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Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego

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Comments

  • buckwheatbuckwheat Member Posts: 396
    Another non-flattering article, in fact quite harsh. Just another subjective viewpoint.

     

    http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-neil8- - - dec08,0,390104.story?coll=la-class-autos-highway1
  • rcf8000rcf8000 Member Posts: 619
    That's got to be the funniest car review I've ever read. Maybe it's not accurate or objective, but I really appreciate the author's writing skills. Maybe he's an out-of-work screen writer or sitcom writer!
  • riker2riker2 Member Posts: 36
    Actually, Dan Neil won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism this year. He's really a pretty amazing writer, even if he's not a fan of the Five Hundred.
  • buckwheatbuckwheat Member Posts: 396
    I don't know about his not being a fan of the Five Hundred but he certainly is not constrained about the Montego in his profile of the car. I thought his humorus quip, "The seat itself feels like one of those extra-high hospital toilets. Where is the nurse call button?", was funny.
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 19,256
    "it's about as sexy as going through your mother's underwear drawer." to me, that says a lot about the reviewer. they actually thought they could make a point with that. i guess i would like to see a favorable review from that writer, too.

    'superb redesign of the focus?' huh?

    just saw the 'criticism' post. maybe it should have been for sarcasm.
    2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • fsvfsv Member Posts: 196
    my only gripe with the car is - it's underpowered. Not that I can not live with that. A little power and insulation would be great. But, if incentives will lower price to 19-20G's i'll go for it. I still would prefer Zephyr, though.
  • jsylvesterjsylvester Member Posts: 572
    While the 500/Montego looks great on paper, the Grand Marquis has a long, impressive track record of comfort, reliability, and durability, all at an impressively affordable price. There is nothing else like it on the road. At this point, I'd have to go with a GM over a Montego, but my 94 Grand Marquis just keeps on truckin' along, neraly as good as new - it could be a long time before that decision would have to be made. They kill the Grand Marquis, and there is nothing really unique that Ford offers, so I will have to shop around.

     

    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.
  • fsmmcsifsmmcsi Member Posts: 792
    Since the Freestyle is the heaviest of the group, a Five Hundred or Montego should be able to do better than the 8.2 seconds to sixty listed in the full review of the Freestyle published by Car & Driver in their January issue. I know that Car & Driver tends to obtain the fastest acceleration results of the major testing companies, but they published 8.1 seconds to sixty for the '94 V8 Thunderbird we once owned, and it was fast enough .

     

    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.
  • mschmalmschmal Member Posts: 1,757
    FLASH: Factory installed in vehicle navigation systems are OBOSOLETE i feel sorry for any sucker that recently spent at least $1500 to over $2000 for the same thing you can get on your Nextel phone...

     

    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
  • mschmalmschmal Member Posts: 1,757
    I think people really need to keep in mind the whole purpose of the 500 when they are talking about it.

     

    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
  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    Why no Advance Trac? Simple. Ford can only get the parts to build so many right now. Those parts, understandably, are going first to SUV's and trucks...

     

    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.
  • n144gn144g Member Posts: 7
    I have been driving the Montego Premier AWD for about a month ( i just posted about my very pleasant buying experience on the "prices paid" forum). Anyway, I have to laugh when I read some of the comments and reviews out there. If someone is looking for a sports car then buy a sports car. If they are looking for a family sedan then this is a terrific car. We have absolutely no acceleration problems, plenty of merging and passing power, lots of room for the kids items, and (what sold us on the car) great visibility compared to other models we test drove. Sometimes I wonder if car designers are so involved in "looks" they forget that a driver has to see out in ALL directions to drive. Anyway, all in all, I feel i made a good choice and the car is terrific

