THE 2010 MUSTANG IS HERE

Enough with all of the bad news, it’s time to celebrate with some good news. At this writing, the Dow is up more than 900 points in three days, and Ford has launched the next generation of its signature car, the Mustang. Their Web site (http://www.fordvehicles.com/the2010mustang/index.asp) sets the tone with aggressive styling, polished interior details, and it screams of fun.

Mustang has a long history of growing (and surviving) through a variety of incarnations, some good, and some rather bad. Its rejuvenation came with its current design which hit the streets as a 2005. That Mustang’s retro features reflected 1968 when Mustang was at its best, but updated it with current technology. Now the next generation is ready for its launch in the spring of 2009.

Take a look and see what you think. While the 2005 demanded attention, this one continues the legacy in a more polished manner. I have not seen one in person, but the pictures show that the Ford designers were interested in refinement. Exterior edges are now rounded. Curves are everywhere; from the wheel wells, to the hood and grill, to the new tapered tail lights whose turn signals illuminate progressively (remember the Thunderbird of the mid-1960s?). The Mustang still shows aggressive styling, but it feels softer. Ford did not ruin the fine design achievement of the 2005, it just looks different now.

From a first impression, the car appears to be basically the same. Look deeper, and you do find changes. Ford claims that every exterior panel is new, aside from the roof. While the 2010 is now a few pounds heavier on both the GT and V6 models, performance does not suffer as the GT adds 15 hp to 315 hp, and torque increases from 320 lb/ft. to 325 lb/ft. The GT’s power comes from its tried and true 24 valve, SOHC 4.6 liter V8. The V6 continues with its reliable 4 liter at 210 hp.

Beyond its visual stance, this 2010 Mustang improves itself in variety of areas. Ford says that it has reduced squeaks and rattles by 33%, decreased wind noise by 12%, and has decreased the wind drag by 4% for the V6, 7% for the GT. While there are new wheel sizes and tire choices available, the major accomplishment seems to come with the new interior.

The 2005 Mustang looked great from the outside, but the inside was a different story. There were too many glaring surfaces and too much cheap plastic. Ford heard the feedback and has revamped the interior significantly. The interior is now much less harsh, with quality materials and no annoying reflections.

Ford’s redesign of the Mustang comes just in time, as it now faces competition. Amongst much fanfare, the Dodge Challenger is now on the street, and the Chevy Camaro is soon to follow. With refined edges, more horsepower (on the GT), and its much improved interior, Mustang continues to live on as the others just hit the ground. Now, with gas prices plummeting, the muscle car is back, and is hopefully here to stay.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Stills:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2010-ford-mustang-live-unveiling/1168351/

Video:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/the2010mustang/index.asp
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=134729

Al in Parker needs your HELP!

HELP!

You knew the law would finally catch up with me.

The day you have been waiting for is coming! I'm going behind bars for "good".

As one of Parker’s most wanted, I will be locked up on November 19th at Joe's Crab Shack to help children and adults served by the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

I need your help to raise $1300 and send two children to Summer Camp in Empire, CO.

Just click on the link below to donate to my bail and help provide “the best week of the year” for a local child with muscular dystrophy.

https://www.joinmda.org/parkerco2008/apridemore/

Click on the picture to see more about MDA summer camp.
You'll understand why I want your help.

Your tax-deductible donation will help MDA to continue providing the very best in direct patient care & research for over 1,500 families in Colorado and help guarantee me an early release. 

Thanks in advance for your help. Don't hesitate to call or email me with any questions.

Together we'll make a difference,

Al

TO BUY, OR NOT TO BUY

Everyone is waiting desperately for the economy to stabilize, not to mention turn around. No one is more anxious for that good news than the auto manufacturers, and their dealers. While everyone waits, it raises the question, “When is it time to buy a car?”


Buying a car is a major, life event. For a consumer to take the plunge and make such an expensive purchase, needs and/or wants must outweigh the expense. In these shaky economic times, those parameters are hard to satisfy. Eventually, a thaw will occur. The “needs” of the buyer will hit first, and allow them to buy first. These needs may include:

- When a vehicle becomes unsafe, or unreliable due to aging components, or rusting parts.
- When fixing the vehicle is taking more time and energy than the driving.
- When repairs become ridiculously expensive; repeated engine work, chronic electrical problems, transmission work.
- When there is a change of life such as kids being born (or leaving an empty nest), retirement, etc.
- When transportation needs change to provide for construction hauling, commuting, car pooling, etc.
- When the vehicle is just plain cursed. A genuine lemon.
- When it starts making noises you never heard before.
- When the price of gas exceeds $4 per gallon, or plummets below $1 per gallon (dream on).


As the economy recovers and confidence begins to return, the “needs” buyer is followed by the more emotional “wants” buyer. These “wants” may include:

- When love is lost, and the owner is no longer getting back what they are putting into the relationship with the vehicle i.e. too many breakdowns.
- When they have drifted apart, and have nothing more in common.
- When the owner is just plain bored, and is ready for a dramatic change.
- When the seductive commercials convince the buyer that they deserve to be that individual.


Everyone has their own individual needs and wants, all within different time frames. Some people buy cars every three years, some every twenty years. In my case, I have tried to limit such a major purchase until there was a genuine need. My Dodge Colt rusted to the point of no longer being safe (or passing inspection). My Mazda RX7 only had two seats, and was no longer practical with children. The Thunderbird was too hard to pull out car seats, the Taurus wagon was not big enough for hockey bags, and the list will continue.


As for wants, they entice me daily. Every time I see an exotic design drive by, I want to drop my boring discipline, and volunteer to do my part to reinvigorate the economy; to make an impulse purchase. Then I wake up and continue to be boring. People will “need” to replace unsafe or costly vehicles. The emotional passion of “wants” will eventually lead to purchases. The economic thaw will come, hopefully sooner rather than later.

MERGER: DO, OR DIE?

GM and Chrysler: as one? How could that be? What would it mean?

The initial reports first hit the internet. GM and Chrysler were in exploratory talks. It was down played; explained that companies talk with each other all of the time to explore common goals and interests. But this one has not gone away, and it is actually accelerating.

The automobile sector has always been a cyclical industry. It ebbs and flows with the economic cycles. Manufacturers make billions in the best of times, and save cash to survive the worst of times. This economic barometer has traditionally been read by how many extra shifts are needed to keep up with demand, as opposed to how many auto employees are being laid off.

Domestic auto manufacturers have been hit twice as hard this time around. The inevitable economic downturn came, but they were caught with all of their eggs is one basket. Trucks and large SUVs brought them record profits. Domestics specialized in them. Then, gas prices escalated and they were all caught without a backup plan. Not only were consumers buying fewer vehicles, but they looked to the foreign fuel efficient choices when they bought anything at all.

Daimler was not happy with their purchase of Chrysler and sold the majority of its interest to the investment group, Cerberus, back in early 2007. Perfect timing! Daimler dodged the bullet that has hit all three domestic manufacturers straight in the eye.Ford, GM and Chrysler are all in dire straights. Not only did demand for their product cease, but the credit structure that sustained their livelihood collapsed as well, all part of the housing credit debacle. Now, with survival at stake, all three need money, and they need it now.

Rumors are flying. Ford, on the heels of already selling Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover, is now rumored to be in talks to sell its one third stake of Mazda, either back to Mazda or to a group of Japanese companies. Chrysler’s Jeep brand might be sold to Renault. And now, GM and Chrysler are going to merge? The others make sense, but a GM/Chrysler merger is puzzling. What form would it take? What would it look like? What models would stay, and which would die? Or, would GM just swallow Chrysler and liquidate everything in sight to benefit from its $11.7 billion of cash and sell the remaining hardware?

Many stumbling blocks and questions remain in the way of a GM/Chrysler merger. What role will the unions play in allowing a merger to succeed? Also, Cerberus must buy the remaining 19.9% stake of Chrysler that Daimler still owns, in order to be free to merge. Would the government allow them to merge and own 36% of the US auto market? What would happen to the finance branch, GMAC, a hotly contested issue between GM and Chrysler? Cerberus already owns 50%, GM the other 50%. The investors that are Cerberus wants all of GMAC, and for good reason. When the economy turns around, its massive influence in providing credit is worth millions.

GM now has many interesting choices throughout its product lines (see previous blogs), but within GM, there is already too much redundancy (see my blog, “Power of Twins”). What would be the outcome of diluting the product line further with all of the various Chrysler models? Some would stay, many would not. If the merger became a reality, my crystal ball says: Jeep will remain, GMC will go, Chrysler will become an affordable luxury wing, Dodge will remain with several performance models, Viper will be sold to a customizing manufacturer, Hummer will be bought by an Arab or Russian company, Cadillac will continue to thrive as an icon, Chevrolet and Buick will blend together to become one, eliminating many models. In addition, there will be fewer dealerships, higher prices, many more plant closings, and thousands more jobs lost. GM will again dominate the domestic auto industry, and I will still prefer Ford, or a Japanese brand.


