An Unforeseen Shift

[TX-Dennis]

I've had over the years an AMC, a Chevy, 4 Mercurys, 2 Mazdas, a Nissan, 4 Fords, and currently 2 Lincolns. Most were pretty reliable. Had problems with the AMC and 1 of the Mercurys. The Nissan was reliable for the two years I owned it, but really uninspiring in its "tinniness" and the weird noises coming from the drivetrain that the dealer couldn't remedy. I'm currently waiting on another Ford to be delivered. My son has a Dodge and a Jeep. They're both older and have been reliable.

So I guess I favor Fords, but I always look at other brands before deciding - usually on another Ford.

 

[venomballistics]

That's merely the predictable result of performance at a price the young and fearless can afford.

You'd hear the same thing about 'Vettes, but most 'Vette owners are too worried about soiling their Depends to give it full throttle.

Actually the phenomenon is attributed to Fords traction control system which you apparently cannot completely turn off.
What should be, and has been the result since the 50's is a more or less straight set of black marks as a teenage buck marks his territory during an internal combustion mating call.
Traction control goes into a panic fighting to regain grip, often in an unintended direction.
Rather disappointing considering just about everything else in the market segment can not only continue the tradition, but consider the Mustang a light snack while doing it.

 

[Bald1]

In my 20s and 30s I was a Ford F-250 guy. For past 25 yrs I've been a GMC guy with one Silverado mixed in. I bought my current GMC new in Oct 2020. Picked it up on a Tuesday from s dealer 65 mi away because nobody had much inventory. On that Friday it got hauled out of my driveway on a flatbed because it wouldn't start. I'm the last yr I had factory running boards ( black bars) replaced under warranty because the paint flaked off. I did the same with my 2017. In the last 4 months I've been dealing with an engine light. Finally got to dealer when it was on so they could pull a code. Every once in awhile my radio is slow to react when pushing buttons…… long story short, come October I think I'll be in an F250. I wish I could find crank windows and a 5 speed manual with gas engine. All the options I don't want seem to be the ones breaking

 

[Rustyt1953]

Like others here I have owned many different makes and models in my life. All served me well until they didn't.

To quote James Taylor and J. D. Souther "nothing lasts forever".

PS: gimme an H. Gimme an o. Gimme an n,d,a.

 

[31FordA]

My family have been driving Ford's since Grandpop bought his first car, a used Model T touring car, in 1916. A picture of that first Ford is hanging in the living room. I was the first person in the family to move up the FoMoCo food chain and buy a Mercury, my brother bought the first Lincoln. I currently have 5 Fords and a Mercury, plus my take home govt car is a Ford. I'm broad minded enough however to also own a AMC Rambler and a Olds Cutlass Supreme.

Although we have over a century of driving Ford's, I'm not sure what I'd buy if I had to get a new car. Ford killed off my beloved Crown Vic, along with the whole Mercury division. I suppose I'd get a F-150, it's the only body on frame V-8 they make. Then again, for the price of a new F-150 I can buy several very nice used Crown Vic's or Grand Marquis.

 

[Farmer17]

As far as trucks go I've had Ford, Nissan Titan, and Ram and don't care for GM products after owning 4 or 5. The Ram is my current truck and is very smooth and gets 21 mpg in the city from the V6 and pulls my ski boat quite well. Its got a 150k miles and so far I've had a radiator leak and an oil filter housing leak and I'll probably get another Ram after I put another 100K miles on it if I continue to have good luck.

 

[foxy320]

The last truck & car I have bought are Toyotas & I cringe to think what my dad would say about that if he was still alive. He would never even think about buying a Japanese made car because he said not to long ago they had been building the planes that had been shooting at him while he was flying in B29's

 

[Cdog]

Thanks for all the replies.

Reputable dealers and brand selection are slim within a 25 mile radius of where we live.

The selection available within 50 miles are mostly dominated by a couple of conglomerate dealers that don't compete with their other dealerships.

Many dealers in my area still have their in stock inventory priced above sticker. Too add insult to injury they also tack on ridiculous fees.

Low inventory will keep prices up, dealers have no incentive to discount new cars. These local dealers selling above sticker will be remembered when inventory is up and a little competitiveness returns.