        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.
  • fsvfsv Member Posts: 196
    what mpg city/highway do you get on your GM?
  • nedc2nedc2 Member Posts: 192
    I've been driving a Crown Vic for several years, they ceratinly are extremely durable, reasonably comfortable, and surprisingly economical. But they don't use space very efficiently -- for that reason alone I'd go with the Montego. I do mostly urban driving, the CV/GM are a real pain to park, they're wider and longer than almost any other cars on the market, I can't even fit one into my garage and get out the door! The GM/CV trunk is huge, it's fine for luggage or shoeboxes, but its awkward depth and lack of a fold down rear seat or even a pass-through make it real pain if you make a trip to the home centre to pick up building or maintenance supplies. Not to mention that I can't even fit my dad's wheelchair in the CV's trunk! Add to that the Montego's better handling, superior rear seat room and more comfortable seating position along with excellent crash scores that promise good structural integrity and it seems like a much better car for most people.
  • fsvfsv Member Posts: 196
    GM/CV has proven build quality. Montego's predecessor, Tauras was a problem (some of you might know it's cozy Jewish nickname - Tsures - what loosely could be translated from Yiddish as 'disaster'). What reliability Montego, with it's 6 speed or CVT trannies, AWD, etc. will have, still remains to be found out. Also, none of the above sound like inexpensive to fix problems. CV/GM, on the other hand, is not bullet-proof, but reasonably reliable and cheap to fix & maintain. I just wonder what mileage it get per gallon and how I can convince my wife to get one for her. So far she fights tooth and nail, says about "Driving Miss Daisy", etc.
  • badgerfanbadgerfan Member Posts: 1,565
    Not all Tauri have been disasters. I'm on my second, and admittedly do not put high miles on in a short time,I do about 10K per year. But my 1990 Taurus was an excellent car for the ten years and 98K miles I had it, and my 2000 Taurus is going great at 4+ years and 43K miles. Unlike some of the Camcords reports of recent vintage, I have not had a single rattle or squeak develop in either of my Tauri.

     

    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.
  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    ...and Taurus is NOT the Five Hundred/Montego's predecessor. Taurus/Sable will be replaced by the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan. Five Hundred/Montego were most probably originally slated to replace the CV/GM, back in Jack Nasser's day. Fortunately, wiser heads prevailed, Nasser is gone, and the Panthers live on to be sold to the faithful, all at a tidy profit for the Ford Motor Company.
  • tkfitztkfitz Member Posts: 95
    I wonder if Ford would ever consider putting a front bench seat and column shifter in the 500? This would be a huge selling point with my wife.

    I know... some would be offended, but it is a family-hauling sedan.
  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    I doubt it seriously. Airbag configurations and safety concerns are rapidly making bench seats a thing of the past. The coming Toyota Avalon will not have a bench seat available either. The center position is almost impossible to protect to the same degree as the outboard positions, not to mention there are safety concerns about interference with the driver....
  • ANT14ANT14 Member Posts: 2,687
    That is correct, airbag configurations are making bench seating harder to integrate. Ironically, at a few car shows, all the Buick LaCrosse' were displayed with the bench seats.... THEN they are wondering why the average customer age keeps increasing, and THIS for a car they wish to target younger buyer's with.

     

    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.
  • tkfitztkfitz Member Posts: 95
    and still driving...with the help of my cane of course. Too bad about the bench, as an option it would certainly be attractive to some older customers.

    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.
  • ANT14ANT14 Member Posts: 2,687
    There will be 2 Lincoln versions... Or more like, the platform will be used to make 2 different vehicles.
  • frizz2112frizz2112 Member Posts: 84
    ANT, I hope that Lincoln isn't going to do a couple of large front drive cars. Do you think these will be AWD only? I assume it's not feasible to adapt this platform to RWD. IMO, Lincoln really needs RWD in their higher end vehicles. I thought a stretched LS platform would have made more sense, but of course I have no information about the economics involved.

     

    I suppose an AWD V8 (Yamaha?) version of the 500 with heavy styling changes could be an appealing car...
  • nvbankernvbanker Member Posts: 7,239
    Detractors here seem to diss the 500/Montego because it's bland (like the Camry/Accord/Avalon), utilitarian (same thing), slower than a Mustang GT (same thing), so let's see..... It's moderately styled, just like the best selling cars in America, it's underpowered and economical, just like the best selling cars in America, but it's larger inside, it's actually faster, since the CamCords come with 4bangers standard, and it's far more comfortable with the high seating position, and has a much larger trunk than the largest selling cars in America. Where's the beef folks? Seems like Ford has hit a home run to me....

