Blue Oval Diehards In Here Only Please--WTF Ford

[ZephyrEFI]

So, I had been loving the Mullaly "One Ford" plan where we in the US got all (or MOST of) the great products Ford sells in Europe. Apparently this Jim Hackett guy who's running the show now wants to completely dismantle that. Not as a direct reaction to it, but changing things just enough so that it should happen on its own. I think it's very important that the US auto makers remain competitive and relevant in the car market. Apparently that's already no longer true. I read this article that said the new Toyota and Honda sedans get LEAPS and BOUNDS better fuel economy than the Fusion. Ford is keeping Fusion fuel economy numbers low so that they can point to how similar their crossovers' fuel economy numbers are to the Fusion's. "Hey, look! We have efficient crossovers!" Nevermind the fact that the Fusion is no longer a competitive product. It's merely a placeholder, there as an example of something customers apparently DON'T want. "For 5 more dollars a month, you could have what you REALLY want, an Edge!" Sergio Marchionne of FCA apparently has stated that no one really wants sedans. They just buy them because they've decided they can't afford crossovers. And I guess Hackett jumped RIGHT on board with that. And the terms of new car loans now are SO long that people are "happy" to spend another couple of bucks a month to get a more expensive car. I guess it's almost looking like a bubble akin to the subprime mortgage lending fiasco that collapsed in 2008.

Have we really decided that gas will NEVER be expensive again? How stupid is that?!

This was the timeline of things that angered me. First, I heard Ford wants to cancel the Fiesta and replace it with the Ecosport. I haven't bought a Fiesta ST yet, but I'd really like to at some point. Bad news #1. Then I heard that Hackett wants to move Focus production to China. BAD news!! I've bought/leased several of the current generation Focus and love them. They are a great product (with a manual, anyway). I do NOT believe they could maintain the same level of quality building them in China. I worked at a dealership during the '90s, and you could ALWAYS tell which Contour/Mystiques had been built in Mexico. There was NO comparison. Apparently they have addressed that to some degree now because some of my Foci were built there and were as good as any. You cannot tell me that starting up a new factory with all new Chinese employees accustomed to building knock-off level copycat CRAP will be just as good as North American workers would have been. No, I'm not happy that my Fusion and some Foci were built in Mexico, but I'll take that all day long over China! So, moving on. The third thing I heard was that now Hackett wants to move all global Fusion/Mondeo production to China also. Argh! The Asian brands don't build their cars there. Volvo is owned by a freakin' Chinese company and THEY don't even build their cars there! And now, the latest... he doesn't want to sell the Fusion here at all. And I think with all this going on, the Taurus is as good as dead.

We HAD been leasing/buying new cars regularly for the past several years. A good thing for Ford, I would think. But if these things go through, there will be nothing at a Ford dealership that I would buy! They're making their intentions clear: "If you don't want a truck, then we don't want you!" Is it so outlandish to expect to be able to buy a Ford CAR built in the US?! Apparently it is! I can buy an American built Toyota, but not a Ford. THAT is bulls***.

I had really liked leasing every few years because it keeps the cars in my garage under warranty! Now I'm going to have to rethink all that. Maybe look at buying some cars I know I can work on like a Crown Vic and '90s Explorer or something....

[homer302]

Seems like you and I are long lost brothers. I feel the same though I have to admit I don't buy/lease new cars because I don't believe in going into debt for one. However we do everything we can to NOT buy foreign and ESPECIALLY Chinese. I also agree on the ridiculous length of loans people take out just to drive something nicer than their neighbor. News Flash, if you have to take a 8 year loan out on your car, you CAN'T afford it. Those people say, hey...it's only "whatever" a month or I only paid "whatever" for it. No you didn't. Take your payment and multiply it by 84 or 92 payments or whatever and THAT is what you paid for it. Nobody wants to do the math though. There are sooo many nice reliable used cars on the market it's just craziness.

If you can afford "whatever" a month for 84 months then you can take that same amount and put it in an account for 3-4 years and then pay CASH for a nice used car. Let's say your payment is $460. Save that for 4 years instead (and YOU make the interest instead of the bank) and then go buy a new $22,000 car for CASH. Meanwhile you continue to put that $460 in the account for the next 4 years etc....

