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The Car Thread ... !
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Haha yes, my dad has a restored 1973 Series III. Not a great road car by any means. My GF’s dad has a Defender, which is a rarity in the US, and even that thing feels light years ahead than the SII, despite being remarkably similar.
The Freelander was never particuarly popular in the US. I’m surprised for a while they were a top selling SUV in Europe- my dad had a Range Rover way back then and the Freelander was always the loaner car, I was never very impressed with it. They’ve all vanished in the US as they only sold the petrol engine which had a tendency to grenade after 60k miles or so. The LR2 (aka Freelander 2) was a much better car and did okay here, but kind of priced itself out of the market.
Surely the Defender needs an overhaul- it’s based on a platform from the 1970’s Range Rover. The platform was ancient, offered little in terms of safety, and was inefficient and slow. They stopped selling them in the US in 97 because they don’t (and never got updated to) have airbags and they don’t meet our emissions. I think Land Rover would have been smart to make a product compatible to the Jeep Wangler to hold onto their heratige a little bit more (and yes, the doors still come off on the Wrangler). Have it shed some weight, put in an efficient engine, throw in some airbags, offer some modern tech. They could definitely charge a premium for it and get away with it. The Wrangler, especially the 4dr, sells like crazy here- so I believe there is a strong market for it.
Honestly, between the Discovery Sport, Discovery, Evoque, Velar, Range Rover Sport, and Range Rover (available in LWB and now a limited run coupe), and spy shots of an even smaller Discovery, do they really need another upscale SUV? They are all starting to look the same too. Let’s not forget the Jaguar cousins including the F-Pace, I-Pace, and E-Pace (and probably others down the road). JLR is diluting themselves to an absurd level.
I think it’s great LR has found a niche in the upscale market, but I miss what I now to the “Jurassic Era” of LR where you could walk into a dealer and buy a car to drive in Jurassic Park. I wish they would retain just a little of that as Jeep has managed to do with the Wrangler.
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So, here's a little bit of British tinkering that ties into what I said a few days ago about octane ratings and engine timing.
My MG has a traditional points-type distributor. Due to some aftermarket additions, the ignition system no longer works as a Kettering-type system, although if the need arose I can revert to Kettering ignition either via a switch on the ignition system or via simple road-side rewire.
In any case, here's a bit of history. The Kettering ignition system has been around since sometime in the 'teens and was ubiquitous on automobiles up into the 1970s. Kettering replaced magneto type ignition systems in most applications(magnetos are still common on aircraft and small engines) and was replaced by electronic ignition systems.
At the heart of a Kettering system is a part called the distributor. Cars continued using distributors to "distribute" the spark to the correct cylinder well up into the electronic ignition era(I worked on a friend's '97 Corolla a while back and changed the cap and rotor on it), although they became increasingly "dumb" with the actual spark timing duties transferred over to the ECM.
The distributor is generally connected to the camshaft directly(or one of the camshafts). Since the camshaft(s) turn at 1/2 the engine speed, the distributor makes one complete rotation for every two turns of the crankshaft.
In any case, if you dig into a distributor you'll find a couple of layers. The most visible part is called the cap-it will usually have a single wire that runs from the ignition coil to the middle, and then terminals around the perimeter that connect to each spark plug via a plug wire. If you look at the bottom of the cap, you'll find a carbon button in the center and terminals around the perimeter. Sitting on top with the cap removed is a part called the rotor-it's usually a brass strip attached to plastic, and it sits on the distributor shaft and turns with it. The carbon button transfers the spark current to the rotor, and the rotor in turn transfers it to the correct cylinder.
