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Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego
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Comments
http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-neil8- - - dec08,0,390104.story?coll=la-class-autos-highway1
'superb redesign of the focus?' huh?
just saw the 'criticism' post. maybe it should have been for sarcasm.
I used to own a 92 Taurus, and I learned the hard way Ford doesn't design the automobile platforms like they used to. I hope the new 500 proves me wrong, and turns out to be an excellent, durable product, but it doesn't have a 25 year record like the Grand Marquis.
I wonder if C&D is waiting until the new Avalon is out to do a full test report on the Five Hundred/Montego?
I have had a few minutes to read some car discussions and post a few comments and questions, but December has turned out to be a very busy month, so will not be able to drive a Montego again until January. Has anyone else been successful in finding a dealer who will allow a longer test drive (maybe 60 - 80 miles round trip)?
I have crossed off of my list the Chrysler 300C (trunk too small, ugly, popular with gangsters), the Dodge Magnum (ditto, plus I don't want another wagon/SUV).
The big trunk, good looks, good visibility, safety features, and feature content the same as my Mountaineer still give me reason to keep considering the Montego. The only other vehicles still on my list are the new Toyota Avalon and Honda Ridgeline.
http://www.telenav.net/telenavnextel
E911 regs require all cell phones built after 2002 to be GPS so I'm sure other carriers will be providing this service in the futre.
OH and the Ford Nav system on the Expedition is PAIN I'm glad I don't have to give many lessons on how to use it.
Mark
This car is all about getting alot of car for you money and I think it more than delivers in the value catagory ESPECIALLY as an SE or SEL.
People keep bashing on Ford but as you read this, Ford is on the way to becoming the LARGEST producer of AWD passenger cars. This is the AUDI of the masses.
Yes there are some glaring oversites I can't for the life of me figure out why there is no AdvancTrac espeically after the recent study about how stabilty control can cut accidents by over 50% in SUVs...NOTE that AdvanceTrac with RSC is STANDARD in Explorer.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/regrev/evaluate/809790.html
But if you look at the Taurus then look at the cars the Five Hundred goes head to head against (the Impala, the 300 touring, etc), I think this is a great entry.
In the final analysis though, Ford is all about trucks and SUVs.
At my dealership, we have no 2005 Mustangs (sell the same day they arrive) 4 Crown Vics (not counting CVPIs), 8 2004 Mustangs, 12 Five Hundreds and about 20 Focuses.
We then have over 30 Escapes, 50 F-150s and over 80 Explorers.
Yeah we have Freestars but there isn't much interested there.
Mark
Ford still remembers, no doubt with some bitterness, how many Focii they sold with the stability system you could get at the time. I think the number was more than four but less than pleasing...
Yes, the Five Hundred is in a different class. And the time will come when you can get Advance Trac. It ain't now, though.
My only complaints are the small touches that cost the auto maker next to nothing but creates a much nicer feeling for the customer instead of a "why is the manufacterer so stupid" feeling.
Those improvements would be lights in the glove box and under the hood, optional navigation system, optional stability control, and lighted controls for radio,etc. Small complaints but it would leave the driver with a much nicer feeling about the manufacturer. Well, hope my review helps some people out there.
Yes, I missed some of the Taurus intermediate years where Ford had head gasket issues (only the 3.8 L engine) and had some transmission problems. But, by and large Taurus has been a very good car for a lot of people. I wish they kept the name and tacked it onto the new Fusion due for release next fall, but with Ford's corporate decision to start all Sedans with "F", the name is going away.
Taurus simply blew away the competition in innovations, features, handling, and performance, back when it was introduced.
I won't be in the market for 5-6 years, so by then I will have a choice of a Fusion or Five Hundred, which will have had several years history under their belt by then.
I expect Five Hundred will prove to be a very reliable vehicle, even from the first model year.
I know... some would be offended, but it is a family-hauling sedan.
And no the 500 will not have bench seating...This because of some structural reinforcements running through the mid-section of the vehicle that would simply make it quite difficult to do.
