Ford 500 Impresses

[giagastormer]

DETROIT  U.S. automakers would have us believe that 2004 is the Year of the Car. But here in the hometown of the domestic auto industry, it really is shaping up as the Rebirth of the Family Sedan.


The battle for Car of the Year honors is being waged most fiercely between two crosstown contenders, the 2005 Chrysler 300 and the 2005 Ford Five Hundred  all-new flagship sedans for their respective brands that resurrect popular number nameplates from the 60s on modern hardware thats as good as anything Detroit has ever built.

If the big Chrysler four-door reeks of sass and presence and muscle, the new Ford is all about finesse, refinement and sophistication.

The two rivals are priced within spitting distance of each other  the 300 starts at $23,920, the Five Hundred at $22,795, including destination. Both models seat five adults in comfort, and both are available with all-wheel drive.

But the Ford Five Hundred, in nearly every other respect, couldnt be more different. Phil Martens, Fords group vice president for product creation, bills it as an affordable dream for middle America. Curiously, its roots lie across the Atlantic.

Like Chrysler did with the 300, Ford tapped its European affiliate  in this case, Swedish subsidiary Volvo  for help in developing the new Five Hundred sedan and its sister vehicle, the 2005 Freestyle wagon.

Volvo provided the basic architecture  a corporate front-wheel-drive platform known internally as P2X  as well as its expertise in all-wheel drive and safety.

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[pkd87]

Let's hope the 500 sells well. We need all american cars to sell good and have good quality if we want the big3 market share to rise.

[giagastormer]

It sounds like it will be a worthy competitor to the Impala and 300. What turns me off about it is its size, atleast it's shorter than the huge Crown Vic. But.....alot of people will like its big size. I would rather get a Grand Prix or G6 over the 500. I'm not really impressed with the bland interior, what does everyone else think?

[R.E Sanchez]

Originally posted by pkd87@Sep 1 2004, 08:45 PM
Let's hope the 500 sells well. We need all american cars to sell good and have good quality if we want the big3 market share to rise.

I agree with wishing all our American companies to do well. I especialy want the 500 to do well, I know its styling isn't ground breaking but it looks like a nice package overall...

[AdmiralViscen]

Yes, American cars need to make a comeback, and the 500 might be a big help.

I like its interior.

I even like its outer styling, for some reason.

[parakleets]

I can understand why someone would choose this car over the 300. It is a very clean, and modern design, with lots of room. It continues some of the Taurus' more succesful design themes, while incorporating a lot influence from VW/Audi, so it looks both upscale and familiar. I would like to see the carbon fiber interior, because the (fake?) wood trim seems a little too old school for me. The 200 HP V6 is inexcusable, however. In this age of HEMIs, and turbocharged Subarus, where the Camry/Accord/Altima trio all break the 240 HP mark, two-hundred horsepower seems and sounds weak.

Overall, this is a great effort from Volvo.....er, Ford! Ford seems to have a good strategy, in letting its affiliates take the lead in developing the passenger car platforms, while the Detroit group focuses on trucks, and truck-based SUVs. Other than the Crown Vic, and Grand Marquis, all of Ford's passenger cars are (or soon will be) based on a Volvo or Mazda platform. The new Mustang even has foreign roots, being based on a variation of the Jaguar S-Type platform.

With the press that Ford and Chrysler are getting, with these new models, I have to wonder how much stronger GM's product portfolio would be with even fewer divisions. It is easy for the press to focus on one or two new sedans, from a manufacturer. With GM, the public focus and media spotlight is diffused and diminished amongst its many brands. Between Pontiac, Buick, Chevrolet, and Saturn, GM has (or will have) no fewer than 8 mid/full-sized family sedans. All of these cars are competing for attention and advertising dollars.

[OzoneGTX]

This car isn't out yet, but I saw one this summer. In Jersey of all places cause it wouldn't be weird to see a preproduction model in Detroit or something. I didn't think much of it, I just thought it had been released already. Whatever.

