The key word here is FEW. The taurus by and large is a good economical auto. Why was it No 1 seller for several years. Why do they sell so many for fleet buyers?

 

yea i totally dissagree with the comment about the escort as i have taking my 305,000 ( no engine or trans work done EVER) and wiped the floor with my buddies civic with 60,000 miles on it.. Car never left me stranded only thing EVER Replaced (Starter Altenator Fuel Pump Timing BElt) and also this car spends alot of time on the opposite side of 80mph.. I challenge u to find a toyota/ Honda with that kind of record drivin by a teenager and not Some old lady

 

I have to disagree with Ford doesn't make good small cars also. My little escort ZX2 has almost 128k on it and it still runs great, and doesn't let me down. Have put very little money in it since I got it with 46k in 02. Only minor things have happened, a/c compressor control module, parking brake cable seized, 1 caliper seized, 1 wheel cyl leaked, t-stat gasket started to seep, and also radiator, trans input shaft pilot bearing got shredded, and thats about it in 80k other than basic maintenence. I run the car hard and always have, it's like a go kart compared to my truck, and i'm not letting up on it anytime soon.

 

My family used to have '92 Escort 1.8L. We bought it back in 1999 and it was our first car in the United States.
It was junk. We had it for about 1 year and it spent more time at mechanic than we actually drove it. Finally I traded it when I bought Mustang.

 

Being lucky is quite a bit different from being smart. Your comment about being upside down longer with a 0% loan kinda puts you in the former category.

ANYONE that buys something cash when FREE money is available is not leveraging his cash flow wisely. Absolutely ignorant to tie up $10,000, $20,000, $50,000 capital by paying cash for a depreciating property (like a car/truck/camper)that could be earning a conservative 10% somewhere else.

Besides, how did you get a NEW truck and a NEW camper if it's foolish to buy NEW


I will repeat:

If because of special incentives you can purchase a new car for the same TOTAL outlay (payments and term)as a 1 or 2 year old vehicle (more financed but at a 0% or LOW rate) you'd be silly not to.

 

You were so anti foreign made objects......LOL 90% of everything made is foreign, so who cares if something is made in china or mexico. You were bragging about how cheap the break rotors were for your american made piece that you forgot that most of the parts are made across the pond.

Back to the subject, good luck with the car.

 

You were so anti foreign made objects......LOL 90% of everything made is foreign, so who cares if something is made in china or mexico. You were bragging about how cheap the break rotors were for your american made piece that you forgot that most of the parts are made across the pond.
__________

aparently you can't read. Course that is par for anyone who buys a chivy truck, not to bright at all. I have a problem with japan and the trade deficit. I said that very clearly in earlier posts. I don't have a problem with mexican trade and english trade, a little more of a problem with china trade. My American made "piece" has done me very well and will long into the future. I am proud to be an American and will support Americans every time I can. Maybe you should take a moment and realize this is the greatest country on earth... even with our problems. I will not defend a country (japan) that trades unfair and is aparently doing there best to dominate.

 

Best to dominate-and we aren't? Sure I'm pro american, but you should probly not be so naive.

 

naive about what?

 

Well, much of the reason it appears that Japan wants to dominate the world market is that they make quality products. The engineering is sound, as history proves with reliable automobiles, both honda and toyota being prime examples. Coming from a capitalist country, this is simply good business. They make and provide reliable, quality products for a reasonable cost. You wouldn't complain about, for example, husqvarna chainsaws beating out poulan (wal mart brand), because there is no question about quality vs price. It is not japan trying to dominate as much as it is that many very succesful and well run manufacturers are based there. As far as not cooperating with america, I disagree based on examples within the past decade. GM and toyota made a deal on the chevy prism to use toyota engines and transmissions to try to boost gm sales by using proven, reliable powerplants, without the toyota name printed on the car. If japan were trying to dominate, why would this ever have happened? And as far as pushing opinions and "do it our way" around the world, I know many people that would place the US far at the front of that list, both economically and politically. Japan trying to dominate because they want power would be far at the end of the list, compared to quality of products and well run business, which is what capitalist America is founded on.

 

Back to the subject of the car we are looking at-a bit more info on the personal situation. My faincees father is buying the car as a christmas present-theoretically saying that used are more likely to break etc...I tend to disagree, especially because I work on them myself and it would save money. While I myself would go used no question, this is not an option for him. He is paying cash also, so financing is not an issue. Again not what I would do, but since he's giving so much $$ to do this, I just say ok and go with it. He is willing to pay for a ford or chevy (prices are similar with the cash back ford is offering now). If we decide we want a civic, toyota, mazda etc. we pay the extra. For a honda we are talking probably about 4 grand. For this reason, I am not really considering this as an option either, with us just starting off there are better uses for that money. I have yet to drive a mazda 3, which seems to be the most popular car by people here, and we'll decide then if it's worth the extra money. Is the mazda based on the identical powerplant of the ford? I know the displacements are the same-the hp and torque are different. is this simply a different chip? I think we liked the focus and cobalt enough that the exta $$ it would take to upgrade could be better used in other areas, but the responses have merited a test drive at least.

 

Yes, both the 2.0 and 2.3 are shared between the vehicles with slightly different tuning.

 

The 2.0l in the Mazda is completely different.
Its the MZR in the Mazda - the 2.0l in the Focus is the 2.0l Zetec.
They are similar in some ways - but hardly the same.

The 2.3 I can't recall off the top of my head.

 

Are you sure? Foci in North America now use a 2L Duratec instead of the Zetec. Bore, stroke, and compression are identical to the Mazda 2L.

 

I compare the 2 escorts I have had and the 3 or four japs I have also had, the escorts didnt even compare to them. Taurus and topaz were a terrible car, just ask ALMOST everyone that has one, they will tell you first hand. Im also not saying there wasnt a few good ones either. And as for taurus's being fleet cars, they probably get them cheap.

Linkinluver, I had a toyota corolla with 485,000 miles on it, and I sold it to a kid that drove it around for at least a year after I sold it to him. That meet your challenge?