01LightningGal

What was trying to be explained to you, was the fact that GMAC's new criteria is not just "responsible lending standards," but are impossible lending standards. In other words, they will find any way to turn you down, no matter how "makes sense," your loan is. Do you honestly think that someone with a 600-700 FICO score is "sub-prime?" If so, then you have no clue, what-so-ever, about credit scores, sub-prime, underwriting standards, or anything else that goes into making a lending decision. Would you be surprised to know that I have helped people buy homes (was a mortgage loan officer for 7 years, and got out in 2005), who have PERFECT credit, and low 600 credit scores?? Do you know that people who do not believe in credit cards, are punished by the FICO system?? Do you know that a person who has $100K worth of available CC credit, and has $20K of that in CC debt may have a 700+ score............... but the person who only has one credit card, because you almost have to these days................. and has, say, a $3000 limit, and owes $2000................ may have a low 600 score. This is with long credit histories on both, and no blemishes of any kind??? Did you know that your score can vary by more than 100 points between the three bureaus?? Did you know that appx 30% of mortgage companies do not report to the bureaus, because they are afraid that other lenders will see their loan (we can figure out the terms), and solicit their clients to refinance??? Did you know that appx 80% of all credit reports have errors on them............. many of them serious??? In other words............... I HATE when people make broad statements about something that they know nothing about. The majority of consumers in this country are between 600 and 700. Appx 30% are above 700, and maybe 1-2% are above 800 (I saw 2 in my 7 years). Credit scores have NOTHING to do with how responsible you are with money, and everything to do with how lenders can charge you MORE money. This is by using an abstract number, that noone knows how it is tallied, based on flawed and incomplete information. If the FICO system had anything to do with your ability to repay, it would be based on accurate info, and have income and job information also. Ok, I am done with my credit score rant of the day. That said, I do believe that GM is pretty much being forced into this. Cerebus wants out of the auto biz, and wants the rest of GMAC. GM is desperate to survive, and since they refuse to make the difficult decisions of reducing brands, will beg, borrow, or steal from anyone, to survive.

"I'm............... dreaming................ of a white................. Christmas.................." When you have to prove nothing, you can say anything you want. Ron needs to talk to the dealerships, and convince them of how great they are doing.

Yeah !!!! Thats the way to do it !!!! We will just build a ton more.................. at a loss................ but make it up on the volume !!!!! YEAH !!!!

Out of curiosity, what year F250 did you drive???

The diesel is $5K more to buy, only gets marginally better mileage (because it meets the 2010 emissions regs and has a particulate filter the size of a small house, goes into regen mode all the time, and has 2 EGR's), costs much more to maintain, and diesel is 24% higher than gasoline here. We will keep the truck forever, as it will do everything we will ever need it to do. It is my daily driver, but I don't drive much (with son going back to school, about 300 miles a month unless we play). The V10 is a great engine. It makes plenty of hp and torque (362hp 457lb ft of torque), gets out of its own way easily, and is reliable as all get out. We set out to buy the V10, as we have wanted one for a while. We originally thought we would buy a 2005-2007 version, but after test driving the '08, with its fantastic interior (sorry, but I like my truck interior to look like a truck interior) and driving characteristics (it really drives much smaller than it is)............ there was no way I could buy the last gen truck.

New 2008 F250 4x4 Crewcab Lariat, V10, loaded (Navigation, DVD, Tow Command, etc) First tank: 10.4mpg (mix of city and highway) Second tank: 12.4mpg (more highway.......... but mountainous highway) Third tank: 9.7mpg (all city) Current tank: will be in the 10's (all city) The truck currently has 1065 miles on it. When fully broken in (10K-20Kmiles), I fully expect 11's in town, and up to 15's on the highway. I LOVE my new truck.

Wow, you guys already know what the specs for the 2010 Mustang will be. Your good. The specs for the 2008/9 Mustang are better than the Camaro. I know they don't make the Camaro........... but that is just as dumb as using todays specs against the specs for a car that won't be out for another year or so. However, I know you guys are excited.......... so I will cut you some slack. SS auto is over 3900lbs. An auto weighs alot more than 10lbs more than a stick.