Digging below that, you find a couple of additional parts. You find that the distributor center shaft is not round but rather is cammed. The number of lobes on the cam corresponds to the number of cylinders. In addition, you have a set of parts various called the "contact breaker", "breaker points", "ignition points" or in typical shorthand just the "points." The points have two electrical contacts that are held together by spring tension, and one of the contacts is connected to a plastic or fiber block called the rubbing block. The rubbing block rubs against the distributor cam. The positioning of the points is critical and must be adjusted. The basic parameters are that the points need to be closed(electrical contacts touching) when the rubbing block is on a flat of the cam, and they must be open when the block is on the heel. The "dwell"(measured in degrees), or amount of time the points are closed, is the critical parameter. Rarely is it directly set, though-most folks, whether shade tree mechanics or full time shops, instead set the points to specified gap when fully open using a feeler gauge. On an MG distributor, this gap is .015"(15 thou). In the absence of a feeler gauge, most cars will actually run great if you use a matchbook cover or business card as a make-shift feeler gauge. Too wide of a gap will result in misfires at high RPMs(dwell too short) while too small of a gap gives a poor quality spark. Also, there is a condenser(old word for capacitor, but still used in this context) in parallel with the points.
In any case, when the points are closed electricity flows through the "primary" side of the ignition coil(really a transformer) and the core becomes saturated with magnetism. When the points "open", the magnetic field collapses and initiates a high voltage discharge in the secondary side. This travels through the spark plug wires and ultimately to the spark plug, where it sparks to light the gasoline.
The spark event is actually fairly complex and results in some "ringing" and multiple sparks. The condenser plays some part in this, and actually helps enhance the quality of the spark dramatically(in addition to decreasing arcing across the points). Still, though, the voltages on the primary side can reach ~300V at a couple of amps, and the points endure some viscious arcing. For that reason, the contacts are copper sputtered with a layer of tungsten. Eventually, they fail from pitting when the tungsten is gone. This is typically 15-30,000 miles.
In any case, we have to make sure that the spark fires at the correct time, something I discussed a few pages back. There is not a one size fits all time for it to spark. As a general rule, the faster an engine is turning, the more the spark needs to be "advanced." The spark advance is measured in degrees of crankshaft rotation before the piston reaches top dead center on the compression stroke. Depending on the size of the engine and a couple of other factors, at idle you might see the spark firing 8-15º before top dead center(BTDC) and might increase to 50º BTDC when cruising at highway speeds.
A "street" distributor usually uses two means of advancing the timing. The first is called "mechanical advance" and basically uses weights and springs to shift the position of the points around based on how fast the distributor is turning. On an MGB, full mechanical advance is usually present("all in") at around 3000rpm(at the crank). A typical advance profile will add 10º AT THE CAMSHAFT, or 20º at the crank. That means that if the timing is set without the engine running(static timing), it will generally be set to 12º BTDC or thereabouts. This gives the "magic number" for an MG of 32º BTDC full advance.
That's not the whole story, though, and also leads me into what I started off this post intending to talk about. The timing usually needs to be adjusted based on engine load. Ironically enough, high loads often need to have the timing retarded somewhat. On a mechanical distributor, this is determined by the engine vacuum and using something called the vacuum advance unit.
My distributor was set up to run ported vacuum, which uses the vacuum in the carburetor throat just ahead of the throttle plate. This is actually better on small engines. Unfortunately, for reasons too complicated to explain now, I'm running carburetors without a vacuum advance port(I will fix this sometime, but it's not on the table now). I've been running for a while without vacuum advance, but there again on the street this causes driveability problems(usually the car is less "punchy" from a start, and fuel economy also suffers in cruising).
Yesterday, I emailed the guy who built my distributor and asked about buying a vacuum advance unit from him appropriate for using vacuum directly from the intake manifold. MGs switched to this in the '70s for emissions reasons. He responded by giving me the specs of the unit he'd installed, and said it would actually work well enough on manifold advance. My vacuum can is a "7-13-5" unit. This means that it starts advancing at 7" Hg vacuum, is fully advanced by 13" Hg, and provides 5º of advance(which is 10º of crank advance).
So, armed with that, I started parts scavenging. I have a couple of intake manifolds lying around, and found one with the correct fitting for vacuum advance(it needs to have a fairly small internal bore). Once I found it, it was a simple matter to pull it off that manifold, pull one of the plugs on the manifold for my car, and then hook things up.
