-chart- 287 Posted August 16, 2014 Report Share Posted August 16, 2014 good finds chart! Those Sable grill clips are a silly design. The grille clips are easy to take out and remove the grille. I went looking for a air dam for the '02 Lin Cont, part is broken off. 3 Cont, no airdam. Unlike the Bulls, it is mostly cosmetic but excuse for a trip to the JY. Wife drug it off and admits it. She picked up the pieces and brought them home. I was concerned the cont shifter knob would work so I checked it out on a Bull, and it is different, but works the same. Lin uses phillips head screws, while Bulls use torx. Variety may be the spice of life, but I could do with a little less of meaningless variety. I do not remember which years need the rain hat extension, but good property. My '03 sedan had one when I bought it used. I put one on my '01 Sable after it got water in the blower. My latest '03 does not have one so it will get one, whether it needs it or not. Already programmed my key fob so both keys to the Wagon have fobs now. Safe travel to you. -chart- Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thesavo 12 Posted October 5, 2014 Report Share Posted October 5, 2014 Screw that s**t, I’d never spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a car just to have to reach across the damn cabin and wiggle a lever to coax the right side mirror into position. Power accessories included, or no deal. After installing defog wing mirror glass in the Taurus and the Legacy, I won't have a daily driver without them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian_05_SEL 1418 Posted October 21, 2014 Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 Well, I'll be damned... Found this car in Columbia Pull-A-Part on Sunday morning. A Bright Red Metallic/Scarlet cloth 1987 Sable LS sedan, Atlanta-built in April 1987 and virtually identical to my car except that this one also includes both EATC and Insta-Clear heated windshield. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff 386 Posted October 21, 2014 Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 Well, I'll be damned... Found this car in Columbia Pull-A-Part on Sunday morning. image.jpg A Bright Red Metallic/Scarlet cloth 1987 Sable LS sedan, Atlanta-built in April 1987 and virtually identical to my car except that this one also includes both EATC and Insta-Clear heated windshield. It's about to be less a few more things....I'll take an update pic when I'm there in a few weeks.... Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaurusKev 1089 Posted October 21, 2014 Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 A Current Gen Ford Explorer ended up where it belongs Guess Streamwood doesn't want someone to cut out their logo and reuse it... Figured it'd be easier just to scrape it up Entire vehicle was gutted. Looks like it was in a front end smack, and I assume the department took every piece off for any spares they would need for a whole new platform. Not a bad idea. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
it'sthatcar 150 Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 I really like the current gen Explorer. We have one at work that is great to drive and is packed with features. It's a Limited model. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thub 673 Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 They need to get it off the old Volvo platform though, it could be much better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
it'sthatcar 150 Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 The redesign will still be on the current platform, as I understood it, but it honestly handles very well for it's size and it's cavernous inside. The platform is dated, I admit, but it's not a bad platform. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaurusKev 1089 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 It's not bad... But I just don't like how it doesn't stand out to me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
it'sthatcar 150 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 To be fair, Kev, most things that don't have an Essex or the word "bird" in it don't stand out to you lol. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaurusKev 1089 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 Nah, I see these vehicles in traffic, I can't make them out from whatever else cars are on the road. I see older generation Fords, I can spot them a mile away. I see the new Exploder, I'm not sure if it is an Edge, an Explorer, or something else till I see the Ford emblem on it, and plenty of modern Fords stick out (Sometimes in a bad way, like the new Fusion). That's a car that got beat with the ugly stick a few too many times. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
it'sthatcar 150 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 I can easily discern which Ford I'm seeing, new or old. No trouble figuring out what I'm looking at. I love the look of the current Fusion, and the rest of the automotive world agrees with me lol. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff 386 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 But it's a near decade old Aston Martin look. That look was cutting edge back when they used it. People only think it's great because it's an Aston Martin look alike.....don't get me wrong. I like the fusion but it's current look has been seen before on a much nicer super car. So to me, it's a posers car. Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
it'sthatcar 150 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 I suppose the similarities are there, but I don't see it as a posers car. I see it as the Fusion European-ized, and to me, part of what makes it such an attractive car is not that it looks good, but that it handles well and has striking styling, inside and out, whether or not it resembles Aston Martin. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stocker 126 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 My dad bought a new Fusion a month or two ago and like everything else it's emblematic of what's wrong with Ford today - and I blame the Europeanizing for at least part of that. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
it'sthatcar 150 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 Perhaps I'm in the minority on this one, but I think Ford is doing great today and has come leaps and bounds from where it was in the early 2000's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian_05_SEL 1418 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 Perhaps I'm in the minority on this one, but I think Ford is doing great today and has come leaps and bounds from where it was in the early 2000's. You're not. "Europeanizing" is where actual buyer demand has been leading automakers like Ford to go. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
it'sthatcar 150 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 You're not. "Europeanizing" is where actual buyer demand has been leading automakers like Ford to go. It sounds like people have been impressed with the changes in driving dynamics, but I haven't had a lot of experience driving them myself, but I've ridden in quite a few. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stocker 126 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 Perhaps I'm in the minority on this one, but I think Ford is doing great today and has come leaps and bounds from where it was in the early 2000's. I don't think they were doing that great in the early 2000s either, and every new design philosophy gets worse. Oval Overload, New Edge, and now it's "Force European rubbish on America" which has brought with it Europe's atrocious interiors. Ever sit in a Fiesta? Worst car Ford has ever built by far. A chiropractor's dream, though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thub 673 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 I don't think they were doing that great in the early 2000s either, and every new design philosophy gets worse. Oval Overload, New Edge, and now it's "Force European rubbish on America" which has brought with it Europe's atrocious interiors. Ever sit in a Fiesta? Worst car Ford has ever built by far. A chiropractor's dream, though. Its a small car, what do you expect. I have always been fond of European interiors. Before he owned the 2005 S40 which is an excellent vehicle my friend had a 2000 S40, although the interior was kinda odd in that car, I liked it, maybe it was just the fact it was so different from the plain US interiors. The 2005 S40 on the other hand has one of my favorite interiors, the flow though center stack was ahead of its time and looks cool as hell. The car is small but the stance and shape of the body gives it a very aggressive look, I absolutely love how the front end narrows and the ass end is short and chopped off, not to mention its turbo inline 5 Focus RS power plant that packs quite the punch. By the way, ask any real European person what they think about American interiors, they will call it what it is, cheap garbage. One of my relatives from Romania visited us a few years ago, a few years older than me and interested in vehicles, he found the 2002 Taurus interior to be very cheap and poorly put together. He did take note of the overall large interior and ample room under the hood to work with, and appreciated the simple OHV Vulcan for what it is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
it'sthatcar 150 Posted October 23, 2014 Report Share Posted October 23, 2014 I don't know what you mean about rubbish, but I guess it all depends on your opinion. I sat in a Fiesta a few months ago and liked it. I thought it felt pretty good for a sub-compact economy car, and I was surprised that I was able to fit comfortably inside being 6' 2" (although no one in the back seat would have fit). I think Europe has pretty good interiors. If you compare a '99 VW Passat with a '99 Ford Taurus it's night and day difference. The Ford isn't bad, but the VW is better. I don't think the numbers lie, though. The Fiesta is the best selling sub-compact in the world right now, and the ST model has won a lot of accolades. The Focus is selling very well too. The Fusion competes with the Camry, Accord, and Altima the way the Taurus never could have in the late '90's and early 2000's. Things have only been getting better with Ford's lineup, so I don't think they're going about things wrong by bringing some European genes into the equation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stocker 126 Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 I quit believing the European automotive hubris years ago. Case in point: VW Rabbit. Automotive commentators lambasted the U.S.-built Rabbit for it's "Malibuized" interior that was supposedly no match for what came out of Germany. My grandfather owned several Rabbit hatchbacks, a German-built convertible, and a German-built Jetta. The hatchback interiors were awash in soft vinyl and decent-grade cloth seats, although they did leave exposed metal around the door panels. The German-built cars were nothing but hard, poorly-textured plastic everywhere and it creaked and rattled like you wouldn't believe. Only things that weren't plastic were the carpet and, on the convertible, the stiff leather covering the seats. I'll give it to them on luxury cars since I don't have any first-hand experience with European luxury cars (save for faint recollections of old Volvos), but as far as mass-market cars go it's time the Europeans got off their high horse and admitted that their cars are no less crappy than ours. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thub 673 Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 Take a look at the Fusion and then the competition, compare it to anything in its class and tell me you wouldn't take the Fusion, only other one I would consider is the Accord. Malibu is fat and bloated, Camry is well boring as hell, Sonata no offense Brian is ugly as hell, and the Altima is the same as the Camry...disposable car. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
it'sthatcar 150 Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 In terms of European quality, I would agree with you on cars that came out of Europe up until about 1995. After that, the quality of European cars, especially VW and Audi, went way up and outdid the American competition. American cars have only recently caught up to the European cars. I don't think that European manufacturers are on a "high horse" about their cars, rather, I think the drivers/owners of said European cars are the smug ones. As far as current offers from competitors to the Fusion go, the Accord and Mazda 6 are the only that really hold their own. The Altima is not a terrible vehicle, but I'm not a fan of the CVT (although it's supposedly the best in the business), and the styling is bland. I've noticed that low end models of the Altima are equiped with halogen tail lamps that are pink rather than red, although the LED tail lamps on the upper end models are fine. The Camry and Malibu are both cheap tupperware on wheels (assuming there are any Malibu drivers left after all this GM recall business is sorted out). The new Camry looks better, but I still find the styling bland. Of the mid-size options available, I think the Fusion is a great option compared to the alternatives. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mmmfloorpie 110 Posted October 24, 2014 Report Share Posted October 24, 2014 I'm with the "majority" here that think the new Ford products are the best they've ever been. The only thing holding back the Fiesta and the Focus from being class leaders is that stupid DCT. I know they probably spent millions of dollars designing it, but just plop a traditional 6 speed auto in it for god's sake! And what's with them using a 5 speed manual transmission still? They have a 6 speed manual in the ST and with the new 1L Ecoboost, so why not make it the standard manual transmission? Give us that extra gear! Those are the two major things that I fault Ford on though. Also, if they would just offer a longer warranty like most of the Korean brands do, I'd be over the moon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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