Ford reveals Mustang-based concept: Ford is going to call it Interceptor and position it to compete with the Dodge Charger.
Just what they need to sell with oil running out and the price of gas not going down anytime soon, a 400 horsepower V8 in a 4 passenger sedan.
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Established: 21 November 2004
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9 comments
Hey, if Hummers are still being sold, there must be a market for passenger vehicles for which fuel efficiency can be quoted in gallons per mile.
I’m so relieved to see Ford is moving with the times and getting on the energy-efficiency bandwagon.
Not.
A management that is given a very strong message but ignores it and plows ahead with the same stupid plan….where have I heard that before?
They are fighting for a share of a limited market, instead of going for new markets. Even the local police are starting to understand that a patrol car that can hit 140 mph is pretty stupid when there isn’t a road in the jurisdiction that can be driven at better than 60 mph without crashing even if there weren’t other vehicles on the road. The smaller, 6-cylinder patrol cars are making their appearance.
If people need power, you can get it with the transmission. Most tractors have small engines and really low transmissions.
This is why American cars companies are in trouble – they don’t build the cars people need.
I owned a Honda Civic hatchback from 1984 to 1995. Why did I buy it? did I intend the purchase as a sharp stick in the eye of the American automobile industry? Emphatically, no: Detroit wasn’t building anything I wanted to drive in those days. They got better for a few years (e.g., the 1994 Chevy I inherited when my father died has been a pretty reliable car), but it looks like they’re headed in the wrong direction again.
In a year or two, because cars don’t last even 20 years (why???), I’ll be shopping again. Ford, Chevy, etc. have a chance at my business, if they will build a small-to-medium-size, fuel-efficient, reliable car. It isn’t impossible; Asian manufacturers are doing it today. I’d really rather do business with Detroit… but they’re going to have to show me something I’m willing to drive as possibly my last car. I’m waiting, but my patience has limits.
For us our cars of choice are thridm fourth or fifth hand toyotas. At present we have a 1990 Corrolla which is still in great condition and will last for some years yet – then again our annual mileage is tiny (perhaps 2 or 3000 miles). Fortunately I am able to do the vat majority of my travelling by public transport.
To be honest I would rather a Toyota over a Ford. Never cared for Ford cars even if they used to be built only a few miles away in Dagenham
Actually Ford and GM have built decent small cars in Europe, but they have gone for the more profitable cars and ignored the small car market. My Mother’s Saturn has been a good vehicle and gets 35 mpg on the highway with the air conditioner off, but it’s 10 years old, and the newer models aren’t as inexpensive to operate. They know how to do it, but they don’t.
Jams, I had a lot of fun in British Fords many years ago, but they have followed the lead of the American corporate leadership and built the wrong cars for market, and lost quality to cost-cutting. I’m a fan of Toyotas, mostly because the Toyota pick-up truck that I bought new in 1986 is still in daily operation. I sold it to my neighbor and the only repairs have been to the hydraulic clutch, batteries, and tires. It just keeps rolling alone and he has a 40-mile commute every day. I keep expecting the clutch to go, but it hasn’t in 160,000 miles. There’s no reason a car can’t last 25 years.
My dad worked at the Ford plant at Dagenham as did the not-wife’s dad soboth got good discounts and still do. What I don’t like about fords are the clutch (I find it hard to get the bite point) and a clunky gearbox. Toyotas are much nicer to drive and as you have found very reliable.
This is totally off topic, but go here for my life changing announcement.
Rook, you might want to delete the location reference, but big congratulations. Let me know if it’s for public announcement.
Jams, I was driving what we called Capris when they imported them to the US, and they were set up for rallying, so they weren’t exactly standard models, but the Toyota hydraulic clutch is very predictable and the standard 4-speed had a nice choice of gears. One of the big points with the truck was that the engine used a timing chain, instead of a belt, so it just keeps on running.