Just want to get a thread going on this car, so I'll post my idea's on it.

I work at a Ford Dealer and we've sold so few of this ugly thing that the boss doesn't waste his lot space with more than three units. He keeps them in the back lot with the other animals that bite. You can try to dress it up with 20's or some chrome around the wheel base but it is STILL an old persons car(don't get me wrong, my favorite and most loved person is my Grandma who drives a Camry). I really don't know what they were thinking when they put it out. Maybe they thought this would outshine a Cadi or an Acura TL for the same price. The plain truth is that it is ugly and will never sell in any large numbers. No wonder Ford stock is eight dollars a share. With this nasty looking, underpowered beast they may be just behind the AMC Gremlin in total sales. You might notice an abundance on the road next year simply because they had no other choice than to give them away. Those in law enforcement should worry, because this could be the front wheel drive replacement for the Crown Vic. Plenty of backseat and trunk space............. How will they ever fit a V-8 in there?

Does anyone really own one and not traded it in within 6 months?

 

I'm an old Ford man and wanted to buy a 500 until I took a good look at one. The only good comment I have is that the view from the front seat was excellent. Otherwise it was very mediocre and overpriced. Ford has, from my standpoint, a horrible reputation for costly operation and frequent repairs. I've owned a 1988 T-bird since new and I love the car in the summer, winter it's a death-trap, but it has cost me more to keep it on the road than it did to buy.

I believe Ford and GM and Chrysler should spend a whole lot more time designing cars that stand up to North American driving habits and don't break down like they presently do. If they did that they wouldn't have to worry so much about design features because people will buy the reliability over design any day of the week. Don't believe me? Take a look at the sales of the Asian cars. They sell like hotcakes and there isn't a pretty one in the bunch.

I still have my T-bird for a little while yet but scrapped my wifes old Buick and replaced it with a Camry XLE 6-banger. Why? One primary reason...it's reputation for reliability. It's a beautiful car to drive but it sure doesn't get any second looks on Main Street....I have NO regrets!

 

Well now your giving me 2nd thoughts about my FIRST Ford purchase in 30+ years.
I'd have to dispute the ride of the car tho. It does ride as nice as my 2002 Impala LS did but your right, the power doesn't seem to be there. Its very roomy for my wife and myself and we took it on a couple longs trips and it was quite a relaxing ride.
BUT my biggest headache has been the dealer's lack of knowledge on how to correct any problems with this car. Since the car is only 6 months old there's no way I'm going to get any trade-in value on it so I may just have to keep it around for awhile.
Interesting reading these posts tho.

--Stephen....

 

I tell you what... I have had a Pontiac Sunfire GT (96), a 2002 Honda Accord V6 coupe EX. Now I have a 2005 Honda sedan Accord 4 banger LX, and just baught the 500 for my girl... I love cars, always have, always will. A lot of my friends (and their families) work for Ford. I figured it's time to support them, so I'll buy one. I can understand people saying the 500 looks plain... it does to a point... I have the SE model, and I tell you what, I love the interior. It's a nice car flat out... Could it have more horse? Of course, that's not why I baught it. I had an 02 Honda Accord V6 Coupe... I went through 1 gear box, and 3 transmissions on it. Honda had a known problem on their v6 trannies from 98-02, and they didn't recall it. I had to go through Honda America and have them ship me out a brand new transmission. Talk about a pain in the ***. Honda's very reliable, so I thought. The 05 Accord I have now seems to be ok, but I've had a problem with the speakers going out on me every now and then. I can undestand people saying Ford needs to pick up their quality, but I tell you what, it doesn't matter what company you go with, there's always problems... No one's perfect. Go Ford!

