Funny story...

[seancgn68]

Since everyone on this site seem to be big Toyota enthusiasts, I thought I would share this story with you...

I showed a buddy of mine my new ride last weekend ('05 4Runner Ltd.), and he was jokingly giving me a hard time about buying a rice burner vs a good old American Ford product (he has a '99 Ford Explorer).

Last night he sheepishly told me that while driving down the road out of his neighborhood, he went over a speed bump, and LOST his rear axle!

So much for good old American Ford products. I'd have laughed at him if it wasn't so sad. I guess they don't call them Ford Exploders for nothing...

Maybe I can convince him now on a 4Runner?

 

[Derek]

Let him test drive your 4Runner. I guarantee he will fall in love with it and he'll realize how much of a p.o.s. his explorer is. I should know, I had an '02 Explorer Sport and the differences are night and day between an Explorer and a 4Runner. After owning both, I will NEVER buy another Ford as long as I live.

 

[Kmvreter]

What is the common ingredient added in different amounts (depending on size) in the Escape, Explorer, Expedition and Excursion?
A healthy dose of Ford Excrement!

 

[trd2001]

Let him test drive your 4Runner. I guarantee he will fall in love with it and he'll realize how much of a p.o.s. his explorer is. I should know, I had an '02 Explorer Sport and the differences are night and day between an Explorer and a 4Runner. After owning both, I will NEVER buy another Ford as long as I live.

I have owned one Ford, an Escort GT. What a pos. My company gave me a Taurus to drive since they dont like me driving my 4runner. Every time i drive it i say to my self, how would some one buy this car. Luckly, mine is free from work. Its on its last legs, tranny slipping, a/c quit, wont idle often, struggles to merge on th freeway, etc. The bad thing it has only 70,000 miles. I guess American Iron keeps tranmission shops in business.

So Let say when i drive my 4runner i love it more and more every day.

 

[biglatka]

I have owned one Ford, an Escort GT. What a pos. My company gave me a Taurus to drive since they dont like me driving my 4runner. Every time i drive it i say to my self, how would some one buy this car. Luckly, mine is free from work. Its on its last legs, tranny slipping, a/c quit, wont idle often, struggles to merge on th freeway, etc. The bad thing it has only 70,000 miles. I guess American Iron keeps tranmission shops in business.

So Let say when i drive my 4runner i love it more and more every day.

I agree, last month I rented a car from Hertz and was given a choice of a Ford Taurus or a Hyundai Sonata. I took the Sonata of course, having rented a Taurus before and regretting every minute of it.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Ford Junk



Yeah, they have built some junk....but they have built some pretty decent stuff as well. I never liked Fords all that much, except for Mustangs and some of their trucks.

I have owned three Mustangs (GT models with the V-8) in the late '80s and early '90s - and was mostly satisfied with them. There were some minor quality niggles and they were not the most refined cars on the road, but I wasn't disappointed.

I owned a Ford work van that I bought new and then drove for 200,000 miles in just four years. I then sold it to a co-worker who kept it another several years before it finally died with 500,000 miles on the clock! He had to replace the tranny twice and the A/C system once, but the 302 V-8 engine was still all original! Perhaps my diligent use of Mobil-1 and Castrol Syntec helped with that.

I was a deputy sheriff and our department used Ford Crown Vics as cruisers. Kind of hard to beat, as far as durability, performance and utility. The '94 to '96 Chevy Caprice was much faster, but GM quit building them and tried to pass off the huge, thirsty & expensive Tahoe and the dinky V-6 Impala as pursuit vehicles. (It will be interesting to see how well the upcoming 2006 Dodge Charger police package will do in the cop car market. With 340 available rear-drive horsepower from the optional "Hemi" V-8, I know a lot of state agencies will be considering buying them.)

Now I do love my 4Runner and think it stands head and shoulders above an Explorer; but not everything made by Ford should be dismissed as junk. Heck, who would not want an '05 Mustang GT as a great weekend car? We can rave about our 4Runners and know that they're among the best vehicles on the market, but still be happy that other people will keep buying Fords. Different strokes for different folks, huh?

:awais:

 

[mikes4runner]

Re: Ford Junk

Yeah, they have built some junk....but they have built some pretty decent stuff as well. I never liked Fords all that much, except for Mustangs and some of their trucks.

I have owned three Mustangs (GT models with the V-8) in the late '80s and early '90s - and was mostly satisfied with them. There were some minor quality niggles and they were not the most refined cars on the road, but I wasn't disappointed.

I owned a Ford work van that I bought new and then drove for 200,000 miles in just four years. I then sold it to a co-worker who kept it another several years before it finally died with 500,000 miles on the clock! He had to replace the tranny twice and the A/C system once, but the 302 V-8 engine was still all original! Perhaps my diligent use of Mobil-1 and Castrol Syntec helped with that.

I was a deputy sheriff and our department used Ford Crown Vics as cruisers. Kind of hard to beat, as far as durability, performance and utility. The '94 to '96 Chevy Caprice was much faster, but GM quit building them and tried to pass off the huge, thirsty & expensive Tahoe and the dinky V-6 Impala as pursuit vehicles. (It will be interesting to see how well the upcoming 2006 Dodge Charger police package will do in the cop car market. With 340 available rear-drive horsepower from the optional "Hemi" V-8, I know a lot of state agencies will be considering buying them.)

Now I do love my 4Runner and think it stands head and shoulders above an Explorer; but not everything made by Ford should be dismissed as junk. Heck, who would not want an '05 Mustang GT as a great weekend car? We can rave about our 4Runners and know that they're among the best vehicles on the market, but still be happy that other people will keep buying Fords. Different strokes for different folks, huh?

:awais:

I agree .....the higher end American cars and trucks are built nice but.

