That’s the point:  NHTSA’s recalling these cars over a trim panel because DANGER, yet they ignored a transmission that was demonstrably bad.  And, Ford is so inept they can’t even put all the pieces of their cars together on the first try.  

Thanks! The first X-Type replaced a totaled 2014 Fiesta ST. Insurance payout was half the price of a new one, and I wasn’t prepared to take on a new payment at the time. I still wanted something fun to drive, and the first Jag presented itself. I’ve had a manual Honda Element, and a manual Mercury Mystique, as well.…

5th: So, Ford forgot to install a trim panel. Ford designs, builds, and sells to the public a transmission that doesn’t work and goes into Neutral on the freeway, and there’s no recall or administrative action. Ford forgets to install a trim panel, and there’s a recall.

Recently we’ve read about Nissan’s dismal financials, and I maintain their trash-ass rentals are why.  Who’d buy a Nissan after driving a Versa or Altima from the rental lot?  

Last month, I had a 2018 Altima SR (the SR stood for Shitty Rental) that I got at Denver Airport and drove to my inlaws’ cabin at 9,800 feet. That car felt like driving a golf cart-I’d hit the gas and wait for the thing to spool up before it would actually start to move. It was put together well enough, but it drove…

I defer to the evidence, but anecdotally I’m a fan of knee airbags. In 2017, I totaled my Fiesta ST when a minivan ran a red light and I hit it broadside in the driver’s door. My seating position in any manual-equipped car is very close, as my left leg is over an inch shorter than my right leg and my legs are short…

I love to joke that the things that still work on mine were made by Ford, and the ones that have broken were by Jag.  

Yawn, this tired nonsense. Yes, the X-Type’s based on a reworked version of the gen-2 Ford Mondeo. No, it’s not just a rebadged Ford. I had one with the 2.5 and manual when I found one with the 3.0 and manual. They handle rather well, ride nicely, have that old-school Jag interior, and are full-time AWD with a 60%…

I feel like Jag going electric isn’t news at this stage, since we’ve been hearing noise around it for what seems like a long time now. They’re getting to be like Ford vis-a-vis the Bronco. “We’re making the Bronco!” Oh really, then can we see it? “No. We’re making the Bronco!”

4th: BHP fascinates me, because it was evidence that Jacques Nassar, disastrous CEO of Ford during ‘97-’01, could actually be a good CEO. Turns out mining operations were his strong suit and, from what I remember of what I read, he was pretty good at identifying trends and new markets, and did a successful realignment…

A good friend of mine bought a 2015ish Leaf in 2017. From what he described, the range indicator was wildly optimistic (like, by 25%). He also had a Chevy Spark EV at the time, which he spoke very positively about.

Yep. The trucks with this engine will still be running the roads 30 years from now on their fifth owners towing overloaded trailers full of yard care equipment, while making the same mileage and compression figures they did the day they were sold.

This is a modern version of the old 385-series 460 that used to power Lincolns back in the ‘70s: a low-strung beast that could deliver butter-smooth torque day-in-and-day-out without complaint. In 1991, one could purchase an F-250 with a 7.5 V8, the updated and fuel-injected version of that same 460, mated to a…

Henry Ford was smart enough to recognize this way back when he implemented the $5/day wage. His business grew if his workers could afford to buy the products they were building (and the massive turnover problems largely were solved at the same time).

They kill us with the packaging.  You want cloth seats?  Sorry, that means no other options for you.  “But I want CarPlay/Android Auto.”  Well Johnny, that means you’re also getting 16 expensive nanny-tech systems, 20-inch wheels, and a sunroof!  And god help you if you want fog lights!

Agreed.  They also f---ed up the design when they listened to Dan Gilbert and built it down the sides of Woodward, instead of in the middle like all the urban planners told them to do.  So now, the Q-Line gets snarled in traffic and can be outrun by cyclists and the occasional fit runner.  

4th: So Ford’s at the Jacques Nassar phase of its 20-year boom/bust cycle. This is the phase in which an incompetent CEO forgets that product is the lifeblood of the business. Hallmarks include staffing and product cuts, ostensibly to “correct” share price issues, as well as corporate acquisitions only tangentially…

“The Unfortunate History of the AMC Pacer.” It’s a real production, with John Davis of Motorweek and folks associated with the production. Worth the watch.

Literally just watched a documentary on the Pacer last night. Apparently it was supposed to have a rotary engine that AMC was sourcing from GM. At the 11th hour, GM canceled the program, leaving AMC scrambling to fit their existing 6-cylinder. That created some knock-off effects like low mileage, and the rushed…

Hey, that’s what happens when the Pacer eats so much development money (that’s never recouped) that they can’t develop anything significantly new through the rest of the ‘70s.