 

i agree and disagree with you guys! i live in ford country and i love the ford trucks over the other crap trucks out there, likewise i also have several ford vehicles and never had any problems from any of them. On the other hand i've had problems with both the "very reliable" honda accord and toyota camry; transmission and heating and cooling problems.
At first i was wonering why ford only put a 203 hp motor on such a big car and then turn around and put 220 hp v-6 in the fussion which is smaller. The answer is the transmissions the fussion has a 5 speed auto tranny while the 500 has a continous variable tranny!
In many speed and acceleration tests the ford 500 beat the chrysler 300 with the hemi. the CCVT transmission has no gears and therefore directs more of the torque power to the wheels than the traditional gear trannies that loose torque due to friction and heat.
The other thing is that the ford 500 is made in sweden by volvo, it is a volvo S80 with ford sheetmetal.
My friends are big 6'8" and 300 lbs the car has some pep and something you don't find in the accord, or camry lots of head room( i have 2" past my hair i'm 6'"6) and leg room in the back seat (4" left even with the front seat all the way back)
Not to mention fully loaded with all wheel drive for 26K thats a bargain

 

The only real concern I have with my 2005 Ford 500 is the transmission. It just doesn't seem to be shifting right. I had it in when I first bought the car in July 2005 and they had to adjust some computer setting. Every time you start out in the morning there's no power, its like its slipping and then grabs. Its now Jan and its starting to do the same thing.
I can also notice a rumbling sound when I put it in gear and I know this can't be right.
I'll take it back to the dealer but I'm not looking forward to that trip. They seem not to be able to handle the 500 and unfortunately that is where I purchased the car.
Outside of that we love the huge interior and it seems to handle very nicely.
--Steve....

 

you either a 6 speed or a cvt trans so the 6 speed takes long to shift gears which is normal and the cvt doesnt have any gears its like a skidoo no shifting

 

If that shifting is 'normal' as you say; doesn't that pose a risk when trying to pull out and find out that you don't have any get-up-an-go and your stuck? If trying to merge into traffic etc I sure would like to know that I have some gears and power when I step on the gas.
--STephen...

 

Wow...am I the only guy who likes the Five Hundred? And I am only 22 to boot! So here is what I think of the Five Hundred:

The design is derivative, and it does closely resemble the VW Passat from two generations ago. However, I think the design is clean and attractive. There are actually quite a few Five Hundreds here in my town. And I must say, I prefer them in black with the chrome all over. The car just looks like its wearing a tuxedo. Such a handsome car.

I was a bit disappointed that Ford made it a FWD car, as opposed to RWD, but my dream Five Hundred will have the AWD option, so I am happy...if I can't have RWD, AWD will do just fine.

The engine: A warmed over Taurus Duratec in Ford's new family passenger liner? Ug. This was THE biggest disappointment in my opinion. 203 horsepower when cars from Toyota and Hyundai are now over the 230 horse mark? That's a shame. But isn't Ford supposed to be dropping a new 3.5 liter engine in that churns out 250 ponies? That sounds just right to me...I'll wait for the 3.5 Liter.

The transmission: Six speed auto or CVT...either one I'm happy!

The interior: Perhaps the best part of this car. It is simply gorgeous and roomy...and I love roomy cars. Ford nailed it on the interior with the Five Hundred.

I certainly hope Ford does not sell the Five Hundreds that are in overstock to rental companies. Ford should stick to its guns, forget about market share for a while and sell these cars for the price they want to sell them at -- this way it will keep the resale value up and hopefully the Five Hundred can retain its value like a Toyota Avalon does.

I drive a lot (14,000 miles in 6 months, from the Southern Californian desert to San Francisco) up Interstate 5, and I must say I see more and more Five Hundreds every time. That warms my soul.

I am stuck though...do I want a black Five Hundred, or a midnight blue Mercury Montego?

 

I know this post is old, but will ring in anyway. I test drove a 06' SEL today, with 13K with some body damage (see other topic). I found this car much better than the 2007 Buick Lucerne CXL that we rented last weekend. I found it more comfortable, smoother transmission and smoother engine acceleration. None of the problems were experienced that I have been reading here.

I would like to have seen the outside temperature display up in the instrument panel, rather than on the HVAC display.