This was just announced on the local news:

Ford will be cutting back production of the Ford 500, and laying some workers off. A Ford spokesperson said "Ford needs to match production to demand.":doh: I don't know but that sounds like common sense to me..

 

i never seen one of those on the street.

Isnt the 500 the same class as the new Fuzion or whatever its called?

 

Yeah they made tons of the 500 for like a year or so....then they came out with the Fusion....basically the same class of car. No one really latched on to the 500 cause it came out the same time as the "new" mustang.

 

That's business talk for "we can't give these bitches away"

The ford lots around here are full of cars but they never change and there's never anyone looking at cars.

 

Supply and Demand...isn't that the first thing they teach you in economics???

Go ford...:doh:

 

Ford's fit and finish and styling has stepped up a lot recently, both the 500 and the Fusion are worlds better in those categories than the old Taurus.

They still need to spend a lot more time on powertrain and chassis development. You can immediately tell there's more R&D hours in a Honda, Nissan or even a Hyundai now when driven back to back.

 

umm as far as everything ive seen the fusion and 500 are not the same. the 500 has an awd model, the fusion does not. im pretty sure the fusion is named after the chassis designation it was given in development. my question to you who say its the same car is why would ford come out with two cars labeled under the same badge, ie ford, that are identical. the fusion is more of a replacement for the taurus whereas the 500 is a step above in luxury. ive had the opportunity to inspect b oth and will say without a doubt they are far from the same car.

oh yea and for those of you who say the 500 doesnt seem to be catching on, everywhere i go i see the 500's driving around. honestly id have to say it is a extremely nice car for ford designs, and def skies above alot of other domestic luxury sedans on the market

 

There's an AWD Ford 500 in my apartment complex. That's the only one I've seen in Northridge in the last eight months... and the owner works for Ford Corporate.

I'd personally argue that the Fusion is more of a competitor to the Corolla than a replacement for the Taurus. I believe R&T first reported on the Ford 500 as the Taurus' successor as well.

But regardless of how you brand the Ford 500, the overall design of the car plagiarizes so heavily from the previous-gen Audi A6, it's really quite pathetic IMO. :a:

In a brand concious market, I don't think people consider Ford to be on equal footing with the Germans as a luxury brand.

Like the VW Phaeton, the Ford 500 is probably stretching the brand identity too far for most consumers to accept.

Or the car just might suck. :run: Take your pick.

 

I like the look of the Fusion better than the 500 personally. Not that I would buy one though. What I think is cool is that before there was very much information about the Fusion out I saw one where I work (FedEx) loaded up on an air cargo carrier that had all of the camouflage/zebra striping they put on the pre-production models. I thought it was funny because a couple weeks later in Motor Trend they had "Spy Shots!" of the new Fusion. I was like, "bitches, I saw that weeks ago!"

 

the fusion is a mazda6 and a midsize competitor...the 500 is a larger car that competes with the avalon, buicky cars of the world...the 500 is built off the freestyle platform (also selling slowly) which is why there is an awd option

lincoln and mercury have their rebadged counterparts of each model too