I had a 81 trans AM and hated the GM rattles/clunky turn signals/power windows/cheap weather stripping etc. now I have a 96 Vette and it still has the same things about it, but you can not beat the LT1( small block 350) and it's a Vette.




You being a Police officer would have loved being a Florida state trooper there pursuit cars back when I lived down there where Mustang Gt's. and IIRC they had the Camaro SS too.


Mike

 

[seancgn68]

I also agree there are exceptions. I would never buy a Ford personally, just because too many of my family members have had some lemons, but I do have friends with Mustangs and F150s that are quite happy with them.

However, I find people that have the biggest pos on the planet are typically the ones in my face joking about my "rice burner". It just cracks me up...

 

[djlandkpl]

My last car was a 96 Ford Exploder. I dumped it at 96,000 miles. I had replaced just about everthing but the engine block. When the electrical system starting going, it was time for it to go. No more Fords for me.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Fords


Hey Mike!

I lived in Hanover, PA - about 20 years ago. I was back there in April to visit, and could not believe how much it has grown. Jeez! My mother still lives in that area, and I always enjoy seeing that part of the country - although the winters are a bit rough. Now that I have a 4x4, I don't have to worry about getting stuck when driving through the Pigeon Hills (if you are from Hanover, you know what I mean).


You mention the Mustangs used by the FHP. Yep, been there and seen a few of them.....but they were not GT models. The FHP used the Mustang 5.0 LX "special service" coupes when they were sold between 1983 and 1993. They were about 400 pounds lighter than a GT (and had a trunk instead of a rear hatchback), much cheaper, and really were excellent pursuit cars. The weaknesses involved the fact that they were very light in the rear end, were shaky on any type of damp or wet pavement and the brakes (drums in the rear and no ABS!) were not on par with the car's power. Oversteer can be fun, but only when the driver initiates it!

Ford officially quit making a true police package for the Mustang after the 1993 model year (when they changed the body style), although there are still some agencies which buy them. Chevy offered a "B4C" law enforcement package for the Camaro -- essentially a stripped-down version of the Z-28, which really caught on after Ford discontinued the "CopStang" and highway patrol agencies wanted something quicker than the Crown Victoria. Unfortunately, the Camaro was dropped from production after 2002. The Virginia State Police still have a few Camaros in service, and they were rated at 320 bhp when new! I am sure they'll go quickly when the state auctions them off to the public.

I know that a lot of people simply hate Fords, but they do build some decent stuff. Sadly, the general public cannot buy a car with the "police package" from a dealer. Your only hope is to find a Crown Vic at an auction that is not totally trashed, or to perhaps see if you can get a taxi package - mostly the same equipment as the cops get (but with less power and minus a few other goodies). Ford offers 'special service' packages for the Explorer and Expedition as well.....but availability is limited on them. They make less money selling these models than they do on pushing the fully-loaded "soccer mom specials" out the door.

I have seen many Crown Victorias still in use with over 250,000 miles on them. The state and most counties auction them at about 110 to 120k, and then they do that much and more in service as taxicabs. Ford does screw together some good vehicles that put up with a lot of abuse and still run a long, long time; but they typically don't want to sell them.
:bash:

Perhaps it is all part of that planned obsolescence thing Detroit came up with back in the 1950s.

 

[mikes4runner]

HA HA the next day I remembered that they were the "LX" not the "GT" you know your Police cars.

My Father was a Baltimore county policemen and he used to talk about the Plymouth Furys they had back in the day.

He retired back in 86 in K-9 and drove the big K-5 Bronco he loved it.


Anyway back to Hanover.... I have lived up here since 89 nice and quiet we like it, next time your up...."fat boys" are on me from the Tropical treat.

sorry fellow chatter it's a Hanover thing only


Mike

 

[Bluto]

I saw a beat up 90s Chevy 1/2 ton Saturday (with larger tires in the rear). On the tailgate, in big letters:

Another GM plant closes. Another American loses their job.

More jobs lost overseas.

Keep buying those imports.



I thought about telling him of the GM employee discount program. He could pick up a nice and new Silverado, made in Canada.

Or maybe he'd consider a Tundra made in the USA.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Hey Mike! Nice of you to bring up the "Tropical Treat!" I can't believe they're still in business. I remember they were north of town on Route 94 - towards Cross Keys, but I could be wrong. It has been a long, long time since I have been there. Ah, nothing like a swirled cone and a Pennsylvania sunset on a warm Saturday night.


Bluto,

Nice comment! I run into those who think they're all about "buying American" as they drive 'domestic name' vehicles made in Canada, Mexico or Japan. I bet they might change their mind if they drove an Explorer, Blazer or Durango......and then got behind the wheel of a 4Runner. I think the domestics have improved a bit, but for some reason - real or perceived - they don't hold their value as well.

I leased my 4Runner and might not have had a problem going with another vehicle.....but my payments would have been higher because of a lower residual value. Toyotas seem to hold their resale value better than most others, so leasing them makes even more sense.


P.S. Even the "all American" police car, the Ford Crown Victoria, is still made in Canada. Chrysler builds many cars there, too, as well as in Mexico.

 

[mikes4runner]

Hey Mike! Nice of you to bring up the "Tropical Treat!" I can't believe they're still in business. I remember they were north of town on Route 94 - towards Cross Keys, but I could be wrong. It has been a long, long time since I have been there. Ah, nothing like a swirled cone and a Pennsylvania sunset on a warm Saturday night.

100% correct Still there same spot, still drive up service.

I will have to drive up there this weekend and eat and take a pic. look for it here I will post it.

Mike

 

[Jeff Kleb]

100% correct Still there same spot, still drive up service.

I will have to drive up there this weekend and eat and take a pic. look for it here I will post it.

Mike

Very cool.....I would like to see that!