem. That doesn't seem right to me, because I don't believe anything has been done to fix the problem, but I can live with the current situation.

I'll keep updating this as more info becomes available, likely on the new problems and solutions forum.

willie19 · July 2005

"The Ford Freestyle crossover utility posted it best sales month so far (6,820)"

As much as I like my wife's Limited AWD I think the Freestyle sales to date is nothing to crow about.This is a very well designed vehicle and my only concern is the CVT's reliability but so far it is functioning like a champ.

I would have bought a Limited FWD a lot sooner had it been available in Canada, and this Limited FWD was only begun to be built in April'05 for U.S. customers.When we tried to order an SEL FWD with heated seats, no that also was not available.

While the combined sales of the Chicago products sound O.K., I would point out that Ford's Marketing/Product Management group for the Freestyle is performing a very inept job in stimulating sales.There's got to be some dim bulbs working there.
Can anyone explain to me a total abortion like the Freestar which is taking too long to die can outsell the Freestyle to June CYTD 45825 vs 35497 ?
Does this mean some huge rebates are destined also for the Freestyle to get it moving?

Rather than letting out the chat to the media to speculate on all the future concept cars Ford needs to be more determined to build more quality and reliability in their products as this will show up in the J.D. Powers initial quality index.Toyota had capitalized on this and that's why they are doing well.Anyway Ford beat out Toyota this year 5 to 4,
but believe it or not, General Motors they got in 8 winners. Can't remember where I saw this.

Happy July 4th and enjoy the fireworks.

spears2 · July 2005

Just an update -

I did have the setting on my radio. I got the relevant TSB printed up as ammo and decided to give the original dealer one last chance. (This is our second vehicle from them and we've been treated like royalty until now.) The service manager told me over the phone he wanted to yank the radio again and send it out for repair. I told him to not hold his breath waiting for me to come in.
I took it to another dealer close to my home. I told them if they tell me they want to take me radio out of the car I'm going straight to the showroom and carve my name into that pretty Ford GT they have sitting there (jokingly of course). I gave them the TSB and told them I just wanted the radio programmed with the 'as-built' data. An hour later I've got my speed vol back and I'm happy.
I'll be calling the service manager of that 'award-winning' service department later today to let him know of his failure.

ANT14 · July 2005

The Freestar moves mainly because of the huge rebates available on it. While the Freestyle is a product that doesn't need rebates, let alone...Ford refused to place rebats on it, so it doesn't affect future resale values. The Freestar will die in about 1 1/2 years, so will take 3.9/4.2L engines with it as well (About time).

The rankings you mentioned were JDPower Dependability Study which took into accounts vehicles in 2002. The following vehicles received one (if not top) of the 3 positions on their selective segments. Lincoln LS, Tbird, F-150, 250-350, Explorer, Expy, Navi, Villager (dead now), E-series, Town Car, CV/GM, Windstars ironically topped it's segment above the Sienna (who would have thought).

Now JDpower survey over Initial quality (first few months of ownership-90 days I believe) the 500 topped it's segment (Freestyle would have been in there as well, but there's no specific segment for it). And this for newly developed vehicles, in a newly remodeled for flexible manufacturing facility which itself is impress. New Mustang also received the top rating in it's segment, under the similar circumstances mentioned above.

Freestyle won't be getting any huge rebates anytime soon, but let's remember this isn't a product that's destined to sell 300K units yearly either. It's more about profittable quality sales, rather than lofty sales goals at the price of poor resale value. Not to mention, the factory is limited in the amount of Freestyles, 500, Montego's it can assemble as well.

Although I agree, marketing isn't doing a good job of pushing the vehicle. And I blame advertising as well. The only "aggresive" advertising I've seen coming out of Ford recently has been the Mark LT commercial (pulling an Escalade out of a boat ramp), and anything in relation to the F-150. MUCH positive facts should be shared on commercials pertaining to many of the new Ford products, but marketing/advertising is quite submissive over that aspect.

nitromax · July 2005

I personally stay away from any dealer installed nav systems and I would never want one hogging up my dashboard space. I would much prefer an aftermarket unit that has more features and costs less. Not only that, but if it dies, I won't have to face the decision of having to bring it in to the dealer.
Plus they can be transferrable to my other cars.

ranger2001xlt · July 2005

I hope they don't offer any big rebates on the Freestyle soon. That would hurt resale values for all of those which own one. I also hope that Ford is true to it's word to not sell this vehicle into the fleet market. I think it was a very wise marketing move to offer them with 0% financing. That should help bring a few customers over from the big GM Employee sale going on right now.