     

    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.
  • ehaaseehaase Member Posts: 328
    I have read on other message boards that salesmen are saying that potential customers are turned off by the CVT in these cars. People aren't usd to them and think that the transmission is slipping.
  • dave2222dave2222 Member Posts: 78
    Theres not very many people at Ford who really feel the Lacrosse is competitive. They really dropped the ball interior wise and I think their marketing departments really to blame for that and the design department as well.

     

    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.
  • dave2222dave2222 Member Posts: 78
    the customers who buy the CVTs really like them, but the ones that dont are really turned off by them. The good thing is that from initial observations theyre now going to demand a CVT in their next vehicle.
  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    Like, for instance, me.

     

    Of course, that assumes reliability is proven by then. If not, all bets are off!
  • ANT14ANT14 Member Posts: 2,687
    Frizz,

     

    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.
  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    (including, I hope, the Fusion...mutter, mutter)
  • fsvfsv Member Posts: 196
    LS - lease it as may be 1st person in 2-state are. Loved it. Minor gripes - glovebox was taken by CD-changer. Door pockets too shallow - once nearly lost my paycheck. Still, lowed the car.

    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.

     
  • ANT14ANT14 Member Posts: 2,687
    There's the Mariner, if you want a smaller SUV. The Lincoln MarkLT will debut, I doubt your looking for something that large though. Later in the year you'll have other introduction. Mainly in the spring and summer there's boutique editions of certain vehicles being produces.
  • fsmmcsifsmmcsi Member Posts: 792
    fsv - I certainly agree with you on the Mountaineer - I feel every bump sharply in my '02 V8 RWD Mountaineer, despite the independent rear suspension. We drove my wife's '02 C230K today, and I can feel the bumps, but it feels like the sharp bumps I feel in the Mountaineer have been rounded over. Money is money, so I have put up with it for 83,000 miles and will finally replace it before it starts down the steep part of the depreciation slope. 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.

     

    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.
  • dbc123dbc123 Member Posts: 105
    I've had my 500 SE FWD w/CVT for two weeks now and I'm quite impressed with it. The CVT is an elegant device that gives the car a silky feel when operated moderately that simply does not exist in any step gear transmission. Absolutely no lurches or jerks and it's always in the right "gear". It's quite a relief to slow to low speeds, they accelerate without the trans lugging in too high a gear or lurching down to a lower gear. Climbing a hill at highway speeds results in a gentle increase in engine speed when needed to provide just enough torque multiplication to do the job. Much, much nicer than an abrupt downshift to a gear that is still probably too high or low for optimum performance.

    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.
  • ANT14ANT14 Member Posts: 2,687
    Fsmmcsi,

     

    "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.
  • fsmmcsifsmmcsi Member Posts: 792
    ANT14 - Thank you. I never could get a good answer from the parts counter guys, and they told me that if I ordered all of the different springs, they would not be able to restock the ones I did not want. The letters I sent to Ford asking for help selecting springs, Etc. to make it better went unanswered.

     

    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?
  • dave2222dave2222 Member Posts: 78
    Mercury and Lincoln sell around 250K a year. Excluding Lincoln youre left with about 125k. With that kind of volume its hard to justify unique features on the Mercury's. Just to give an example to design the a new model like the F-150 it costed 1.2 Billion in developmental costs. At that kind of cost there has to be a high volume to justify that kind of investment. Unlike a luxury brand which maintains high profit margins, mercury has very low profit margins (1-2%) so there isnt a huge space to allow for things like rain sensing wipers etc... When and if Mercury gets up to 500k a year then there will be a buisness case for them to differentiate their cars more, but no there isnt any kind of features like that in the Future currently for Mercury. Youll have to get a lincoln.

     

    the montego and five hundred both were designed by the same engineers and theres no difference in the driving characteristics of the two.
  • ANT14ANT14 Member Posts: 2,687
    The ride between the Montego/500 suspension wise are identical. No parts are interchanged in any way to make them different from one another. On AWD models of each vehicle though, the rear suspension is tuned differently and rides an inch higher.

