Originally posted by Andy W.:
Originally posted by ottawanker:
While it may be larger inside, it won't be nearly as fun as a Crown Vic. Sure the Vic may be big and heavy, but its RWD and a V8 with decent power. If they would have made this car exactly the same as it is, but RWD and with a V8, they would've had something to compete with the 300.. I suppose they have the Lincoln for that, but oh well.

Most other automakers are using RWD for their big passenger cars, and Chrysler even went back to RWD from FWD.. Just seems like Ford is a little behind the times here.



Wrong on so many levels.

Ford has a large sedan with RWD and a V8, It's called the Lincoln LS. The Crown Vic is an outdated and overwieght pig, it's really sad to still see them on the road.

Honda, Audi, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, and GM, plus child companies, are almost all FWD or AWD. BMW and Dahlmer/Chrysler are really only on RWD and AWD.

Get rear wheel drive in a little bit of snow and tell me which is better.

-Andy



Well, good point about snow, but 1) the better RWD cars deal with that electronically, and quite well (e.g., G35 Sedan), or 2) are offered in AWD versions (G35, again, and BMW) for the snow belt. A nose-heavy FWD platform is still nose heavy when it gets AWD added, and launching in snow is the absolute only place where FWD has any advantage. There's no advantage under steady cruise, unless you're throttle-happy. But then, that's not steady cruise, is it?

OK, so the 500 wasn't meant to be a sport sedan. Still, at a time when it seems like everyone else is trying to inject a little more excitement into their sedans, Ford launches another appliance. Remember the buzz that the original Taurus stirred up? That was a great leap for Ford at the time, and even though it wasn't sporty, it was a design that sparked conversation. The rework did, too, but from that point on, the formula has been steadily watered down until we come to this.

I said it was boring, but maybe it will sell. It just won't sell to the same people who get excited about the new D-Cs, and it does absolutely nothing to stir my passion.

BTW, I agree with Andy on the Crown Vic. Fun? Outdated, heavy, AND nose heavy, even with that live-axle rear. The thing is made to be big, stable, and cheap. The perfect old man and cop car.

Function before fashion. '96 Contour SE "Toss the Contour into a corner, and it's as easy to catch as a softball thrown by a preschooler." -Edmunds, 1998