[c5 rv]

I've been predicting this move for a while. Despite what the auto enthusiast press and forum members say, most American drivers want FWD. They're convinced that FWD has better traction than RWD and AWD is desireable in northern climates. They have come to expect and tolerate understeer and are scared of oversteer. I work with a dyed-in-the-wool DeVille owner whose brother owns a new STS. He said he didn't like the way the STS drove, but he couldn't really say why. I asked if he realized that the STS was RWD. He replied something like "Why would anyone do that?"

What worries me is the quality of this new car. Lincoln launched the MKS last summer, building it in the same Chicago plant as the high volume Taurus. This year, Lincoln dropped something like 26 places in the J.D. Power survey - supposedly due to MKS quality problems.