Ovaltine

The thing is just too freaking small for the $$$ they want for it. I'm only 6 foot tall, and on the passenger side my head was up in the headliner depression for the sunroof at this year's Detroit Auto Show. Try again, Fiat. I'd MUCH rather go and buy a greatly discounted 200 Touring for approximately the same money - and get a *real* car in the deal, if I was forced to choose. -Ovaltine

It's the genesis of the Wagon Queen Family Truckster <tm> !!!!! :P -Ovaltine

I come from a family of many full-size Fords of that era.... My first auto memory was riding around in my Dad's 1958 tu-tone blue four door Ford Fairlane. Next came a 1963 Galaxie 500 four door, with a 352 cid. My oldest brother picked up a four door 1965 Ford Galaxie 500, also with a 352 cid engine. My parents then bought a brand new 1968 Ford LTD Country Squire, with a 390 cid. Another brother bought a very cherry 1968 Galaxie 500 two door, that had a very weird drivetrain - a 240 cid six cylinder with a 3-on-the-tree stick shift. After owning a 429 cid '72 T-Bird for a year as my first car at age 16, I then bought a cherry silver LTD Landau two-door from an insurance agent. It had a 400 cid two barrel in it. I put dual exhaust and wire wheels w/B.F. Goodrich Belted T/A's on it. The '76 Landau's were the best looking of that era, because of the extra stainless trim on them that went from the tips of the front fenders all the way to the back. It had a very cool hood ornament too. Good cars / good times! I know that if Ford EVER creates a brand new LTD (on a non Volvo-derived chassis) I'll be in line to get one! -Ovaltine

Wanna bet??? The round vs. rectangular headlamps were related to the trim level of the truck. The 'Custom' level got the rounds, while the more upscale Ranger XLT / Lariat got the rectangulars. Note the plate on the guys truck I posted appears to be a vanity plate with '078' as the second part. Glad to have your vote on the '77s in any case! :-) -Ovaltine

Final input on my original "retrospective" post. Here is the Ford truck that started the whole "Gotta have my truck look like one of the BIG rigs" phenomenon: The 1978 F-150! Here's the "big brother(s)" being copied from around that era: And another.... 1980 brought the grillwork back to a more traditional look (still not as good as the '77 IMHO, but better than the '78/'79!) And here's where we are today: The "MY grill is BIGGER than yours!" world of 2011..... -Ovaltine

In my opinion, 1977 was the pinnacle of Ford pickup exterior styling. The interiors of the '73-79 series while utilitarian, also got high marks for no-nonsense "Git'er done" functionality and comfort. By '79 the Lariat models were even getting pretty cushy inside as well. Ford-pioneered seamless inner fenders in bed: 1979 Lariat interior video: BONUS VIDEO: "Mr. Majestyk" - Some great Ford pickup and car action in this! Ya gotta' love that Twin-I-Beam front suspension in action in this one! -Ovaltine

Also..... can the practice of "alphabet soup" car naming PLEASE end, and *real* names/monikers be given to the Lincoln lineup??????????? Here's the current "lineup": Lincoln MKT Lincoln MKS Lincoln MKX Lincoln MKZ Some backup: Top 10 Worst Car Names http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=top&story=worst-car-names&subject=more Here's a good Facebook page which includes dealership input on the topic: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150170850062982.312282.45839622981&type=1 -Ovaltine

"The target for future Lincolns is the responsiveness of a BMW combined with the comfort of a Lexus, said Derrick Kuzak, Lincoln's head of product development." Isn't that what THIS particular Lincoln had been designed to to?!?!?! http://files.concept...more_03_010.jpg -Ovaltine

My wife has 63K on her '08 Compass, with nary a problem with her Jatco CVT (...as it should be!) Interestingly enough, my co-worker's pharmacist sister is now having transmission issues with her *brand new* Escape. Her '11 Escape is randomly revving up to near red-line and then slamming into the next gear, although she's NOT pressed the gas pedal hard nor is the car actually accelerating. The dealer claims that the transmission is "learning" her habits and will eventually be "okay". This experience is coming on the heels of her having the transmission implode on her previous Escape. Something about a known problem where the tranny would kick out of O/D while driving, or something like that. So again..... as the writers above suggest: "Step AWAY from the rock pile!!!" :shades: -Ovaltine

....and Kia beats Ford, 113 defects per 100 vehicles vs. 116 defects per 100 vehicles! http://www.clickondetroit.com/download/2011/0623/28335371.pdf -Ovaltine

I agree atomcat! My post above is a tongue-in-cheek reply to the folks on here that wouldn't believe my reports of improved Kia quality dating back to mid 2004. You don't seem to see much of that attitude around here anymore. :D -Ovaltine

Man!!!! I CAN'T believe what POS's those Hyundais and Kias are!!!!!! Yucka, yucka, yuck!!!!! Hardee-har-har! :shades: -Ovaltine