And again, I agree about the Fusion. For the past 3 years at least I have been hoping for a replacement but they seem to just continue "refreshing" the headlights and grille and whatnot. It's become irrelevant for sure. The China-made cars can not be as good. I will not support it either. I was already HUGELY disappointed in the PIG that is the 2015 and up Mustang. I like to hear people comment on the 1971-73 Mustang and then I point out that it is smaller and lighter than the 2015 is.

Also want to point out yet again for the record that no bank anywhere was responsible in any manner for the sub-prime collapse. First of all, "GovCo" FORCED banks to make those loans. It's very easy to do the research. And secondly, NOBODY forced ANYONE to take out a loan they could not afford. the PEOPLE THAT TOOK THOSE LOANS OUT are the ones that caused the collapse. There is no way to dispute it.

[ZephyrEFI]

Yeah, those people who were buying houses they had no business buying were definitely to blame. Same deal here. I'm always astounded by how many F150 Platinum ...Limited... Extreme whatever they are that are supposedly built in limited numbers that I see around. TONS of them! Who are these people who can afford $65,000 for a truck?! I just have to assume that they CAN'T but have one anyway.

I get a lot of crap from people for being staunchly "buy American". They just LOVE to point out that Toyotas and Hondas are built here too, and often have high US parts content comparable to American brands. Like I haven't heard that before. I tell them Ford is still a US company, employing far more American workers than Asian brands do. That's at least helped me sleep at night buying Mexican built Fords and others that shared parts with Mazdas. This China thing though... it might just be the thing that tips the scales. Those cars built there couldn't possibly have comparable US parts content. It just wouldn't make sense as a cost-cutting move. At that point, what's better for the American worker I'd been so strongly behind before? A Honda with 50% US content or a Ford with ZERO?! I really don't know!

[gregpro50]

This is a complicated discussion that could get very political...

It's not just the auto industry. It's any kind of manufacturing. I used to live in a white collar manufacturing and engineering community. Now it's a blue collar welfare community full of empty store-fronts and wal-marts.

I used to bleed blue but I think I've gotten to the point in my life where I have zero brand loyalty.

[NY5speed]

I prefer older, more analog cars for sure... probably most on this board do too. Other than old Fords, I grew up on 80s/early 90s Hondas and Nissans which were always light and visceral. Therefore, prety much nothing on the brand new market really does anything for me, faster for sure, but increasingly fat and numb. I don't get the $80k truck thing... to me my 88 f150 and 98 tahoe are the pinnacle of the truck experince haha.

A few years ago, I needed a decent sized sedan for work on the road, I test drove everything and was pretty sure I'd be purchasing an Accord sport (k24, 6sp manual). My local ford dealership had one 2014 Fusion SE 2.0EB left with a pile of rebates so I gave it a chance and to my suprise it felt like a quality product. I put 40k miles on it in the first 18 months, it has 70k on it now and my girlfried drives it every day. We have had absolutely no problems with it and I plan to keep it around for quite a while.

I too was a fan of Mullaly's One Ford initiative, the European product line had been admirable for years. If you want to read a good book about Mullaly's time at Ford, grab "American Icon." It makes me sad to think that Ford may be reversing this progress. Ford has a pretty comprehensive line up right now, I understand that the crossovers are more profitable but we need to have decent sedan options as well. I think killing the Fusion here would be a mistake, the Focus just needs a better automatic transmission option.

The Fiesta ST is one of only two new cars that I have driven lately that did anything for me at all, the other being the new Miata Club, (optioned to my liking that little thing was like $34k!). After seeing that the 2017 FiST was the end of that generation and its replacement was not destined for the US, I picked one up with no options for just under $18k. It is a fantastic little canyon carver. Sad that it represents the end of the line here.

[NY5speed]

This is a complicated discussion that could get very political...

It's not just the auto industry. It's any kind of manufacturing. I used to live in a white collar manufacturing and engineering community. Now it's a blue collar welfare community full of empty store-fronts and wal-marts.

I used to bleed blue but I think I've gotten to the point in my life where I have zero brand loyalty.

Sad but true, the southern tier and central NY are not what they used to be...