This story seems to change by the hour. Stay tuned to what surely will be a dramatic saga. It is hardly a merger made in heaven, but it appears to be a case of do or die. If the deal does go through, what would the logo look like and how would it fit on the grill of a Solstice?

UPDATE, 11/10/08
The latest rumor is that talks between GM and Cerberus are off, and discussions are proceeding with Hyundai.

UPDATE, 11/11/08
Now GM is out and Cerberus is talking to Hyundai instead. Meanwhile, GM's stock price dropped another 20+%, and a federal bailout is imminent. Stand-by!

HAVE YOU DRIVEN A FORD LATELY?

I have always been partial to Ford products. Maybe it is because of my initial exposure to my childhood friend’s father’s beautiful black 1957 Ford Thunderbird, or my sitting behind the wheel of a new Ford Galaxy 500 at the New York World’s Fair years ago, or because I was always envious of my neighbor’s 1968 Ford Mustang Mach III. For whatever reason, Ford products have always caught my attention.

My appreciation of Fords has not just been admiration from afar, I have owned three over the years. My first was a Thunderbird of my own, followed by a Taurus wagon for the family, and now our current Windstar van (see July’s blog). All have been well designed, serving with near flawless performance. The acronym, Fix Or Repair Daily has not been the case in my experience. While for a variety of reasons my last two cars have been from Honda and Toyota, I am now once again intrigued by Ford.

Despite the doom and gloom of today’s economy, Ford appears to be working towards a position of strength. Its recent sale of Jaguar and Range Rover gave them the needed cash to keep running. Now it is up to their product line to return Ford to profitability, and that is where the fun begins.

My renewed interest in Ford began with the stunning redesign of the Mustang in 2005, rejuvenating the aging brand. Recapturing the style of its best incarnation, the 1968 Mustang, sales and awards quickly followed. It was impressive enough that I almost bought one. Now in its 5th year, my head still turns every time I see one drive by. Fans (and I) anxiously await its next generation due as a 2010.

Ford’s rebirth continued with the launch of the Ford Freestyle in 2005, then the Fusion in 2006.
The Fusion was the first to feature Ford’s now signature sparkling chrome three bar grill. With a sharp looking design, this Accord fighter attracted attention, and sales, immediately. The owners I have asked love them. Ford’s crossover entry quickly followed in 2007 with the Edge; plenty of room, excellent handling, and another design success. A friend of mine says that it’s the best vehicle he has had in years. Now for Ford, it is the much anticipated launch of their new people mover, the Ford Flex.
It is not a mini-van or a crossover, but seats 7 and drives like a car. Print photos do not do it justice. In person, the Flex is impressive. While I have not driven one yet, the reviews in the trades are glowing. NOTE: The Flex was just placed on Consumer Reports' Top 5 list of crossover SUV's.

Ford faced a public relations nightmare following the Explorer rollover/tire debacle a decade ago. While their F150 truck retained its #1 position (until recently), the consumer’s perception of Ford’s safety and reliability was severely tarnished. That perception is now changing. Many of Ford products proudly wear Five Star safety ratings in most categories. JD Power gave the Mustang their endorsement with an excellent high initial quality rating. In response to high gas prices and a pleasing redesign, the Ford Focus is now flying off of dealers’ lots, selling for less money than the Honda Civic. The quality is excellent. Still have doubts about Ford? My company’s fleet of Ford Escapes has been indestructible. One Escape was retired recently after 7 years old and 220,000 miles with no complaints throughout its proud service.

Ford now offers some genuinely interesting choices in its current line-up. With safety and reliability in its pocket, and deals available in this tough economy, this domestic brand is again worth serious consideration. I will take a Flex for my family and a deep red Mustang GT for me (a man can dream can’t he?). Have you driven a Ford lately? I hope to do so again soon.

UPDATE, 10/24/08: Consumer Reports has just released its 2008 Car Reliability Survey and it places most models of all three Ford brands (Ford, Lincoln and Mercury) ahead of all other domestic manufacturers. Based on Consumer Reports’ Readers’ Survey, almost all models received “average or better” reliability results, placing them on the same playing field as its Japanese competitors.

