Suaviloquent

Small car sales are languishing in low fuel prices. I don't see why offering a diesel would make any sense. There isn't as much a business case for it as it's an opportunity to test a market for its acceptability - and offer product differentiation. But the eco model already is very efficient. I think it's an unnecessary option. However great an engine it is; I just don't see why they're doing it. It's bundled with the top trims anyways, so that might help mitigate extra cost of certifiying a low-volume engine for the U.S.

Terrible analogy. Fighter jets are incredibly maintenance-intensive, airframes included. No, Ford didn't expect to have a record second quarter. They are earning it back faster than they thought; and a frames shortage is what is putting them behind. And it has helped the competition sales wise, but not profit-wise. Again, it's all about what Ford wanted. Did Ford want to make the most of the lucrative truck sales by sharply raising margins - or did they want to continue to be the best seller, but not the best profit generator? GM can chase volume. Fine. But Ford's in it for the long haul. They are willing to lose sales; to make money. And sometimes, that's the only way it can happen. The increase in margin has the same effect of more sales- expect there's less wear and tear on facilities- for one. I will drive this point into the dirt if I have to. Outright sales crowns do not matter. Ford doesn't care for them anymore. They want to make money to finance the D6 platform and pay for Ford performance branded products - and they want to pay down their debt. It's actually quite smart really. A business is not in business if it's whoring itself out and making no money. Ford figured that out atleast.

It may be poor spending, but it's suckered GM and maybe FCA to do it as well.

To quell the notion that Ford's hurting; it should be reminded to all that Hyundai overtook Ford many a years ago in volume in global sales. Ford's kicking butt in profit generation like they've done consistently for 7-8 years now. Hyundai isn't; despite being a huge conglomerate, definitely reaping the rewards of favourable inter-company transfer pricing. Ford's got no reason to be worried when they've got money in their pockets; and when they're getting the rights sales mix. Heck, maybe selling Titaniums and Platinums is more profitable than Lincoln sales. They make money. From an investment standpoint or as a bean counter I may say; they look the healthy. Again, unit sales do not matter as much as they used to. Margins, and profit matter the most. Ford can chase volume when the new for now F150 gets old in the future relative to the competition. Heck, 2013/4 F150 sales were surging, and it was the oldest steel tub in the marketplace. It was all just the margins of selling a truck when all it's development costs were done and done. Their liquidity is great; cash reserves are topped off; and receivables are ever rising in size and preferred quality. GM and FCA can't match that, despite having extensive product lines and so many great products, and getting more sales. Being a lean company helps Ford remarkably. And I personally think it's awkward for GM to advertise the benefits of steel when they are definitely going to use even more aluminum for the body. It's not like they don't use enough already - I believe the hood, fenders and tailgate are aluminum. Perhaps's that is why GM is closer to the weight of F150 compared to RAM. I don't think GM is going to be doing a full transition to aluminum as much as just making the rest of the body aluminum. I can say outright that GM will not have the weight savings that the F150 experienced. It's gonna be close. I think the Silverado will not weigh less than the F150 unless some compromise has to be made that lowers durability - or downsizes the foot print of the vehicle. We all know that the F150 ballooned in size this generation. But again, weight isn't everything. The RAM in the recent comparison with the F150 felt really buttoned down, while the substantial weight savings of the F150 made everything feel foreign in the way it drives. That's just unavoidable for the up coming Silverado/Sierra as well. In that case, in that specific regard; the RAM 1500 might as well beat the Aluminum GM pickups as well. In the strive to make all vehicles lighter and more fuel -efficient, how much more can RAM extract from the diesel engine and transmission combination before weight loss becomes absolutely inevitable? It's a floating target that ever changes.

Buzz, I just noticed this, so had to enquire. Why do you have commander shepard's face being splooged into a smiling mug as your profile's avatar?

It's a pretty handsome crossover, the headlights have pretty good details. The interior has satisfied the one issue I thought people would bring up - whether if there was enough cow hide and wood trim. Looks like reviews say there's plenty of it and of a luxurious quality. This is a legitimate luxury product in my books. Then again, I will include the Lexus RX and Cadillac SRX or upcoming XT5 also as legitimate luxury products. The 2.7 is a good engine; and I think a Ford product sharing it helps the Edge just as much as how the powerplant is a great engine outright. That means it passes muster as an engine worthy of being in a luxury car.

This MKX doesn't hurt Lincoln one bit. It's a profitable model, in a lucrative segment; and it can only go up from here. Margins; margins are everything. Being based on an already impressive Ford counterpart should help with margins even more. When you can say without a doubt that a Lincoln can match the comfort and features of a Mercedes and Lexus, Lincoln is doing it right; atleast here. I am though still underwhelmed by the MKC. MKZ remains a stunner. The Continental should build on the march forward.