[Broncojunkie]

Our main vehicle is a 2017 Tacoma. I'm not crazy about it, but the resale value on most other brands are a joke compared to the Toyota. The rest of our vehicles are mustangs. I work out of town 6 or 7 months out of the year, so we're ok with just one daily driver, for the most part. I need to buy another vehicle just to have as a beater. We sold a 98gt a few months ago and I'm wanting to buy a new edge mustang here soon. When shopping for the Tacoma, I came to the realization that there was really nothing else on the market that even remotely interested me (well, besides a new mustang gt...but I really needed a 4wd truck for the snow and for hauling fox parts).

[gregpro50]

Our main vehicle is a 2017 Tacoma. I'm not crazy about it, but the resale value on most other brands are a joke compared to the Toyota. The rest of our vehicles are mustangs. I work out of town 6 or 7 months out of the year, so we're ok with just one daily driver, for the most part. I need to buy another vehicle just to have as a beater. We sold a 98gt a few months ago and I'm wanting to buy a new edge mustang here soon. When shopping for the Tacoma, I came to the realization that there was really nothing else on the market that even remotely interested me (well, besides a new mustang gt...but I really needed a 4wd truck for the snow and for hauling fox parts).

I had an '09 Taco and absolutely hated it. The nice thing is that when I traded it in for the F250 it was worth $10k still even though it was beat and had about 200k miles on it. I don't know why but they do hold their value. I like the F250 but the fit and finish was nicer on the Toyota. My truck feels like it was assembled by third graders.

I've owned a lot of cars through the years. I may get blasted for saying this but the best ones I've owned is this '17 Land Rover Discovery Sport( I can't believe I just typed that) and an 09 Honda Pilot we bought new. The worst was a '14 Explorer Sport and that Tacoma.

[Broncojunkie]

I'm actually not crazy about the tacoma. But the used truck market here in my area is laughable. You wouldn't believe it if I told you lol. The paint on our truck is pretty bad. Lot's of orange peel...even more than the usual "factory orange peel" you might see on average drivers. It is a 6 speed manual, which is the other main reason we bought it. The shift linkage is clanky to the point where it really annoys me at times. The engine is rattly, and it's my understanding that it's just a product of the "atkinson" cycle and the injectors are to blame. The engine lacks "grunt" though. Needs more torque. I could probably overlook the lack of power if the gas mileage was better, but we barely get 20 mpg here in the hills of West Virginia.

After all of the above complaints, it seems the truck is made fairly well. It's definitely not the same toyota truck we were used to over the years. It's a lot more heavy-duty. It just needs a little more power to move it along.

[KevinK]

To sell in China, companies think they must manufacture there. I see it way too much in my work. I’m sure there is a cost calculation that proves their point. Still no excuse for not making them in the USA for the market here.

China has come a long way and is progressing quicker than we can imagine. I don’t understand the market there but it is different from what I have seen personally.

[ZephyrEFI]

All of the Fords we've bought/leased recently have been very well made going back to our '07 Mercury Milan. We didn't care for the auto in our first Focus, a 2012, but it was a lease, so we simply turned it in when the term ended free and clear and replaced it with a stick. We LOVE our '14 Fusion. It doesn't handle as well as the Foci, but it's way more comfortable. I prefer it on trips over the TC.

When the time comes the lease is up on the TC, typically i would have bent the budget a bit to get something else new in the garage. I really doubt I'll do that this time. It puts us at 2020, and by then dealers will have no Fiesta, Fusion, or Taurus, and a Chinese Focus. No thanks.

[dagenham]

Americans are idiots when it comes to any truck nowadays. Why do we need 4 full size doors and only a 5 foot long bed? What happened to buying a truck with an 8 foot bed???? As far as I'm concerned these ridiciulous looking "trucks" are just four door sedans without the trunk lids made for people who have no need or probably even business driving a truck of any kind. Jus because they can and like stated above probably can't afford them.

[TNT]

To sell in China, companies think they must manufacture there.

Given the way the Chinese government is, I wouldn't be surprised if that was a REQUIREMENT to sell cars there.




The original post about the sedans got me wondering, what ever happened to the horsepower wars?

