Japan8

^^Ditto. Just because Europe has a manual doesn't mean the US will. Look at the V6 Fusion...

zoom44

yeah but we wont get this mondeo in the states

rx8wannahave

^no, we get the slower....worse handling....less eye appealing...and cheaper products...

FORD...you suck! You see...I have nothing against Ford but I don't understand how such good looking cars won’t end up here.

Gosh, could you just image that car with the Mustang's V8 and RWD...they would sell a TON!

Tirminyl

No...keep the Mondeo to a V6 with FWD/AWD. Bring over the Falcon for your RWD Boss V8 needs

rx8wannahave

Falcon?

Search time....

rx8wannahave

Please, don't tell me you are talking about this:

http://www.nextcar.com.au/i.ford.fal...myallriver.JPG

Tirminyl

http://www.fpv.com.au/

bascho

Don't blame Ford for not bringing the Euro cars here.....blame Americans. Ford has tried to bring the Euro cars here twice per decade since the 80's (XR4Ti, Scorpio, Fiesta, Focus, Contour) and everytime the sales sucked *** (except Focus). Why would Ford want to tarnish a great name like Mondeo 'again' by bringing it to the US? the Contour was a spitting image of the Mondeo in the late 90's and the sales were horrible. Americans like big cars and big engines.....granted, that mindset is changing. Also, the Mondeo is the top of the car line for Ford in Europe......which means that Americans would have to pay $40-50K for this car here in the states (not going to happen)

bascho

The Aussie FPV GT and GT-P are other great examples of great Ford offerings that would fail horribly in the US. The price of the GT-P is like $80K USD.......but the performance is unbelievable.

bascho

Ford has a new Duratec 35 comming out next year that is going to be the best engine they ever had. It has 250HP in N/A form and engineering has already used FI and DI on 'engineering mules' that were wasting the 4.6 3V Mustangs. The lower end is bulletproof and SVT is going to be doing a lot with this engine in the future.

bascho

Can you tell I work for Ford. I sold my 2000 Contour SVT to buy my '05 Shinka in Sept of this year. I love my RX8.......definitely the best car I have owned. But for all the Ford haters.....you are going to be changing your tune when you see some of the product that is going to be comming out next fall. The Fusion/Milan/Zephyr will all have the optional Duratec 35 engine upgrade and optional AWD.

Japan8

You SOLD the Contour SVT for the 8? Man... I wanted one of those in 1999. Test drove one and loved it.

It is a shame about the Countour... it was a good car. Maybe things are changing so that great cars like the new Mondeo can make it over.

The new Duratec will be nice, but too bad Nissan will already top Ford again with the new VQ37... 3.7L

playdoh43

hmmm, i wonder how it will stack up vs the VQ35 and the Lexus 3.5L engine that makes up to 306hp on the IS350

rx8wannahave

bascho...thanks for the input, but if Ford brought that car as a RWD they would sell a ton.

Maybe in the past it didn't work, but that car is too good looking to leave it out of the US.

By the way, I'm not a Ford basher...I'm just not very impressed by their past "sadan" offerings. I hope the best for Ford (we only have 2 American car companies left) and I hope you are right and we will be all surprised.

By the way, I"ve read about those cars you listed and have seen some already. They are very nice looking...but still fwd...mehhh

Ike

Since the Focus sold well why no RS, the SVT just doesn't cut it

astro

You might be surprised how much an FPV would cost if FORD import these cars to the US. The Pontiac GTO sold there is made by Holden here... it cost AU$96500 top spec 300kw engine and all luxuries. I believe the base Pontiac GTO cost US$33000.

The AU$96500 is roughly $75000 USD.

We get ripped off here... we pay a high tax rate...

Imagine what a FORD FPV-GT would cost there AU$75000.
BTW... the FORD V8 sounds wonderful... you've got to hear these cars when they go WOT even with standard exhaust.

There are more FPVs down here that RX8s. There is even an inline 6 cylinder with a turbo that can go quicker that an FPV-GT. It's called a TYPHOON. Also... it handles better than the GT since the engine weight makes alot of difference to the balance of the car. (RX8 will eat these heavy cars around windy roads with ease). A GT weighs about 1835 kgs... that's a whopping 465kgs over an RX8.

You people get is easy... RX8 with luxury pack cost AU$65000 on the road.
That's roughly $49500 USD!!!!!

We just bite the bullet down here... it's just a fact of life....

bascho

DAMN ASTRO!!! You guys get your *** handed to you down there. I can't believe how much you have to pay for sports cars. I love the FPV's though, I almost took a transfer to Ford of Australia just to be able to have a GT-P....couldn't get the wife on board though You're right, if the Holden Monaro (Pontiac GTO) sells in the US for $35K.....then the FPV's might be priced in the same range.

bascho

I don't know if you've ever driven a Focus SVT....but if you haven't, you should. They are very impressive for the price. I agree, the SVT is no RS.....but the Euro versions of the Focus are better at every trim level compared to the US version. The new ST is going to be the best ever.....I wish I could take a trip across the pond to drive one.

bascho

The Contour SVT was a great car.....I definitely miss her. I can honestly say that it took high speed cornering better than my 8 (but that was only because the SVT had a Koni sport kit). I'm sure after I mod the 8 a bit....I 'll be able to do more. The SVT was a bit faster off the line also, but then again, I had lots of engine mods. I plan to go FI once the warranty is up....so I am sure that the 8 will be a better all around performer than the SVT.

Nissan is a great company....my uncle has worked with them for 30 years. The VQ37 is going to be a tough engine to compete with.....but I think that the Duratec35 is going to be the first engine Ford has developed that is even close. It's just nice to know that Ford is trying.

bascho

Believe me.....if Ford bought over the Mondeo, I would be first in line to buy one. I have loved that car since the late 90's. But I am not holding my breath....Ford is looking to Mazda and Volvo for the future of US sold Fords.

I agree 100% about the past sedan offerings. I think that is why Ford is looking to Mazda platforms to build on. Mazda 6 has been a huge success...and for good reason. The Fusion/Milan/Zephyr vehicles are also going to be a huge success because they took a great Mazda 6 and made it better. Don't worry about the FWD....next year they get optional AWD.

rx8wannahave

All the talk about this new Ford V6...I can't wait to see it in action...

Japan8

But no stick on the V6

rx8wannahave

^oh boy, and yet again that sucks!

bascho

Not yet......but if there is a market, then it will happen. I love manual transmissions.....but sales tell the story. Companies spend a lot of $$$ on market research prior to spending $$$ on R&D. If the market is saying AT, then that is where the R&D $$$ goes. It sucks....but that is how the game is played.

Rest assured, when SVT gets involved (and they plan to) a manual trans will be offered. I cannot list a single SVT product that has not had a MT and sometimes that is all that is offered.

Tirminyl

SVT Lightning

Still, they could have at least made a low volume of manual equipped cars. But with no V6 manual car, buyers would go elsewhere rather than wait.