escapen

cant post on the mks forum, and i am a member but i think because the pics from the site were locked, i really wanted to break the news too, they're on the site now but by someone else, I WOULD HAVE POSTED THOSE PICS FIRST!- anyway, what are peoples impressions?

http://jalopnik.com/photogallery/LincolnMKSBatman1/ sorry i could not post the actual pics here, the site has them locked, anyway hope you like them. Notice the twin grills and the dual tail pipes that make the 3.7l twinforce really hopeful

The Fusion/ milan use a Aisin 6 speed while every ford product after the intro of the edge use the 6F from Ford and GM.

4th place, you mean its 4th best selling sedan after camry accord and altima? if so congrats ford!

well meelan, i was just trying to give fusion owners current news about its future... this story has gotten so many hits over at GM insider news and it does not even concern the livleyhood of thier products, im surprised nobody cares about the future of these products!

Despite not being official, we've known for some time that Ford CEO Alan Mulally wants to increase the number of platforms shared by its U.S. and European divisions. It's something Ford fanboys have been demanding for some time, and yesterday Mulally officially confirmed that the next-gen Focus and Fusion would be global vehicles, sharing platforms with their counterparts across the pond. This will be in addition to the B-class car that's coming in the form of the new European Fiesta small car that will slot below the Focus in Ford's U.S. lineup. The amount of overlap between Ford in the U.S. and Ford of Europe was one of the first things that surprised Mulally when he arrived at Ford exactly one year ago. He's quickly set about fixing the redundancy, but we won't likely see the fruits of his labor until 2010 or 2011 when the next Focus is expected to debut for both markets. Ford execs have said that these cars will wear different styling and be tuned differently, but we've heard from inside the Blue Oval that a conflict between U.S. and Euro designers is growing, with the former group upset that its delicate balance of three-bar grilles will be upset by the Fiesta, and possibly other models, arriving with Ford of Europe's "Kinetic Design" theme. [source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

Denver

the new 2008 Accord specs were unveiled today: 2.4L I-4 producing 177 hp mated with a 5 speed automatic or maunal as the bas LX models New 2.4" I-4 producing 190-195 hp mated with the same transmissions New 3.5L V6 producing 268 hp (same as Camry) mated to either the 5 speed auto or 6 speed manual tidbit: according to the the new regulations, the Accord is now considered as "large" sedan as it has grown signifficantly in size.

2008 will open with 2 new major players in the American midsize sedan catagory. With Toyotas year old Camry selling like crazy with its 6speed trans and 268 hp V6, the newly introduced Altima with a 270 hp V6, and the Aura and G6 from GM having 6 speed autos and 252 hp in the top of the line model, where does the Fusion/ Milan fit in with a 3.0L making a respectable but rather lower 221 horses? The 2007 competition was bad enough, now Chevy will introduce a much larger Malibu with 6speed trannys on both 4 and 6 cylinder engines. The biggest threat for 2008 may just be the all new Honda Accord with yes... most likely a carried over 5speed tranny, but the addition of Honda's new 3.5L V6 making at least 270 hp. 2008 Fusion selling points -Unique and exciting styling that set it apart from even the new and upcoming Accord and Malibu -Avalible AWD not offered on anything else but the new Chrysler products... need we even compare their new offerings -Sporty heritage with the underpinnings of the previous Mazda 6 platfrom -of course the 6 Speed auto on 6 and 5 speed on 4 cylinders, but this is a must have and will be virtually common on all offerings in 08' Cons -lack of a real powerful yet efficient V6 like its Japanese counterparts -may be smallish in the next year as this segment is growing in wheelbase length, (Yet Ford has a confident new Taurus for those who need extra room) -the interior could tend to get very dated and cheap looking after the intros of the new sedans Overall, ford has a very decent product line, but could use the duratec 35 in this lineup, ideally, the best option to save costs would to make the SE and regular Milan line strictly a Duratec 30 car, while the top of the line SEL and Premier Milan have the I-4 or the Duratec 35.