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Comments
I'd rather have either one of the GMers.
Rocky
-Loren
The look of the coupe however, is very nice, IMHO.
The previous Si was the strange one.
-Loren
So poor old Willy's Jeep got the contract for the trailers, and others got the big contract to build their design, I take it. They simply did not have the capacity to build all those Jeeps. I rode in a friends old Jeep, a long time ago, while hunting at Fort Hunter Liggett, and I found it amazing how the gearing kept that underpowered Jeep crawling on up a mountain. I am sure, at the same time, those in V6 Scouts where laughing at those old relics still in use mountain climbing.
-Loren
Cars were about the cutting edge until a certain magazine started handing out red donuts and circles to their (toddler?) readers.
Cars should be reliable, but should evoke emotion too!
They should also be innovative!
Here is one that is all three!
Now THAT is cutting-edge!
Are you leaking photo's from GM HQ :P Who do you think you are Sandy Berger :P
Rocky
That particular model above is a Cadillac STS with demonstrator LED headlamps and a digital instrument display.
Found it all on the internet.
Rocky
I'd personally would like to see GM, use Navistar and install the Powerstroke. Nothing performs like the "Strokes" for acceleration and towing power.
Rocky
Rocky
Rocky
-Loren
Escape does a lot of volume, so I bet this lack of updates backfires. Give it the 3.5l V6 and some rear disc brakes, at least.
-juice
I do agree the escape needs a makeover. The Sport Trac at least received one. I dunno why Ford is letting such a popular vehicle like die ? It makes no sense to me. I guess it's not the first time they've ever done this. If I was Ford, I'd do a total makeover of the Taurus, wouldn't you ???????
Rocky
I dunno, it lacks a 3rd row, which customers demand even though they don't use them. And it's less fuel efficient, and heavier.
I'm not sure the Edge will ever do the volume that the Escape did.
Once again Ford ignores a volume seller (see Taurus, Ranger).
-juice
I dunno if it would really pay Ford to directly replace the Taurus at this point. They have the Fusion, which is a little smaller, but about as roomy inside. I'm sure published figures might not bear this out, but the Fusion feels like it has more usable room because it's a bit more slab-sided than the Taurus. In the Taurus, I had to lean inward a bit to feel comfortable.
Then they have the 500, which is a little bigger than the Taurus on the outside, and much bigger on the inside. And finally, they have the Freestyle, which I guess sort of takes over for the Taurus wagon.
Now it seems to me though, that the Edge might overlap some with the Freestyle.
Then fords people mover line should look like this...
Crossovers
Compact = Escape hopefuly completly redesigned
Midsize 5 passenger = Edge
Midsize 7-8 passenger = Fairline concept yet to be named
Truck based
Midsize 7 passenger = Explorer
Fullsize = Expedition
Although I have heard rumoers the Explorer might go to a cross over platform so not sure what happens then.
I've heard that too - so I guess the Expedition will be the only real tow vehicle in the Ford SUV stable.....pity.... having had 6 Explorer/Mountaineers, and would be willing to have another, since the 06 we have is the best yet....
Why???
The only Fairlanes I knew were 2-door and 4-door sedans.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
Jeeps have been unibody for years with decent tow ratings above 5,000 lbs.
The Range Rover is a pure unibody with full independent suspension and can tow 7,700 lbs. I am sure they could make it tow a fair amount with optional packages.
RE: Fairlane
The Fairlane concept was just the name of the concept. They will not call the production vehicle based off of it a Fairlane. THe production vehcile does not have a name yet.
If Ford has any sense, the next-gen Territory will also be the next-gen Explorer- good for light and medium towing and leaving the double-wide horse trailers to the Expedition.
With the pork in the newest crossovers (Edge, the Lambdas) putting them up well over two tons (and close to 5000 pounds in Outlook's case) in curb weight, I shudder to think what a next-gen Trailblazer or Explorer would weigh. The pork is OUT OF CONTROL! :-P
I think they have made a wise choice there - neglecting the midsize truck-based SUVs for the larger crossover models instead. It's where the market is going. The only challenge will be standing out in the SEA of new models in this arena.
