Red Horse

Paul-thx-I did not see that mph read. I looked at it again and noted he had been consistently at 58/59 as he was gaining on the dump. At instant Volvo is on the brakes KW was at 54. Bottom line KW did NOT hit any wreckage-but my point has been, had he backed off much sooner, the guy in Volvo may have pulled into left lane. And by the way, looking at the video again I would say including the two cars he hit, there were no more than 4 or 5 car lengths total in front of him at moment of impact. And again, "may have pulled into left lane". Big IF- guy in Volvo owns this one big time but going back to my days when I would have to weigh in on "avoidable/unavoidable" big question was always not just was other guy at fault, but also ..."what could you have done to avoid this".

Exactly. Both of them not paying attention. The guy in the left lane backs off seconds before the crash. But very early on you see quick lane changes up ahead.

And he still looks like a kid!

Well as I see it, the guy in the hammer lane (T-600 hood??) was not paying attention. You can clearly see the right lane is bunching up. When I see that, I'm ready for that guy ahead of me to throw his left turn signal on-and if I don't see that I'm even more cautious that .."this jerk doesn't see what is going on". Yes his rate of closure changed but only in the last hundred feet or so when he finally woke up to what was going on. I called my wife over to look at this-not a "truck driver"but over the years I have pointed out various aspects of the Smith System when she was driving-I said..."watch this". Her first comment.."guy in white truck wasn't paying attention either". She then proceeded to give me a speech about distracted driving caused by loud music😉

Hmn.. apparently the guy in the dump truck and the guy in the hammer lane never were exposed to the Smith System? "Keep your eyes moving-get the big picture".

Hah! My thought exactly-in particular with respect to the Ram pick ups. seems like I see far more Rams that are not that old that have signifant rust in particular around wheel wells. Nothing like the old days though. "They don't build them like the used too"...Agree and thank God!

Well no argument about say a class 8 tractor. Class 8 vocational? They do it now with F-750's Not many but they do build 35,000 lb 750's Dealer friend just got an 84" CA in for 6-8 yd dump. 12-23 axles, 31,000lb rear springs and a "derate pkg" that provides a 33,000 lb plate to avoid FET. Again, if they would address the power train, They could be cranking out low cost class 8 vocational tandems that in my opinion would appeal to the operator who can get by with such a truck.

Paul- the one right on Grand Central Parkway-just before you exit right for the terminals.

Agree-in particular if the GM product is competitively priced. Shop I hang out in always has alligator hood Power Stroke and Duramax V-8's in for work. I shake my head at the mess-for lack of a better word- you see under these hoods. Real or not, the idea of a tilt hood has to be a positive.

Well as KSC said, perhaps Bill Ford's commitment is enough I just wish some of this heavy truck enthusiasm would trickle down to the US.

Kevin- I get that-just being a wise ass. Marketing guys trying to create some buzz. And I have to say "Dodge" is making good progress. A lot of 5500's running around these parts. Often times I think they are doing it on price. But I think the memories of Power Stroke 6.0/6.4 still haunts the Blue Oval.

If Ford showed an interest in class 8 trucks in the US, I would think that would help the cause of this effort. Given fact this effort is coming out of Turkey, does the political instability of that country hurt this effort? It maybe good-but is it that good that I would invest in it vs anyone of the other seven players? How about it KSC?

What no green ones? tow hooks? Now that is clever. and I thought only Ford had "brillian"t truck marketers.

As an old LI guy you will recognize this. We had a Gulf Station just before LaGuardia that was undergoing complete rebuild. I'm in the office in Boston and I hear the engineer who is handling the project-and on the phone with the contractor who is at the site- call out.."plane just hit WTC"! My first thought -"hah-some idiot in a Cessna 172 sight seeing". Some things you'll never forget-although too many loons in this country have.

OD-thx for posting-saw Freightrain right away-when I get the issue first stop is the Mack Section.

Kevin you might be right about visibility, but does Ford need it with respect to the Transit? Seems to me the Transit has already earned the respect of the market as the best in class. And we know all about Ford's view of chasing small margin deals. Its all about the average transaction price or so it seems. And as for the USPS, as I think we have kicked around, mind boggling that The Transit and even the FCA vans should have been considered by the USPS. Given the fact they don't have to be engineered for right hand drive-they've been doing that for years-and with some body mods, how much could the PO have saved.-a fortune I would bet.

I would have to believe MB gave them some sort of unbelievable warranty package. Can you imagine what a high percentage of these "contractors" will be doing to these vehicles knowing residual value is not their problem. I think ford was wise to stay away from this deal.

I just stumbled on a You Tube video..".2018 Ford Focus Titanium". Beautiful hatchback with 6 speed manual. Was this vehicle ever available here? It was a left hand drive but speedo went to 220KM so assume this video was made in Europe. They are truly idiots!

LaNeve obviously is getting his fair share of Hackett Kool Aid. Get ready for all the future press releases when the monthly sales stats come highlighting the declining Fiesta, Focus etc sales..."The decline in the sales of these vehicles further confirms Ford's decision to discontinue these vehicles was the proper action". Brilliant!

JB-You are sort of making my point-The Explorer is doing well in a world populated by a lot of similar competitors. The Everest IMO would represent something Ford does not have here and also would not have as many competitors competing for that true "off road capable" vehicle.

Correct!

Well Kevin I did agree with that article-but I don't think Trump has done anything that is significantly counter to that point. IMO he sat face to face with him and basically said .."cut the BS". I think he is smart enough to know that there is no military solution that would not mean the immediate loss of life for thousands of South Koreans. And I don't think he is in to regime change-to me it was more of..."if you think your people are starving now, only you can bring an end to that-by changing your behavior".

