No wonder Ford has to lay off 30K people

[Mr_Wizard]

Had to take a business trip this past week from South Eastern NC to Norfolk, VA. Company sprang for the rental car. Well the car was a new Taurus SLE Sedan. This has to be one of the ugliest cars I have ever seen. It looks like someone took a lump of clay, shaved a few edges on it and said "Poof, theres your Taurus". The interior was huge, but boring!!!!!! Car had all the options, but it just sucked. This just further enforces my belief that there are very few new American cars that I could consider buying (ZO6, Mustang GT, Solstice, Viper) Damn what happened to the US car market. Look at the rest of Fords cars, 500 box on wheels, Fusion BLAH!!!!!! Hell even dodge is doin this, look at the new Dodge Charger, its a damn family sedan!!!!!! WTF. and ohhhh the Magnum, if I wanted a station wagon I would get a Vista Cruiser.

[M.D. Holloway]

I agree with you. I think (and correct me if I am wrong) that the big 3 design is a committee decision and not the work of one person. That is the biggest problem. A design is an art form. A personal statement. More than one person involved lessens it and makes it less interesting. That is the biggest problem that I see with the big 3.

[kach22i]

The Mercury Milan looks pretty nice to me.

[yellowline]

Rentals usually have bad interiors.

They're giving the customer what they want. All you hear in the market is Camry and Accord. Moderate sized, blandly styled cars that excel at nothing besides going from A to B. There's no demand for a Charger as a 2-door sports coupe. Sheep want appliances, so appliances are what are put forth.

If your customer wants bigger, better, faster, all for less money, what can you do? Especially when your employees want MORE money. And the press is willing to dig your grave for you by publishing "GM bankruptcy death watches" while ignoring the alleged Prius patent ripoff of an American company that's been taken to court.

The media frenzy over the CR issue that says Japanese own all 10 major classes is bogus. For crying out loud, they listed Porsche at the bottom for reliability, when nearly every other survey says otherwise. Talk about bought and paid for.

[Mr_Wizard]

From: Yellowline

Rentals usually have bad interiors.

I have to disagree with that. I have had an Altima, interior was really nice, good design, everything flowed together. This Taurus, the Radio and climate control were just one big black blob. The gague cluster looked like it was but there just because it is required. I think the car that Homer designed was a step up from this thing!!!!



Now thats style.

[masraum]

Originally posted by kach22i
The Mercury Milan looks pretty nice to me.

Nope, looks like everything else. The only cool Mercury is this one.

I think it's the one that Steve Miller must have been singing about.

[Mr_Wizard]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by masraum
[B]Nope, looks like everything else. The only cool Mercury is this one.

Amen Brother!!!!!!

[VincentVega]

x2 on the chick, very nice

I had a Taurus this week as a rental as well. I cant imagine anyone test driving one and then deciding to buy it. A 5yr old Accord or Camry is a much better car, the new versions are even better.

[teenerted1]

we have three Taurus owning sheep here and one is always breaking down. don't understand it either. one guy just replaced his red one with a brand new mercury equivalent. don't understand it cause this guy has some cool hot rods. guess the daily driver can be lame if he wants it to be?

[Mr_Wizard]

Originally posted by teenerted1
guess the daily driver can be lame if he wants it to be?

True, but I am spoiled. The P-Car has become pretty much a daily driver.

[kqw]

Buy a dmestic car for commuter driving only and plan to get rid of it after 3 years.

You know that the product/quality is inferior and the styling is sub-par. You also know that the dealers are going to try everything possible not to fix issues under warranty.

Why is everyone surprised? If you have owned GM, Ford or Chrysler products, you know what the deal is.

Pay 30K for a domestic auto, a year later it's worth 1/2 what you paid for it and the dealer doesn't know you from Adam. However, for the last 20+year advertising has suggested that they are just as good as any car on the market. Swallow that sh!!t if you want to.

Come on folks.....

[scottmandue]

Originally posted by LubeMaster77
I agree with you. I think (and correct me if I am wrong) that the big 3 design is a committee decision and not the work of one person. That is the biggest problem. A design is an art form. A personal statement. More than one person involved lessens it and makes it less interesting. That is the biggest problem that I see with the big 3.

That's a big ten four good buddy!

I like art.

