Ford missed boat with 427

Notice how similar the Ford 427 is to the Chrysler
300? They could have had that market, albeit only
if they offered a lesser engine as well as the big one.
They could still make a dent, but their answer to
the Chysler is the 500, which in terms of pizzaz
is FAR behind the Chrysler.

RichA > wrote in message >. ..

> Notice how similar the Ford 427 is to the Chrysler
> 300? They could have had that market, albeit only
> if they offered a lesser engine as well as the big one.
> They could still make a dent, but their answer to
> the Chysler is the 500, which in terms of pizzaz
> is FAR behind the Chrysler.

Rich,

I don't think you'll find anyone who'll disagree with you. The Ford
427 was an awesome car, while their 500 is Toyota-Camry plain.

Patrick
'93 Cobra
'83 LTD

Ford Tweaks Styling
By Peter Robinson
Ward's Auto World.


[...]

Far more significant is the Five Hundred, Ford's new big sedan, an
alternative to the Taurus, once America's best-selling car and based on the
Volvo P2X (S80) platform. Mays doesn't disagree that it looks like a cross
between a Passat and Audi A6 (which he helped design), with Mercedes'
taillights and an old Ford grille.

"The Five Hundred is an evolution of where we are going; it's not the end
result," he says. "It's the first car I did in the U.S. It was frozen at the
same time as the Mondeo (launched in late 2000). This was still me training,
with a lot of Audi design DNA in my head. I was trying to clean up the
swirly design I'd inherited.

"People say we were too conservative with the Five Hundred, but it's a
good-looking, conservative car," Mays adds. "The market is coming to
aspirational cars that look expensive, not innovative. Is the conservatism
going to affect sales? No, no, no."







"Patrick" > wrote in message
om...
> Rich,
>
> I don't think you'll find anyone who'll disagree with you. The Ford
> 427 was an awesome car, while their 500 is Toyota-Camry plain.
>
> Patrick
> '93 Cobra
> '83 LTD

On 18 Nov 2004 17:49:38 EST, "Jim S." > wrote:

>
>
> Ford Tweaks Styling
> By Peter Robinson
> Ward's Auto World.
>
>
>[...]
>
>Far more significant is the Five Hundred, Ford's new big sedan, an
>alternative to the Taurus, once America's best-selling car and based on the
>Volvo P2X (S80) platform. Mays doesn't disagree that it looks like a cross
>between a Passat and Audi A6 (which he helped design), with Mercedes'
>taillights and an old Ford grille.
>
>"The Five Hundred is an evolution of where we are going; it's not the end
>result," he says. "It's the first car I did in the U.S. It was frozen at the
>same time as the Mondeo (launched in late 2000). This was still me training,
>with a lot of Audi design DNA in my head. I was trying to clean up the
>swirly design I'd inherited.
>
>"People say we were too conservative with the Five Hundred, but it's a
>good-looking, conservative car," Mays adds. "The market is coming to
>aspirational cars that look expensive, not innovative. Is the conservatism
>going to affect sales? No, no, no."

Nobody "aspires" to own a frigging Volvo. Unless they have leather
patches on their elbows.
-Rich

"RichA" > wrote in message
...
>
> Nobody "aspires" to own a frigging Volvo. Unless they have leather
> patches on their elbows.
> -Rich

I'm not a fan of red cars, but I'd take a red Volvo S40 with a bigger turbo.
I figure a 2.4l 5-cyl turbo engine rated at 240hp w/ AWD should be able to
run with a lot of stuff out there... put a bigger turbo on it, push 300+hp,
it's starting to sound like the same formula that the DSM tuners use to push
their 2.0l 4-cyl Eclipses into the 11s and beyond. Even considering it's
AWD turbo *and* kind of a luxury car, it's still going for around the price
of a new Mustang GT.

I'd still rather have the Mustang though, don't get me wrong. The Volvo
still isn't my dream car.

JS

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 03:17:02 GMT, "JS" > wrote:

>
>"RichA" > wrote in message
.. .
>>
>> Nobody "aspires" to own a frigging Volvo. Unless they have leather
>> patches on their elbows.
>> -Rich
>
>I'm not a fan of red cars, but I'd take a red Volvo S40 with a bigger turbo.
>I figure a 2.4l 5-cyl turbo engine rated at 240hp w/ AWD should be able to
>run with a lot of stuff out there... put a bigger turbo on it, push 300+hp,
>it's starting to sound like the same formula that the DSM tuners use to push
>their 2.0l 4-cyl Eclipses into the 11s and beyond. Even considering it's
>AWD turbo *and* kind of a luxury car, it's still going for around the price
>of a new Mustang GT.
>
>I'd still rather have the Mustang though, don't get me wrong. The Volvo
>still isn't my dream car.

Power from a Volvo?? They had to go begging Yamaha for a V8 to use in
their SUV. Or was that Volkswagen? One of those brands.

"RichA" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 03:17:02 GMT, "JS" > wrote:
>
> Power from a Volvo?? They had to go begging Yamaha for a V8 to use in
> their SUV. Or was that Volkswagen? One of those brands.
>

Actually, it's a Ford design built by Yamaha. The engine is a re-newed
version of the V8 from the later model Taurus SHO. Since Ford had an
excellent 60degree V8, I see no reason not to use it.

Chrysler's quality sucks!

Steve Brooks


"RichA" > wrote in message
...
> Notice how similar the Ford 427 is to the Chrysler
> 300? They could have had that market, albeit only
> if they offered a lesser engine as well as the big one.
> They could still make a dent, but their answer to
> the Chysler is the 500, which in terms of pizzaz
> is FAR behind the Chrysler.
>

On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 10:24:40 -0800, "Steve Brooks"
> wrote:

>Chrysler's quality sucks!
>
>Steve Brooks
>
>
>"RichA" > wrote in message
.. .
>> Notice how similar the Ford 427 is to the Chrysler
>> 300? They could have had that market, albeit only
>> if they offered a lesser engine as well as the big one.
>> They could still make a dent, but their answer to
>> the Chysler is the 500, which in terms of pizzaz
>> is FAR behind the Chrysler.
>>
>

That's a given. But if bad quality stopped sales,
no European car would ever be sold again!!