This is the year ToyHon fans get THEIR new models as well - both Pilot and Highlander get enlarged and renewed this fall.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Think about this a loaded XC90 V8 weighs about 4,600 lbs empty.
Ignore that the Edge and XC90 don't compete on price at all.
A Edge has a curb weight of about 4,100 lbs.
Thats just crazy the slight differance in weight for a vehicle that has so much more capablity and is more solidly built.
True, but I think a lot of it depends on how beefy the unibody structure is in the first place. Something like a Jeep or Range Rover was built from the ground up to be, first and foremost, a TRUCK. Unibody or not, it's beefy. A lot of crossovers are little more than glorified compact/midsized wagons with more ground clearance and higher rooflines.
FWIW, Chrysler has been building unitized cars since 1960, and I'm not aware of them having any towing problems. But then, the way they used to build 'em, they still had sub-frames, both front and rear, and often ended up being stronger than a body-on-frame counterpart!
I'd imagine one issue with an independent rear suspension would be higher cost when something does break. And since there's more complexity and more pieces, there's more to break?
Not sure about how the Jeeps are set up although I know the old XJs were a little thin in places.
I think there are enough large IRS equiped SUVs around now that as long as you are towing sub 10,000 lbs you don't need a solid axle.
:sick:
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Yeah, 4100 pounds is awfully chunky IMO for something like the Edge. My buddy's '06 Xterra is around 4200-4300 pounds I think, but it's also body-on-frame, 4wd, and more of a cut-down Armada/Titan than a bulked-up cute ute. You'd almost expect something like that to be heavy.
And wow, almost 76 inches wide. The Edge is a chunky little thing! I think that's about as wide as my '76 LeMans or '79 NYer are!
What kind of fuel economy is the Edge supposed to get? I just noticed that Edmund's has the AWD Edge SE at 4282 pounds curb weight and 5340 pounds GVWR. That seems to be cutting it a bit close IMO. Put 5 people my size in it and you're technically overloading it.
Maybe that wouldn't be so bad, though. I've overloaded my Intrepid a few times, with no ill consequences (at least none that have reared their head yet). I wonder how far overloaded you'd have to go before something broke?
A whopping 17/24. Woo-hoo! Not that it's notably worse than the field or anything.
I expect truck-based models like XTerra to weigh several hundred pounds more than same-size crossovers, that's the price you pay for the extra durability/ruggedness of those vehicles. But pork in the curb weight is an epidemic in today's fleet.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
But yeah, point well taken. Why does the thing have to weigh that much? While that's not bad economy given the thing's weight, it's still kind of a bad weight, given the thing's size!
-juice
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
So really the CX-9 is a Mazda 6 after it can into contact with some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Ooze...
2006 minivans
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=119282
Rocky
-juice
BTW, are Passats really that bad? I thought the only really bad V-dubs were the Jettas and Golfs or whatever it was they were building in Mexico?
A buddy of mine has a 2001.5 Passat (that mid-year changeover model), and I'd imagine he has about 150,000 miles or more on it. It went through a cranky period of about a year, where sometimes it would refuse to start. The dealer tried everything under the sun to get it to run. It turned out to be some sensor that detected the thing as being in gear when he tried to start it, instead of neutral. In the old days, I think that thing was called a "Neutral Safety Switch"? Probably something more complex these days! Anyway, other than that, I don't think he's had any problems with it, and that problem time was more a result of the dealer not fixing it right, than VW muffing it up to begin with.
My parents for some time actually had (2) Borncos, on was an original 1984 XLT that I remember them buying it brand new. The other, which they still have is a 1996 EB, loaded with the 351. Unfortunately, my mom hit a tree with the 84' a few years back which totalled it (230k miles) and the 96' is still going strong with 170k on it. They don't drive it much with the current gas prices, but it has been very good to them.
I'd buy a Ford if I were looking. :shades: