[Shotimes] (OT) Forbe's article about Ford

[Jim and Debbie Leyden]

I can't say exactly in inches, but when my '93 SHO was still my company car,
I had it and my VP's '97 Sable both parked in my garage.  I was surprised to
see that the Sable was a much longer car.

Jim
'93 MTX
bigger than a breadbox
shorter than a gen III


-----Original Message-----
From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net
[mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Dave Kegel
Sent: Wednesday, November 06, 2002 9:01 AM
To: Ron Nottingham; shotimes@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Shotimes] (OT) Forbe's article about Ford


I don't know.  How much longer is the Gen3 than the Gen2?  Not much.

Personally, I think the Gen3 has better proportions than the Gen2.  The Gen2
is noticably longer than the Gen1 but the wheelbase is the same.  The long
front and rear overhang looks dated.  The longer wheelbase of the Gen3 is
nice, and firs better with its length.  Noticeably more rear leg room,
although rear headroom isn't as good as the Gen1/2.

Dave Kegel
90 SHO
93 SHO
98 Sable
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Nottingham" <nottingham@alltel.net>
To: <shotimes@autox.team.net>
Sent: November 05, 2002 6:55 PM
Subject: Re: [Shotimes] (OT) Forbe's article about Ford


> That's what I've said all along...  The current Taurus is too long.  If it
> were the size of the Gen1/2 Taurus, it would still be a strong seller.
>
> I like that author's thinking...  A nice 4-cylinder for a standard engine
> would be nice.  I could see something in a 165hp or so 2.5L Zetec.  Then
an
> uplevel Duratec, with 220hp (Jag already has this engine).  Finally, a
sport
> model (doesn't have to be SHO) with either a V6 or V8 with 280hp.  Now, I
> know Ford doesn't have any decent transaxles (can't even hold the 200hp in
> the current Taurus), so outsource to ZF to produce a nice 5-speed auto
(for
> all models), a decent 5-speed manual (for the 4-banger model), and sweet
> 6-speed manual (for the sport model).  Get the weight down to 3100 lbs.
for
> the base 4-cylinder 5-speed manual model, and no more than 3300 lbs. for
the
> top model.  The sport model doesn't have to be the top model, what would
be
> nice if this drivetrain offering is available with all trim levels.
>
> We can always dream, though, can't we?  Not like this would ever become
> reality.
>
> Ron N. - Dalton, GA
> 90 SHO
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Don McKinnon (AST)" <dmckinnon@asttechlabs.com>
> To: <mrkelley64@earthlink.net>; <shotimes@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2002 5:28 PM
> Subject: RE: [Shotimes] (OT) Forbe's article about Ford
>
>
> > I really like this article!
> > http://www.forbes.com/columnists/2002/10/29/cz_jf_1029flint.html
> >
> > "The way to fix the problem is to build a better Taurus. Keep it longer,
> but
> > get more powerful motors. Your engines are no match for the competition,
> and
> > you need a punchier four-cylinder for Taurus, too. "
> >
> > and...
> > "Meanwhile, rear-wheel drive is coming back into vogue, and Ford, which
> has
> > the only rear-wheel-drive big U.S. sedans in production (the Ford Crown
> > Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis), could take advantage of this fact.
> But
> > instead of turning these into competitive products, the automaker is
happy
> > to let them age and sell the Fords to taxi drivers and cops, and the
Mercs
> > to geezers like myself. "
> >
> > Don McKinnon
> > 95 MTX
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net
> > [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Mark Kelley
> > Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2002 2:04 PM
> > To: shotimes@autox.team.net
> > Subject: [Shotimes] (OT) Forbe's article about Ford
> >
> >
> > We've all heard the bad news about Ford.  This Forbe's article points
out
> > some of the strengths of Ford:
> >
> > http://www.forbes.com/home/2002/11/04/cz_jf_1104flint.html
> >
> > I find it interesting that some of the observations made in the article
> are
> > the same as some observations posted on this list.
> >
> > Mark
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