     

    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.
  • dave2222dave2222 Member Posts: 78
    I think I know what youre refering to ANT14. There hasnt been any finalized plans as of yet and we dont know if the target market can afford it for the price thatll be on it. Its up in the air like you said for now. You sound like youre working more on the engineering aspects. Im not personally connected with that so I cant speak to deeply about it. The CD3S trio for the 06 M.Y are already pretty heavy and its just going to get harder to meet the C.A.F.E standards.

     

    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.
  • jagsownerjagsowner Member Posts: 9
    To ANT and all you out there - I am the Jag S owner who wishes to get out of the high maintenance costs now that I have reached 77,000 miles. I have 14 months left on my lease, and thought I might go for the new Lincoln Zephyr next. But, I test drove the 500 Limited this past weekend. What a great car, beautiful, fantastic room inside (I wish my Jag and my past LS had that leg room in the back as well as the front). I am no engine guy, so the 3.0L seemed very adequate to me. FWD - well I can't tell much difference from RWD (maybe just my perception). All those features and less that $28K. Ford has a home run on this one. I will either get a new one in 2006 or grab a used 2005 off a short term lease (certified) when I am finished with the Jag. By the way, with the adjustable pedals no problem with the front driver well. I am 6' 1" and I thought the front legroom and depth of well was fine. I can't wait to get into one of these. Nice Job, Ford!!
  • fsvfsv Member Posts: 196
    What is that?
  • ANT14ANT14 Member Posts: 2,687
    It's the platform the Fusion, Milan, Zephyr, Midsize SUV from Ford, Mazda, Lincoln Aviator, new generation of minivans, etc. will ride on. It's CD1-3 spawned from the Mazda6 architecture.
  • ehaaseehaase Member Posts: 328
    I wonder why Ford isn't using the Five Hundred platform for the next generation minivans instead of the CD3S platform. Larger minivans sell better, so I would think a larger platform would be better.
  • ANT14ANT14 Member Posts: 2,687
    The D3 platform is too expensive as it is. Issue with the Jac Nasser era was using expensive platforms, and bringing them down to a pricepoint of a Ford brand. This occured with the Jag S-type = LS/Tbird. Even with the 500, which originally was ment to replace the Taurus. Obviously, it was impossible to lower it enough for a $15K entry pricepoint.

     

    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.
  • fsmmcsifsmmcsi Member Posts: 792
    If Ford wants to try to get more out of each platform, they do not need separate brands and all of the costs associated with them. Instead, they simply need to offer different versions of each car in one dealership, and advertise that Ford offers choices (sporty, conservative, and luxury) while other car companies only have one version of each car. This goes way beyond the present option package variations. What are now the Ford, Mercury, and Mazda versions of platforms would be side by side at the Ford dealerships, and the Mercury and Mazda names would be gone. Lincoln, Volvo, Jaguar, and Land Rover would be together elsewhere, but only with their high end models (nothing under $50,000).
  • ANT14ANT14 Member Posts: 2,687
    That just brings up numerous other issues that makes it impossible. You have dealership networks, and contracts with them, while eliminating Mercury would pretty much kill Lincoln as well since those dealerships require Mercury sales to stay afloat.

     

    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.
  • dave2222dave2222 Member Posts: 78
    Differentiating is the name of the game now a days. Its already hard enough to make unique cars/trucks/ and suvs using Fords parts and the same platform. The CD3S platform is great though because its so flexible. You have platform costs which add a lot to the car and if you cant make one car at 400k why not make 10 nameplates and how many ever series at 800k? Itll reduce costs and you end up with unique vehicles.

     

    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.
  • ehaaseehaase Member Posts: 328
    Ford probably wishes it hadn't bought Volvo or Jaguar to begin with. The CD3 could have been stretched and widened for the Five Hundred, Montego, and Freestyle, in addition to all of the other products.
  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    and would have been and there would have been no PAG, were it nor Jack Nasser, who darn near ruined Ford.
  • dave2222dave2222 Member Posts: 78
    Volvos already paid off the investment they made to buy it, and theyve been increasing marketshare in all the markets. Why would you regret that?

     

    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.
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