Caddy has been selling the CTS-V in coupe, sedan, and wagon for YEARS. Chevy had the SS for a couple, 4 door sedan with +400hp and an available 6 speed. Mopar has had the Charger, although butt ugly until recently, with the hemi available. Not to mention the Hellcat drivetrain available in a 4 door sedan. When was the last time Ford/Lincoln/Mercury did something like that? The Marauder in 04?

[homer302]

Caddy has been selling the CTS-V in coupe, sedan, and wagon for YEARS. Chevy had the SS for a couple, 4 door sedan with +400hp and an available 6 speed. Mopar has had the Charger, although butt ugly until recently, with the hemi available. Not to mention the Hellcat drivetrain available in a 4 door sedan. When was the last time Ford/Lincoln/Mercury did something like that? The Marauder in 04?

Ahh how quickly we forget, haha. Technically you are on point to ask and quite correct. But it was Ford that started that way back when but, unfortunately for Ford Fans, way back when is a LONNGGG time ago. The Ranger GT, 5.0 Mustang, Lightning, Lincoln Mark VII HO, Taurus SHO, Escort GT, Thunderbird SuperCoupe. It was truly an amazing lineup all those decades ago. Now as you said, I am so jealous of Cadillac. Lincoln just plain sucks now. We do still have the Raptor though and the Focus RS is totally a world beater whether it interests you or not it really is and then the Focus and Fiesta ST. Hard to argue with the flat plane GT350 too.

[gr79]

What is happening inside Ford and others?
Self driving cars? Self driving shopping carts?
Bigger or smaller is not always better. They cannot decide.

Companies brag about earnings highest ever.
A new theater movie grosses record earnings
Compared to what? The past? What about attendance?
That theater ticket now costs 20.00 instead of 5.

They can keep new cars/trucks, and most used too 2005?-up.
Spend 1/2 total earnings on car/truck payments?
Crazy and unwise.
No concept or value of money? Manuf and buyers alike.

Payments for 10 years. Cost per mile?
What about insurance?
The higher the sticker, the higher the insurance. New fees abound.
Can add 100.00 month or more to payments.
Repairs can total a car as always. Try and get market value.
Or find a affordable reliable used car with less than 100k.
The faster it is built, the more they can build is hogwash economics.

A ride worth 10g at 200,000?
200k no big deal anymore? Ha.
Who is going to buy it?
People who work so many hours they do not have time to shop?
Work transportation, just work more ot?
Back in the same boat a year later?

[xctasy]

The reason for it all is that the rest of the world is playing Rat B@$=@rd anti American dribble. Over the world, but in Australia.

The threat of Asian Pacific Free trade killed it. And Ford needed to cut its losses due to what was happening.

This from Australia. Some call your Corporations the mafioso, fellas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62xwizjP67M



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uFYW5tMoeg



This is why Ford makes cars in Thailand and will make and import from China. Anti US sentiment is sadly becoming universal.

I love Ford.
I love Edsel Ford II.
I love the US.

Ford USA defrocked Ford Australias CEO's on a regular basis. But that's business. You can bet I've had to make some Rat B@$=@rd "baseball bat to the back of the head" swings in my business, so this is all about joining the real world.

Remember the Japanese bombed Australia after they hit Pearl Harbour.

I don't belive the Anti US hype. I don't believe all of the JC hype. You can Listen to it, but decide yourself.


I do believe that the cars Ford and GM Holden chose to be built in Australia was wrong, but thats a decision made in Head Office in the US.

Ford had the option of competing in the Middle East where the Holden badged as the Chevrolet Caprice and the Australian made Toyota Aurion are loved. It bailed on the option.

If Ford USA allowed the Focus in 2003 to be made in Australia, the risk was all the component supply would have been unscaled and carried by Ford Australia, which would have then be picked up by China.


Lastly, "EXCLUSIVE: Peter Hanenberger blames local and global management for Holden closure"

https://www.motoring.com.au/hanenber...nymore-109467/

GM and Ford USA got what they needed, and got out, for redistribution to those it could work with. In so doing, it has looked after its Canadian, Brazillian, Mexican and US business. That means it will continue to look at China rather than Europe, and perhaps the United Kingdom instead of Belgium and Germany.