ANT14 - I recently bought a Freestyle after reviewing them for the past 9 months. I was one of the ones whom thought they were noisy and underpowered when they started showing up last fall. I drove them again this summer and decided that since nobody could tell when the MetaOne concept is going to come out (my preferance in a vehicle and power train) I may as well take the leap now with the financing rate. I'm not the type to buy a vehicle when it's selling at MSRP (let's just call me frugal) and the MetaOne would probably sell at least for that during it's first year anyway. Especially if it is hybrid. So if that vehicle doesn't come out for another two years and I wait a year after that... well that's along time. Thanks for all your insight in this forum over the past on the Freestyle.

willie19 · July 2005

Thanks for the response ANT14 and I stand partly corrected.

While you mentioned the Chicago plant had been converted to flexible manufacturing and that Ford had also invested heavily in other flex plants as well this apparently appears to be a smart move and be able to respond to market needs a lot faster.However the economics of this kind of decision would suggest the highest utilization of manufacturing capacity to recover the added costs and maximize profitability.

Now if we were to extrapolate the number of D3 Chicago products manufactured for the year that figure should be around 200K units. I would hazard to guess the full capacity will be at least 280K units based on 12hours/7days as the ideal.Maybe I'm being optimistic but that's assuming 71% plant efficiency.

While I agree with you that it's all about profitability in sales it is also important to prevent erosion of market share so that increasing sales volume while taking a smaller cut in the incremental sales will also help out Ford's suppliers, primarily Visteon which is not making out too well financially and requiring financial assistance from Ford to stay viable.Both are inextricably interdependent to become successful.

I don't have the answer to the problem ,whether MSRPs need to be more realistic with less need for incentives or rebates but as a customer , I'm like most customers sitting on the fence and waiting to see what's popular and selling well before I jump in and taking the position of safety in numbers to affect my buying decisions.Having said all this what the hell do I know except I love my Wife's Freestyle.

P.S. Hope the Fusion and its siblings will also be a success story.

barnstormer64 · July 2005

I've got a couple of questions for you. First, I'm loving my Freestyle (AWD Ltd, all options), and am really getting hooked on this CVT.

Now Ford is offering "employee pricing" (A-plan, I guess) for July. I'm really thinking about getting a Five Hundred to go with the Freestyle and replace my 2002 Taurus. Just because I don't care much for that 4-speed after experiencing the CVT.

Is there any reason I should shy away from the CVT in the Five Hundred? Would I be happier with the 6-speed? I guess it doesn' t matter TOO much since I'm pretty much sold on AWD anyway, and that means the CVT.

Also, any idea if they'll still have the good financing with this employee-pricing thing going on? I'm not expecting cash-back or rebates, but that 0% for 36-months sure sounds good. Or even 0.9% or 1.9%, if I had to.

I sure thought I could resist another couple years, but I'm not so sure now. LOL

northlakes · July 2005

Barnstormer,

The July Car & Driver magazine reviews a half dozen sedans, including the 500. They comment on the 6 speed transmission. Just thought you would like to know. :shades:

oldgwth · July 2005

spears2 Didn't know or missed the TSB you are talking about. I also had my radio changed and lost the speed control. Would you please update me on that TSB. Thanks

spears2 · July 2005

Printable View (10 KB)
TSB
05-10-19 INTERMITTENT CD PLAYER CONCERNS - AUDIO UNIT PROGRAMMABLE MODULE INSTALLATION (PMI) REQUIREMENTS

Publication Date: May 16, 2005

FORD: 2005 Five Hundred, Focus, Freestyle, Mustang, F-150
MERCURY: 2005 Montego

This article supersedes TSB 05-06-09 to update the service procedure.

ISSUE:
Some 2005 vehicles built before 2/24/2005, and equipped with a 6 disc CD player with MP3 capability (e.g. radio must have MP3 logo present), may exhibit one or more of the following intermittent CD player concerns.