Thanks for the info.
I swapped my truck for a friends 500 for a day. Really did not feel a lack of power at all with only one person in the car. I almost think that the seating makes you feel like the car is going slower than it actually is. SEL with 6 speed was not a tire burner but seemed to go very well from about 30mph on. This without winding the motor up at all.
I am sure a Lincoln model would easily satisfy those that want all the extra gadgets.
I suppose an AWD V8 (Yamaha?) version of the 500 with heavy styling changes could be an appealing car...
I think Ford has a real winner here myself. Once again, as Ford usually does, I think Ford has revolutionalized and redesigned the Sedan. Soon, everybody will be building tall, efficient sedans. Just you watch. What else has Ford invented, redesigned? The Pony car, (Mustang), the SUV (66 Bronco, although I'll get arguments from Jeepsters about this one, but with the success of the Explorer, I can debate it). The Thunderbird, Ford has been the undisputed Wagon King forever, until Wagons just died altogether, then there's the Pick-up truck. The F-150 is the truck everybody copies, including Toyota and Nissan. The Lincoln Navigator invented the Luxury SUV segment and everyone laughed their butts off for about a year.....oops..... I could go on but I'm boring even myself. I would bet the 500 will soon become the standard by which all future Sedan designs become measured by. Toyota may build a better copy of it someday, that's what they tend to do - but they have a winner here, IMO. It's an incredible design. Were I in the market for a mainstream Sedan, I'd buy it right now. And I will look at the Lincoln offspring very closely.
As for the Five Hundred im not tottaly satisifed with the end result. Dont get me wrong I love the car, but we could of done better interior wise and i think youll see that in the next generation as well as the update in 07'.
The lincoln model wont look like the Five Hundred itll be riding on the same platform to reduce use scale of economies, but itll project luxury and elegance. The current lincolns dont really reflect the 08-11M.Y lincolns. Thats about all Im going to say for right now at least. Make sure to check out the coming Detroit Auto Show youll like the lincoln motorcycle.
Of course, that assumes reliability is proven by then. If not, all bets are off!
Stretched LS = Jag XJ, that alternative couldn't be implemented. The new Lincoln sedans will be AWD, and no it wouldn't make much sense to make them RWD, when AWD is better. All depends on the AWD that is used. As for the V8 engine, that's still being worked out. Currently the details are being placed together, the engineering begins. Wait another year and more information will be shared.
The new entry sedan, the Zephyr (NOT a replacement for the LS though), will also have the option of AWD as well. You will soon start seeing AWD being implemented into many of Ford's sedans.
Next vehicle - Mountaineer. Didn't like it in the beginning, but leased it really cheaply. Now like it for what it is. Mayor disappontment - what was the problem to make it a tad softer? (discovered, have arthritis in my back, hips - no bump goes unnoticed; toothpain spike is nothing comparing to that). Otherwise, comparing to Accord we own now - unmatched, unsurpassed quality (knock the wood).
Montego - well, may be I testdrove a wreck? I dunno.
Loved GM Ultimate.
In March I must get a car for my wife(hates GM). ANT14, will there be any other vehicle introductions by Licoln/Mercury before that?
500/Fusion. MUST loose it's triangular rear lights. Car is square on every angle, trainglular looks tastless and therefore cheap and idiotic. I apologize to this forum members for these harsh words but this is the way I see it.
Otherwise I agree, Ford is on the roll.
Our '94 Thunderbird V8 (the first Ford I every owned) rode very nicely, and thus far I have the impression that the Montego rides well, but will have to convince a salesman to let me take it (or whatever else I buy) on a long test drive before I buy it.
In the moderate driving that most people do I cannot imagine someone not liking the feel of the transmission; it keeps RPM relatively low and constant and results in the feeling that the car is just gliding along. When pushed harder it does keep the RPM higher but that is exactly what is needed for best performance. The CVT begins to feel more "different" when driven aggressively and maybe this is what some dislike but, again, it is doing exactly what needs to be done to extract all the potential from an engine.
