I'd kind of go the opposite way. One brand is for Fleet Services, not a hobbyist. Variety is anything but boring.
You're making the assumption that no brand loyalty equals no love of the machine. Totally not true. If a guy has owned nothing but 7 bone stock Civics over the years, he's loyal as a hound, but is he not an appliance driver?
Few of my cars have ever remained stock, from lift kits to engine work to stereo upgrades. Over the years I've owned 3 Camaros, a Corvette, an old full sized Blazer with 6" of lift, a Dodge with 4" of lift, a Scout, and a host of others. Not really appliance cars IMHO. I've had two appliances, both as a student. A Ford Fiesta and a Saturn SC2.
The lack of brand loyalty just opens my horizons a bit. If you're 100% loyal to Ford, that's fine, but no brand line excels in every area. I loved my Corvette and I loved my International Scout, both were awesome at what I bought them for. Chevy makes nothing like the Scout, and International makes nothing like the Corvette. Neither makes anything as comfortable or with a better looking interior than Lincoln. Couldn't have it both ways with brand loyalty.
If somebody (Big 3, you listening?) would build a big luxury four door convertible again, like the old Lincolns, I'd buy it no matter what name plate was on it. I'd hate to think I'd pass on a car I'd otherwise enjoy driving just because it's not the same as the others in the garage.
Very interesting perspective, thank you for that.
Tim
__________________ SCPO United States Coast Guard Retired '04 Expedition XLT 4x2 '99 Taurus Wagon SE 24V '88 F-150 4x4 XLT Lariat 5.8L 5Spd
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Ex
You call others Bias but all of your points are your opinions with out backing them up with facts. It sounds as though you are biased.
Am I biased? you bet and my opinions are based on personal experience.
I own a 94 F350 crewcab 4x4 with 460. 190K on the clock. It tows my 4000# race truck (94 ford Lightning) and 1500 # trailer across country a couple of time a year. Burns no oil runs like a champ. Toyota and it's asian brothers don't even build a vehicle with these abilities. So much for Ford not building what the public wants. I also own 2 94 ford lightnings. Mine is my daily driver. 234K on the clock. quality is job 1. The second is also a 94 lightning. 351W stroked to 408 and supercharges and putting out 600 RWHP and 700 lbs of TRQ. Just finished 1st season of high 10 sec quarter miles at 125 MPH. Block is stock. Drive train is stock. Zero failures.
Prior to that I had 2 bromcos both went over 200K prior to selling.
Don't see what you want on a dealers lot. order exactly what you want an ford will put it on your door step in 4 to 6 weeks. Try that with a foriegn car. Guess the american public has learned to accept lesser service in that regaurd.
Sorry for the rant but Ford put food on my families table and paid for my education. Thats what started my loyalty and a great product that fit my needs is what has kept it.
Mike
Good job Mike! I'm up to my ears on hearing and reading about the superiority of the ricers. They don't impress me.
Tim
__________________ SCPO United States Coast Guard Retired '04 Expedition XLT 4x2 '99 Taurus Wagon SE 24V '88 F-150 4x4 XLT Lariat 5.8L 5Spd
Rights of Passage: CPO Initiation, Submarine Qualified (SS), Golden Shellback, Blue Nose, Order of the Ditch
Toyota definitely isn't better than the rest. They need a bailout, too. If they were so good, you'd think they wouldn't be having this money problem.
In fairness, I could make the best bottle opener in the world and if everybody has twist off caps I'm going out of business.
None of the car companies are doing very well right now. Quite simply, there's already too many cars and not enough cash out there and people aren't buying new ones.
All automakers are the same, and each have people that swear by them. I have owned Ford, Chevy and Toyota. I learned to drive in a 1969 Ford F-100 Custom with a 360 and 3 on the tree. Great Truck, ran the day I sold it to a Farmer who as far as I know is still plugging along in it. I My first car was a 76 Gran Torino Elite 400 Small Block, sold it to my uncle and started driving a 87 Toyota MR2. Sold that after hitting a small dog (and the dog lived) and it knocked the front rad. loose and in the process put a pin hole in the colling system. Kept over heating, got oil in the cooling system. Looked like a three day old milkshake in the coolant tank when I checked it. Spent more money trying to fix that one problem than on any other vehicle I have ever owned. I picked up a great used 85 F-250 2WD. 351 Windsor. The local company that I bought it from rebuilt the engine at 200,000 and when I totalled it on an black ice covered road, it had a total of 375000 on the clock. Bought a second truck 88 F-150 from the same company and ran it until I picked up my used 92 Flareside. My grandfather bought the 88 F-150 with the 300 Striaght 6. My brother still has that truck with close to 350000. I have over 175000 on the Flareside, which I drove a work truck for a number of years so the poor thing just sat in the drive way. My wife has had two Explorers, the 1st over 150000 when it was wrecked, the current one over 223000 and going strong. To be brief since I have already covered it in the Explorer forum, it too is totalled, Been turned upside down (not due to Firestones), it has also survived a impact with a deer and a Black Bear. I have been lucky in my Ford Vehicles. I also own a 94 Chevy Caprice Classic (former unmarked patrol car). I know people have had problems with Ford, or American Made in general, I know others that have had great and crappy Forgien Rides. Its all luck of the draw. The important thing is for everyone to play nice and have fun.