CD player skips repeatedly
Locks up when playing certain homemade CDs
Displays "Error" or "Bad Disc" repeatedly
Will not accept CDs
CD inoperative or inconsistent playability of some CDR media

ACTION:

Obtain detailed description of symptoms reported by customer.
If issue only occurs with a specific CD, examine the CD causing the concern. Confirm that it is in good condition (e.g. CD is NOT chipped, warped, scratched, labeled, or contaminated).
Replace radio with latest service level through your facing audio service center.

SERVICE PROCEDURE

When replacing the audio unit (radio) on 2005 Freestyle, Five Hundred, Montego and Mustang vehicles it is necessary to perform programmable module installation (PMI) prior to removal of the old audio unit. This information must be uploaded into the new audio unit once installed. Failure to perform PMI on the new audio unit may result in inoperative backlighting and/or diagnostic trouble code (DTC) B2477. It is not necessary to perform PMI on the F-150 or Focus.

If communication cannot be established with old audio unit to download this information or if old audio unit is not available, as built data will need to be entered. Use NGS+ or PDS scan tool to complete the operation or follow the procedure below using WDS:

With radio (ACM) DISCONNECTED, start a new WDS session (delete existing session if started).
After WDS identifies the vehicle, select Toolbox > Module Programming > Programmable Module Installation > ACM.
Follow WDS prompts, connect radio (ACM) when prompted to "install new module", hit tic mark to continue.
WDS will prompt for as built data. Enter as built data and finish following prompts until "module configuration successful" is displayed.
As built data can be obtained at the Professional Technician Society (PTS) website or at www.motorcraft.com. For additional information, refer Workshop Manual Section 415-01 and 418-01.

PART NUMBER PART NAME
-18806- Audio Unit

WARRANTY STATUS:
Eligible Under Provisions Of New Vehicle Limited Warranty Coverage

OPERATION DESCRIPTION TIME
051019A 2005 Five Hundred/Freestyle/Montego: Replace CD Player (Do Not Use With 18805B Or 18805C) 0.7 Hr.
051019A 2005 Mustang: Replace CD Player (Do Not Use With 18805B Or 18805C) 0.9 Hr.
051019A 2005 Focus: Replace CD Player (Do Not Use With 18805B Or 18805C) 0.4 Hr.
051019A 2005 F-150: Replace CD Player (Do Not Use With 18805B Or 18805C) 0.3 Hr.

DEALER CODING
BASIC PART NO. CONDITION CODE
18806 42

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: The information in Technical Service Bulletins is intended for use by trained, professional technicians with the knowledge, tools, and equipment to do the job properly and safely. It informs these technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or provides information that could assist in proper vehicle service. The procedures should not be performed by "do-it-yourselfers". Do not assume that a condition described affects your car or truck. Contact a Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury dealership to determine whether the Bulletin applies to your vehicle. Warranty Policy and Extended Service Plan documentation determine Warranty and/or Extended Service Plan coverage unless stated otherwise in the TSB article. The information in this Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) was current at the time of printing. Ford Motor Company reserves the right to supercede this information with updates. The most recent information is available through Ford Motor Company's on-line technical resources.

Copyright © 2005 Ford Motor Company

I bolded the important parts. Freestyle radios can't just be hot-swapped. They have to be programmed with as-built data or the data in the radio being pulled out. Otherwise you lose features.

den123 · July 2005

I've been enjoying reading this forum! Bought my Freestyle (norsea blue SEL FWD) back in May and have been loving it. Although I know the "tailgate" feature is not supposed to be used, it worked great for me and my two kids to sit and watch the fireworks over the holiday. Just put a blanket over the bumper to protect it. My question is about the luggage rack. Sorry to say I haven't really paid much attention at all to it until now and noticed there are no crossbars. Think I saw a post about this a while back, but not sure. Does anyone know if there are soft luggage bags you can use w/o the crossbars, or do I have to purchase crossbars? Thanks!!

northlakes · July 2005

Congratulations on your new Freebie. I purchased a RackSack soft luggage bag from weathertech.com. It has swivel straps so that it works with siderails like the Freebie has, or crossbars. I hope that helps. :shades:

explorerx4 · July 2005

lol! you ad me going with that story. did you stay at holiday inn express last night?

den123... i would get the crossbars and a hard shell 'coffin' style cargo carrier.
you will make up the extra money in gas savings.

silvercharm72 · July 2005

Well, I am in MI and I called a dealer today that told me.... and I cannot believe this is true....but that I could still get 0% financing P:US $1000 cash back! You know what they say about sounds too good to be true. She said they would back date the deal ...but then would you get employee discount deal????

barnstormer64 · July 2005

That sounds too good to be true.