"We drove a rented '02 Explorer V6 in Virginia for a week and did not feel any harshness, so I ordered the Mountaineer without driving the exact thing I bought - I'll never make that mistake again"
The Explorer and Mountaineer each have different suspension tuning. The Mountaineer is a bit sharper, while the Explorer is a bit softer. Although the results is better road feel at higher speeds, and control.
The Tribute and Escape have similar differences in their suspension tuning, just to let you know.
By the way, I had intended to buy the Explorer, but somewhere on the discussions here on Edmunds someone mentioned that the Mountaineer was less expensive. I used Edmunds to price both with identical options (everything except sunroof, running boards, and 4WD), and the Mountaineer was $1,200 less.
Now, the Montego comes with a two tone interior, HID headlights, and LED tail lights for essentially the same price as the Five Hundred, so the trend continues. However, I agree with your analysis many messages ago that the dealers who also sell Lincolns may not routinely discount as much as Ford dealers.
Now that they have started down the road of offering unique features on the Montego, I just wish that they would go further and equip the Montego with the features it is missing - dimming exterior mirrors, a telescoping steering wheel, rain-sensing wipers, a easy access center console with a split top, hood struts, various small interior lights, and a more powerful engine. Driving my wife's car today also reminds me that a bigger six may not be the best answer. A supercharged (NOT turbo-charged) four would be fine and would probably give better mileage than a big six.
Also - do you know if the Montego rides rougher than the Five Hundred?
the montego and five hundred both were designed by the same engineers and theres no difference in the driving characteristics of the two.
Turbo/Supercharged 6's of the Duratec are being tested for another vehicle (non Ford brand), although if proves positive, who knows where it'll end up. BUT from past senarios, it increases a bit more weight, adds complexity, might require premium gas from the higher compression needed, than having a larger 6.
Fsmmcsi- I dont know if youve heard about the CD3S trio thats coming out this year, but the Mercury CD3S sedan and Ford CD3S sedan will both drive the same as well. The exterior is slightly different though.
Therefore, you start with a good overall basis (let's take the Focus for example C1), and build above it. Offering Mazda3, S40, C-Max, Mazda5, Volvo Coupe, etc. and depend on the higher offering's to offset the initial cost of investing as much into an entry brand platform.
The same will/has occured with the Mazda6, which is a derivative of the Euro Focus C1 architecture. Therefore start with a solid and flexible foundation, and build upwards offering SUV's, Minivans, Lincoln sedan, etc. which offsets the strong initial cost of a robust platform at a lower pricepoint (Mazda6).
The CD1-3 architecture is a bit more flexible than the D3 (P2 to Volvo). Therefore it'll obviously grow in every direction, to allow for minivan duty. And it'll also allow for the minivan to be placed at a competitive pricepoint which Ford customer's are used to. If it were D3 based, you would be looking at $27-29K pricepoint which wouldn't be economically feasable.
That would also create 400K+ of a single vehicle, something that the industry is slowly losing. The days of having 400K sales of a single vehicle, are deminishing. People want variety, and not see the same exact vehicle 3X's around them, at each traffic light.
By offering a vehicle (even if it's the same clone) in another brand, each one is targeted at a different consumer/demographics and requires different marketing/advertising. And that way you are able to attract more flies.
You cant eliminate Mazda. You could never get that by the board of directors and we only have a controlling stake in them. Theres already products about to come out for Mazda and youd esentially be wasting millions of dollars.
These things have been worked out and discussed time and time and time before. Were targeting mercury towards women. Ford is for everyone and its supposed to project quality. Lincoln is our luxury brand, etc...
oh and the freestar and monterey... Whoever was the people mover and program manager on that product really dropped the ball.
Lastly before I end my bid, the CD3s is reliable and dependable. The last thing the company needs is an unreliable platform to start with.
Jaguar is another story though, although the new jaguars coming out will be great the current ones and the money spent to learn from their mistakes is far to much in my opinion.