That made absolutely a night and day difference in how the car drives.
As another twist, though, I found a junky carburetor in one of my parts boxes that does have a vacuum port. I don't think the carb itself is usable(and it would be mismatched to the one currently on the car) but I THINK I can clean the body up well enough and use it until I have the originals rebuilt. I will need to take it apart, clean it up, and then transplant some parts from the carb currently on the car. Hopefully that will give me even a bit more driveability until I fork over the $600 and wait 4 months for the originals to be rebuilt.
My MG has a traditional points-type distributor. Due to some aftermarket additions, the ignition system no longer works as a Kettering-type system, although if the need arose I can revert to Kettering ignition either via a switch on the ignition system or via simple road-side rewire.
In any case, here's a bit of history. The Kettering ignition system has been around since sometime in the 'teens and was ubiquitous on automobiles up into the 1970s. Kettering replaced magneto type ignition systems in most applications(magnetos are still common on aircraft and small engines) and was replaced by electronic ignition systems.
At the heart of a Kettering system is a part called the distributor. Cars continued using distributors to "distribute" the spark to the correct cylinder well up into the electronic ignition era(I worked on a friend's '97 Corolla a while back and changed the cap and rotor on it), although they became increasingly "dumb" with the actual spark timing duties transferred over to the ECM.
The distributor is generally connected to the camshaft directly(or one of the camshafts). Since the camshaft(s) turn at 1/2 the engine speed, the distributor makes one complete rotation for every two turns of the crankshaft.
In any case, if you dig into a distributor you'll find a couple of layers. The most visible part is called the cap-it will usually have a single wire that runs from the ignition coil to the middle, and then terminals around the perimeter that connect to each spark plug via a plug wire. If you look at the bottom of the cap, you'll find a carbon button in the center and terminals around the perimeter. Sitting on top with the cap removed is a part called the rotor-it's usually a brass strip attached to plastic, and it sits on the distributor shaft and turns with it. The carbon button transfers the spark current to the rotor, and the rotor in turn transfers it to the correct cylinder.
Digging below that, you find a couple of additional parts. You find that the distributor center shaft is not round but rather is cammed. The number of lobes on the cam corresponds to the number of cylinders. In addition, you have a set of parts various called the "contact breaker", "breaker points", "ignition points" or in typical shorthand just the "points." The points have two electrical contacts that are held together by spring tension, and one of the contacts is connected to a plastic or fiber block called the rubbing block. The rubbing block rubs against the distributor cam. The positioning of the points is critical and must be adjusted. The basic parameters are that the points need to be closed(electrical contacts touching) when the rubbing block is on a flat of the cam, and they must be open when the block is on the heel. The "dwell"(measured in degrees), or amount of time the points are closed, is the critical parameter. Rarely is it directly set, though-most folks, whether shade tree mechanics or full time shops, instead set the points to specified gap when fully open using a feeler gauge. On an MG distributor, this gap is .015"(15 thou). In the absence of a feeler gauge, most cars will actually run great if you use a matchbook cover or business card as a make-shift feeler gauge. Too wide of a gap will result in misfires at high RPMs(dwell too short) while too small of a gap gives a poor quality spark. Also, there is a condenser(old word for capacitor, but still used in this context) in parallel with the points.
In any case, when the points are closed electricity flows through the "primary" side of the ignition coil(really a transformer) and the core becomes saturated with magnetism. When the points "open", the magnetic field collapses and initiates a high voltage discharge in the secondary side. This travels through the spark plug wires and ultimately to the spark plug, where it sparks to light the gasoline.
The spark event is actually fairly complex and results in some "ringing" and multiple sparks. The condenser plays some part in this, and actually helps enhance the quality of the spark dramatically(in addition to decreasing arcing across the points). Still, though, the voltages on the primary side can reach ~300V at a couple of amps, and the points endure some viscious arcing. For that reason, the contacts are copper sputtered with a layer of tungsten. Eventually, they fail from pitting when the tungsten is gone. This is typically 15-30,000 miles.
