Cars! Cars! Cars!

Ford: Where Leaving A Faulty Switch In Production And Letting It Burn Up Your Home Is Job #1

Ford should be ashamed. And sued.

This faulty switch stuff has been going on for (roughly) nine years now and it's still not solved.

The [National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] says it can connect 65 fires to switch failures, but the problem could be far greater: the agency received 1,472 complaints or allegations of engine compartment fires related to the switches before the investigation was closed in August 2006. Because investigators were often unable to contact owners, not enough data could be collected to make a final determination on many complaints. The agency also received 60 more fire complaints since the inquiry ended.

The agency has not linked switch failures to any deaths, but at least three wrongful death suits have been filed against Ford.

Not sure how Ford folks are sleeping at night knowing 1)they used the switch for over three years and 2)there are thousands of them still out there.

Shame on Ford.

Referenced article

New York Times: Huge Recall, but Many Cars Unfixed.

Unreferenced, but still rockin'

Cars! Cars! Cars!: Switches
Cars! Cars! Cars!: More Ford Recalls?

Hate Wins!

Hate has prevailed over Ford. After calling on a boycott because Ford advertises in gay media.

Why would the AFA want gay folk to buy anything other than American products? Oh, because the AFA is a hate group.

Anyway, the AFA has decided it has defeated Ford so its boycott is ending. We bet the real reason is that the AFA wants to get in on some good Ford deals rigth about now. Pssst: Buy a Fusion.

Referenced articles:

Americablog.com: Religious right drops Ford boycott, claiming victory 2 years after they lost

Five For Ford

Martin Schwoerer of The Truth About Cars writes up the 2008 Ford Mondeo Ghia Review.

Whoa! Five stars, baby!

For me, a handsome car needs three basic characteristics: strength, cleanliness and character. The Mondeo nails all three. The four-door Ford's long wheelbase (much longer than, for example, the Passat) accentuates its wide, muscular stance. Its sleek headlamps and taut taillights render it instantly recognizable; the detailing is flawless. It's just what America needs: a non-bland, better-proportioned, more modern Taurus.

Yay! He goes on:

Using the standard light-action six-speed manual, I never ran out of gears. No matter how hard I thrashed the powerplant, I never saw less than 29 mpg. At a more sedate pace, I averaged 35 mpg.

Double yay! Oh, Ford, bring the Mondeo over here. It's what we need. It's what Summer needs.

Tundra Movin' On Up

We've been thinking a little more about Toyota becoming number two after we re-read these posts :

Kicking Tires reports: How Ford Lost The #2 Spot to Toyota.

Edmunds reports: 2007 Toyota Tundra: Best Year Ever.

We've speculated the Tundra was going to be Toyota's albatross and that still remains to be seen. According to that Edmunds link, Toyota was hoping to move 200k units of the Tundra (they sold 196k of 'em). That's a pretty significant number since these buyers had to come from the big three. In fact, let's take a look at the sales of trucks for 2007:

Ford F-series: 690,589 -13.2% over 2006
Chevy Fullsize pickups: 673,807 -2.8% over 2006
Dodge Ram: 358,295 -2% over 2006
Nissan Titan: 65,746 -9.2% over 2006
Toyota Tundra: 196,555 +54%

It looks like (with really no additional research) that Tundra sales are coming from Ford and Nissan folks. So, while Toyota has knocked Ford from the number two position, it sure seems like all big three should pretty concerned about the Tundra's movement upward.

Tata!

This is 100% awesome news! The Detroit News reports: Ford picks Tata as top bidder for Jaguar, Land Rover. Check it:

In an announcement today, Ford Motor Company announced an announcement of sweaterific proportions. "The hills and valleys of the automotive marketplace have made it deliciously obvious that we, Ford Motor Company, have to move ahead, past second base if you will.

And it was as if the future was knocking at our doors when solicited for offers for some of our most prized possessions.

So we are announcing that Tata is the preferred bidder for Land Rover and Jaguar."

Excuse us while we go have cupcakes and milk now.

We were this close to using that Ween album cover. So close!

Muscle Car Wars Prediction?

OK, the price has been set for the Dodge Challenger and it's what everyone is talking about:

Jalopnik reports: The Muscle Car Wars Are On! Dodge Reveals Commercial, Challenger SRT8 Pricing To Start At $37,995.

Autoblog reports: 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 arrives at $37,995.

The fact the Muscle Car wars are heating up at this time fascinates us so much. And leaves us with so many questions:

1. With the recession on the horizon, is now a good time for a high-priced non-essential car?

2. With so many focused on reducing our dependency on foreign oil and the environment, is now a good time for a really powerful car that won't get particularly impressive on fuel economy or emissions?

3. With Mustang sales waning, does introduction a competitor make sense?

4. What sort of impact, if any, will the Challenger have on the Charger?

Yeah, those questions are totally one-sided, but that's OK. If you disagree, leave a comment. By the way, here are some stats:

For 2007, it looks like:

Dodge will sell about 130,000 Chargers, up about 2%

Ford will sell about 145,000 Mustang, down 18%

We predict good sales for Challenger and Camaro for maybe two years. After that, it'll be downhill. What do you think?

That's a 2008 Shelby GT. One of the 4,500 Mustang variations you can buy.

And You're Ugly, Too

Can the domestic auto news get any crappier? Check these out -- and this is just within the last few days!

The Detroit News reports GM takes $39B charge in quarter.

The New York Times reports: Ford Warns of New Steps if Sales Decline.

AutoWeek reports: Chrysler cuts four models, five shifts.

What could be worse? Well, maybe if the competition was kicking arse that would be an issue. Let's just (shuffles the pages of the internets) see what we have here. Oh, crap. The Detroit Fress Press reports: Toyota reports record income.

The only way it could get worse (for us, you see) is if we read our court-delivered restraining order. There's no way Alison said that about us. And she too does like husky, bald dudes. With bad eyesight. And weak bladders.

She's smiling because she's thinking of the Cars! Cars! Cars! editorial staff.

Robots Hate Fords!

We all suspected it, but a new video reveals that robots hate Fords!

See it for yourself, here!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, not here. It's from Gizmodo (they rock): Robot Car Crashes Into Manned Vehicle; Where'd You Learn to Drive?

What? Does Toyota Suck Now?

CNN reports: Ford lures Lexus chief away. Another person leaving Toyota for a U.S. company? What gives? Here are the people who have left Toyota recently:

Jimmy Farley: VP of Lexus --> Ford's marketing division
Deb Meyer: Head of marketing at Lexus --> Chrysler's marketing division
Jimmy Press: Head of Toyota's North American operations --> Chrysler co-head honcho.

OK, these are all wins for U.S. companies, but how about getting some of them fancy engineering folks from Toyota over here? We don't need more marketing in front of us, we just need better cars. In fact, if Detroit can prove to consumers that their cars are as good as the leaders (Honda, Toyota), folks will buy them purely because they are American -- no marketing needed.

How can Detroit prove that their cars are as good as, or better than, the others? Do they need an independent company to help (like a Consumer Reports)? What's the basis? Reliability over five years? Anyone have a CR to see how Detroit is doing compared to the others? Is it time to buy yet?

Ford Accidently Sells Several Edges

The Detroit News reports: Ford's sales down 21 percent in September despite crossover success. So, Ford makes two vehicles that folks want. Nice.

In other news, our, um, er, market penetration into Alison Krauss territory has not lived up to expectation despite skillful comb-over and pimple-popping success.