Reply With QuoteHard to give the flops of 2007 in December of 2006.
Or are you becoming one of those predictive journalists we were talking about?
Your entries, please!
Hard to give the flops of 2007 in December of 2006.
Or are you becoming one of those predictive journalists we were talking about?
Doh!Originally Posted by mrblanche
Hard to give the flops of 2007 in December of 2006.
Or are you becoming one of those predictive journalists we were talking about?
I'm a victim of my profession; just had to work out the details of attending a press preview for the 2008 Ford F-Series.. and must've fast-forwarded myself.
2006. Right you are...
I would have to say it is Ford Motor Company's Way Forward or Bold Moves campaign.
It is by far the most aimless, directionless, hapless, yet arrogant manufacturer on the planet. This year, they closed the Ford Taurus plant, which was ranked as one of the most productive plants that it had. Instead, they have exported a large portion of its mid sized car manufacturing to Mexico, a country where 1/30 people can afford to drive a car.
What they have done with Lincoln is a disgrace: Rebadged Mazda 6's MkZ and the same old product slop we're used to.
They also hired a guy from Boeing, with no auto experience and a shady record at producing model airplanes in a very non-competitive market. Doesn't seem like the formula that the American consumer needs to me.
Save for the Mustang, Ford doesn't make a product worth spending your hard earned cash.
Yes, Ford is a disaster.
I would also like to nominate General Motors as my second choice, a company that has earned a bad taste in my mouth for shoving On-Star on many of its customers and all of them in the future. I like many of their products, but their arrogance will beat them in the end, after the temporary surge that they're enjoying.
I'm waiting for Nissan to come out with that RWD replacement for the 200SX that I've been reading about. It may take them a while, but at least they're making some mildly interesting products.
i want to add Jaguar, which is a part of Ford, to the list. Their cars are bland, they are speed governed, and they still have spotty reliability (like Ford).
Jag now has a concept for an S-type replacement that looks nothing like a Jaguar. It has the same old 400 HP supercharged 4.2 L V8.
The designer that penned this concept admired the way the original XJ6 and XJ12 looked. To me they looked more like a Chevy than a Jag.
The rounded nice llines of the Mark 2, the original S-type and the 420 Sedan were the real Jaguar made during happy times, before the tumultuous 1970s events like the energy crisis and the rampant inflation took hold of our society.
The new S-type replacement looks more like a Citroen SM than a Jagaur, although the SM was better looking.
A REAL Jaguar, pre-Ford
A man's greatest mistake is to think he is working for somebody else.
All good points.
As for specific entries, I'd have to list:
* Honda Ridgeline
* Subaru B9 Tribeca
* Lincoln Zephyr
... let me think some more and I will come up with some more!
GM- Holden Adventra
So much for:
The Holden Adventra will redefine family motoring in Australia
Rex
On the Sunshine Coast, in the Sunshine State Queensland (QLD), Australia
I think you're forgetting just how unreliable the Jaguars really were in the 80's.
While Jaguar is still no Toyota so far as reliability, they were significantly improved by switching to Ford electrics.
Oh, and Eric - my nomination also includes the Ridgeline. I still have trouble determining which end is which.
"Ahh, headlights, so this must be the front then..."
Chip H.
Former owner: 2012 Honda Civic LX, 2006 Honda Ridgeline RTL, 2000 Honda CR-V EX, 2003 MINI Cooper S, 1992 Honda Accord LX, 1999 Mercedes ML-320, 1995 VW Jetta GLX, 1991 Mercury Capri XR2, 1981 Mercury Zephyr, 1975 Chevrolet Impala
"Oh, and Eric - my nomination also includes the Ridgeline. I still have trouble determining which end is which.
"Ahh, headlights, so this must be the front then..."
Honda has had to resort to discounts and incentives on this model; highly unusual for them...
Given what's available now, the Ridgeline's too heavy, too slow, too ugly - and too expensive!
While Jaguar is still no Toyota so far as reliability, they were significantly improved by switching to Ford electrics.
They departed from the Prince of Darkness....Lucas
Rex
On the Sunshine Coast, in the Sunshine State Queensland (QLD), Australia
Wasn't the Prince of Insufficient Light a character in Dilbert? Carried a large spoon, instead of a fork...
There was a company here in Dallas that ran a wrecking yard, and on the side they did engine swaps. They put Chevy 350's in XJ Jaguars, and did 5 a week back in the mid 80's. They did about that rate on putting 350's into formerly diesel GM cars, too.
A Jaguar still looks better on a lift than most cars look on the road!Wasn't the Prince of Insufficient Light a character in Dilbert? Carried a large spoon, instead of a fork...
There was a company here in Dallas that ran a wrecking yard, and on the side they did engine swaps. They put Chevy 350's in XJ Jaguars, and did 5 a week back in the mid 80's. They did about that rate on putting 350's into formerly diesel GM cars, too.
And I can show you great cars that haven't been driven a foot since they were built, and yet have won literally tons of awards and tropies.
We have a word for them..."trailer queens."
Yes, but art is... well, art!
Have to say the biggest flop for the 2006 model year was the Honda Ridgeline. The automotive press raved about it, but the buying public was lukewarm about the car and sales have been much lower than expectations. It appears Honda is now considering cancelling it.
>>A Jaguar still looks better on a lift than most cars look on the road!<<
Jag engineers are still designing that in because of the reputation of old.
"Have to say the biggest flop for the 2006 model year was the Honda Ridgeline. The automotive press raved about it, but the buying public was lukewarm about the car and sales have been much lower than expectations. It appears Honda is now considering cancelling it. "
The Ridgeline's definitely a contender!
I'd say it suffers from two main problems:
One, it's weird-looking. Same general disease that afflicted the Asstek. Not different - just ugly.
Two, it was marketed as a truck and should not have been. If Honda tried marketing it as a crossover with more capability than a traditional crossover, etc., it might have done better - and avoided comparison with "real" trucks - which never came out favorably...
Here's to hoping they don't much muck it up! Benz and BMW used to make really good-looking cars; today, they're pimp-mobiles and a-hole wagons...
>>Benz and BMW used to make really good-looking cars; today, they're pimp-mobiles and a-hole wagons<<
They have to try to stay up with the Lexus---
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