In any case, we have to make sure that the spark fires at the correct time, something I discussed a few pages back. There is not a one size fits all time for it to spark. As a general rule, the faster an engine is turning, the more the spark needs to be "advanced." The spark advance is measured in degrees of crankshaft rotation before the piston reaches top dead center on the compression stroke. Depending on the size of the engine and a couple of other factors, at idle you might see the spark firing 8-15º before top dead center(BTDC) and might increase to 50º BTDC when cruising at highway speeds.
A "street" distributor usually uses two means of advancing the timing. The first is called "mechanical advance" and basically uses weights and springs to shift the position of the points around based on how fast the distributor is turning. On an MGB, full mechanical advance is usually present("all in") at around 3000rpm(at the crank). A typical advance profile will add 10º AT THE CAMSHAFT, or 20º at the crank. That means that if the timing is set without the engine running(static timing), it will generally be set to 12º BTDC or thereabouts. This gives the "magic number" for an MG of 32º BTDC full advance.
That's not the whole story, though, and also leads me into what I started off this post intending to talk about. The timing usually needs to be adjusted based on engine load. Ironically enough, high loads often need to have the timing retarded somewhat. On a mechanical distributor, this is determined by the engine vacuum and using something called the vacuum advance unit.
My distributor was set up to run ported vacuum, which uses the vacuum in the carburetor throat just ahead of the throttle plate. This is actually better on small engines. Unfortunately, for reasons too complicated to explain now, I'm running carburetors without a vacuum advance port(I will fix this sometime, but it's not on the table now). I've been running for a while without vacuum advance, but there again on the street this causes driveability problems(usually the car is less "punchy" from a start, and fuel economy also suffers in cruising).
Yesterday, I emailed the guy who built my distributor and asked about buying a vacuum advance unit from him appropriate for using vacuum directly from the intake manifold. MGs switched to this in the '70s for emissions reasons. He responded by giving me the specs of the unit he'd installed, and said it would actually work well enough on manifold advance. My vacuum can is a "7-13-5" unit. This means that it starts advancing at 7" Hg vacuum, is fully advanced by 13" Hg, and provides 5º of advance(which is 10º of crank advance).
So, armed with that, I started parts scavenging. I have a couple of intake manifolds lying around, and found one with the correct fitting for vacuum advance(it needs to have a fairly small internal bore). Once I found it, it was a simple matter to pull it off that manifold, pull one of the plugs on the manifold for my car, and then hook things up.
That made absolutely a night and day difference in how the car drives.
As another twist, though, I found a junky carburetor in one of my parts boxes that does have a vacuum port. I don't think the carb itself is usable(and it would be mismatched to the one currently on the car) but I THINK I can clean the body up well enough and use it until I have the originals rebuilt. I will need to take it apart, clean it up, and then transplant some parts from the carb currently on the car. Hopefully that will give me even a bit more driveability until I fork over the $600 and wait 4 months for the originals to be rebuilt.
Decent volume Compared to what Specifically. Looking at that chart at the bottom of the article indicates a significant drop for the Avalon in the U.S from YTY. The strongest sales were from 2002 through 2007, with 2005/06/07 having the best years, [2005 has the strongest At 95,318] thereafter; with a lot of instability from a Year-to-year basis. After 2008, it was a significant deficit:
2008: 42,790
2009: 26,935
2010: 28,390
2011: 29,556
2012: 29,556
However:
For the 2013 year, the Avalon sold approximately 70,990, but then the numbers dropped, which 2017 was the worst year since 2012, dropping every year For the following four years:
2014: 67,183
2015: 60,063
2016: 48,080
2017: 32,583
Altogether, this indicates to me crossover economy vehicles have primarily are transitioning for consumer choices with more cargo space/adequate fuel efficiency, and more affordable. I think the Avalon is more of the luxury series with a fading market for the full size sedan, Which the Avalon doesn’t see much marketing either, but the base price starts at $33,500 for the XLE and the Limited caps at $41,300, where as the Camry is priced cheaper and is still a full sized Sedan offering.