I saw a Rebel too the other day. What an ugly mug. It looks bad all over. I cannot stand what RAM has done here.

It's not about the outright numbers as much as how well I know for sure Cadillac has sweated the details for this sedan to be a scalpel on the track. It's light for its class, a well sorted automatic performance transmission (finally from an American brand); and it didn't compromise on the focus of being the best all rounder. And I love the styling of the V. And the pricing is so competitive. I mean it has to be, for the moment; but Cadillac is not afraid to take risks. It's the sense of urgency that I can admire. It's a bona fide Corvette sedan while being a Z/28 ultimate track monster; wrapped in a luxurious and technology where it makes sense package.

I know we've always thought to allow a premium brand to get the best new platform first, but I think the opposite would have been SO much better. LX will get really long in the tooth by the time the rest of FCA gets the new global RWD performance platform. FCA US should have been given the platform first. Alfa can wait. Get the bread and butter ready first, then build your luxury brands. It's a proven recipe for foreign marques, namely Toyota and at one time Honda and Nissan as well.

I'm gonna finish my bike build soon. By the weekend, Saturday. I might post a picture of it. It's such as sweet bike, like the frame, the donor parts and just heroic effort it took from me to source all these old but well maintained parts from the 1980s. All under 60 bucks. I just gotta custom size the front fork, install the rest of the headset and then it's a half hour of parts installation away from greatness. At work we call them Franken Bikes, heck my road bike is a Franken Bike. Parts from all over the place, different eras, different technologies. Oh, I forgot to mention, I almost got killed on my bike ride twice today. One person tryed to parralel park into me and just fifty feet from there a driver of a Nissan Rogue started turning on the intersection way too late, I was halfway through at least. I had to stomp on my brakes, and I almost went over my handle bars. The brakes I have at least are Dura-Ace. Top of the line Shimano road brakes. I have Shimano's reputation to thank for me being conscious at this time.

FCA is indeed in dire straits. It's so funny how MT gave Sergio the number one in power rankings two years in a row. Yet here we are now years later and FCA is in dire trouble. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Mopar lover and I would hate to see the Markham plant that builds everything LX and Hellcats shutter down. But I think he's an idiot for delaying new products for FCA US LLC while trying to revive Alfa. It's even worse than trying to revive Lincoln, but atleast they seem to have a competent car for the Giulia. But it's gonna be such an ultra niche brand because I don't think many Fiat-Chrysler dealers want Alfa. They want new Chryslers, Jeeps and Rams and Dodges and NOT a lenghty and costly revival of a brand no one's seen on the road for decades. And for what product? They have one, ONE sedan for their reboot. Good luck on that. Getting rid of Ferrari was a move of desperation, I think every industry analyst can tell you that. FCA has to find a way to increase transaction prices, improve operational inefficiencies while at the same time realigning their disjointed brands. The problem lies with the fact that they need separate marketing teams for 3-4 brands that might as well be part of one brand with big line-ups and have a familial styling resemblance which helps control costs and is just plain simpler to execute. Ford and Chevy have it down right, and FCA is not going to succeed because of either Fiat or Alfa becoming viable in the U.S.

I'm pretty frugal I guess. My bike is the same age as me, and I've used up all the bearing systems. I tortured the hell out of the old wheels and so was forced to upgrade. Heck, I can build a bike now for under $60 and have it ride better and last longer than anything from Crappy Tire (It's a common enough Canadian hardware/department/auto parts big box store).

Rode from Toronto to Oakville and back today. Good ride, but rear wheel out of true because I ride all of my bikes into the ground. Oh well. I'll just true it back at work tomorrow. It's pretty neat to be a Bicycle Service Tech sometimes, because bikes are simple enough once you get them, but it's all hand tuning and by feel really. Does anyone else ride bicycles here? I had to downgrade from car to bike, but honestly, I live in the city so it's not bad at all. It's an old workhorse, but I know it'll outlast anything made from aluminum or carbon.

Well it's still priced within the realm of entry premium/luxe category. The way the CLA and A3 rack up options, competitively priced and equipped, and MKZ is within spitting distance of those two in price. You get way more car, way better interior and so much more. I don't want the MKZ to storm barns as much as keep up with traffic in the boulevards while getting the maximum attention on the city streets. It's such a pretty, and distinctive design. And it looks just like the concept. It's basically what amounts to a sedan version of the Cadillac ELR. Both are very pretty cars.