A lot of their previous customers will be so upside down with their current cars/trucks that I can't wait for these over sticker dealers to have to face the music.

We actually did much better than I expected on a 2023 model. There was a finance incentive and the dealer discounted the car around $3000 off too. They also allowed the exact number I had KBB'd her Explorer at. No it ain't like the $8K to $10K year end deals we used to look for, still it was better than we found anywhere else on a 23 model with the creature comforts my wife has earned and deserves.

On a side note, my daily driver is a 15 year old Kia Sorento with almost 300,000 pretty hard miles on it. There are no nearby trustworthy Kia dealers, nor are they in any hurry to sell what they have.

The market correction will likely occur right after my next purchase.

Yea, on the Buick brand, I too think of "an old persons car." Well, my wife recently got her medicare card!

 

[Tom S.]

In the 'grand scheme' of GM, Buick was one step below Cadillac. Back in the day, the pecking order was Chevy, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac. The initial intent was as a person's income and social status increased, GM had a vehicle to fit that level. Over the years, the lines became blurred but the premise remained, kind of.

Perhaps it speaks volumes when I say I was mostly Chevy trucks and Chevrolet / Pontiac cars and with only one exception, a Buick Regal my wife fell in love with, I never rose above my low level status.

Or perhaps it was because I worked for Pontiac and got better deals. Pontiac had program where you could buy cars that executives drove for 3 months / 3k miles at a substantial savings. You could even order the vehicle ahead of time to get your preferred color and options, within certain guidelines (no bare bones models). Later in life, I became eligible for employee pricing on GM, Ford and Chrysler/Daimler/Stellantis but my main pension check comes from GM so I remain brand loyal to them.

 

[brucev]

Parents and brothers bought Chevy, Ford, Buick for years and years. Then, I bought a Madza. Next 43 years I was on the road all the time putting high miles on cars. Have gotten 285K - 361K on Toyota, Nissan, Honda. My daughters have taken my used cars and drove them many more miles. One Toyota w/ 289K was sold by my youngest daughter w/ 481K. My current Toyota has 239K w/ no problems at all. We are about to retire. Plan to trade both my Toyota and her Nissan and get a Honda which is what she wants. I will find a decent pu truck for my uses. Likely will be a Toyota. Sincerely. bruce.

 

[Gamecock]

Ford hasn't figured out how to get a mustang GT to do a burnout without maiming pedestrians.

???

They have had line lock since 2015.

 

[quikdraw67]

My S-I-L started working for AMC out of college in the 70's. She stayed through the turmoil, and ended up retiring from Chrysler in the 2010's.

Over the years they had AMC's, Jeeps, Chryslers and Dodges of all types. Being an employee, she was able to buy or lease them for cheap.

So she retired, guess what they drive now?

Hyundais.

That speaks volumes to me.

I grew up in a Ford family. My Dad's close friend had a Ford dealership. And I liked them, for the most part. We had 3 Fairmonts that were good cars, and a 1987 Thunderbird 5.0 V8 that was cool.

But after having a 96 T-Bird and a 97 Explorer that were troublesome, that was the end of Ford ownership.

Mrs QD67 went back to GMC and currently drives an 18 Acadia.

I'm on my 3rd Volkswagen, an 18 Tiguan.

We both like our vehicles, but we both like and trust our respective dealerships. They are both family owned, and that's becoming the exception instead of the rule. More dealerships around here are part of a larger group.

Just my .02

 

[Golddollar]

Although we have over a century of driving Ford's, I'm not sure what I'd buy if I had to get a new car. Ford killed off my beloved Crown Vic, along with the whole Mercury division.

Believe me, you're not the only one. I have a Ford Taurus that was billed as the successor to the Crown Vic and Grand Marquis, but now that has been discontinuted. I'm still driving my old 2008 Grand Marquis that has 148,000 miles on it. The assistant service manager at the local Lincoln dealership said that a lot of Grand Marquis owners they dealt with were really distraught when it was discontinued.

 

[Chuck24]

Gave up on Ford when they gave up on Norfolk

 

[Colokeb]

We have provided 4 Ford Fusion Hybrids .... three for the kids, one for us...a 2020. All run perfect and get a fusll-size ride and 38+ MPG.