The Ford of Europe Focus won't be the last, as Ford has re-invested in the Belgium and the Bordeux plant, and unlike GM, won't ever sell its car business to the French like it did when it sold Opel (and the Holden Commodore design) to the French PSA group.

I'm pleased Ford is looking after the USA customer, but the whole vehicle industry is potentially in free fall, and thats business. GM has had its share of corporate Morons over the years, but the Martix System of one report to engineering, one to the accountant was played off for years under Estes and Smith, and Chapter 22 was the result. Ford has blood baths in its Corporate meetings, but it only has one report, and its not the Engineering team. Its making a Profit. Its not a profit at all costs, its about making sure the company survives.

European cars are always propped up by Government incentives, so if there is ill will to Ford in Europe, you can bet they will do to Europe what they had to do to the Australians.

[erratic50]

In order to more completely understand the complexities of this discussion there is another aspect that has to be explored.

When a US company like Ford takes their intellectual property to another country and pay their foreign workers to assemble a product, where does the warranty related liability and the entire point of the exercise - profit - go? You guessed it! The US.

When an Asian company does the reverse, once again the cash flow always goes "home".

Yes we can talk about the jobs and the income of the workers, etc, but at the end of the day those are passthru expenditures -- part of the cost of doing business. They are a rounding error compared to the profits that go home.

This comes from the perspective of someone who has done multiple IT general controls (sox404) reviews on multiple publicly traded companies. If you ignore where the lions shsre of money flows you are ignoring the entire point of the company's line of business.

Its this analysis that allowed me to become to terms and be OK with being CISO at a company that imported 100% of the products they sold. (I've long since moved on).

This same analysis is the main reason I've always bought US brand cars. Mostly Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury. A few Chevrolet (which in my experience had absolutely horrible build quality) and Chrysler (which also initially had terrible quality problems)

Meanwhile I've traveled to Detroit multiple times and rented a car. You would have thought I was in Japan asking for an American built car -- Wtf!

Each time I bring a car back I'm asked how my rental was. If it's not a US auto I often politely suggest that they go to the store and buy a shovel -- then they can bury it. Sometimes I just say bury it. The reaction either way is always 3/4 of the fun of saying it, but honestly...... if you can't build a car that reasonably fits a 6'6" man then take your design and throw it in the trash!

Observation: One major difference ive always seen is Ford has been a lot more accommodating to tall people than other brands. I can jump in a Fusion or a Focus or a Fiesta and not hit my head, still see stoplights, etc. some of it is a matter of safety- imagine crashing a car you don't fit in! You're as good as dead!

Good discussion.

[xctasy]

Ford USA has the run of the field in forward model planning. It has long range plans to fill holes in the lineup. GM just took the Aussie Zeta platform, which was the culmination of 30 years of European Victor and Opel Rekord/Commodore work. From that, the Sigma-based vehicles that shared design engineering with Zeta have transitioned to the Alpha platform. GM Holden bailed out aspects of GM USA, but it had sucking wounds, despite Governmenr money.

Ford USA has seen large car development in Australia as generally profitable, and beneficial, but the proeblem occured in 1987 when the Mercury Capri was made in Australia from FASPAC Toyo Kogyo parts. The faults per 1000 units for LHD, Air bag prodction were way higher than expected, and it was this that counted against Focus production in Australia. The issue was absenteeism and the langage barrier of staff unable to speak English. No traing program could be undertaken with 15 to 18 days per year of absent leave. Other countires, it is far lower. Ford probably would have decided that a full factory refit and change in manufactoring method and staffing would be benfical, but the plants it wanted to close had huge redundancy costs attached to it, so it was easier to phase out over time. Edsel Ford II was Deputy Managing Director for Ford Australia from 1977 to 1980, a postion crated for him, but you can bet that after having his second son born in Australia, and sharing in all of the things that being Australian means, his co authorship in signing off 95 years of Ford assembly wasn't taken lightly.

For the European Fords, it could go any way. The old Eastern block countires and South East Asia are keen to do business, and all the old Western Europeans are keen to talk only about looking after prodction without kick backs. The Asians are the ones who undestand that its not all about price, its about continuing business. How prepared those companies are to do pencil sharpening for production will decide on what the next make-up of Ford USA's car line up is like.