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Thanks, but I have to confess that the winch and steel bumper were installed before I bought it.
The Rampage Products bumper ain't shabby, but the Harbor Freight Badlands winch is absolute trash. Aside from the previous owner not taking care of the cable itself, the winch died about a month after I bought the Jeep. I just haven't gotten around to saving up for a Warn or at least a Smittybilt. If it weren't for the fact that I'd have to take the bumper off just to remove the winch, at which point I should be putting a new one one, I'd have taken it off long ago.
Right. And even thought the price of gas is rising, the Avalon is too big of a vehicle to really see a large spike.
SOOO, what you're saying is that when the last generation came out(2013 m/y), it sold like hotcakes and then sales declined after that as it aged...that's a shock.
I'm probably a bit biased since the Avalon is a point of pride for TMMK, but it's still a darn nice car. I'd venture to guess that I see more of them around here than folks in the rest of the country do because of the TMMK connection.
The typical Avalon buyer is probably cross-shopping a Lexus ES350, a low end Acura(I don't know the models off the top of my head), and maybe even things like a Buick Lacrosse. The Avalon is larger than all of those and offers more bang for the buck. I suspect that, just like in 2012, Toyota will see a big uptick in sales assuming buyers aren't turned off by the over-the-top aesthetics.
If my friends who work at TMMK start having mandatory overtime, I think we'll have some early indications as to how well the 2018 model is doing.
I'm still trying to decipher exactly what you're saying here...and I've read it a handful of times. Can you write it out in plain English?
BTW, one of your points that I THINK I'm seeing is that you're saying the Camry is comparable as they're both "full size" cars. Even if they both meet the class definition, the Avalon is still a lot bigger and roomier.
I'd call it analogous to the difference between my MKZ and my dad's MKS. I consider the MKZ mid-sized but by some metrics it's full sized. The back seat in my car can hold three, but it's a snug fit if you have "normal sized Americans."
By contrast, my dad's car is comfortable with 3 adults in the back.I read earlier you mentioned the Impala is slated or has been announced to be discontinued, which I didn’t know. It makes me wonder the future of the Taurus line, which I see very few on the road. {The SHO has not had a significant refresh since 2013, and I believe its been rumored to be discontinued by 2019.}Now Ford just released the Eco-Sport, another compact SUV in the line up, which shows where their sights are right now. (Aside from Escape, Edge and then the Explorer. )
If I were to re-evaluate my vehicle needs with something more fuel efficient and adequate room, with some decent trim options, it would be the CR-V, Perhaps an Explorer Ecoboost in the domestic sector.
Referencing The Avalon again, the only demographic I see driving this is the geriatric era, they are large, safe and reliable. Although fully loaded, they are sparse on the roadway, which the numbers show the decline given the prices and rising fuel costs as you alluded too. Coming from a SHO owner, its huge and takes up a lot of space, but the biggest advantages is trunk space and leg room in an AWD platform. IF the civilian Taurus line does discontinue, Seems logical the Police Line will stay relevant as a fleet car.
Speaking of full size sedans, I completely forgot about the Chrysler 300, which is another non-existent sedan on the road today, curious to see if that’s another vehicle ultimately on the out.
The economy crossover SUV line of cars is just fantastic. You really can't go wrong with any of them. CR-V is awesome, Forester is useful, Explorers are really nice, and the list goes on.
In regard to the Avalon's spike and then lackluster sales, I believe the Lexus ES is the reason. Even if you buy the Touring, the ES is still arguably nicer to look at and the interior is better. The ES is a mid-size on paper, but it's only 2" shorter than the Avalon and an inch shorter in height.
I thought it was designed in Sweden and put together in China? Either way, Volvo of old (before Ford) wouldn't have tried this presuming electric then was that of now. I don't care how comfy Volvo seats are (and I know they're comfortable).
