Discussion
No wonder they are making a loss! They make crap cars! The designs are good but thats all that they've got!
GM also make massive losses each year!
I bet the profits in Europe come from Land Rover and Aston Martin.
A friend of mine who worked for Ford at Dunton said that the 3dr Fiesta outsells the 5dr in the UK and Italy. The 3dr is a beautifully proportioned car, maybe this has something to do with it? Brits and Italians buy cars on aesthetics rather than practicality?
No, its coz they are relatively cheap, they are peoples cars, designed for the people!
They are not the price of a Merc or BMW and they aren't aspirational.
So many people stick with brands that they trust, even if they are crap brands.
I owe my life to Mercedes Benz, I will never own anything else. If it was any other kind of car I would be dead!
That wasn't my stupidity that did that, it was the throttle sticking!
They are not the price of a Merc or BMW and they aren't aspirational.
So many people stick with brands that they trust, even if they are crap brands.
I owe my life to Mercedes Benz, I will never own anything else. If it was any other kind of car I would be dead!
That wasn't my stupidity that did that, it was the throttle sticking!
rcarr said:
I owe my life to Mercedes Benz, I will never own anything else. If it was any other kind of car I would be dead!
Judging on that pic, you're lucky to have gotten out of that alive, period.
Had you been in a Saab the roof wouldn't have caved in like that. They do crash tests with elks, y'know.
No-one knows how I survived! I was being burnt alive but unconscious until the fire brigade came.
The police came to take a statement 2 days after the crash and they said they were surprised to see me walking about!
At 1st they thought I had a broken jaw, broken neck and a fractured skull but I had none of the above! Just a severe burn to my arm and a bump on the head. I was still picking glass out of my hair for about a week afterwards.
I really don't know how it happened, I have been diagnosed with post traumatic amnesia. All I remember was about half a mile before the accident until I woke up on the stretcher being asked where did I think I was. I thought I was outside work but actually I had crashed into the side of the local police station! The only witness said I was stopped at the roundabout then suddenly took off! Who knows!
The police came to take a statement 2 days after the crash and they said they were surprised to see me walking about!
At 1st they thought I had a broken jaw, broken neck and a fractured skull but I had none of the above! Just a severe burn to my arm and a bump on the head. I was still picking glass out of my hair for about a week afterwards.
I really don't know how it happened, I have been diagnosed with post traumatic amnesia. All I remember was about half a mile before the accident until I woke up on the stretcher being asked where did I think I was. I thought I was outside work but actually I had crashed into the side of the local police station! The only witness said I was stopped at the roundabout then suddenly took off! Who knows!
How long can these losses go on for? They seem to happen every year.
I don't think Ford make rubbish cars, it's more the case that they put the wrong badge on them.
The Focus has fared very well in tests against supposedly superior makes and models.
What do the losses include?
-all of Ford including Aston, Jaguar and Volvo and all the finance and insurance stuff?
-just the cars?
-only Ford badged cars?
I don't think Ford make rubbish cars, it's more the case that they put the wrong badge on them.
The Focus has fared very well in tests against supposedly superior makes and models.
What do the losses include?
-all of Ford including Aston, Jaguar and Volvo and all the finance and insurance stuff?
-just the cars?
-only Ford badged cars?
Losses are for the whole group - global car sales of Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Volvo, some of Mazda, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Land Rover. Also Ford Credit.
Losses are massive due to extensive downsizing in the US - redundancy packages, basically. About half the overall loss is severance settlements.
Ford's US production has been running well under capacity for years now, and far fewer large SUVs and trucks are selling since 9/11.
Ford had created the SUV niche that the Explorer filled, then rising fuel costs and the Firestone tyre issues killed the market.
They thought they could ride out the trough like in other downturns but failed to realise the depth and length of it! They're still catching up and finally accepted this year that they needed to significantly downsize if they were to survive.
Haven't seen any Wall Street reaction yet but it's down to the analysts' opinion of whether the axe has taken away enough dead wood as to whether the stock price will recover. That's the first step to profitability - cost of credit is very high when your shares have been awarded 'junk' status and it's a long hard climb to get back on top from there.
But GM are getting there, hopefully Ford will too. They do make good cars, despite what many think. It's just they have a Ford badge on them.
Losses are massive due to extensive downsizing in the US - redundancy packages, basically. About half the overall loss is severance settlements.
Ford's US production has been running well under capacity for years now, and far fewer large SUVs and trucks are selling since 9/11.
Ford had created the SUV niche that the Explorer filled, then rising fuel costs and the Firestone tyre issues killed the market.
They thought they could ride out the trough like in other downturns but failed to realise the depth and length of it! They're still catching up and finally accepted this year that they needed to significantly downsize if they were to survive.
Haven't seen any Wall Street reaction yet but it's down to the analysts' opinion of whether the axe has taken away enough dead wood as to whether the stock price will recover. That's the first step to profitability - cost of credit is very high when your shares have been awarded 'junk' status and it's a long hard climb to get back on top from there.
But GM are getting there, hopefully Ford will too. They do make good cars, despite what many think. It's just they have a Ford badge on them.
900T-R said:
rcarr said:
I owe my life to Mercedes Benz, I will never own anything else. If it was any other kind of car I would be dead!
Judging on that pic, you're lucky to have gotten out of that alive, period.
Had you been in a Saab the roof wouldn't have caved in like that. They do crash tests with elks, y'know.
Had he been drive a real Saab, like an old shape 900, he'd have had to pop the bumper straight and get a new nearside headlamp unit.
rcarr said:
No-one knows how I survived! I was being burnt alive but unconscious until the fire brigade came.
The police came to take a statement 2 days after the crash and they said they were surprised to see me walking about!
At 1st they thought I had a broken jaw, broken neck and a fractured skull but I had none of the above! Just a severe burn to my arm and a bump on the head. I was still picking glass out of my hair for about a week afterwards.
I really don't know how it happened, I have been diagnosed with post traumatic amnesia. All I remember was about half a mile before the accident until I woke up on the stretcher being asked where did I think I was. I thought I was outside work but actually I had crashed into the side of the local police station! The only witness said I was stopped at the roundabout then suddenly took off! Who knows!
The police came to take a statement 2 days after the crash and they said they were surprised to see me walking about!
At 1st they thought I had a broken jaw, broken neck and a fractured skull but I had none of the above! Just a severe burn to my arm and a bump on the head. I was still picking glass out of my hair for about a week afterwards.
I really don't know how it happened, I have been diagnosed with post traumatic amnesia. All I remember was about half a mile before the accident until I woke up on the stretcher being asked where did I think I was. I thought I was outside work but actually I had crashed into the side of the local police station! The only witness said I was stopped at the roundabout then suddenly took off! Who knows!
that's either totlay mriaculous...or total BS
spidydude said:
rcarr said:
No-one knows how I survived! I was being burnt alive but unconscious until the fire brigade came.
The police came to take a statement 2 days after the crash and they said they were surprised to see me walking about!
At 1st they thought I had a broken jaw, broken neck and a fractured skull but I had none of the above! Just a severe burn to my arm and a bump on the head. I was still picking glass out of my hair for about a week afterwards.
I really don't know how it happened, I have been diagnosed with post traumatic amnesia. All I remember was about half a mile before the accident until I woke up on the stretcher being asked where did I think I was. I thought I was outside work but actually I had crashed into the side of the local police station! The only witness said I was stopped at the roundabout then suddenly took off! Who knows!
The police came to take a statement 2 days after the crash and they said they were surprised to see me walking about!
At 1st they thought I had a broken jaw, broken neck and a fractured skull but I had none of the above! Just a severe burn to my arm and a bump on the head. I was still picking glass out of my hair for about a week afterwards.
I really don't know how it happened, I have been diagnosed with post traumatic amnesia. All I remember was about half a mile before the accident until I woke up on the stretcher being asked where did I think I was. I thought I was outside work but actually I had crashed into the side of the local police station! The only witness said I was stopped at the roundabout then suddenly took off! Who knows!
that's either totlay mriaculous...or total BS
I think the latter.
How comes the roof wasn't cut off by the fire brigade? Given that they thought he might have a broken neck, they would not have tried to drag him out through what's left of the door apertures (they seem too smal anyhow), they would have simply cut the roof off.
fatboy b said:
spidydude said:
that's either totlay mriaculous...or total BS
I think the latter.
How comes the roof wasn't cut off by the fire brigade? Given that they thought he might have a broken neck, they would not have tried to drag him out through what's left of the door apertures (they seem too smal anyhow), they would have simply cut the roof off.
Only thing I could think of is when he got out of the car himself before the rescuers arrived at the scene...
900T-R said:
fatboy b said:
spidydude said:
that's either totlay mriaculous...or total BS
I think the latter.
How comes the roof wasn't cut off by the fire brigade? Given that they thought he might have a broken neck, they would not have tried to drag him out through what's left of the door apertures (they seem too smal anyhow), they would have simply cut the roof off.
Only thing I could think of is when he got out of the car himself before the rescuers arrived at the scene...
Or he was't in the car in the first place.
rcarr said:
No, its coz they are relatively cheap, they are peoples cars, designed for the people!
They are not the price of a Merc or BMW and they aren't aspirational.
So many people stick with brands that they trust, even if they are crap brands.
I owe my life to Mercedes Benz, I will never own anything else. If it was any other kind of car I would be dead!
That wasn't my stupidity that did that, it was the throttle sticking!
They are not the price of a Merc or BMW and they aren't aspirational.
So many people stick with brands that they trust, even if they are crap brands.
I owe my life to Mercedes Benz, I will never own anything else. If it was any other kind of car I would be dead!
That wasn't my stupidity that did that, it was the throttle sticking!
You owe your life to a car with a sticking throttle?
fatboy b said:
900T-R said:
fatboy b said:
spidydude said:
that's either totlay mriaculous...or total BS
I think the latter.
How comes the roof wasn't cut off by the fire brigade? Given that they thought he might have a broken neck, they would not have tried to drag him out through what's left of the door apertures (they seem too smal anyhow), they would have simply cut the roof off.
Only thing I could think of is when he got out of the car himself before the rescuers arrived at the scene...
Or he was't in the car in the first place.
I was in the car, the police chief said not to touch the car until the fire brigade came, probably to do with the insurance, apparently some of the junior officers were getting quite distressed see me getting burn alive.
I don't know who pulled me out, super human strength whoever it was considering I'm 6ft2 20+stone, front row rugby player!
It'll have been a fireman or 3, I wanted to go n give them a bottle of whisky to say thanks.
It is a true story, I am now being charged with dangerous driving, it is not funny nor clever to take the piss because it was my pride and joy and I can't afford to have my licence taken away or points put on it if I am proven guilty!
I can take a photo of my burn on my arm or post more photos of the car in the recovery yard.
However I will post a pic of me in happier times with car.
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