Test Drive

[icepac]

The nissan quest and mercury villager were made by ford.

If you've ever worked on one, it would be clear.

[CAP1]

i have worked on plenty......and no, they were not fords.

[Masherbrum]

The nissan quest and mercury villager were made by ford.

If you've ever worked on one, it would be clear.

Todd and yourself seem to be drinking out of the same water fountain.  

[CAP1]

Todd and yourself to be drinking out of the same water fountain.   

 they renamed that fountain. it is a koolaide fountain. 

[SFRT - Frenchy]

This one got ur name on it. 

[CAP1]

This one got ur name on it. 

(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)

 if only i had the money to have bidded on that...........<drooling right now>>

[Skuzzy]

You get what you pay for....always remember that fact.

Found On the Road Dead

Ford's electronics in thier vehicles has always been crap, and they have a very low re-sale value. I use to deliver parts to all the ford plants in US. One time I was in Lorain,Ohio at the plant where they made mercury mini vans, it was about 3 A.M. and I asked to be directed to a bathroom. The forklift driver ( who was smoking a joint & asked if i wanted some ) directed me to a brick building in the middle of the plant. Inside they had a 100" screen TV, 2 fridges full of beer and porn playing on the big screen. There was a couple of U.A.W. workers in there on break havin a cold one. Then I watched them head right back into the assembly floor. Made me think real long about all the rumors of fords breaking down.

The only plant that does not have anything like that....is the Louisville,Ky. truck assembly.

Think about that before you purchase a ford...i always do.

You really do not want to go there.

Mercedes Benz, the car company who gave you a $125,000.00 vehicle which had all the current of the light system running directly through the switch, insuring the switch would burn out in less than 6 months (sometimes catestrophically).

Yep, they did not design in a headlamp relay at all.

Every company has bones in its closet.  Anyone stating otherwise is turning a blind eye to it.

[morfiend]

 I have owned a couple fords,1 chev a couple hondas and 1 benz. the benz is a W124 or E300 in the US and while it's a nice car to drive on long hiway drives and it can get moving down the road it's not a very practicle car. First it requires preimium fuel,as 6 bucks a gallon and it gets maybe 15 to 20 mpg on the hiway with the cruise on. Then dont even get me started on the cost to maintain it,a cap and rotor will set you back about $150,same thing on either honda about 20 bucks.

  My family has owned several benz's infact my parents are still alive because they drive 1,they had a tractortrailor drive over them once and were told if it was any "other" car they would be dead. So I will say they are a robustly built car but thats it,they cost too much,they cost too much to maintain,they cost too much to drive,they cost too much to insure...see where I'm going with this?? The 3 fords I owned were great cars in there own way,rarely failed me.easy to maintain but they didnt hold any value.The hondas have been the best,last 1 I kept for 13 years and would still have it except the cost to replace the fuel and brakelines were more than the car was worth so I traded it on a new 1.

  I could likely buy any car I want,well with in reason,a Veyron is outta the question but a Vette or porshe certainly isnt. The problem is that cars just arent very good investments so I'd rather keep my $$$ making $$$ than spend it on a toy I'd only use once a week,or when I'm feeling ok!!!


  Still,I'd likely drop a bundle if a 507 came my way............





     


  PS: YMMV of course but Benz's used to be great cars,then they started making them like all the others and now they are just like all the others only abit more expensive!

[CAP1]

if i didn't like the mustang so much, and wanted performance, i'd be pm'ing ge like mad for advice on a corvette. to me, they are the only real choices out there, even as good as the challenger, and camaro look..........
 there's nothing euro in the price range of the stang that gives you all that the stang does. the only thing i'd consider in the asian market would be a subaru turbo....but again.......the stang has it beat on looks.

 if i were rich, and could buy anything i wanted.....it'd still be a vette or a stang. i'd more strongly consider the camaro if gm hadn't "effed" the us with that one.....
 vipers, while i love their looks.....i just can't get over that friggin buzzy noise they make.


 dam..i wish i could afford the 80-90k for a gt350..........

[icepac]

i have worked on plenty......and no, they were not fords.