However, it DOES appear that you can get either the $500 cash back or 0% for 36 months (or 0.9% for 48, etc) along with the employee pricing.

I don't see how they'd give you both the cash back AND the financing, though. Unless it was out of their OWN pocket.

oldgwth · July 2005

Spears2 Y
Thanks alot for the info.
:shades:

nitromax · July 2005

I have a question on the information center.

When I first picked up my Freestyle, the info center would come up with a "0% oil life" message after first starting the car. I mentioned it to the tech when I brought it in to get my sticker and he asked me if it goes away after a few minutes. I told him that I wasn't aware that it did because I usually just hit the info and reset to get to the regular screen.
He said that it may need to be calibrated and if it keeps doing it then I should bring it in.
Just coincidently, after getting my sticker I was leaving the dealer and I noticed that the "0% oil life " message was not showing up any more. I haven't seen it since....hmmmm
I'm guessing that they "looked into it" while the sticker was getting put on? (although the car wa sonly in the techs hands for maybe 10 minutes)

My question is: Should I be able to access the oil life % at all on the information screen? because now It doesn't show up at all

I suppose this information might be in the manual...but that's no fun and I'm stuck at work right now
:-)

yardbird54 · July 2005

I just posted a similar question. Have you gotten anything yet? I'm considering having a body shop paint and install a generic set. Can't believe Ford doesn't offer these as, at the very least, an option.
Thanks

indybell · July 2005

Two days ago I finally had moldings installed on my black LTD. After a few weeks of deliberation about what I thought might work, I finally decided on the moldings from the Five Hundred. The ones with the chrome strip as part of the molding.

I checked with the dealer's parts department and found that they would have to order them. ( I also got a confused look when I told him what I was intending to do with them.) Long story short, I ordered them online at Fordpartscheap.com. It's a dealership in FL. Took a while to get them to update their database so I could order that particular strip. I can't find my invoice or I would post the part numbers. They were significantly cheaper online, something in the order of 40 bucks savings over purchasing them from my dealer's parts dept. I think the internet invoice was in the neighborhood of 140 or so with shipping. Not cheap and they still need painting and installation.

I had mine painted and installed at a local custom shop. Another 100 bucks.

Now the big question. How do they look? Fabulous! I had the Freestyle's windows tinted and with that, the side profile was a lot of rather plain black expanse. The chrome breaks up all that black, plus it picks up the silver of the wheels and roof rack.

They were installed approximately 6 inches from the top of the cladding. The only instructions I gave the custom shop was that I wanted them at least 4 inches up or else they would be useless in protecting the door. The "reveal" at either end of the door determined the actual location. They made it about 1/4 (probably more like 3/16) inch at each end. And, of course, the placement of the front door strip determines the back strip location. The back strip has a larger reveal at the back of the back door than the 1/4 inch. An inch and a half or so. Just like on the 500.

I like them very much and can breath easier when the car parked at the mall and I worry about shopping carts and other drivers dinging up the paint.

Hope that helps.

ranger2001xlt · July 2005

So the body side moldings come as a set of four, right? One for each door?

Any way you can post a picture of what they look like?

nitromax · July 2005

I have a question on the CVT....actually any CVT driven car. Anybody have any idea how the HP is calculated on a dynomometer?

From what I understand, the drive wheels of a standard transmission car are put on a dyno and kept in in one gear, and the engine is brought up through the RPM range. Calculations are made based on altitude, temps, and gearing etc..
With a CVT, the gearing would constantly change through the RPM range so I'm curious how the HP/Torque readings would be taken/figured out.

anybody?

