Banter

Ford places electric vehicles as center piece of turnaround plan Joe_Limon...yes agree the Toyota Prius is an hybrid...this car is the nearest to ZEV at the moment (mass market). However, my point is that USA is atleast a decade out to try and get the infrastructure ready and there does not seem to be a demand especially not mid or northern parts of Amercia.

Ford places electric vehicles as center piece of turnaround plan this is very interesting of FORD to present their plans for all electric Pickup amd Sedan....Question does this mean that FORD will be phasing out normal gas engine versions...I don't so, this is a political move.....from when I was last in USA (2007) the only people who have shown any interest in Electric cars are actors and local politicans in California. After all the Toyota Pirus has been available for sometime in USA...only on the West Coast has there been any demand for this type of vehicle. Does anybody remember the ZEV(Zero Emission Vehicle) policy back in the early part of 1990's that California wanted to introduce as state law?...it was killed off by the very same auto makers who are asking for federal bailout. Also the infrastructure is in it's infancy...I cannot this is countrywide for at least a decade.

Officially Confirmed: Ford Considers Selling Volvo by car-o-bar...you are right...but I don't know about the trigger happy...it must be my PC! It is sad that a brand like Volvo and Saab have lost their individual identity by the mergers with US car makers. USA is a wonderful country in many ways...but I just don't get the car maker mentality over there...it seems they are "behind the curve" in all of their product planning...you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that credit was fuelling demand and as OPEC was getting use to high oil prices...something was going to give. As a great democracy USA is...my question to the www is ...should the politican be bailing out the car makers?.....after all is not Boeing who complained that Airbus was gaining unfair advantage with preceived handouts from European members of Airbus?

Officially Confirmed: Ford Considers Selling Volvo There are intersting quetions being raised here on various aspect of the topic being discussed. 1) BMW a premium brand? Yes and NO.Yes - if you base this on an historical perspective looking at their product range over the last 50 years (same for Mercedes)compared to what other auto makers were producing. However, the NO is on the basis that other auto makers have caught up on the technological front, do people know about the problems BMW have with their MMI drive; fit and finish (interior), I know of friends who have had numerous problems with the interior quality, check 3 Series(E55); Should premium not equate to TOTAL quality and service; JD Power does an annual report on dealership service in the UK market; and this has found Skoda and Lexus as two consistent providers.....or is premium solely based on price. FORD Europe is NOW starting to produce cars (Focus, Mondeo, Kuga or S Max) of the type where quality of the prodcut is very good at a resonable price. Look at Opel\Vauxhall Insignia (COTY 2009)who would have thought that the auto maker that made VECTRA (a very inferior product) would now have a European title in 2009. My view of all these car makers is that, customers in the future (now - especially with the credit squeeze)will only look to pay premium where you can see proper quality (Jaguar XF - the facia is now made from premium grade leather and not soft touch plastic) or where the auto box rises from the centre console, this is where you should be paying premium and not based on historical reasons.

Officially Confirmed: Ford Considers Selling Volvo There are intersting quetions being raised here on various aspect of the topic being discussed. 1) BMW a premium brand? Yes and NO.Yes - if you base this on an historical perspective looking at their product range over the last 50 years (same for Mercedes)compared to what other auto makers were producing. However, the NO is on the basis that other auto makers have caught up on the technological front, do people know about the problems BMW have with their MMI drive; fit and finish (interior), I know of friends who have had numerous problems with the interior quality, check 3 Series(E55); Should premium not equate to TOTAL quality and service; JD Power does an annual report on dealership service in the UK market; and this has found Skoda and Lexus as two consistent providers.....or is premium solely based on price. FORD Europe is NOW starting to produce cars (Focus, Mondeo, Kuga or S Max) of the type where quality of the prodcut is very good at a resonable price. Look at Opel\Vauxhall Insignia (COTY 2009)who would have thought that the auto maker that made VECTRA (a very inferior product) would now have a European title in 2009. My view of all these car makers is that, customers in the future (now - especially with the credit squeeze)will only look to pay premium where you can see proper quality (Jaguar XF - the facia is now made from premium grade leather and not soft touch plastic) or where the auto box rises from the centre console, this is where you should be paying premium and not based on historical reasons.

Officially Confirmed: Ford Considers Selling Volvo Folks...one thing to remember in all of this the US Auto makers DID NOT DO THEIR HOMEWORK they all chased the pickup\SUV market with the 4.0\5.0 litre engines..on the basis of cheap oil for life!! - Ford (et al) HAS NEVER fully utilised the engineering expertise in VOLVO or LR or Jaguar for FORD USA to know how to make a good sub compact or a good Sedan. It is ONLY due to the good diligence of FORD Europe that the parent company in USA is keeping it's head above the water (Focus, Mondeo etc). As Change is coming to America....maybe it will be the time for a European or possibly Chinese\Indian to show the boys in Detroit the type of cars that citizens of that great country need to be buying for the sake of their wallet and planet.

Officially Confirmed: Ford Considers Selling Volvo Folks...one thing to remember in all of this the US Auto makers DID NOT DO THEIR HOMEWORK they all chased the pickup\SUV market with the 4.0\5.0 litre engines..on the basis of cheap oil for life!! - Ford (et al) HAS NEVER fully utilised the engineering expertise in VOLVO or LR or Jaguar for FORD USA to know how to make a good sub compact or a good Sedan. It is ONLY due to the good diligence of FORD Europe that the parent company in USA is keeping it's head above the water (Focus, Mondeo etc). As Change is coming to America....maybe it will be the time for a European or possibly Chinese\Indian to show the boys in Detroit the type of cars that citizens of that great country need to be buying for the sake of their wallet and planet.

Toyota Avensis Sedan Spied Toyota may be looking to become No1 motor manufacturer, but if it keeps producing cars which are boring to look at (Auris)with interiors that lag behind WORLD CLASS STANDARDS Avensis, than no matter how good the hybrid engine is....the package will be incomplete. Also, this is fact, Toyota hardly use to do safety recalls on their vehicles, now these have become commonplace, the Auris interior is POOR compared to the previous offering....look at the handbrake design...badly placed....the metallic centre console look cheap and will scratch easily...again does not bode well for the brand. I think Toyota has taken their eye off what they were good (solid dependable cars) to chase the No1 spot....which as GM has found can be easily lost! if you are not too careful in the design/quality of the products. Toyota....you have a clean white sheet in front of you....don't go dull and grey....you have lost the flair since the original MR2 days...I have never purchased a Toyota...but always admired that they produced decent quality vehicles...but that seems to be lost at the moment.

Volkswagen Targets Toyota with 4 New Platforms Lekaxis....I don't know how long you have been following the motor industry,Toyota created the Lexus brand specifically to take on the expensive German makes (Mercedes,BMW,Audi)in the US market...because no American consumer would pay premium price for an "upmarket" Toyota and if you look at the original LS400 the design had more than a hint of Mercedes and also Auto Express did take a Merc S class and a LS400 apart after 60,000 miles and the quality of the Mercedes came through. For example, the front seats of the Lexus LS400 were rusty(lower grade steel)compared that to the Mercedes which was completely clean of rust! also the wheel arches were better wax coated compared in the Mercedes compared to Lexus. It is a known fact that Japanese Motor Manufacturers will not spend the money where the consumer does not see the "quality"....As far as I am concerned quality is from within and not just on the surface..to justify the price.

VW Golf MKVI 2-Door Spied Where have the comments gone for this article?