Newly named chief executive officer of Ford Motor Co. drives a Lexus LS 430

[parkerbink]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060906/BUSINESS01/609060459

[LEANE30]

apparently "tom walsh" didn't study the european luxury car offerings before he got his TOYOTA(lexus)

[saix]

the 430 is still an amazing car but it aint a BMW!

damn this is my first post >< I read to much lol.

[gazellebeigem3]

what a douche! how can you even quantify the finest car in the world? maybe he will turn that company around and they will stop making diposable shitboxes and compete with toyota and make long lasting shitboxes.

[MrK]

what a douche! how can you even quantify the finest car in the world? maybe he will turn that company around and they will stop making diposable shitboxes and compete with toyota and make long lasting shitboxes.

Slightly OT, but:

I've been trying to put a 'description' on toyotas offerings, and I haven't been able to until I read your post gazellebeigem3. Long Lasting Shitboxes. That describes them PERFECTLY. Thank you :grin: .

[NC325iC]

if i was head of ford id be driving an aston

[Axxe]

I hope he turns Ford around. Americans need to learn how to build quality automobiles that last.

[ping65810]

I sold Toyotas, Dodges, and Chrysler/Jeep. I always laugh when one day someone asked our finance manager at Dodge when he was going to buy and American car (He drove a Mercedes and his wife a Saab) He replied to the customer! "When they learn how to build a car that holds value, doesn't fall apart and has the gas mileage and handling that foreign cars do, I'll buy one"

Very appropriate if you ask me. I love my Jeep Wrangler, but half the parts are more than BMW parts, and they last half as long. My Chevy work truck isn't too bad to work on, but everything is covered in rust, everything, and gas mileage on both is piss-poor.

[325iCabrio]

My family's a dyed-in-the-wool GM family, so I've grown up around a lot of American cars. GM can make good cars, and their new line of 2006s look and drive pretty good. But American car makers (GM at least) need to focus on refinement; not just refinement in the beginning, by refinement at 90,000 miles. My 18-year-old BMW rides smooth than my mom's 2000 Buick LeSabre. That's a testiment to BMW, but it's rediculous that a six-year-old "luxury" car drives like a dump truck. That's what the American car makers need to focus on.

My family only had one Ford--an '87 Taurus. It died at 50,000 miles. I really don't think any of Ford's cars are worth a shit (except the Mustang). If they designed all their cars with the car and performance of the Mustang, they wouldn't have any problems. But they just cut corners and expect people to buy them with heavy discounts. What kind of strategy is that? I don't think Ford will last another ten years, and if they do, they're going to look a lot different than they do now (think Chrysler >> DaimlerChrysler).

[AdironRider]

I cant see Ford ever completely disapearing. They are probably one of the most well known brand names in the world. Someone would bail them out like DaimlerBenz did with Chrysler.

[h0lmes]

I agree that American cars suck nuts but no one can make a v8 better than GM and no one makes trucks or full sized suv's better either.

[ping65810]

I agree with the truck part, my 90 Chevy 2500 is an awesome work truck. Can haul rock and gravel all day long. Refined, not at all. I do like American trucks, but thats more b/c Toyota doesn't make a 3/4 ton truck.

A freind of mine sells Cadillacs, and begged me to look at them, and I was really shocked at how unrefined they were, especially for the price. Seeing large mold lines on plastic trim, cheap feeling trim, cheap feeling leather, etc all don't help. The interior of most Toyotas are nicer than those, and then you see a $50k price tag, and wonder why BMW and Mercedes outell them 2 to 1.