http://www.caranddriver.com/dailyaut...roduction.html

Ouch!

But many of us have said so... the car is uninspiring and needs replacement. This should also be a sign to Ford PD that they need to get their heads out of their asses... quit with the lame-*** excuses and do better with the Fusion. You know what I mean... give the V6 a MT option... get rid of that ugly ***, parts bin steering wheel... at least on the top model... and lastly bring out a SVT version (but make it better than the Mazdaspeed 6... maybe a hot version of the upcoming bigger V6 and AWD... most importantly make the car LIGHTER).

 

Why is it so difficult for American auto companies to just copy the Japanese?

I'm not asking for originality, GM or Ford.

I'll buy your wares if you just give me something close to parity. I'd...[gasp]...even prefer to buy your wares if given a choice!

 

The Chrysler 300 based sedans came out the same time the 500 did. They are a success, build it and they will come. Ford & GM's do not need to copy Japanese design, their problems are management.

 

GM at least is realizing that they need a RWD family sadan. Also, I’m with all you guys also…DON’T FORCE ME INTO A FREAKEN AUTOMATIC tranny! The 500 is not bad looking, it has a good amount of space inside, good headroom, and pretty good quality...yet, what makes it special?

It's just not a matter of...make sure it grades well, it's a matter of make sure it stirs something inside of people. Style or the looks of a car are very important along with quality and performance, the 500 is a good car...but Ford and GM need to be in the business of making GREAT cars if they want to make a comeback. It's not enough to compete...YOU HAVE TO LEAD!!!!!!

 

the 500 could have been so much better... but as usual the US manufactures cheap out, refuse to listen to the market and crank out some half baked POS...again.

When will they learn.....

Geez I wish I could have a US manufacturer exec job....put no thought into my work AT ALL, cut corners from here to timbuktu, get paid more than the law should allow and still have a job waiting for me in the morning.

 

the ford line up is the very definition of "C" student. Sure, it'll get the job done (getting from a to b), but there are much better options out there. although, i'd take a 500 or a fusion over a caliber. i saw one the other day, and it is fugly.

 

I fit four people with room to spare, inside the trunk of a Ford 500.

 

In American corporations, bonus' are all about cutting costs.

Ask anyone trapped in one. There some that are different, but when an MBA takes over....

 

Somebody has to make rental cars

 

Nice analogy….but hey, what’s wrong with a C student…huh, lol. But it’s true, when I gave half assed effort I’d get C’s and B’s…when I actually cared, I was a A’s and B’s student.

So…your right, the US auto companies have been C- students for a long long time now. Now, the nerds from Japan and Korea are getting the pretty girls and nice jobs…lol.

Yup! Who cares about quality, employee moral, and the long term effects of doing things half assed…as long as the current CEO or Exec can get a hefty bonus at the end of the year for saving cost’s mainly by firing employee’s and cutting corners.

Just like society in general…who cares about tomorrow’s consequences as long as today I get what I want. So, the question becomes…do you think it’s a cultural problem in the US? Not that every US company is like that…but too many are exactly like that.

Wow...I think I'm the Off topic king of this website, lol.

 

yar...thread jack thread be low, says I.

 

Rrrrrrrr

 

I agree that the 500 and Fusion are decent looking cars.

People constantly complain that the 500 is a boring looking car. Boring compared to what? The Accord? The Camry?

The 500 is better looking than both.

Ford and GM created a lot of problems for themselves, but now, they can't seem to catch any breaks.

 

i think you misread me. i didn't say the 500 and fusion are decent looking cars. i said they are better looking than the caliber (which is like saying they are better looking than the aztek).

 

I think the issue isn't as much design (although most domestic models are rather subpar), it's reliability. American cars still have a reputation for having problems in their 2nd or 3rd year that a Japanese car would have in their 7th or 8th. Which would you rather have? A car that gives you crap within 3 years or one that will in 7?

The other problem is nearly hit on the head by rx8wannahave....the corporate execs make out like bandits even when company performance is an all-time low. If a Japanese company does poorly, the execs all take pay cuts because it's a poor reflection on them and their reputation. They also are known for flyiing in coach or business class when traveling, not first. The other related problem is that the domestic companies screwed themselves with huge, bloated benefit/retirement plans with their workers. I'm not anti-union, I realize that everyone needs security when they retire. But there's such a thing as moderation...if you keep grabbing every single cent out of the pot your company goes belly-up.

 

^Preach it brother...

 

I can't believe it has lasted this long. I seriously think I've seen two of them on the road and I've never seen ANY advertising for it. Both times I saw one driving around I thought "What the hell is that?" I consider myself a car guy and if I'm so uneducated on the car then John Q. Public is NEVER going to take notice.

WAKE UP FORD - BRING YOUR EUROPEAN LINEUP OVER HERE

 

Yeah I know what you mean. I think I've seen the 500 a grand total of maybe 3 times since it was released...one time being at the Portland Auto Show

It's not that it's a bad car, it just doesn't stick out in any way. Just an overall unexceptional car. I'm thinking this has more to do with Ford still continuing it's focus on the truck/suv segment since that's been it's bread and butter for so long. Unfortunately like the other domestics, they're slow to realize that the market has changed and that there's a preference for smaller cars now. All these gas price hikes have really screwed them.

 

YES PLEASE!

Yeah, they tried the Toyota formula but forgot that they have a long history of quality while they have had a long 3 decades of sub-par quality. Toyota...even them, know they better start putting some passion in their cars.

Like you said...it's not a bad car, very roomy inside, but it's like yesterdays news...no one cares.

 

Poor Bascho...where is he? LOL

Honestly, it's a shame because you can tell it has MUCH better quality than the car it replaced but a sub par engine matched with a sub par look = so what.

Anyone else ever think it looks like a V-dub Passat, the previous gen?

 

Surprisingly, the 500 looked a lot like the Chrysler 300, which is a big success. Domestic automakers are still paying for the mistakes they made in the 70's and 80's in terms of quality perception.

 

It didn't look anything like a Chrysler 300.

 

agreed. if anything, it looks like a shortened, squished crown vic...which has visual styling that appeals to people in their 80s.

 

Where's Bacho to tell us how great these fords are?

Ford puts out boring average middle road cars. The problem with that ideaology is that toyota and honda do exactly the same thing, but with better quality, Kia and hyundai do for cheaper and better warranties, and chrysler does it by making better looking cars.

Ford made decent cars that excelled at nothing. Other then the mustang, and only the GT at that, ford doesn't make a car that leads in any catagory. When you think dependable/reliable you got honda/toyota. Value goes to the koreans. If your looking for good looks you look to Mazda, chrysler, even pontiacs looks better then fords. There are other companies that have better warranties, more power, more comfort, more high tech, more lux, better handling, more sports car. When you ask people what they most want in a car, whatever thier answer is, ford does not lead the pact in anything.

So, what possible reason would anyone have to actually buy a ford?