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Ford Five Hundred/Mercury Montego
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If 4.2 and Sport, I'd be very interested in your driving impressions . . . Perhaps you could post on the Jag S-Type board?
I rented one for a 3 day weekend a couple of years ago when I was looking seriously at purchase.
Thanks,
- Ray
Realizing that this is NOT the Jag S-Type board . . .
When I pick up in Orlando, Hertz has the usual Ford/Mercury/Volvo/Mazda/Jag/Land Rover suspects. They also have GM's, Toyotas, Kias, and Hyundais.
I have test driven the S-type 4.2L sport numerous times before, but this time around just a 3.0L S-type. I wasn't going to look at a gift horse in the mouth. I myself have a LS V8 so the vehicle feels "familiar" in many ways, yet different in suspension tuning for example.
Rob,
Miami Airport (MIA). I wanted to take my car but cosidering I put around 50K miles a year, the higher powers wanted me to rent, so I did being it's not coming out of my pocket.
MIA gas $2.09 Reg
ORL gas $1.95 Reg
Although one of the main points of this trip is to buy 28/34 pants, a size that is NOT shipping to Miami because of it's market and demographics. I actually found quite many here today.
Jag S-type 3.0L did much better with gas, than the previous Mazda6 4 cylinder I got last time. That Mazda6 averaged 14MPG in the turnpike, while the S-type did 22MPG. This is mostly because it takes the 4 cylinder much more work for it to cut through the wind at high speeds. Reving over 4300RPM most of the way. While the S-type did it at a much more leisurely 2600RPM.
Just an example of one of few senarios, where a 4 cylinder is not always as fuel efficient as we expect it.
Me, too.
Thanks for the response.
I'd love to see Ford raid the (Corporate) Jag parts bin for high level equipment to incorporate into a few versions of Ford and Lincoln - Merc products.
AWD 4.2L Jag motor in a 500 sounds pretty cool!
- Ray
Dreamin' . . .
And yes, I AM a curious sort!
Unfortunately, the 4.2L will never see light in a 500/Montego. It's frontal structure would have to be severely modified for it to happen. Granted, with money you can make ANYTHING happen, but I can safely tell you, THIS won't happen.
And another thing I can tell you, Ford and Jag will share less and less as time goes by. The DEW98 platform will be dropped (as we know it), and the 3.9L goes away from Lincoln use. Instead, expect Jag to borrow/share from/with Volvo.
John,
If you remember the joke I mentioned a week ago... "2 weeks"....and even then you might hear me say "2 weeks" hehe. But it's getting closer and when they do, I'll let you know who reports on it first as it becomes available to me, and I'll post it as well.
As for the two weeks, thanks. I think!
But yes, Ford can borrow from Volvo, and Jag can borrow from Volvo, but Ford is trying to make Jaguar borrow more from Volvo, than Ford itself. Jaguar consumer's are a bit more critical when/if they are sharing known parts with Ford stablemates. So it's better to share what they won't see or know much about.
Which is why the next X-type will be very different from what we have now.
Wnated to share this link from Autoweek.com over CVT's.
http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?port_code=autoweek&cat- _code=carnews&loc_code=index&content_code=09340443
BTW GM is more successful with Cadillac and Cadillacs are (and will be) more advanced vehicles than similar Jaguars, because GM has better engineering resources. CTS beats X-type easily, and S-type too for that matter. For Jaguar you pay most money for famous (in the past) name. Ford has to get serious about engineering if it wants to succeed. So far it relies solely on German Ford, Volvo or Mazda to do the job.
Not sure what this has to do with a domestic car that has to compete in the cut-throat world of of the upeer middle/junior large car segment.
Anyway, as long as the function is there, I don't really care what platform it is based on, or what models it shares parts with (as long as the work well and harmoniously).
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
X-type = Mk II
S-type = S and 420's
XJ8 = Mk X and of course the early XJs.
Looking at the above, the XK8 actually the oddball out as it is much bigger and more of a luxury car than the E-type was. Really what Jag is missing is a more affordable (say $40K?) sports coupe/roadster (like something along the lines of the still born F-type.)
Sorry for interjecting that, but it drives me nuts that people think the modern XJs solely represent what the Jaguar name means.
It's coming up....
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Ford might use the P2 platform for Ford for one final vehicle (for Lincoln), but that's still being planned out. For Ford to remain profittable with the P2 platform, the cars need to be over a certain pricepoint, which the Taurus level couldn't undertake.
P2 platform is very expensive overall because of it's sophistication ans safety (same with the DEW98 being used in the Lincoln LS). In recent times, my "best bang for the buck platforms" have gone to the DEW98 (Lincoln LS), and M113 (Mark8, Tbird, Cougar), and now I'm adding P2 into that personal list.
Next up, the CD3 architecture which will spin-off (the artist formally known as Futura-heh), next generation of minivan's, midsize SUV's, etc. The award I'm giving that one is, "most flexible for almost anything".
The 500 is about to go into production, July 12th, here in Chicago. With gas prices high, the "low 200 hp" complaint is hardly anything to scream about.
Retro?
http://info.detnews.com/autosdb/index.cfm?action=details&pict- ure_id=12693
That is about the last word I would EVER use to describe a Five Hundred. As for the Montego, to me it seems to borrow liberally from what some have called GM's "angry appliance" theme bin.
Three bar grille? Is that anything like a three martini lunch?
Mark
Don't worry, Ford won't be using the same wiring harnesses or keyfobs, heh....
Sort of what DEW98 (Lincoln LS) is to DC2 (Mustang).
S80 will gain a V8 in the close future for it's next redesign, interior console/dashboard will also be heavily modified. Thought I'd share...
Oddly enough, there were no Five Hundreds or Montegos to be found. Since the Ford display was touting the "Year of the Car," I would think Ford would have wanted to have one of its most important new car introductions in years on display for Ford fans.
On a side note, one of the displays was devoted to all-original Fords (i.e., no restoration). When someone says, "They don't make 'em like they used to," I'd reply, "Thank goodness!"
There was a 1969 Ford Country Squire with 19,000 miles in all-original condition. The paint was peeling from the sheetmetal in a few spots, because the workers had not properly prepped the sheetmetal prior to the painting process. The sheetmetal over the rear windows was so wavy that it looked as though the workers had used a mallet to shape the panels.
An all-original 1979 Mustang Pace Car with 428 miles featured a paint job with so much orange peel it must have been applied by Sunkist. Neither of the bumpers mated too well to the sheetmetal.
It was fascinating to compare this Mustang to the all-original 1993 Cobra R with 413 miles that was less than 50 feet away. The paint on that one was pretty good, and the fit of the body panels was much better. Ford quality really did improve during the 1980s and 1990s.
If the Five Hundred and Montego debut with less-than-perfect panel fit or too many flaws in the paint, customers will proclaim the cars "junk." It's interesting how standards have changed over the past 30 years!
Sound a bit like the Taurus SHO - from 1989????
- Ray
Who nearly bought one . . .
Yes, although I hope the results aren't as disasterous such as the 3.4L V8 SHO that had issues. Although they have designed a few other engines for manufacturer's, like Toyota's 1.8L found in the Matrix, and that has proven reliable so far....