Hey... honestly, as much as this car fails to deliver on performance metrics, I used to drive within the city, and I'm not that much of a pedal masher to begin with. The styling is simply sexifull to me - and for that reason alone I'd get a well- equipped model. Way better than stupid CLAs and A3s especially when you consider some good incentives. This and the CTS actually mentioned by Casa are my top American sedans right now. And hear this - it's because both look sexifull - not because either are or should be high performance sport executive sedans. BOOM!!

The interior is standard at that price.. A Black Label MKZ starts at $45,605. That ugly paint job in the article is a $1700 option..no thanks. The hybrid is the same price as the base 2.0T. They must have had their loaded with all of the mud flaps and cargo nets to hit 55k with the hybrid/base engine. The interior is standard at that price.. A Black Label MKZ starts at $45,605. That ugly paint job in the article is a $1700 option..no thanks. The hybrid is the same price as the base 2.0T. They must have had their loaded with all of the mud flaps and cargo nets to hit 55k with the hybrid/base engine. Ccap to clarify I meant that a Black Label interior should be standard equipment on every MKZ. The current base interior is not significant enough jump from a Fusion for the base price of the MKZ at 36K.

Yeah, FCA's ****ed up the arse by this recall, and even more so because they have to buy back half a million trucks.

Is there any other vehicle that the General would want to build on Alpha, such as a X3/Q5/GLC competitor?

I think it's a stunning car, and despite its underpinnings; it's a damn good looking car, definitely one to lick; and a much better alternative to grotesque CLAs and A3s. To me, it's exterior has the looks and presence of a car of a much higher prestige level. However, for the price, the Black Label interior should be standard, and the Black Label line itself should just be a Lincoln branded but dealer administered convenience, concierge and maintenance package.

Actually the end game is Volkswagen, and supposedly the giant will be broken up into 4 separate holding companies. Toyota is not the most profitable car company. Another curveball. Why should all cars have to be exciting? Where will the person who doesn't want a sporty, doesn't want flashy - just wants a barebones, basic, nondescript, outdated, reliable, reasonably efficient and very practical car go? The world needs choice, and therefore Toyota needs to exist. The boring cars are a necessary evil to make the exciting cars; well exciting. If every car was exciting, then every car by default would also be boring. See what I mean?

For humour... I'll throw another curveball. Why are we always so fixated on 0-60? What if the Ecoboost Stang's 0-30 is faster than the 0-30 of the base V6, heck maybe even V8? I'm not rooting for the EcoBoost as much as just trying to get at the heart of the debate. Maybe soccer dads/mom who want a sporty coupe can't go past 60 in residential and school zones but want a quick 0-30 for a 30 mph limit. Perhaps on their test drive they tried that and BLAMO the torque dump instantly made a better impression over the V6. The vast majority of these drivers of this particular Mustang configuration will not drive the Stang as the journalists will. I think the same applies for similar competitors. Heck we obviously know that this and the Buick Cascada might overlap with buyers. So what if a person buys a Mustang but drives it like a preconceived notion of how late Buicks drive while a person drives the Cascada expecting a coupe with atleast a smidgen of performance?

If it's going to be a dollar and cents debate, realize that sales losses aren't really losses if you make up for that and then some by selling to fat wallets. In that case, one could say Ford is going upmarket and attracting wealthy clientele. I think that's the most favourable customers to get. Maybe it's something to do with the credit worthiness of their customers. Perhaps Ford has a shorter A/R turnover period. Again, so many things have to be looked at THAT have NOTHING to do with Ford's cars or the subjective experiences of Ford's EcoBoost in the hands of us or journalists. It's about crunching the numbers. Someone should go to some reputed investment firm or something... especially if they are well networked and then ask about Ford from an investment standpoint. Should I buy their common shares or pref shares? Are they doing well? Is the company financially healthy? Are they sacrificing equipment, and facilities to churn - potentially incurring costs in the future? Can they pay their debts in one year? 5 years? Again, questions that would culminate in an answer that would give us everything. The answers are there, but most auto enthusiasts will not go the correct route to do so; and the lame online searches are not the right answers.

It is mind-boggling to me that a company would be so blindly tied to an engine configuration that they would sacrifice sales to keep it in a prominent place in the lineup, even as third-party reviewers continue to poke holes in said engine's ability to get the job done. It's not really sales that matter at the volumes carmakers are selling. It's margins. And I think today Ford posted the highest ever quarterly profits in 15 years. Someone should analyze their results but at the end of the day, Ford's making more money, while selling less units. Operational efficiency could very well be what they're after.