[big swede]

Originally posted by parakleets@Sep 1 2004, 10:26 PM
The 200 HP V6 is inexcusable, however. In this age of HEMIs, and turbocharged Subarus, where the Camry/Accord/Altima trio all break the 240 HP mark, two-hundred horsepower seems and sounds weak.

It won't be enough hp for a lot of people but I think it comes with a 5 speed auto to help it out. The much heavier Equinox got favorable powertrain reviews mostly because of the 5 speed. I think that's just for starters since Ford has a 6 speed auto and a 250-270hp 3.5 liter V-6 already developed.

[Swahili]

Gigastormer, I think Ford did a goood job with the interior of the 500. The power is unfortunately quite low. If it's supposed to replace the Crown Vic for now (Crown Vics are only commercial and fleet cars in Canada after 2000 I think) then it should at least have somewhat similar power. Give it 240hp like said in here or at least option to have that, and Ford would be in good shape with this car.

[silverado_13]

The way I see it, its a good car but nothing to brag about. Its better than the taurus but still not up to the 300 or the Impala. I say not up to the Impala because keep in mind that not long after this hits the market the Impala will go through a refreshing. It too will have a 200HP base engine but beat the Ford with its 260 and 290HP options. Also this car looks big and heavy and with a 112inch wheelbase it probably won't be able to handle as good as the Impala. As for the interior and other comfort things we'll just have to wait and see if GM has learned their lession yet.

[paul3230]

I like the 500's interior, but the exterior styling is just too sedate for me. It doesn't have to be 300c brash, but man, I need a little excitement in the lines!

[TiburonJT]

Regarding HP numbers, don't forget that the Duratec 35 will resolve that issue (although I don't think 200 is that bad, but relative to the competition it should have more available - remember that the current Taurus has the Vulcan 155 hp in most models, with the 200 hp in the top model). Not sure how much HP it will have but I have heard at least 260. Also, AWD is available, which is nice for those of us up here in the north. I like the quality appearance of this car. I think it is conservative, but classy and consistent. The exterior is a little boring for me, but I am not into the Camry, Accord, or Impala much either. I like the interior a lot, but I like conservative interiors. I hope the new Impala will have an impressive interior as well. I like the interior in the G6 and Cobalt a lot, so hopefully the Impala will have an interior that is also nice (current one is subpar in my opinion). By the way, has anyone else noticed the similarities between the taillights on the 4-dr Cobalt and G6? Not that it matters much anyway. I may be biased, but I want to see GM and Ford do well.

[awalbert88]

My only gripe about the Five Hundred is the lack of the Duratec 35. Once that motor is available, it will be a very potent car, especially with AWD. And once the SVT version is released, there will be a lot of heads turning. In N/A trim, that Duratec 35 can purportedly put out 280hp with the right tuning and still be very clean running. Now since SVT has a love affair with superchargers (and who doesn't, really?), I can just imagine them producing a 360-380hp version of that engine with a very nicely tuned suspension as a poor man's M3/CTS-V competitor.

Either way, it's really nice to see a renewed focus on passenger cars again. Honda and Toyota haven't really done much exciting in the market lately, because they've more or less owned the top spots. They're in for a surprise here shortly.

[jro4566]

I'm sure when the Duratec 35 becomes available this car will be even more appealing to those looking at imports. But with only 200HP, I wouldn't buy it. There are other American cars out there that seem to be of better value.

[tekky pekky Type R]

It's a nice car, but it's something that Ford should've come out with in the mid to late 90's. I just hope this thing get favourable reliability ratings. Otherwhise, the Japanese and the import-lovers are just going to laugh at this.

On the other hand, I'm glad Ford is leaning towards one design identity. Just looking at the future Japanese offerings makes me think Japan is going through an identity crisis. It's like they can't shape a headlight to make it Toyota-esque. It either comes out haphazard or it mirrors some competitor. Ie) 3rd gen MR-2 = Porsche, 2005 RSX looking more like an Civic, 2005 RL looking like, um, I see a lil bit of old-style TL in there, some Cobalt in the rear, errr...