Guys...chill OUT.....good lord what is with this bunch...
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Sir, I feel .... .... .... Japan has done nothing for me but take 2 of my uncles at peral harbor.
Wendell, I can bash managements of all stripes, but from what I see, most of our public displeasure with Detroit follows along the lines of the media hype constantly chimed by the alphabet channels day and night...wouldn't you agree? People say we oughtta do this and that and turn around and do something else for themselves.
The do gooders think we should drive what, maybe "solar/wind-powered/gravity-activated" cars and the news hype claims we all want them and Detroit won't build them, boo-hoo.
I say they have built what we wanted by virtrue of what we have bought. By and large we didn't want all the front-wheel drive crap-boxes offered, we wanted pick-ups, SUV's, vans, and other (mostly) RWD vehicles that serve multiple functions and protect our families in crashes.
If somebody (Big 3, you listening?) would build a big luxury four door convertible again, like the old Lincolns, I'd buy it no matter what name plate was on it. I'd hate to think I'd pass on a car I'd otherwise enjoy driving just because it's not the same as the others in the garage.
Just to add to what I said, I've now added yet another brand to the list of cars I've purchased. Its also my first foreign car (although owned by GM, its designed in Sweden and built in Austria, so I wouldn't consider it a domestic car). My latest addition is a 2004 Saab 9-3 Arc Convertible. Super comfortable ride, quiet even with the top down, good air management, good looks, etc.
My wife and I test drove G6 hard top onvertible, BMW 3-series, VW Eros, current generation and prior generation Mustang convertibles, and Wranglers before we settled on the Saab. There aren't any 4 doors on the market except for the 4-dr wrangler, and that's not really a convertible.
Where's Ford/Lincoln? A convertible Taurus could compete nicely with the G6 and Eros, but the only convertibles Ford offers are sports cars, the Mustang and the GT. Where's the convertible MKZ for the luxury market? The closest Ford comes in the luxury convertible market is there own Swedish owned subsidiary, Volvo, and is that really a Ford? Not any more than my Saab is really a GM.
Again, not knocking Ford at all. Lincolns will always hold a special place in my heart, and I wouldn't give up my Super Duty or my Crown Vic patrol car for any of their respective competitors, but just to point out that loyalty to just one brand eliminates a lot of options.
I just got off the Ford site. The one they have with all the available rides and you can deck them out the way you want and even ge a price quote. I have the cash to buy a new truck and thought now was as good a time as any. Well they don't sell and wont build what I want. And no I am not talking about a V10 or Powerstroke in a Ranger. I quite simply want a reg cab longbed with the 4.0 V6 5-speed and the 4:10 limited slip rear. Can't get it. All of this is factory installed in the Ranger, just not all at the same time in this Ranger. Same thing goes in all the other lines and other manufacturers. They don't/won't sell what a person wants, they make what they want then paint it the color you want and thats it. Looks like I will just stick with the older stuff and build what I want. Was soo much better in the '70's YOU the customer bought the car or truck YOUR way, to fit YOUR needs and wants.
I just got off the Ford site. The one they have with all the available rides and you can deck them out the way you want and even ge a price quote. I have the cash to buy a new truck and thought now was as good a time as any. Well they don't sell and wont build what I want. And no I am not talking about a V10 or Powerstroke in a Ranger. I quite simply want a reg cab longbed with the 4.0 V6 5-speed and the 4:10 limited slip rear. Can't get it. All of this is factory installed in the Ranger, just not all at the same time in this Ranger. Same thing goes in all the other lines and other manufacturers. They don't/won't sell what a person wants, they make what they want then paint it the color you want and thats it. Looks like I will just stick with the older stuff and build what I want. Was soo much better in the '70's YOU the customer bought the car or truck YOUR way, to fit YOUR needs and wants.
But again these folks that run the car companies are much much smarter than us the customer, just ask them they will tell you.
For them it is not about the individual, it is about herding the sheepeople, they love the sheepeople.
It goes back to the argument that says no one wants to buy manual transmission autos, they don't build any so they don't sell any then they say we don't build manual transmission autos because no one buys them.
A self fulfilling prophecy if I ever heard one. It would be like saying you can't buy that car in red, then hearing them say we don't sell any of these cars in red there's no demand for them.
Rick.
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another take on this
