Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Top search on Ford's Cash-for-Clunkers site is... the Mercury Milan?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/10/top-search-on-fords-cash-for-clunkers-site-is-the-mercury-mi/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/10/top-search-on-fords-cash-for-clunkers-site-is-the-mercury-mi/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/10/top-search-on-fords-cash-for-clunkers-site-is-the-mercury-mi/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid - Click above for high-res gallery

On June 25, Ford launched its "Recycle Your Ride" website. The site is an easy guide to determine if your vehicle is eligible for Cash-for-Clunkers, and which Ford family vehicles are a good fit as a replacement. So far, Ford says it's had over 250,000 potential customers fill out the short form, and surprisingly, the modest-selling Mercury Milan is in a statistical dead heat with the Ford Fusion for the top replacement vehicle chosen.

To test out the site, we chose a 1997 Ford F-150 with a 4.6-liter V8 engine. Ford's site brought up 16 vehicles eligible for the $4,500 incentive, including the Focus, Escape, Mariner, Taurus, Fusion and Milan. The picking-up-sales-steam Fusion and the underrated Milan currently account for 30% of overall selections, and Ford tells us that the public is split right down the middle on which vehicle they prefer.

While it's quite surprising that the Milan is garnering as much attention as the more popular Fusion, the real proof is in the sales data. We're guessing that the Milan won't outperform the Fusion's 19,000 June sales any time soon.

[Source: Ford]

Top search on Ford's Cash-for-Clunkers site is... the Mercury Milan? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>car buyingCarBuyingcash for clunkersCashForClunkersford fusionFordFusionmercury milanMercuryMilanrecycle my rideRecycleMyRidesalvagetrade intrade instrade-intrade-insTradeInTradeInsFri, 10 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Consumer Reports says: keep your car for 225,000 miles]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/06/consumer-reports-says-keep-your-car-for-225-000-miles/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/06/consumer-reports-says-keep-your-car-for-225-000-miles/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/06/consumer-reports-says-keep-your-car-for-225-000-miles/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The average car buyer trades his car in every five years. If, instead, you didn't trade your car in but kept it for 15 years, or 225,000 miles, Consumer Reports says you'd save $30,800. How'd they get that figure? If you bought a Honda EX and kept it for a decade-and-a-half rather than replacing it, you'd save $20,500 in new car expenses, depreciation, taxes, and insurance. The other $10,300 comes from the interest you earned on the twenty grand -- because of course you'd invest it responsibly, which is the entire reason you aren't trading your car in, right?

The magazine then gives a list of Good Bets and Bad Bets to make it past 200K miles, even with good maintenance. Every single car on the Good Bets list is either a Honda or Toyota. The bad bets are almost all European, with two Nissans for company. Fascinating that no domestic made either list, when we see cars every day that look like they've wrapped the odometer and done another two hundred thousand. Let the commentary begin.

Thanks for the tip, Justin!

[Source: CNN Money]

Consumer Reports says: keep your car for 225,000 miles originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>consumer reportsConsumerReportstrade insTradeInsvehicle ownershipVehicleOwnershipThu, 06 Sep 2007 20:01:00 EST