Tidester?

cmuniz · July 2005

My 0% oil life message came on in my Freebie with only 1,600 miles on it. I have the manual with me to try to figure out how to reset it. Instructions are on page 86. I find the message center to be a little quirky, but maybe I need to get used to it. To view the remaining oil life you hit the "setup" button until you see the message" press reset fo sys check". When you press reset it will do a self diagnosis. The first item to come up is oil life. To change it you press reset, but I suggest you go to the manual because there is a sequence you must follow to get it set right. I'll try to reset mine later today and I'll let you know how it works. Good luck

cmuniz · July 2005

Well, after 4 tries I was able to reset the oil life %. It went to zero because there is a 6 month or mileage criteria. Apparently mine was built 6 months ago and therefore it set itself to zero even though I only have 1,650 on the odometer. To reset it you press the setup button (3 times)until you get sys check and then hit reset. The first thing that comes up is the oil life and you then HOLD the reset button until it goes to 100%. The manual was not that clear to me since it said to push and release which didn't work for me. It should say push and hold.

tidester · July 2005

I'm curious how the HP/Torque readings would be taken/figured out.

Great question! The short answer is "I don't know!" With a standard dynamometer measurement the CVT would seek the optimal gear ratio at all speeds and loads. The actual calculation of the torque would be the same except you would have to take the variable gear ratio into account.

I found an article by the Southwest Research Institute that gives a brief description of how they do it. "SwRI evaluates continuously variable transmissions using double-ended DC dynamometer test stands with precision torque transducers to obtain efficiency measurements accurate to ±1.4 N·m."

Unfortunately, they don't provide much detail. Perhaps someone else has specific knowledge of how it's done?

tidester, host

bigdeezy · July 2005

i'd be interested in seeing a pic too!

BTW-Just got back from a 1600 miles trip in my Freestyle Limited with no probs.

Cruise Control question-I noticed when in cruise control going up steep grades the RPMs would jump up over 4K and it would stay high the rest up the way uphill. But if i tapped the breaks to turn off Cruise Control then keep my foot on the gas to maintain speed the RPMs would drop to less than 3K. Anyone else notice this?

indybell · July 2005

Havng never posted a picture before, I hope this works. I will apologize in advance that the car is not as clean as it should be as I took this as my wife was leaving this morning to take my boy to swimming lessons.

No, the strips are ordered separately - 4 part numbers should be on that site - and they're about 27 dollars each for the fronts and 25 for each of the back ones.

If your Freestyle has color coordinated cladding you may not get the same affect since you car's profile already is "broken up" visually. Then, I supose, the strips would add only the needed ding protection.

I also might add that if you don't like the width of these strips you might consider, as I did, the ones from the Caddy CTS. I think that's the model. The mid-sized one. Their strip is only about 3/8 wide and about the same tall. I think they look good on the Caddy but I was too chicken to go to a dealer and actually measure the length to see if they would fit on the doors. With the 500's I know that they would fit and gives the car an appearance like they actually came from the Ford factory that way. As they should have, IMO.

Custom shops and the internet have lots of places providing generic body moldings (and probably cheaper than factory ones.) You just don't know what they'll look like installed till after you order and pay for them.

">

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If these actually do get posted, I hope they help.

Oh, you might notice that little mirror added to the drivers mirror. It's the best looking thing I could find to eliminate the blind spot when my son uses the entertainment unit in the back. I got tired of driving blind! They're from Autosportcatalog.com and can be painted to match the car. These were not, they were black coming right out of the box.

k952 · July 2005

I am the other poster with a similar surging problem. I have had the car to the dealer twice and both times it came back as a non-reproducible problem. I have been promised a diagnostic computer to plug into the port under the dash to tag when the surging occurs. Unlike you, the diagnostic check did not seem to help the surging at all and when it happens it sure is annoying. I think they have written me off as a whack-job. I'll update to the problems and solutions forum as well.

den123 · July 2005

Thanks northlakes and explorerx4 for info on carriers for the top of the car. Explorerx4: I am totally ignorant when it comes to aerodynamics and was thinking of using the soft bag because I thought it would give better mileage and would be easier to get to the top of the vehicle. But you think the hard cargo carrier is better on gas? I'll go with that, then. A friend saw my freestyle parked at Burger King -- now they are thinking of getting one, too. Can't imagine why these haven't turned out to be more popular than they are...

indybell · July 2005

This pix might be a better picture showing the actual width and installation. It may show the dirt better too as well as too much reflection of a cluttered garage.