The timing of discussing large sedans being discontinued by manufacturers earlier in this thread, Ford announces its changes, which I mentioned the Taurus seemingly was rumored to be cut (Amongst other vehicles), and its now accurate:
“Ford today announced it will phase out most cars it sells in North America. According to its latest financial release, the auto giant “will transition to two vehicles” — the Mustang and an unannounced vehicle, the Focus Active, being the only traditional cars it sells in the region. Ford sees 90 percent of its North America portfolio in trucks, utilities and commercial vehicles. Citing a reduction in consumer demand and product profitability, Ford is in turn not investing in the next generation of sedans. The Taurus is no more.”
https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/25/f...america-but-the-mustang-and-focus-active/amp/
“Ford today announced it will phase out most cars it sells in North America. According to its latest financial release, the auto giant “will transition to two vehicles” — the Mustang and an unannounced vehicle, the Focus Active, being the only traditional cars it sells in the region. Ford sees 90 percent of its North America portfolio in trucks, utilities and commercial vehicles. Citing a reduction in consumer demand and product profitability, Ford is in turn not investing in the next generation of sedans. The Taurus is no more.”
https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/25/f...america-but-the-mustang-and-focus-active/amp/
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I think it’s a very limited production car (500/he). And it’s not a Volvo it’s a Polestar!
I agree though $160k is too much for a coupe S90 or V90... whatever it is underneath. It does have the T8 hybrid drivetrain though, which is very expensive no matter what model you buy.
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Is it? I need to go read up some more. Also, I was lead to believe that the Polestars cannot be purchased. They can only be leased through appropriate dealers. I think Volvo are doing what MBZ and I think BMW are planning with their subscription car service, which is Lease-Lite as far as I understand. The tiered subscription model does sound appetizing for those wishing to switch cars more often than every two to three years. I vaguely recall someone mentioning on a car board in the mid 2000s that such and such country does mainly leases with maintenance. Insurance is covered by the manufacturer, but it could have been someone taking the mickey.I think it’s a very limited production car (500/he). And it’s not a Volvo it’s a Polestar!
[doublepost=1524729092][/doublepost]
Wow. I saw a headline this morning (well, yesterday now) on the NYT or Chicago Times but had to take a call and exited out of the browser. I did not foresee Ford going down this route. It does make some sense since the majority of the sedan and compact sedan market has been overtaken by the Japanese. When they say trucks, they mean SUVs, right? Though I suspect the cutting of these programs is due to internal projects focusing on EV.
Yeah, Volvo is pushing the XC40 as a subscription (basically all costs including insurance- aside from gas are included in the monthly rate- $600-700 depending on the Trim from what I’ve heard. The subscription is 2 years but you can trade in after 1 year for another 2 years). I haven’t read anything about the Polestar only being lease/subscription- I’m not sure they’d advertise a price if it was. That’s what GM did with that EV in the 90’s- I don’t think people were too happy about that policy.
I feel like that subscription policy will flood the market with used XC40’s though... I’m not sure how well that system will work in practice. Seems like it would kill their resale value and make it not worth buying/subscribing a new one.
I agree with all that you have said. All cars, though, now pretty much look the same. I guess its part of the commoditisation and centralisation of just about everything these days. (There's a posh school near us and if you swopped the badges and radiator grills between the enormous silver* cars that sit in the car park queue - Jaguar, Lexus, BMW, VW, Land Rover etc etc you wouldn't know which was which).
* For some reason they all seem to buy the same silver colour irrespective of the brand!
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This anecdotal but everyone I know here in the UK who are driving a brand new car are leasing it. (Maintenance and increasingly for the younger customer insurance is part of the deal.) I think its one reason why as I mentioned above, cars are increasingly seen as transport commodity here. If you have problems or don't like it you'll be getting a new/different one next year. In such a situation you don't have much emotional engagement with it. Most people who have a newish car here are effectively just tooling around in a hire car.