Actually, the Fusion and Milan only have the 5-speed auto with the 4cyl. The V6 versions have always had the 6-speed auto only. Just a slight correction.

Job One is April 2009. The redesigned Focus is 2010. This is pretty much the production car. About the only things you may see change, are the wheels, and coloration of the interior. This is car is much smaller than the Focus, thus, I doubt it would steal alot of sales. The car is 20" shorter.

The Edge started to hit dealerships, in very limited numbers, in mid to late December. I believe the Lambda's were close to that. For the gentleman who says that things will be different when the Enclave and Chevy Lambda comes out.................. well I would certainly hope so. 4 different vehicles from 4 different brands. Good grief, I would hope they can outsell a Ford and Lincoln. LOL Anyway, like I said, we will see. Unlike some here, I really like the looks of what some call a "fugly" vehicle. I guess we all have our own opinion.............. right???

Appx 18% last month.

They are close to the same price range. The reason that many are comparing them, is because many on the GM sites, and even BON, claimed that GM had the better idea when it came to CUV's. They knew that a very large 7-seater was the way to go, and Ford would pay for making the Edge "only" seat 5. This is the same thing that all of the reviews have talked about also. Yet, in real world sales, it is not playing out this way. This is very interesting to me, because I am both a Ford and GM fan. I read on websites for both, and own both. It is also interesting to see that maybe............. just maybe............... most of us really do not know what is going to happen in CUV sales. It is a rapidly growing segment, and it is relatively new. Thus, it is the unknown. I will somehow find it funny if so many are so wrong. Not funny because GM is having fewer sales than Ford, but funny because maybe Ford got this one right. Who knows. We will see how this plays out in the months to come.

Why is the Ford Edge / Lincoln MKX outselling the Acadia / Outlook almost 2 to 1??? I find this confusing. Everyone predicted the Lambda's would far outsell the Ford / Lincoln. The Lambda's also got far better reviews in EVERY magazine out there. I guess I am just finding this to be odd. Even on BON, most were expecting the Edge to not stack up well with the Lambda's. Is Fords advertising really that much better???? Goodness knows the trucks aren't that much less expensive.

No, next to nothing to fleet for the first 6 months, same as the Fusion. Then, fleet sales will still be very limited.

Fusion fleet sales have been held to less than 15% (I believe it is actually around 10%). Ford does not need to dump Fusions on the rental market, as they have the Taurus for that. When the Taurus stops production, Ford is still planning on limiting rental fleet sales of the Fusion and 500 greatly. My understanding is that they do not want more than 15% of sales of either............... to all fleet sales.

Why should Ford stop advertising the F-150 as the best selling truck??? I haven't seen too many GM trucks. Ford is a brand and a manufacturer. The Ford brand sold more trucks than the Chevrolet brand, and the GMC brand. There is no such thing as a GM brand. Thus, Ford is correct in their advertising. Ford does not count Explorer/Mountaineer/Aviator together either.......... even though they are the same truck. Ford does not count Mark LT sales with F-series sales. Toyota does not count ES330 sales with Camry sales. As someone who owned an auto repair and towing business for 9 years, I can tell you that I have NEVER had a GMC truck owner say anything resembling kind, about a Chevy truck. They do not know they are the same thing. As a matter of fact, most of them wouldn't be caught dead in a Chevy truck, as they are a POS (according to them). You give the buying public way too much credit.

Not arguing with anyone here, but everyone who has seen the Navigator in person............. says it looks really good. Maybe the new front just does not translate well in 2 dimensions. Anyway, I would expect the Escalade to sell better than the Navi. It has for years, and unless the new one is really screwed up in some way, it should continue to.

Actually, a standard V6 Fusion would also do a number on the Si. Oh............ sorry............. it doesn't have a Honda badge. I'm sorry, I just have no liking of high horsepower, zero torque mobiles. Sure they are fun on a racetrack. However, in the real world, they are a PITA.

