http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/ Autoblog Comments for Frankfurt 2007: Ford unveils Kuga, its first Euro-made CUV http://www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/
Shame on Ford.]]>Sep 11th 2007 5:47PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/
Shame and a gallon of PISS on you FORD. May you sink like a rock, go bankrupt, burn to the ground never to be revived again. ]]>Sep 11th 2007 8:02PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/Throw in a euro Focus and a Mondeo with plenty of re-badging and get rid of any American built or designed Mercury's (leave em for the Ford nameplate) and I think that people would start thinking Mercury.]]>Sep 11th 2007 5:58PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/Sep 11th 2007 6:00PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/ good.]]>Sep 11th 2007 6:31PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/Sep 11th 2007 7:07PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/Sep 11th 2007 7:23PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/ Ford`s European design team is doing great things.]]>Sep 11th 2007 8:20PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/Sep 11th 2007 8:21PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/
Mercury needs these Euro Ford's
Ford Mondeo = New Mercury Milan or Mercury Mondeo
Ford Focus = New Mercury Tracer
Ford Kuga = New Mercury Mariner

That would give Mercury some truly different cars from Ford in the U.S. and I think it would really bring Mercury back to life.]]>Sep 11th 2007 8:37PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/Sep 11th 2007 8:44PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/
And that, Ford is why your unit sales stateside are going to continue down the toilet. If the Asian offerings don't kick your butt, GM's will.]]>Sep 11th 2007 8:44PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/ When Ford of Europe Designs a vehicle, why don`t Ford double up on the stamps and Machinery orders and send half to the U.S. to build these vehicles here?
The Fusion is about the nicest Ford here and its even trumped by the European designs.]]>Sep 11th 2007 9:04PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/Sep 11th 2007 10:46PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/
take the 'excape', for example - americans want this vehicle not to look particularly good because most americans aren't all that interested in style - just look at how americans dress or maintain their bodies.

americans also don't particularly care about quality - just look at the pervasiveness of mcdonald's et. al.

what do americans like? a lot of cheap, style-free shit.
kinda like the escape.
]]>Sep 11th 2007 11:06PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/
This is all orchestrated to put the company into a position of imminent failure in North America, only to have the company re-emerge stronger than before. It's obvious Ford can do better ... for now, they CHOOSE not to.]]>Sep 11th 2007 11:16PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/Stop slapping us in the face!]]>Sep 11th 2007 11:57PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/Sep 12th 2007 12:28AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/
camry & accord are also cheap shit - especially camry, with its rubbermaid interior.

i evaluated '08 accord today, and i have to say that honda certainly VE'ed it to death (check out the _completely_ unfinished trunk for example. then check out current civic's completely lined trunk WTF?). sure, the '08 accord is bigger than the previous accord... but that's all we americans care about, right?

i think ford, honda, Toyota, et. al. all have it right: they are producing and selling cars their american customers demand - and we get shit. european customers clearly have different preferences & priorities, and the european manufacturers deliver what the market demands, generally smaller cars with higher perceived quality.

clearly the vehicular preferences of some americans (i.e. those reading autoblog) are more in line with european sensibilities - but sadly we're in the minority, and have to suffer the shit product the rest of our fellow countrymen require. what can we really do, besides bitch about our grim reality in the comments section of a website i'd imagine the auto execs never bother to read (cuz they're too busy trying to cheapen up the next escape & camry)...


]]>Sep 12th 2007 1:43AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/11/frankfurt-2007-ford-unveils-kuga-its-first-euro-made-cuv/
However, you Americans forget that you pay almost half as much as the Europeans do their cars.

Would you really splash out $30,000 for a 1.6 litre naturally aspirated gasoline (base model) euro-spec Focus? Or $40,000 for a base model 2.0 DW10 Kuga, with no leather interior, no electric seats, no sat-nav as standard?

If you are willing to pay more than a few peanuts for your cars, then car manufacturers such as Ford US can actually afford to sell you the European brands...]]>Sep 12th 2007 4:50AM