Ford and GM Merger...

[blueka]

The thing is tho, dealerships over here are not directly linked to the manufacturer, so, what they charge for a car/truck is not really linked to what they paid for it themselves.
maybe if they phased out the really poor selling models and offered less options, giving vehicles higher specs as standard, then things might improve for them..
Not that I'm saying I'm right, it's just my opinion.
The likes of BMW aren't in difficulty at the moment just makes you wonder why. Although I wouldn't own a BMW if you paid me, I'm a blue oval owner through and through.
We run a fleet of 1.4 TDCi Fiestas through work and reliability isn't their best suit, we're seeing usually 2-3 breakdowns a week, but this seems often to be mechanically and it's usually to do with components developed with the PSA group.... maybe Ford should cut it's losses with it's European alliances and things might improve there...
There's probably quite a few things that could be done to see profits turn around, Like selling the GT for £50k instead of £110, making it RHD, broadening the market...bringing the mustang to the UK for the equivalent cost that it sells in the US...
Jeep sells thousands of units here in the UK and Ford has nothing to rival it directly, although the Rangerover sport is selling really well.

Si

 

[E.B. Cornburner]

One funny fact is that Consumer Reports loves the Matrix, but doesn't give good ratings to the Vibe, even though they are pretty much the same car.

This comes as absolutely no surprise. CR is the most import-biased rag of a magazine out there. They also think that it must be wrong to drive a vehicle with some personality. Look at the bland A to B transportation appliances they rate the highest. You can't tell me people actually enjoy driving a Toyota Camry. They do it because they have to. To them, driving is a task, not a pleasure.
I love how they claim the little cracker box Honda Accord has such good ride quality and handling, but they throw a BMW 5-series under the bus due to its "overly harsh and jittery ride". Have someone who owns neither go drive both of them and see what one gets a better review. I've driven both, and the Bimmer is in a different league altogether. In fact, when driving the Accord (a '01 model) I couldn't even believe that people would pay so much money for such a gutless, ill-handling, noisy piece of junk. Sure, they might have reliable engines, but that's where it ends. The rest of the car is just overrated.
I've seen my fair share of 300,000 mile Escorts too. They've been some of the most reliable used vehicles that I sell at the dealership I work for. The '96-'01 Escorts have been fantastic. You sell them, and they're gone till they either come back in for an oil change, etc. or they get traded back in. Last time I had a customer come in with a problem with an Escort, it was a bad horn. They mounted the horn with the trumpet end straight up, and it filled up with water. Put a new one on mounted the opposite way and that was it. Everyone that's bought one has nothing but good to say about it.

I remember a few years ago, the Dodge Caravan got rated less in terms of overall reliabilty than the Grand Caravan. What's different??!? About a foot of sheet metal and glass. That's it.