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nitromax · July 2005

The soft bag would probably end up scuffing and scratching your paint anyways. The "coffin" as we call them should solve your problems.

good luck

nitromax · July 2005

The pics look great. Nice job!

I might want to consider those for mine also.

northlakes · July 2005

I agree that the 'coffins' have better aerodynamics. The bottom of my soft bag has a soft felt bottom - no scuffing noted. For me, I like the idea of undoing the straps, and folding the 13 cubic feet bag down to the size of a small briefcase and tossing it in back. Hence, no loss of aerodynamics for the times I don't need it (which is most of the time - I only need the extra capacity occasionally). It is nice to have choices. :shades:

indybell · July 2005

I found my invoice from FordPartsCheap.com if you decide to go that way. You might check with your dealer's part guy to see if they can match these prices.

They are 5G1Z5420878DAPTM $27.70
5G1Z5420878DAPTM 27.70
5G1Z5425557DAPTM 25.22
5G1Z5425558DAPTM 25.22
Shipping 10.58

My bill for painting and installation was 96.97. They had to get Ford black paint. I thought all black paint was alike. Who knew? This black has blue and red in it.

explorerx4 · July 2005

the major drawbacks for the hardshell carriers is initial cost and they don't shrink when you are not using it. it is about a 10-15 minute job to put it on. the major advantage is the aerodynamics. i let my brother in law borrow it for a trip to florida.
on the way back he hooked up with one of his neighbors. they had pretty much identical explorers. the other explorer has 5 passengers to my bil's 4. he said each time they stopped for gas, the other explorer took 5 more gallons than his did.
that can add up over a few trips. my mileage drops mayba 1 mpg with the carrier on it. i think uhaul rents the soft sided carriers. if you know the mileage you get on a trip without the carrier, maybe you could rent one and see how it is affected. good lick and let us know how things work out.

ANT14 · July 2005

Rangers,

The Meta One concept won't hit till about 2007 roughly....Mazda/Lincoln will also receive a version of it, although mercury receives it first... Ironically I just looked at some "spy pics" someone in the media displayed, which wasn't the vehicle they believed it was, YET, one of the above mentioned vehicles...

Barnstormer,

I guess CVT/6 Speed depends on your preference. I personally enjoyed the CVT when I'm in a relaxed state of driving...NOW, when my road-rage period hits, the 6Speed gives me the "clicks" that I translate into "power", and again it's ALL perception. You would never stick a CVT in a Mustang for that reason.... So again, depends on your style and preference of driving.

I myself love IVT's.... Like Torotrak.com .... Infinately Variable transmission...

explorerx4 · July 2005

all i can say is that 'u' and 'i' are next to each other on the keyboard.

stever · July 2005

We're all fluent in chat typo around here.

We mostly call the hard shell cargo carriers rocket boxes around here; I guess that the name for one of Yakima's carriers. Car coffins make me think of that Grandmother dying/stolen car urban legend.

Steve, Host

garandman · July 2005

I made two back-to-back round trips of over 300 miles, one with the RocketBox and one without on my Subaru Outback. The difference at 75mph was 1.1 mpg. I'd expect less difference in the Freestyle because it isn't as underpowered as the Subaru.

willie19 · July 2005

"lol! you ad me going with that story. did you stay at holiday inn express last night? "

Well there's a big 2-page ad in our local paper...

NOW EVERYONE GETS FORD EMPLOYEE PRICING

The downside to this opportunity is that Ford did not build enough Freestyles...

Hope some of the late buyers will get lucky.

rhoyt · July 2005

Just got an '05 SE Freestyle FWD. At 300mi it feels like warped rotors when braking at anything above 40MPH. Anybody else having similar symptoms?

garandman · July 2005

We're thinking about buying a Freestyle for company car use - 20-25,000 miles per year in Norhtern New England.

Many of the people I know have had a lot of maintenance issues with Ford SUVs - lots of shop time. Anyone with 40,000+ mi that can comment on the Freestyle?

Is the "employee" pricing really a better deal than the street prices? Sound slike a good wy to clear out year-end inventory without a "rebate".

Ford Freestyle - Taurus X

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