Down here, we swapped from Europe to Japan based Fords in 1978, with the Ford Courier first, the Econovan, then the Laser, the Telstar, the Festiva, and after the Asian Financial Crisis in 1996 when Korea had its investment split away from Japan, the small car prodcution costs skyrocketed, and Ford Australia went to Europe again. In the USA, small Escort sized cars weren't common before 1980, so your range has been Eurpean, then Japanese (the 1994 Escort was Toyo Kogyo designed, and a Ford Lazer and Mazda GLC/323/3 under the skin, but with the European American CVHH 1.9), then its swung back to tecnically Europe again with the Contour; but that car was very different to the Eurpean Mondeo. The first Fiesta you got was Spanish/German, the Festiva you got, Japanese, but made with Tiwanese parts, which really upset China. Then replacement was also European, the second Fiesta. The Ka, you didn't get, the Focus was a new class of car, and it was 100% European.

Ford will togle in and out of other suppliers, because thats what keeps the worlds pencils sharp.

The Ranger we have is a best seller here in New Zealand, and in Australia, but although its Australian designed, its made in Thailand. Ford outsources to share the money pie around, but also every dollar it saves by taking cars from Thailand, China or Spain props up continued US production of other models.

I'm not American, but I know this. If cars are becoming the new Sub Prime boom bust, then every Chinese, Thai or Spanish Ford lookes after the US bottom line. The saving on small cars underwrites more investment in US prodction.

[webestang]

My 96 Crown Vic has the most American made parts of any car during that time.......but it was assembled in Canada.....

[Haystack]

I pretty much decided I would never buy a new ford when the 2005 mustang came out. I had a buddy with a 2004 focus and another with a 2002 escort zx2.

The focus is a cheap car. It has enough room for my 6'5 frame, but its missing something. It doesn't feel right. It gets good mileage, and that's pretty much it if you ask me.

About 2007, paying $4 a gallon for gas was starting to get old. I see the new 2007 fiesta. Advertised at $13.7 k out the door and 35 mpg. I went to a dealership and test drove on.

Car was really zippy, had enough room, it was cheap and got good mileage. It felt more "right" then the focus my buddy owned. I mulled it around in my head, walked away from it. It was a good thing, got layed off a few months later when my work shut down.

Couple years later in 2010 maybe 20011, I get divorced, move in with my dad. My dad has always had a full sized van and a full sized car. Always a econoline and always a crown Vic.

Well he's driving a 460 e-250 getting 7-8 mpg. A trip down town would cost him $50. Even when gas gets down to $2.50 a gallon again, he really didn't drove anywhere. One day his van craps out and he calls me for a ride. I show up, pull a spark plug wire off my car and throw it on his coil wire to get us both home.

When I got him home, he wants my opinion on a new car. I bring up the fiesta. Good warranty, good mileage, told him I'd stay away from the auto and get the 6 speed. He was visibly upset at my recommendation, but he listened to me and setup a test drive at the dealership.

He sits down in the fiesta and asks how big the engine is, 1.6 liters? No, see I need a car that go up hills. He flat out refused to drive it, they bring up a focus with the 2.0 liter, my dad sits in it, gets back out and says he wants a hatch back if he is driving a cracker box.

Long story short, this dealership didn't have anything my dad would test drive. He is pretty stubborn and stuck in his ways. A couple months later, my dad asks me to go look at a Buick with him from a used car dealership. Car was a pile of crap. I convince my dad to talk to a real salesman, we end up test driving like 15 cars. Everything from a Toyota Avalon, to an ecoboost to a prius. Still refuses to test drive the fiesta they had there though.

My dad sits in his 2010 Mazda and just falls in love with it. Doesn't even make it out of the parking lot and he trades me seats so I can drive it. He ends up bringing it home and calls me as I follow him to try to figure out the head lights and mirrors and stuff cause he barely sat in the drivers seat.

My dad now also owns a 2011 fiesta and his Mazda. Both are over 150k miles with no real issues outside of brakes and battery changes.

I hate that fiesta. I loathe it with every fiber of my being. The fiesta is my dads loaner car. My sister drives it, my brother drives it, if I'm working on my car and need to hit the auto parts store ECT.