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Based on this quote from the article:
“This announcement comes several weeks after Ford explained in broad terms its love affair of trucks and SUVs. Ford estimates that SUVs could make up as much as half the entire U.S. industry’s retail market by 2020, and that’s why it’s shifting $7 billion in investment capital from its cars business over to the SUV segment. By 2020, Ford also aims to have high-performance SUVs in market, including five with hybrid powertrains and one fully battery-electric model.
With this big hybrid push on the SUV side, Ford expects to go from second to first-place in the U.S. hybrid vehicles market by sales, surpassing current leader Toyota by 2021, thanks also to the forthcoming hybrid Mustang and F-150.”
That said, it was _rumored_ something about the Mustang becoming a hybrid in the future, but I did not think the F-150 would lead that route. But it’s obviously a shift right now where large sedans are clearly on the out for the Taurus and Impala line. But I also think it was fairly noticeable with the Taurus not seeing a refresh hardly at all since 2013 and their latest model in 2018 was still remotely the same as the other models. Nonetheless, quite a few changes upcoming for Ford and curious to see how this plays out, but its apparent hybrid/electric is becoming more imminent with future models.
So Ford has these “Pony Projector” lamps on my GT/CS side view mirrors, Which are the most _gimmicky_ feature on this car. On the Driver side, one of the projector lamps is actually showing some type of artifact when the light is projected. (See second photo). After reading other online forums, seems the first iteration of these lamps had problems, but apparently Ford released a revised version of these projector lamps that corrected some of the past issues (I.e. Dimming/Lighting artifacts/Projector failure) So instead of replacing just one projector lamp, I might as well replace both projector lamps, which makes complete sense. At my Ford dealership, they did not have them in stock, which they offered to order them and they wanted to charge $48.95 {Which is _absolutely_ ludicrous}. Being that I refuse to pay that price per unit for a cheap plastic lighting novelty lamp, I decided to venture online to see what I could find elsewhere, and; I found the updated projector lamp models for approximately $32 a piece with free shipping.
They only take a few minutes to install, personally I would rather not have these specific lamps on my car at all, albeit; I like the idea of having puddle lamps that light up the ground. (As my SHO has them) However, the large Pony emblems are rather comical in my opinion, but I can appreciate Ford trying to make the car unique with the Pony light, its just seems distasteful to this car.
As You can see, this driver side projector lamp is complete junk. It’s not unheard of others have experienced similar issues. And my GT/CS is literally _New_, but at least its a quick fix.
They only take a few minutes to install, personally I would rather not have these specific lamps on my car at all, albeit; I like the idea of having puddle lamps that light up the ground. (As my SHO has them) However, the large Pony emblems are rather comical in my opinion, but I can appreciate Ford trying to make the car unique with the Pony light, its just seems distasteful to this car.
As You can see, this driver side projector lamp is complete junk. It’s not unheard of others have experienced similar issues. And my GT/CS is literally _New_, but at least its a quick fix.
That kind of mark-up at a dealer service counter isn't what I'd call "ludicrous" by any stretch. It sounds reasonable to me, especially since you know you're getting genuine parts(not that it necessarily matters in this case).
Apologies if this has been posted before, I scrolled back a bit and did not see it:
Ford to Kill all Car Models except Mustang (in North America) by 2022.
This is, unfortunately, the future. The SUV craze has become an epidemic that is engulfing the motoring universe. In the future, 90% of consumer vehicles on the road will be egg-shaped crossover SUVs. Resistance, it seems, is futile. Everyone wants one.
The car, as we know it, is dying. By the end of my lifetime "cars" may exist only in museums and as toys of the uber-wealthy.
Ford to Kill all Car Models except Mustang (in North America) by 2022.
This is, unfortunately, the future. The SUV craze has become an epidemic that is engulfing the motoring universe. In the future, 90% of consumer vehicles on the road will be egg-shaped crossover SUVs. Resistance, it seems, is futile. Everyone wants one.
The car, as we know it, is dying. By the end of my lifetime "cars" may exist only in museums and as toys of the uber-wealthy.