And here's the Top10: 10) Kia Optima/ K5/ Magnetis/ Lotze - 17,052 9) Kia Sorento - 17,252 8) Hyundai Sante Fe - 20,244 7) Hyundai i10 - 20,259 6) Kia Sportage - 23,284 5) Hyundai Accent(World)/ Verna/ Solaris/ i25 - 27,899 4) Hyundai Tucson(World)/ ix35 - 28,498 3) Kia Forte/ Cerato - 30,320 2) Hyundai Sonata(3 Gens)/ i45 - 35,436 1) Hyundai Elantra(3 Gens)/ Avante/ i30 - 68,073

Here's a YouTube video of what it looks like when a steering wheel comes off in one of these. In this case, the carload of people didn't get hurt, even though this happened at 65mph. THAT was an act / by the Grace of God. -Ovaltine

Btw.... for those who are interested.... I've always wanted to know what DIN stood for, so here it is! DIN refers to a standardized radio/stereo size for vehicles (large enough to accept a CD). 1 DIN is the standard DIN specification. 2 DIN or double DIN refers to units that are twice as high as the standard DIN, half DIN is half high as 1 DIN. International standard ISO 7736 defines a standard size for car audio head units. The standard was originally established by the German standards body Deutsches Institut fur Normung (The German to English translation is: "German Institute for Standardization"), and is therefore commonly referred to as the "DIN car radio size". It was adopted as an international standard in 1984. Head units generally come in either single DIN (1 DIN), which is 50 mm high; or double DIN (2 DIN), which is 100 mm high. Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_DIN_stand_for#ixzz1ItaNwmnO

Traditionally after it craps out, usually about year 5, and I don't want to invest in a $600 factory unit. A $119 Clarion from Mickey Shorr's looks good about that point in the life cycle. ;-) -Ovaltine

Why are "double-DIN" (or single for that matter) radios considered so "inferior" to units that are so integrated into the dash, that to replace them is a major operation requiring some kind of conversion dash panel/plate? Not defending Nissan here per se, but the concept of a modular radio that's easily replaceable with another unit makes total sense to me. Also.... as long as the car's audio system has good sound and intuitive controls, who cares if it looks like a piece of modern sculpture or not? I'm a child of the '70s so even that Nissan's radio looks "modern" to my eyes. Ford's not the only one to be going the integrated-to-a-fault route, to be sure though. Here's the era *I* came from! :shades: -Ovaltine

Like (Grand)father, like (Grand)daughter, at least in more than looks? Here's an interesting newspaper article about the Deuce getting busted, back in February of 1975 : http://news.google.c...2,1258216&hl=en I hope Elena puts this behind her, and gets help if she truly needs it. -Ovaltine

At least as a "Fiesta" it passes the "Truth in Advertising" laws! Arriba, arriba, andelay, andelay!!! -Ovaltine

I agree that the name s*cks. It's called the K7 elsewhere. Good catch... the front end does resemble the new 200. It looks better on this car, but the similarities are definitely there. Since the K7 was out first in Korea, then the thought of Kia copying Chrysler's a little less feasible..... at least THIS time. ;-) As far as size, here's something I gleaned from a forum: "Wheel base length : Kia Cadenza (2845 mm) > Toyota Avalon (2822 mm) > Lexus ES (2776 mm)" So..... if it's longer than an Avalon, it's a fairly large car. -Ovaltine

Pretty sweet looking! -Ovaltine U Spy: New Kia Cadenza Sedan Spotted Again in California LINK

From The Detroit News: Kia Motors is recalling 70,000 2006-08 Optima vehicles over concerns some shift cables were improperly assembled, which could allow parked vehicles to roll away. In March 2007, Kia identified certain Optima vehicles had been manufactured with the shift cable connection improperly attached to the shifter assembly and changed its manufacturing procedures to improve installation. In June 2007, Kia added positioning clips in vehicles produced to ensure correct assembly. LINK -Ovaltine

Which is *exactly* what those types of places are good for. That and second incomes for part-time workers. I myself also spent 6+ years working at a little independent family grocery store during high school and college... some of the most fun times of my working life. But *definitely* not where I could earn an "adult" living at. -Ovaltine

You haven't spent much time around Taylor or Ypsilanti..... have you???? -Ovaltine

I agree.... speaking as someone who works in IT @ A2. I'm not in automotive any more, but I did 9+ years in automotive IT in the Southfield/Troy/Dearborn/Plymouth areas. But I digress..... the reality of the situation is that ALL of us have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and family friends, etc. that AREN'T going to make the jump from blue collar / trade type employment to high tech research and development in one generation. It would be *nice* if Michigan could still host a decent amount of industry at the $20 per hour range to allow these folks to still stay in the state, but then encourage the next generation or two to explore other opportunities. That's what happened in MY case. My dad's career ranged from piece work at hell-hole spring manufacturer, followed by line work at Jeep, and finally as a certified millwright at Dana Corp. in Toledo. By the 70's and early 80's, 3 out of his 4 sons had figured out that the future of factory work was declining quickly and persued other vocations. The one that didn't got his a** kicked around both Michigan and Ohio and finally down to Texas during the "Black Tag People" days. Eventually he came back to Michigan, but has been under-employed ever since. The bottom line is that I'd like Michigan to be able to be able to host some new factory work over the next few decades while the current generations adapt. $20-ish a hour sure beats $9-11 an hour at Mickey-D's and Meijers! -Ovaltine