So this is a concept car that I'm guessing will be making the car show rounds this year. I suppose it was inevitable that Ford would capitalize on the Mustang platform with something for people afraid of not having 4 doors. There were rumors abound that a station wagon (???) was in the works, but thankfully that got squashed. I mean, hey the Nomad's were cool as shit for what they were, and I think Magnums are pimp, but come on, a Mustang?
This sentence is what really got me interested however:
"The next-generation Chevrolet Impala from General Motors is expected to have four doors and share many of the mechanics with GM's upcoming version of the Camaro. "
Now as far as I know, Impalas have never really had anything to do with Camaros, mechanics or otherwise. But this is really good fucking news for two reasons:
A. GM turned the Impala into a cookie cutter mobile and it would be nice if the next gen was something to actually get excited about
B. If the sport line is going to be more of a flagship model for American car companies, and said companies are making sports lines (ie Mustang/Camaro/Challenger) that people are getting excited about again, then boy howdy the Japanese market better take notice.
I'll believe all this when I see it, but I put my money where my mouth was and bought one of the new Mustangs as soon as they'd sell me one once...and well shit, I'm not so sure I'm opposed to annexing the fleet with a Camaro or Challenger when they are available (provided I don't get married, have a kid or do something that would require me to spend money responsibly between now and then).
Comments (4)
Some people swear by Ford. Me, I swear at them. In my family, we work on things when they break. And Ford has this habit of making things entirely too complicated. When everything in front of the tires has to come off just to drain/flush the radiator, something is terribly wrong. And that's exactly how it is in the Ford Taurus sitting out here in the yard. From what I've heard, most mechanics curse Ford regularly, too. So at least I'm not alone in my frustration.
Posted by Dan | January 2, 2007 5:49 PM
Posted on January 2, 2007 17:49
You say that as though this is something that isn't a problem with Japanese cars :-)
I had that Nissan stanza and to replace the starter, you had to pull the whole fucking block out.
As far as the Taurus, well shit, the fact that the thing is a bitch to work on is one of many problems with that car!
Posted by Dave McAnally | January 2, 2007 6:32 PM
Posted on January 2, 2007 18:32
Okay, now you've got me intrigued. I'm gonna have to find a Stanza to look at. In every case I've ever seen, the starter comes off and drops out the front. Not as simple as changing wiper blades, but usually not much worse than putting on a new alternator. Except that the alternator rarely demands you lay down to change it.
But yeah, swore them guys always did have little hands!
Posted by Dan | January 2, 2007 7:55 PM
Posted on January 2, 2007 19:55
Do it up man! Remember that maroon beast I drove from the ages of 16-22? I eventually gave its life to the auto mechanic school @ Hawkeye tech.
Nevertheless, the starter took a shit in it circa spring 1997 or so, and the thing is mounted below the block, and cannot be replaced unless you pull the whole block out. You'd think that would be a classic case of a mechanic trying to bullshit you, but I had a few sources on the matter. In case you need specifics, that car was an '88 Nissan Stanza GXE.
And for what it's worth, if we were talking about cars that would ever see more than 70k miles worth of action, then the ease of maintenance would be something I'd take issue with. But as it stands, I don't envision the mustang ever having over 50k while I own it. I've had it for two years now, and when I first had it, there were 0.5 miles on it. There are now around 17,500, of which about 5,000 were put on in all of 2006 if that gives you any idea of the action my vehicles now see. If I even own that car 6 years from now (and if I did, it'd be purely as a relic), it'd be lucky to even be ready for new tires.
Posted by Dave McAnally | January 2, 2007 8:45 PM
Posted on January 2, 2007 20:45