My company car is a Ford Five Hundred. I had a Taurus before that. The Five Hundred is so much better than the Taurus. It actually turns without grinding the tread off the front tires. It actually has brakes that stop the car too. Could be because it is built on the Volvo XC chassis.

All in all - I don't loathe it like I did the Taurus. And I have had only one interior trim piece fall off in the two years I have driven the car. The biggest problem with it is that the power steering unit moans like crazy when the car warms up.

Now you have to realize I am speaking of a company car when I say this, and therefore take it as "you get pounded in the head with a hammer every day, but sometimes they don't hit you as hard", but I'm kind of looking forward to the 08 Taurus as it has 260 hp, and a real 6 spd transmission versus the CVT on the Five Hundred that I have.

 

The 500 is now the Taurus. How ironic. I had a taurus wagon years ago and liked it. The rear suspension was actually better than the one in the (non-SHO) sedan...it was different for packaging reasons but also worked better.

While the profit margins may be tight in small entry level cars, thats also where first time buyers are most likely to buy. Today's civic buyer is tomorrow's Acura TL driver.

SUVs may be boring to drive but most drivers simply want to get there in as much comfort and (perceived) safety as possible. Too bad for them. They don't know how many hours of fun they are missing week in and week out.