DEARBORN, Mich. - Ford CEO Alan Mulally said he respects Toyota and its luxury brand, but that he canceled his order for a Lexus after taking the top job at the U.S. automaker. He said traveled to Japan last month to meet with Toyota executives just to show his appreciation, and not in an effort to bring the companies any closer. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070104/ap_on_bi_ge/ford_toyota
There ya go. Or, even a Jag or Land Rover. At least Ford owns them. But a Lexus? What the *&^% was he thinking? Gonna pull that baby into the executive parking were ya?
Is this a big hint or what? Mulally, who joined Ford last year after a 37-year career at plane-maker Boeing, told reporters: âJaguar is not for sale at this time.â http://www.carpages.co.uk/jaguar/jaguar-safe-09-01-07.asp
Ya mean he hasta drive a FORD?!!! Poor guy... But then I've been driving a Ford 4X4 truck for years. Works *most* of the time!
Sure it does... "The one unconvincing feature is the "advanced parking guidance system." This $1,200 option lets the car parallel-park itself or back into a space between two cars. A screen displays a camera view of the intended space, overlaid with a rectangular grid that you adjust to confirm the final destination. After that, you simply feather the brake and the car steers itself into place. Theoretically. In practice, the system often took multiple tries over several minutes before docking successfully. It struggled to identify curbs and regularly asked me to realign the car before trying to park. The parking space has to be huge, at least five feet longer than the car, calling the entire exercise into question. And the system shuts down if you back up too fast. My advice: If your parking skills are so bad that you need a robotic rescue, hire a driver and take the executive seating package instead." (excerpt from NY Times review of the Lexus LS 460, Dec. 10, 2006. To be fair, it's quite favorable otherwise: "Once again, men and women unmoved by flash will happily settle down with this brilliant, sensible and successful Lexus.") "multiple tries over several minutes"? "struggled to identify curbs"? Ya'know, if you were to take curbs away, even the worst parkers could probably manage to squeeze in their wheels, somewhere in the general space between 2 cars somehow...