the best way for Ford to rebound....

make another 1990's type of taurus,thats it.that was a sharp car an sold a ton.bottom line is develop a car that appeals to the masses an they will buy.to me ford has alotta pinto's an vegas,nothing that is a sharp american car,i will buy ford regardless but i would love to see another taurus type of car.the newer version of taurus just doesnt cut it.

I think ford is LETTING gm beat them with vehicle appeal and variety. If ford got off their a** and built a handful of cool cars that are DESIGNED to beat the competition, they could pull it off. Unfortuneately ford is happy to leave well enough alone in a market where every manufacturer is besting the other. Ford builds a few fast cars, an economical car, and a bunch of "good enough" cars. I think they need to push the envelope, set GM in their sights, and fire! Maybe ford needs to take a hint from mazda? I beleive the fusion is the first step to that goal, that car looks better than any other in it's class, just as refined and well put together as an import(or a bmw for that matter). It's gonna be a hit when it gets a Duratec 35.

The problem with Ford is that they are full of product planners that have "opinions" about what the buying public want - and those opinions are blocking any creativity. These people no doubt live in unappealing Detroit neighborhoods, shop at aging shopping malls in the nearby suburbs, have 2.5 kids (all grown up now) and have driven Fords all their lives. They would spot a new trend till it knocked them over. Ford needs to fire the lot of them and go and hire new people from around the country that drive the types of car that people like to buy - Toyotas, Hondas, Audis, BMW, etc. and represent the nation as a whole. Trendy young people that represent the emerging markets for the years to come. Wealthy up and comers that represent the real buying power.

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Maybe ford needs to take a hint from mazda?

I think Ford already owns any hints Mazda may want to give them...

Maybe Ford (and GM) could focus on reliability, servicability and cost of repair. Bottom line, when you turn the key, you want your vehicle to start and move. When it doesn't, you don't want to spend 1/2 your month's paycheck to buy the part and then have a dealership take the other 1/2 in labour.
 
 I own a 95 explorer as a winter vehicle because my 02 Mustang is away for winter. A fuel pump for the Explorer just cost me $1,100 dollars because the pump is an outrageous $500.00 and $600.00 to install it. That's on a truck that is worth $3,000.00 tops. What do I do, scrap the truck over a fuel pump??
 
 But a Jap ricer and you can install a $150.00 fuel pump in under an hour because they have an access hole in the floor under the rear seat. No draining and having to drop the tank, all for the factory cost of adding an access hole and one sheet metal screw.
 
THINK Ford, if you want repeat customers. How we view our older Fords affects us when we go to buy a new Ford.

        Fixed (by) Our Ripoff Dealers

Poor ford, I wonder where they really started to get off track.  Was there any particular year that spelled out the (semi) end for them?

bring the aussie falcons and territorys to the U.S. you guys will love em!

I liked the old Probe. I had a '90 with a 3.0 V6 years ago and I loved it. It had a digital dash with a factory trip computer that would tell you everything from current fuel economy to how long it would take you to get from point "A" to point "B" at your current speed. It handled great and had good power and acceleration. I only traded it in because I was going to Panama and I knew how bad the roads were down there. I took a '94 Toyota 4x4 truck with me and it turned out to be pretty good too.

I myself am a BMW kinda guy because everything is over engineered.... but not so over engineered that you cant fix your car when it breaks. Ford is a good company don't get me wrong but it will take a miracle for them to pull their heads out of their a$$ long enough to see what the people want. Ford is for trucks, when I think of Ford thats all that comes to mind. If I want a fast car or easy to work on car I'll buy gm or a civic. If I want a dependable truck I'll buy a ford. Ford almost had a good idea with the focus.. but just didnt build it up enough to compete against the import cars out there. I think if ford built a 2 door roadster or something they'd have a better chance.

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  I own a 95 explorer as a winter vehicle because my 02 Mustang is away for winter. A fuel pump for the Explorer just cost me $1,100 dollars because the pump is an outrageous $500.00 and $600.00 to install it. That's on a truck that is worth $3,000.00 tops. What do I do, scrap the truck over a fuel pump??

 
 I owned a 93 explorer last year, $85 US dollars for the whole sending unit, and I installed myself in under 3 hours. I cant imagine a pump costing that much.....was it fully "blinged out"?

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ORIGINAL: Newman271

Ford almost had a good idea with the focus.. but just didnt build it up enough to compete against the import cars out there. I think if ford built a 2 door roadster or something they'd have a better chance.

 
Absolutely right. A new Focus with two doors is a poor excuse for the sport coupes ford used to make. Case in point, the ZX2. While cheap and stripped and basic, it was incredible fun to drive, got amazing fuel economy, decent styling, and above average reliability for the era. And it was built STRICTLY to be a sports coupe, not a sedan turned into a coupe like most. And it served it's purpose with flying colors. Back when ford had balls and passion for what they built.

 urgh.

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ORIGINAL: iplaypearldrums

        Fixed (by) Our Ripoff Dealers

IT is scary, i see dealers closing all the time almost every day on the fmc dealer website people are saying so long because they are closing there doors.so far over 80 closed and counting so keep bitching maybe one day there will be no ford or rip off dealers!

I hope this doesn''t come out the wrong way , but are there any Ford guy''s there anymore ? I mean ... really? They waist money and do things that are so out of touch with the working guy (that made Ford it''s millions) it''s sick . The THUNDERBIRD V-8 and SUPERCOUPE sold better then other cars in it''s class , period. Yet...they did the one thing to the THUNDERBIRD you should never do.....GO RETRO . The Focus RS WRC car is still not sold here . They now have two models when it should only be one . And still , no Falcon GT over here yet . No Taurus GT , just beef up the AWD and and give it a intake and flowmasters and call it a day . Talk to people at the shows and import dealers and stop listening the rich people . Trim the fat and go back to basics . Put a V-10 in the Ford GT and sell it for $80,000.00 .