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I swear, there's probably three salt trucks in all of metro Washington.
Anyway, the ride in the MKZ is so smooth, put on the heat seats, and my favorite CD with the THX sound system and life is good. My friend has the Zephyr and she also was stuck on 495 but said it could be worst. She use to have the Infinity and said how hard the seats would get after a long commute.
Starting to see MKZ's all over the place here in DC and Northern VA. Also starting to see lots of Edge and MKX's also.
A reflash is simply a new computer program. It's used to solve specific problems and you won't get it unless you're experiencing one of those problems, usually referenced in a TSB. They're free during the warranty period so you've got plenty of time.
GM can for example differentiate the Impala and the Grand Prix and the LaCrosse without sharing doors, or profiles or exact proportions. The G6, Aura and Malibu are other such examples. Or Chrysler (and inexpensive models at that) with the Jeep Compass, Jeep Patriot and Dodge Calibur. It's not like Chrysler and GM were in so much better financial shape than Ford when these things were designed. It is just that Ford had a mindset that sort of ran "who notices the doors and greenhouse anyway, so why bother?" This from a company that used to differentiate many of the Ford and Mercury models by using Mercury exclusive rooflines.
Yes, yes, old story. Goofballs got in control, lost their way, tried to justify their gaffs (like the now old saw that the 500 styling would stand the test of time better than the competition...snork, good one), but now they are trying their best to right things with limited resources, yada, yada, you know the current story. We'll see how long the MKZ restyle takes...or if the MKT will really be out next summer, or a year from next summer.
Then what was the point to put new grill on 500 and call Taurus, just to make one year model? It is kind of waste of money.
It is interesting how Ford culture did not change during last 100 years. Ford was one who said "You Can Choose Any Color You Want, as Long as It’s Black".
Or Ford model T. It almost killed Ford and make it #2 forever (well until this year) just because Ford did not want to redesign car during 20 years (how it reminds me original Taurus, Focus, Ranger, Ford Minivans, Crown Vic and so on).
Ford is moving more toward three year styling cycles, a good move as things get stale in the marketplace all that much quicker now, with the increased competition. There just wasn't much to be done to make the 500 pig look more palatable, without a total redesign, and that is taking until 2010 apparently.
Why, so they could call it the "All-New Taurus" and reap the benefits of hugely increased sales because of the wonderful feelings former owners have about their Taurus'. Errr - at lest that WAS the idea. I guess they'll be trying it again in 2010.
Taurus - my local paper has ads from Hertz, selling 2007 rentals. YOu can get a Taurus (the old style) 2007 model year for $9,995. A Mazda 3 is $12,995 A Camry $16,995
I maintain my position that Ford should have left the Taurus name on the rental car and kept the 500 name on the big one. But I'm not the genius AM, what do I know? Yet buyers just might get confused, ya think?
These 3 a least are a p*ss-poor example. Though the exteriors are a bit different, the interiors are exactly the same. Even the brain-trust at Chrysler has realized how stupid that is and will be doing new interiors next year for these triplets.
And speaking of Chrysler interiors - they are without a doubt the crappiest of anyone.
The 500 looked as good if not better than the Gillette-fronted Taurus. It is a good car relatively speaking. Ford marketing however as usual just SUCKED EGG on the 500. No one except for the 8 of us on this board has ever heard of the thing.
500/Montego out for FIVE years before a Lincoln version hits the street. Somebody at Ford needs to be goosed for sure.
Yeah, because it worked so well for the 2007 500. Nobody knew what a Ford Five Hundred was, even with advertising. All the Taurus needs right now is more advertising.
THere WAS no advertising for the 500 ever. At least I didnt see any. No one knew what it was.
You may be right that all the Taurus needs is ad'ing, but there's been more for the T than the 500 and sales are worse.
And I still say it's a probable problem when people see they can get a 2007 Taurus for $9995 and a 2008 Taurus is like $25,000.
Mulally has already said the 2010 Taurus is the one they should have built years ago. But that's water under the bridge now.
We drove my wife's 2001 Duratec Taurus to the dealer and drove 2 Montegos - one FWD 6 speed and one AWD CVT. Both were dogs. Neither were strikingly improved over our old Taurus in ride or NVH, either. We did appreciate the $75, though.
The 2008 Taurus corrected the 500/Montego's problems (except the bland looks) while retaining the benefits of room, great visability, and friendly ergonomics. Instead of throwing huge rebates and dealer cash at the 2008 Taurus, they should have had a marketing/advertising campaign.
I still maintain that there are thousands of owners of 2000-2005 Taurus's who would trade for a new Taurus if given a bit of incentive to do so. Unfortunately, few know that it exists. They are sure hearing plenty about the new Malibu, though.
And it should be pointed out that while it makes 30 less hp than some of the competition it's only 8-9 lb/ft shy on torque so the actual performance in a vehicle should be almost identical.
I don't know why Ford powertrain development is taking so long. I'm sure right now they're hurting from the layoffs but that doesn't explain why the 3.5L was 2 years behind schedule. I do know that Bill Ford mandated lower emissions rather than power or fuel economy and that has changed. There is also a 5.0L aluminum block DOHC engine reported to make 400 hp/360 lb ft and that will replace the 4.6L modular engine and will be the standard Mustang GT engine. I'm sure Lincoln we get a version.
As for Lincoln they do need the DI version of the 3.7L with 300 hp. I think it's going to take a few years for Ford to fully catch up with their drivetrains. They're still just treading water.
It's just an artist's rendering that was done a year ago so we don't know exactly what it will look like yet. I hope it gets the same features as the MKS (keyless go, adaptive HIDs, Integrated LED keypad, etc.) plus the 3.7L engine. A 300 hp AWD version would be nice.
I'm sure we'll see the Fusion, Milan and MKZ at the New York Auto show in April.