[kqw]

Originally posted by kach22i
The Mercury Milan looks pretty nice to me.

Another POS....remember "Quality is Job One"

That was when they introduced the Ford Countour, Tempo and Mercury Topaz.

[FrayAdjacent911]

If you really want to know why they will have to lay off 30k people... check out the UAW's Job Banks. People get paid to do NOTHING by the Big Three as part of a deal with the unions. Some of these people doing NOTHING get paid up to $100K a year!

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Had a Citroen C5 diesel rental in Ireland last week. Very nice car...definitely would buy one over any American sedan, except maybe a Caddy CTS. Maybe.

[svandamme]

Originally posted by kach22i
The Mercury Milan looks pretty nice to me.

ehm , i don't know what is "nice" about that car

it could be an Opel if you slap another badge and other taillights on it...
there is nothing nice about it if you ask me , other then the blackness of the pain... but that's about it

wouldn't drive it if they gave it to me for free... nope, i'de sell with 0 miles on the clock on ebay... reserve... yeah reserve.... 50 bucks worth...

[jkarolyi]

What cars come forth when your corporate budget is spent on non-producing employees, big pensions, and lifetime health insurance? Taurus SLEs.

The unions will bring down American car manufacturers just like they did the steel industry and the American airline companies. Remember Pan Am, anyone?

[yellowline]

Originally posted by jkarolyi

The unions will bring down American car manufacturers just like they did the steel industry and the American airline companies. Remember Pan Am, anyone?

The media is the biggest culprit. If people bought the cars, there wouldn't be a problem. Do I need to read "GM Bankruptcy Death Watch Article # 373298201? Hell no. Do I want to read and trust a "smart consumer" mag which has ties to Nader's friends? No.

There is such an overflow of media in this day and age that everything is sensationalized. It's cool to bash the Big Three right now. It makes people feel better about their imported cars. It's even cooler to trust the opinions of people you'll never meet or that have no other bearing on you. That sells magazines. The perception generated by that sells cars. SoCal above me proved my point.

Why not drive the car for yourself? I drove my 944 before I bought it. I didn't assume it was God's gift to the world because of the crest it wore. If you honestly think the domestic with the newest
design isn't as good as an import, go for the import. But ignoring a domestic and doing your own research is not the sign of a truly intelligent consumer.

Bash the Taurus all you want. I'll even say it was a POS. That's why they aren't made anymore.

[djmcmath]

I've had some experiences with domestics that have left me definitely but vaguely disgusted.

1 - Rented a Taurus on travel with the Navy. I don't know if it was sloppiness in steering, complete lack of tension in any suspension element, or just general Bad Track-Keeping, but it was more challenging to keep pointed in one direction at freeway speeds than my '70 VW. The ergonomics were stupid -- the steering wheel was placed smack-dab in the way of the speedo, so the only way to tell your speed was to crane your neck down. The seats weren't even comfortable, and no matter how much I dinked around with the electric adjustments, I couldn't make it fit right. Visibility? Couldn't see out the quarters to save my life -- I've driven better hatch-backs and station-wagons. Brakes? Nothing at all like the progressive smooth brakes that we all like -- either on or off, with no pressure zone, no consistency.

2 - One of my friends, an otherwise sensible person, bought a 2002 Taurus. At the time of this story, it was 3 years old, with about 30Kmi on the clock. We needed to change the oil (engine and tranny) and spark plugs, because the maintenance schedule seemed to require it (not sure if the schedule he was following was right, but that's beside the point). Anyhow, draining the oil requires the oil pan to be removed -- there's no drain plug. Now there are a lot of people making after-market drain plugs for installation, but some investigation revealed that Ford refuses to modify their ancient design because they feel that a drain plug cannot be added without adding leaks. That aside, we soon discovered that the case was made of a very soft metal -- in torquing the 20-whatever bolts to their spec (which was like 6ft-lbs), we stripped out three of them. Aargh. The spark plugs turned out to be a similar night-mare, as did the seeminly simple task of adding oil. We're both pretty capable with wrenches, but the simple afternoon task of "change the oil and spark plugs" turned into a multi-day project. Incredible.

[Mr_Wizard]

My wife had a 96 Dodge Stratus at one time. Well the battery dies and in order to get to it, the drivers side Front Quarter Panel had to be removed. What a crock of *hit