UPDATE, 1/7/09: Consumer Reports' chief car tester, David Champion, has published the following quote: "Ford has been doing a lot right on reliability for the past five years. It's not immediately apparent that the Ford Fusion would be more reliable than the Toyota Camry, but it is, and the Fusion is one of the more reliable family sedans on the market."

Pride Auto Care now in Parker Colorado!

Pride Auto Care---Come Ride with Pride!
With two, long time successful full service tire and auto centers under our belt, why did the four Pridemore brothers decide to buy an existing Parker car care business and set up their third shop there? Simple… We love this area and wanted our next great car care location to be in our own backyards. WE were amazingly blessed to find the old Hometown store…it was just the right place for us.
The original owner was “hands off”, tired of the car care business and has wanted out for some time now. While the old Hometown crew recently had a decent technician or two in the fold, the store was understaffed, un-marketed and starting to get rundown. But, to their credit, the store crew had a pretty decent reputation for good service of late and were situated in a prime Parker location...right behind the Super Target in the Parker Valley retail complex.
Douglas County and Parker are one of the premier areas to live in in Colorado, heck in the whole country for that matter. It’s a clean, beautiful growing city that still embraces the country charm that makes it such an awesome place to live and rear a family.
Of the four brothers that makes up the Pride Auto Care ownership, two of us live near the store, one just “over the line” in Centennial and the other lives in Parker off Bayou Gulch Rd. WE are hands on owners. We work at the stores we operate and that makes a difference because it’s our friends, and neighbors, our extended “family” that have us work on their “pride and joy!” They trust us. They see us at school, at church, at grocery store, at the movies…these are our neighbors. We know they expect nothing but great, honest service and a fair price from us and that exactly what they’ve gotten for over 19 years now. We are now working on the second and third generation of drivers in many of the original families who’ve been our customer’s for almost 20 years.
We love people and love fixin’ cars. The new store in Parker is an exciting first for us as our original two stores were built new in 1989 when two of the four brothers were just manager and technician at the time. Then in 2001 we became minority owners in the operations and eventually bought the business outright in 2005. We’ve been looking to expand to a third store in the southeast corridor” since then and Parker is perfect. A great town with amazing people and a great country feel. What more could we ask for.

SPASTIC DRIVERS

I have already shared my thoughts about distracted drivers (see May). I am totally against it, regardless of the circumstances. No cell phones, Ipods or knitting. Just drive! Now my beef is about spastic distracted drivers.

You can spot one with as little as a glance in the rear view mirror. On the way home the other night, I observed a perfect example. The man had a stressed expression on his face as he waited at the red light. He was agitated as he talked on his cell phone, gesturing wildly. Sure enough, when the light turned green, he floored it, and zig-zagged through traffic on his way to somewhere really important. It was obvious that driving for him was secondary to everything else going on in his life. He whizzed past me on the interstate, still talking on his phone. As he drove with one hand, he quickly changed several lanes and then disappeared, speeding well above the speed limit. He was a distracted spastic driver, endangering everyone on the highway.

Last night it was a well tuned Honda Civic zipping by me. The thunder of his car’s stereo could be heard and felt even at highway speed. He was sitting low and dancing to his tunes. The music was primary, the driving secondary. He passed several cars, crossed several lanes at speeds well above the posted limit, then he quickly cut in front of a car and decelerated rapidly to exit at the next ramp. First music, then driving. Dangerous!

There is an intersection that I cross on the way home every night. During rush hour, the right hand lane is congested with drivers lined up at the traffic light waiting to access the ramp to the interstate. Impatient, spastic drivers choose the left lane to save time. There is at least one for every cycle of the traffic light. When the light turns green, they cut across traffic into the right lane at the last minute to make the ramp. Those left behind slam on their brakes, or blow their horns. Accidents frequently follow. Another spastic driver, preoccupied with everything else but driving. Dangerous, spastic drivers!

Driving a vehicle is not playing a video game. It is serious business that requires 100% of the driver’s attention. Lives are at stake, not to mention expensive repairs. Encourage your friends and relatives to put the phones down, lower the stereo, and obey the traffic laws. With a little common sense and courtesy, we can all be happier and safer drivers. Save the spastic driving for XBOX 360.