Wow I must say im extremely impressed at some of the concepts flowing forth from Detroit this year. Now I know you guys keep thinking im just not gonna leave the STS alone (just cause I really want to love it), but first I saw that fierce looking 300C and today while doing my customary Autoweek surf I found THIS:
http://www.autoweek.com/specials/galleries/427/images/B07u0776.jpg

http://www.autoweek.com/specials/galleries/427/images/B07u0660.jpg

http://www.autoweek.com/specials/galleries/427/images/B07u0511.jpg

http://www.autoweek.com/specials/galleries/427/images/B07u0454.jpg

The Ford 427 V10 Concept...

Now some of you may call such a thing ungainly,horrid and downright ugly but THESE to me are REAL American Muscle cars getting a second breath of life. Broad Shoulders, BIG Engines, Throaty Exhausts....YES! Look at it closely, those lines dont really just say Ford or GM, they say Mercedes, Lexus and BMW get the hell out of my way, or Ill MAKE my way through. Much of the beltline and roof almost throw toward a hint of the current Deville, but with an attitude all its own. This is the kind of thing ive been waiting to see to start luring me back from the clutches of the overseas mechanizers. What is you guys opinions of this kind of vehicle, and can you really say in this case customers wouldnt cross shop between something like this and the new STS?? Im not a Ford guy, but OVERALL for Domestics things like this and the Cobra concept are pretty exciting! Cadillacs Sixteen is another example of American Braun flexing at its finest.

One key here.... Concept.... Enough with the concepts already... let these dudes roam!!

More pics here:
http://www.autoweek.com/specials/galleries/427/pages/1.htm

The problem with Ford though is that they always start with a desirable concept and manage to screw it up by the time it sees production(GT40 excluded but look at how many years they had to work on that :p ). The other thing I've noticed is how much many of the new concepts from many car companies look like they took something from the Art&Science design philosophy. Tailfins all over again? Caddy is getting it's second wind.

I agree, they do manage to screw up their concepts alot. I was also pretty excited about the new stang, and I think from concept to production they sort of made a mess of it. Mainly the rear quarter window area was much nicer before, and the lines were alot more defined.

The problem with Ford though is that they always start with a desirable concept and manage to screw it up by the time it sees production
You make it sound like Ford is the only one. Look at the wonderful mess GM made with the SSR. Concept truck was awesome but the production version lacks major *****. The only company I seen actually doing something near their concepts is Daimler-Chrysler.

They came out with a Galaxy concept a few years ago that I really liked. They also came out with a 2-door concept that would be comparable to the old Lincoln Mark II.

But nothing ever seems to happen quite like they plan it. The T-bird has been somewhat of a disappointment.

You make it sound like Ford is the only one. Look at the wonderful mess GM made with the SSR. Concept truck was awesome but the production version lacks major *****. The only company I seen actually doing something near their concepts is Daimler-Chrysler.

I'm sorry I didn't list every manufacturer in my post. :rolleyes: It's not like I brought Ford up out of nowhere. We were discussing Ford, so I felt I would stay on subject. My mistake.

I'm sorry I didn't list every manufacturer in my post. :rolleyes: It's not like I brought Ford up out of nowhere. We were discussing Ford, so I felt I would stay on subject. My mistake.

:suspect: Do I gotta keep an :eye: on you?

I had a discussion about Ford just today. Somewhere the leadership is stuck on mass production. The first T-birds were built with an absolute minimum of new tooling. The first Mustangs drew heavily on Falcon technology. One of their SUVs had bad handling problems because the bean counters made the engineers use an existing frame. Ford seems afraid to go off the deep end occasionally and it shows as they produce a never-ending succession of bland. Cadillac has had i's share of problems but they keep right on trying and do hit the occasional winner. the now 10 year old Northstar engine strikes me as one they really got right.

I had a discussion about Ford just today. Somewhere the leadership is stuck on mass production. The first T-birds were built with an absolute minimum of new tooling. The first Mustangs drew heavily on Falcon technology. One of their SUVs had bad handling problems because the bean counters made the engineers use an existing frame. Ford seems afraid to go off the deep end occasionally and it shows as they produce a never-ending succession of bland. Cadillac has had i's share of problems but they keep right on trying and do hit the occasional winner. the now 10 year old Northstar engine strikes me as one they really got right.


I agree with every word of this post! And as we all know, I could go on and on about all the reasons why it is true....( But I won't ) It is interesting to note however....The recent news story about the U-Haul companys new nation wide policy to NOT rent trailers to anyone that intends to pull the trailer with a Ford Explorer. The reason is the cost of defending the lawsuits filed by people that try to pull a trailer and wind up in a rollover accident due to the poor handling characteristics of these poorly designed vehicles.

Um... the 427 was at NAIAS LAST year. That said, its really cool. Ford tends to have cool concepts that they never bring to fruition.