Hmmm, then maybe Chevrolet should get rid of the bowtie??

Another thing.......... they will be AWD only, and it will be rear biased AWD (about 60% to the rear). That will be a very good thing. Should make for an entertaining drive. It makes you wonder if Ford is also morphing Lincoln into an Audi/esq position........ but at a much lower price. I say this, due to the extensive use of AWD.

Word is that the base car, with the 3.5L V6, will start in the low to mid 30's (overlapping the upper end of the Zephyr). Remember that this is a very large car. It does not look large, though. It will share the fantastic packaging of the 500/Montego, and the stellar safety, in a much more compelling package. Lincoln is being positioned much like Buick. It will no longer directly compete with Cadillac, as Ford has Jaguar for that. Thus, it will become a mid lux division. If it is being compared to a $55K plus Cadillac, and Lexus.......... then that is very good news for Lincoln............. indeed. I find the car to be very appealing. If it doesn't conjure up Lincolns of old........... well, that may not be a bad thing........... as Lincoln has been sinking pretty fast.............. due to Lincolns of old. Its time to find a new customer base. You know, one that isn't dying off, by the day.

The MKX is a smallish midsize CUV, the Enclave will basically be a large CUV. Ford will be coming out with a large CUV, for Lincoln, based on the D3 platform (Ford 500). That would be more comparable to the Enclave. The RX is the MKX's target. What is the projected release date for the Enclave, btw???

To answer the questions to me................ I do have a digital camera. It was nice and safe, here at home, when I saw the truck. I was on my way to pick up my 3-year-old from preschool, when I saw it. Surprised the crap out of me............ and I followed it. The Lincoln Mark LT was what I saw first, as it was behind the GM. It caught my attention, becuase it had a manufacturers plate on it. I was thinking "I don't remember anything new happening with the LT anytime in the near future," so I sped up to see what was up. When I got along side the Lincoln, I saw the bagged truck. As there was no Chevy/GM next to it, it was really hard to guage size. However, as I said, it did look alot smaller than the LT. Of course, it may have just been a 2wd, vs the 4wd for the LT. The wheels were large.......... I would say 18's at least. The rear was the corporate GM rear. Due to all the bagging, I couldn't see the front to see if there was a diff (believe me, I zipped around that thing everywhere and was in front of it when they turned into the gas station south of town). I had to speed to the next turn, and return to the station to get a gander at the whole collection. To me, it looked very much like the Tahoe interior. Same dash shape, same vents........... use of wood, etc. There were wires and equipment everywhere, but the general look was very much the same. I would have to see the two side by side to tell any differences. I imagine there are some, but I wasn't exactly able to study it. LOL I need to carry the camera with me. If they did this once, they will continue to do it. I have seen GM do tow testing up here many times before............ however, never with such a disguised and bagged vehicle as this one. I have seen the Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade tow testing also, but was never in the position to really check them out (as in, I couldn't tell if they were GM, or Ford). Now that the official pics of the SUV's have been released, I'm sure I will see them continue to tow test.......... uncovered.

I saw the GMT900 trucks testing up here in Payson AZ (they do tow testing here, due to the large elevation change over a relatively short distance). The interior looks very much like the Tahoe interior. That is how I was able to tell what it was. The guy didn't like me almost standing up in my Tribute, to see the interior of the truck. LOL Also, the driver of the Lincoln Mark LT that was a chase truck behind it, was not very happy with me. Especially when I turned into the gas station lot they were using as a staging area (about 4 completely bagged trucks, one towing a trailer.......... along with the Lincoln, an F150, and a Dodge truck). The truck still looked smaller than the Lincoln. The interior looked nice, if a bit carlike for a truck (remember all of those who complained about how carlike the F150's interior was............. the GMT900 interior makes the F150's look very truckish). Thus, if you like the Tahoe's interior, you will like the trucks interior.