The car is great. Get good gas mileage, plenty of room and feels nice. For about an hour. Now I'm not a candy ass, I did construction for over 10 years. Will probably go back to it when my kids get a bit older and I can travel more. But I cannot sit in that car for over an hour straight.

I feel the same way with most newer cars. Drivers seat is a weird angle, suspension is hard. There is enough room, but you wish you had a bit more to stretch. My buddies got a 2014 gt, feel the same way about his car. My other buddy has a fusion, not the ecoboost, its more comfortable, but just feels weird. I can't quite put my finger on it.

Now for a list of cars I've owned.

1986 cougar gs 5.0
1986 cougar ls 5.0
1987 cougar ls 3.8
1987 cougar ls 3.8
1989 mustang lx convertible with a bad 2.3
1987 tbird lx 5.0
1987 tbird lx 5.0
1988 crown Vic wagon 5.0
1987 tbird lx 5.0
1986 cougar 5.0
1988 cougar xr7
1986 tbird lx 5.0

Plus a few more cougar birds i've forgotten about. The ex wife had a neon when we got married. That's pretty much it. I bleed ford blue, just not anything made this century.

In my old cars, I can jump in them, drive for 16 hours straight and only need to stop for gas and a piss break every now and again. It's torture to do the same thing in most newer cars.

[ZephyrEFI]

I came to an interesting realization the other day. Not one of the Fords in my garage was built in the US. Fusion: Mexico. Transit Connect: Spain. Even the Zeph was built in Canada. Shameful.

It's a good point that the bulk of the money spent on a new car goes to the company's home. It's frustrating that I could say that to people that buy foreign brand cars until I'm Ford engine blue in the face and it wouldn't make any difference. They don't care about it like I do. They focus on the fact that their stupid car was built in the US with 40% US parts content. It seems it's a fairly meaningless stat. I wonder why they even allowed that on the window stickers. Don't the US car makers have powerful enough lobbies?

I remember I was really disappointed in Ford when they came out with the Mazda-based '91 Escort. I believe it was a fairly hot-selling product at the time, and they couldn't be bothered to develop one in-house? LAME. As time passed though, I had a friend that had a VERY high mile Mazda Protege on the same platform. It led me to believe they're probably decent cars. At the time I was driving an '89 Mustang 2.3 automatic; not exactly a fun car to drive. I dumped that in favor of a '91 Escort GT 5-speed. I wanted driving fun, and my insurance was quite high from speeding tickets so a V8 Mustang was out of the question. That car ended up being totalled, but I replaced it with a '93 Escort GT 5-speed. Fun cars! I owned that car longer than any other in my repertoire (until the Zeph). I sold it with 185,000 miles. But still, it always bothered me that it was a compromised, not-really Ford.

I was excited when the Contour came along. Finally we were getting the good stuff from Europe. But... as it turned out, not really. It was highly compromised for our market, and almost doomed to failure from the beginning because of the tiny back seat. In some ways altered too much, and in other ways, not altered ENOUGH. As if it gave Ford the excuse to say "Hey, look. we gave you the European stuff you've been asking for, but then you didn't buy them!". Same deal, the first gen 2000-2004 Focus. "You didn't buy enough of them, so now we're going to punish you by keeping the same chassis around for WAYYYYY too long!". Compromised.

Then there was the first gen Fusion. Platform shared with Mazda (although, I admit I am a bit fuzzy on whether the actual origins of it are Ford of Europe by way of Mazda or not). Again, I found myself in need of a car. I was driving a 2000 Cougar at the time that was a salvage title/flood car. (But see, I was one of the proponents for Euro Fords, and I DID buy one!!). That thing was a ticking time bomb rattle trap and it was grading on my nerves to drive it. I replaced it with a 2007 Mercury Milan.

Then 2008 happened, and Ford found themselves with a line of half-assed cars where suddenly they needed competitive product. So, finally an actual GOOD decision was made, and we got the Euro Fords we'd wanted all along. Does Hackett really think this won't happen again?! Maybe he just doesn't care because he'll most likely be gone by then, riding his golden parachute to retirement. It will actually be WORSE this time because many of the car segments will have NOTHING to sell instead of compromised crap. And you can't tell me the cars they develop for other markets will continue to be designed to meet US crash regulations if they don't have to. No freaking way.