Robert Hall

Lots of paranoia flying around in this thread.

Reality is complex. I can see how event data recorders would be useful in accidents. But they could also be used for automatic ticket generation for speeding, reckless driving, etc. And some sort of event data recorder will be necessary for Google's self-driving cars. I can see how divorce lawyers, parole officers, etc would look like to get their hands on such data also.

The front end refresh doesn't improve the Taurus, IMO.

I don't really have an opinion one way or the other on this. Automobiles may be private, but they are driven on public roads for which you need a registration, license plate, driver's license, etc for. I would not consider aircraft to be public...they are privately owned (by people or corporations) but their travel is regulated.

Why so? The paranoid, anti-government types jump on things like this and always assume the worst... I suppose you'd be fine with a spy cam in your bathroom too, huh? No correlation there. Black boxes in cars are similar to black boxes in airplanes.

Why so? The paranoid, anti-government types jump on things like this and always assume the worst...

Tinfoil hat time for the conspiracy theorists.

I'm trying to figure you out on this one... you complained of the same thing with the Cruze. The Malibu is about .5 of an inch larger than the fusion in each rear seat dimension except legroom where it is 0.2 inches smaller. It is roughly equal to the Accord all around and again equal to the Passat in every thing except legroom. Slightly bigger than Optima/Sonata... I wonder how the rear legroom compares to the previous generation Malibu, considering they cut the wheelbase about 4-5 inches. The rear door openings look really tiny (I noticed that when I opened a rear door and looked in at a show...)

I plan to always have at least one SUV. Another Grand Cherokee sooner or later...

As far as Fords of the last 30 years, I've had a couple Fox-era Mustangs ('86, '87)...there are several I wouldn't mind owning.. various '05+ up Mustangs (various GTs, Cobras, the '08 Bullitt, the Boss 302), an '02-05 T-Bird, the '03-04 Marauder (esp. the '04 in not-black), maybe a '98+ Crown Vic PI, a '90-97 Town Car, an '04-11 Town Car..

The long overhangs may have been a result of making the cars longer while being unable to change the wheelbase because of the cost...GM had the same issue w/ so many of their '80s-00s FWD models..

Sweet.

Very cool..beautiful boat. Wonder what the nail-shaped things are on that plate in the center of the back fo the front seat.

There was no FWD LTD. There were 3, all RWD...the fullsize, the midsize ('77-79 LTD II), and the Fox-body one ('83-86). I think a lot of people were misled by the ginormous frontal overhang on the LTD II : The LTD II also had a large front overhang..(was basically a rebody of the '74-76 Torino, was very similar to the '77-79 Cougar) The Fox body car was just LTD, by the way...not LTD II, though it could have been LTD III.. Speaking of the Fox LTD, I saw one of the Mercury Marquis versions in traffic tonight, dark gray...first one I'd seen in ages.

I found the Hot Wheels Hot Ones silver '84 Hurst Olds today (sweet) along w/ a Hot Ones '83 Chevy pickup (blue w/ stripes) and a gray and black V8 Vega in the Boulevard series. Also recently found the Hot Ones '82 Firebird in met. red & gold, Hot Ones blue '78 442....and from the Boulevard series, the orange w/ white roof '68 Firebird, dk blue w/ black roof '69 Camaro w/ redlines, blue w/ white roof '68 Cutlass, and orange '70 GTO Judge...

I guess they are afraid of competing w/ Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, etc in the subcompact CUV niche.

Interesting that Canada is getting it and the US isn't....Chevy seems afraid to launch a small CUV here.

I'd rather have fish & chips.

There was no FWD LTD. There were 3, all RWD...the fullsize, the midsize ('77-79 LTD II), and the Fox-body one ('83-86).

The Tecumseh-powered Snappers my folks had back in the day always seemed unreliable compared to their Briggs & Stratton powered Snappers...fiddly carburators among other issues IIRC. Always stored in a dry barn.

That Plymouth looks rediculous..they shortened it too much, have to be skinny and anorexic to fit through the door opening..

Thunderbirds. LTDs. Mercury products. Lincoln Mark coupes. I remember the Bronco II, had one until 2000. Don't miss it.

The '66-70 (specifically the '66-67) generation seems to be overshadowed by their predecessors and their E-body siblings...the '66-67 was quite a beautiful design.

So there is going to be the Audi A3, BMW 1-series, Merc A-class, this Infiniti and the Lexus CT...if the subcompact premium niche takes off in the US, it will be interesting to see if Cadillac gets in this space eventually...unfortunately, they made it difficult to name since they used 'ATS' for the C-segment model.

My guess is SORP is 'Start Of Regular Production' maybe?