Incorrect.

Here....from ford's own website.


http://media.fordvehicles.com/plant_display.cfm?plant_id=39

[CAP1]

Product History:    Econoline E-Series; Mercury Villager, Nissan Quest, Escape, and Mercury Mariner

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villager, and quest. both one and the same, save for some badging.......both quests.

[icepac]

The vin numbers show what plant they were manufactured.

It wasn't a nissan plant.

[morfiend]

Product History:    Econoline E-Series; Mercury Villager, Nissan Quest, Escape, and Mercury Mariner

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villager, and quest. both one and the same, save for some badging.......both quests.

  Cap,  not sure what your arguing with Icepac for,I think your both saying the same thing... it's a ford.. it's a nissan.. it's both!!!   the quest/villager bodies were made by ford,assembled at ford but used nissan drivetrains. Some componets in the drivetrain were fords but the engine assembly/transaxel were nissan's.  I mean you could argue that mercury's are rebadged fords too.  Remember the ford probe? a rebadged mazda?? Not exactly it used a ford body and a mazda drivetrain,then there was all those escorts...they ended up with mazda transaxels because the ford transaxels were so porrus that they leaked fluid through the casings.

  None of this is new,the car companies have been "platform" sharing for years now,even Caddie used an Opal body.If you add in the auto pact and it's implecations you have american honda's,BMW's and Benz's,not sure if nissan is still building cars here but toyota does too.Infact there is no duty on cars built in NA if you bring them across the border so if built in Canada you can bring to the states with no duty,viceversa, but if it's made in Japan or Europe your looking at 15 to 25% tarif.  This is the reason behind the Quest/villager and many other cross platform vehicles to avoid the tarifs,there tarifs drove the price of some cars into to the realm of rediculess. Check out the list price of a 94 supra and you'll understand,they didn't even ship those up here because they dollar difference would have priced it into supercar pricing......



    

[CAP1]

  Cap,  not sure what your arguing with Icepac for,I think your both saying the same thing... it's a ford.. it's a nissan.. it's both!!!   the quest/villager bodies were made by ford,assembled at ford but used nissan drivetrains. Some componets in the drivetrain were fords but the engine assembly/transaxel were nissan's.  I mean you could argue that mercury's are rebadged fords too.  Remember the ford probe? a rebadged mazda?? Not exactly it used a ford body and a mazda drivetrain,then there was all those escorts...they ended up with mazda transaxels because the ford transaxels were so porrus that they leaked fluid through the casings.

  None of this is new,the car companies have been "platform" sharing for years now,even Caddie used an Opal body.If you add in the auto pact and it's implecations you have american honda's,BMW's and Benz's,not sure if nissan is still building cars here but toyota does too.Infact there is no duty on cars built in NA if you bring them across the border so if built in Canada you can bring to the states with no duty,viceversa, but if it's made in Japan or Europe your looking at 15 to 25% tarif.  This is the reason behind the Quest/villager and many other cross platform vehicles to avoid the tarifs,there tarifs drove the price of some cars into to the realm of rediculess. Check out the list price of a 94 supra and you'll understand,they didn't even ship those up here because they dollar difference would have priced it into supercar pricing......



    

you shoulda heard me go off on the service manager at a local ford dealer, when they wouldn't work on her mazda protege...which we all know is an escort....which she bought at said dealer......and this one had a ford control system in it, although mazda engine i believe.....but since it said mazda on the outside they wouldn't touch it.

[morfiend]

you shoulda heard me go off on the service manager at a local ford dealer, when they wouldn't work on her mazda protege...which we all know is an escort....which she bought at said dealer......and this one had a ford control system in it, although mazda engine i believe.....but since it said mazda on the outside they wouldn't touch it.

  Ya got the backwards it's a protege thats' badged as a ford!!!!


  I remember telling a dealer princeple that the nice shiney new probe in the showroom was a mazda,he opened the hood and showed me the ford stamping on the valve covers that read FORD and said "No it isn't". I walked away laughing knowing full well it was just a mazda 626 with some ford sidepanels slapped on for looks.