No hell didn't freeze over... But we did buy a Ford!

[widebody911]

european designed suspension

What does that even mean?

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by Laneco

Sid - nice car!!!

I've become quite a Ford fan in the last few years. One of the reasons is that I worked 5 years for a large company as a Fleet Manager. Most of my job was DOT operations, but I did have to approve all vehicle repairs over $500, which is ALL repairs basically...

All management cars were from the Big 3, and the majority of them were Fords. They were turned in at 3 years or 60,000 miles (whichever comes first). The Fords were more reliable with fewer catastrophic failures (e.g. engine or trans failure). Very few troublesome electrical "gremlin" issues, etc. I had never been a Ford fan prior to that job but that changed. Based on the real world vehicle performance, I wound up buying THREE Ford Edge's (one to sell, one to keep and one for my Mom). When I go to pick a rental car, if there is a Ford in the group for my choice - that's the one I pick.

As far as that little hot-rod Focus goes - I'll bet it's a BLAST to drive! Enjoy!!

angela

I have to admit we've always been a decidedly anti ford family, and for the most part not too hot on any cars by the big 3, but they all seem to be improving by leaps and bounds in the last few years. I had 2012 Durango last year and that was a great SUV, way better than the previous body style. But ford seems to have really nailed the car market. I don't like the lack of rear visibilty in the taurus, but otherwise they are all good looking nicely appointed cars.

Originally Posted by widebody911

european designed suspension

What does that even mean?

What does it say? The suspension package was done by Ford's european performance group. You know, the guys that did the highly lauded Focus RS that we never got.

[Seahawk]

I know that your generation Focus is far superior in every way to the first model year but I will never forget the first time I test drove the Focus.

We did the Au Pair route with our kids child care and their car was an '80's Corolla. It began to have problems around the 200k mark (I had used it to commute into DC for years) so I decided to get a cheap new car, no frills, for the girls to drive safely.

I looked at a brand new '99 Focus, cloth seats, base engine, etc. a car as empty as a gold diggers heart. Remember as well that when I was first driving there were truly unremarkable Ford cars, the Maverick, the Escort, etc.

The price was outstanding, the trade in on the Corolla reasonable, all that was left was a trip around the rural environs of Southern Maryland.

I was stunned. It was, for what I paid, an outstanding performer, comfortable, planted and well behaved.

I was, and remain, a fan. Well done!

[onewhippedpuppy]

We bought a Ford F150 over a Toyota Tundra last year. I felt the Ford was equally well made, far more powerful with the same MPG, and more features for the same money. More so than the other domestics, I think Ford has embraced the fact that just building good cars is the path to profit. I've recently had a new Taurus, Escape, and Explorer as rentals, all were excellent cars.

[KNS]

I like those a lot. Please post your MPGs after you've driven it a while. I do lots of highway miles for work and don't want to be filling it up all the time - the Focus has a tiny gas tank for some reason. I test drove one and it felt very European, great little car.

[yel911]

We bought a Ford F150 over a Toyota Tundra last year. I felt the Ford was equally well made, far more powerful with the same MPG, and more features for the same money.

Same here.... I bought an F150 Lariat ($47K sticker) -$9K from Ford, instead of a $38K Tundra. Toyota's Tundra had either a 4.6 or 5.7 motor. I got the 5.0, don't trust a turbo ECO boost. This truck is so plush!!!

[Hugh R]

Wifey and I went to "Rush" on Saturday and on the way home stopped to look at Ford Edges, we saw a CMax and liked it, the gas/hybrid one, not the plug in one. Thinking about trading in the 2010 Mazda 3 for it or selling used and then buying one. 40 MPG on a 40 mile each way all highway, no traffic drive. The Microsoft Sync stuff is cool, on the test drive she pushed a button and said "temperature 70 degrees" and it just did it. No programming, no voice recognition, it just worked.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by yel911

Same here.... I bought an F150 Lariat ($47K sticker) -$9K from Ford, instead of a $38K Tundra. Toyota's Tundra had either a 4.6 or 5.7 motor. I got the 5.0, don't trust a turbo ECO boost. This truck is so plush!!!

Yup, and the 5.0 gets the same MPG as the 4.6 but with the power of the 5.7. The Ecoboost is nice but we saved a few thousand going with the 5.0, which I think will be more reliable in the long run. Ford also was much more flexible in their options than Toyota. We wanted the front bench so we had an extra seat (3 kids), to get a bench in the Toyota basically drove us into a bare bones base model that didn't even have a power driver's seat. In the Ford we were able to build a loaded XLT with a bench, power seat, backup camera and sensors, Sync, trailer brake controller, locking rear diff, tailgate step, etc. All for the same out the door price as the Tundra. I love Toyota trucks, but eventually you have to rethink your bias.