Robert Hall

I really think they are trying to emulate the successful Toyota model--their wide mainstream US range goes from the tiny entry-level Yaris and Corolla to the upscale Avalon, with full size and compact trucks, minivan, etc in the mix. Lincoln is in the Lexus role, but at the lower price ranges. Will it work for Ford?

Interesting...no ventiports on the Regal.

Homer Laughlin

True..I was thinking the G6 and Aura as equivalent to the Malibu--FWD midsize sedans w/ 4 and V6 versions..the coupe and convertible seemed to be barely on the radar. Forgot the forgettable Vibe.

I liked both, but definitely preferred the R/S split bumper style w/ the offset plate (I have a thing for offset plates), huge grille, and round turn signals. I esp. liked the look of the Baldwin-Motion Camaro w/ the L88 hood and side pipes..totally badass..though the Z-28 was an impressive looking car as well. (this is the car AMT patterned their 1/25th scale kit off of)

I haven't taken a road trip in a couple of years..I have 5 long weekend trips planned between now and Labor Day, but all will be 1-2hr flights (plus a 4hr flight), what with how cheap Southwest and US Air are on Phoenix to Denver and Phoenix to Cali cities are...

Well, that is just the way it is...I'm not sure if the automakers are completely to blame or if the market is to blame...'mainstream' or entry brands have moved upscale, premium brands have moved downscale, crowding out the increasingly redundant middle. Buyers want premium content in their mainstream models..the market for stripper basic models isn't there anymore..thus, the mainstream brands have broad ranges of trim within their models, overlapping where the middle brands previously were. With loaded models like the Taurus Limited available (and pushing into MKs pricing), what's the point in a Sable? Likewise at GM, with the Regal coming, what's the point of Pontiac and Saturn between it and the Malibu? No room. In recent years, other than the Solstice, G8 and Sky, what did Pontiac (or Saturn) offer that Chevy and Buick didn't? Nothing. What did Mercury offer that Ford didn't have? Nothing.

Hopefully whatever the C-segment Lincoln turns out to be, it will have totally unique metal and trim and not just a Focus w/ Lincoln grille and taillights. The line about an Ecoboost engine is the Navigator is interesting...Ford hasn't done a RWD/AWD Ecoboost model yet. I'm assuming the Navigator (and Expedition) will remain BOF, RWD/AWD SUVs--Ford and Lincoln already have plenty of FWD/AWD CUVs.

They always seemed interchangeable to me...same drivetrains across both brands, often the same interior designs, just interior trim differences and subtle exterior differences...Road Runner vs Super Bee, GTX vs Coronet R/T (& Charger R/T), 'Cuda vs Dart GTS , 'Cuda vs Challenger R/T, Duster vs Demon..(with the '60s A- and E- bodies being the most differentiated). There were some pretty incredible cars from Dodge and Plymouth from the mid '60s to early '70s. Not to be nostalgic, but sometimes I wouldn't mind being 20 years older (like my brother is) so I could have experienced the cars (and music) of that era when it was new...

No edit..I wrote 'Dodge covers the lower end where Plymouth used to be plus the middle ground'. Pretty clear.

You think $h!boxes like the Volare, Aries, Sundance, Breeze, etc were 'badass'?

Of course, the sheetmetal was completely different...the '70-74 Barracuda/Cuda and Challenger shared the E-platform, but were not badge engineered. Much more different from each other styling-wise than the same era Camaro and Firebird, were, for example.

I never said Plymouth was the midrange brand. It was Plymouth then Dodge then Chrysler. Go back and read what I posted. Plymouth hadn't had any 'bad-assedness' since the early '70s. Dodge was equally 'bad ass' during the muscle car era.

I didn't say Plymouth was. Dodge and Chrysler moved down to cover it after Plymouth was axed.

They need to consult Michael Bay, the king of explosions. The nuke idea really sounds like an idea for a Michael Bay movie w/ Bruce Willis.

I've been obsessing on F1 this year..got back into watching it last season after several years away from it...also been reading about vintage F1 (esp. the late '70s-early '80s turbo era) and watching videos on Motorsport Retro, reading Motorsport magazine, and F1 Racing mag. I was really into F1 as a kid and growing up, drifted away from following it in the mid '90s. Started collecting F1 model kits and diecast lately... Also getting back into following Indy racing, after not paying attention for years..watched the Indy 500 this past weekend, plan to go to the Indy race at Infineon in August. If I could take off the next few weeks and go to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, 24hrs of LeMans, and British Grand Prix I'd be a very happy camper. I'd like to indulge more in my 1:1 car interests, but that's not practical right now.

The reality is that the 'mainstream' brands now cover a wide swath...I definitely wouldn't label vehicles such as a Mustang GT, Taurus Limited or SHO or Flex as 'basic transportation'. The Taurus Limited is what a Sable would have been in the past, for example. The middle ground has moved down into the mainstream brands (and somewhat up into the premium brands)...GM covers the mainstream with 2 brands now (Chevy and Buick), Ford will w/ one, Chrysler w/ one-- Dodge covers the lower end where Plymouth used to be plus the middle ground. Basically, the Detroit 3 are moving towards the 2 track model (mainstream and premium) that has been successful for the Japanese Big 3.

You mean just the RWD models, I assume...most of Holden's line is FWD generics that are sold elsewhere as Chevys or Opels.

Alfa, Citroen, Peugeot, Renault (though their newer designs aren't as dramatic as the were a few years ago). As far as Holden, I'd like to see more of their RWD product sold here..the G8's run was too short and the Caprice PPV hasn't materialized yet.

Thanks for the review. My 2010 Taurus brochures came in the mail today. Maybe I can rent one on one of my weekend trips this summer.

Nifty

That sucks. I had a small storage area in an apartment building I lived in for a couple years in grad school..was in a locked room in a basement, the individual storage spaces had plywood doors w/ locks. Someone ripped off all the doors. Checked mine, a few random things were missing, but nothing really of value. Strangely, in the one next to mine, there was a rusty straight 6 engine block. One of my neighbors must have been a gearhead. Since then, I've had secured, climate controlled storage units (Public Storage, Security Self Storage) w/ no problems.

Don't have much installed yet on my new Dell Studio laptop.

True..I wouldn't go 2 miles for a high mileage FWD compact like that, but it takes all kinds..

Sounds like you had fun...yeah, I-70 is an adventure...I've driven that stretch from Denver out to the Breckenridge/Vail/Copper Mountain area and back probably 100 times since 1997, in all sorts of weather...some of those grades are very scary, in dry or icy or snowy conditions. Further west on I-70, what did you think of the Glenwood Canyon stretch?