Excellent IMO This interesting piece was written by someone named Regie. https://regiehammblog.wordpress.com/2018/08/22/trump-or-something-like-him/ . “Give me an asshole who can play …” This is a famous quote from iconic drummer, Buddy Rich. Buddy only wanted the best on stage with him. He didn’t care about their “moral character” or if they were pleasant to be around. He didn’t even care if he, himself, liked them. He hired only guys who could burn the room down with him …not boy scouts who were mediocre. Hence, the famous quote. President Donald Trump appears to be in trouble. A series of confessions and convictions, of and by people around him, are casting a strange, dark light on his presidency at the moment. There is a perception (at least) that shady stuff has gone on around this guy. And when shady stuff constantly goes on around someone in charge, you have to conclude that the guy in charge is okay with shady stuff. Has he hung around tax evaders and money launderers? Clearly. Did he pay off porn stars and Playboy Playmates to keep their dalliances quiet? I think we can safely conclude that he did. Is he a petulant child in the Twitter-verse? One hundred percent. Does he say things in public my mother would slap me for saying? Literally, everyday. Did he conspire with a foreign power to win an election? Maybe. Will any of this make a difference to his supporters? That’s a complicated answer. Let me explain … I have a theory that all presidential elections are reactions to the sitting president at the time. I’m old enough to remember Jimmy Carter getting elected (in large part) because he was a wholesome, moral breath of fresh air in an atmosphere of corruption and scandal created during the Nixon years. I was only a kid, but I distinctly remember entire churches being excited to go out and vote for an openly Christian man for president. Then, after four years of that disaster, I remember those same people breaking speed limit laws to get to the polls to vote for Reagan as fast as they could. The conditions that created a “president Trump” kinda started with Bill Clinton, who led to George W Bush …who led to Barack Obama. By the time we got to him, Mr Obama was going to be the antidote to incompetence and corruption and war mongering and, yes …even racism. But a very strange thing happened during Mr Obama’s presidency. Racism didn’t end. Corruption didn’t end. Wars didn’t end. And incompetence might’ve actually gotten worse. My full day of talking to the customer service agent at the newly created healthcare exchange, did NOT leave me confident. And what was discovered during Mr Obama’s 8 years, was that in a free market nation, over-taxing, over-regulating and a leader who constantly berates the business community and supports policies that place more emphasis on celebrating the “diversity” of people groups than on law and order for every individual, and foreign policies that take everything but the nation you’ve been elected to lead into account, simply doesn’t work. What was also exposed in those 8 years was how feckless and weak Republicans had actually become in their opposition to such things. And with candidates literally talking openly about socialism and nationalizing private institutions, a guy like Trump comes along and promises to re-set the foundation of the nation the way Americans understand it …and the way they want it. Is he really that much of a surprise? I talk occasionally about the fourth revolution. And Donald Trump is the leader of it. If you’re appalled at the lewd behavior of your president, you’re behind. That ship sailed when one was getting blow jobs by an intern half his age, in the Oval Office …AND. NOBODY. CARED. If you wish your president was decent and measured and refused to return fire at his critics, you’re behind. We already had that guy and he was called a war criminal, who should be tried at the Hague (Rosie O’Donell’s public announcement) and “retarded” (Chris Rock’s word – DEFINITELY not mine), someone who should force his daughters to go to war (Matt Damon’s suggestion) a monster who deliberately broke the levies in New Orleans to drown black people (Spike Lee’s claim) and on and on and on …AND. NOBODY. CARED. If you wish your president was upstanding and righteous and said all the right things, you’re behind. Mitt Romney already ran. AND. NOBODY. CARED. If you wish your president was a humble and honorable true public servant, without moral blemishes, you’re behind. Bob Dole (a man who gave his right hand to his country) and John McCain (a man who gave both arms to his country) already ran. AND. NOBODY. CARED. Donald Trump was the last branch to grab before the nation hit the ground. But he has changed the game in some ways. Nobody believes a nice guy can get it done, anymore. We’ve had nice guys …and nothing changed. Cutting taxes and repatriating a trillion dollars was the right thing to do. And it’s working. And only a guy who doesn’t give crap about what people think of him could’ve gotten it done. Moving the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem was the right thing to do. It sends a message to the rest of the middle east and, in turn, creates a stability hard to quantify. Presidents on BOTH sides of the aisle have promised to do it. It should’ve been done decades ago. But only a guy who doesn’t give a crap about what people think of him could’ve gotten it done. Taking Kim Jong Un on …head on …is looking like it was the right thing to do. But only a guy who doesn’t give a crap about what people think of him would’ve even attempted it. While Mr Trump’s lawyers and campaign people were perp-walking in and out of ivory towers, a teenaged girl in Iowa – as middle-America a place as you can find – was being murdered by someone in the country illegally. That creates real world fear for Americans everywhere. We have enough fear of our own citizenry, breaking our own laws. And reasonable Americans don’t think it’s UNreasonable to ask people wanting to come to our country …to sign the hell in. They don’t see how that makes them racists. It simply doesn’t compute. And the only elected leader giving them any cover is the flawed president. So, did Donald Trump collude and conspire with Russians to win an election? What the media and his opponents (and even a lot of Republicans) STILL don’t or can’t or won’t understand is that it doesn’t matter. He didn’t have to collude with anybody. He was going to win either way. He had millions of Americans at “build a wall” and “cut your taxes” and especially at, “I don’t give a crap what people think.” Donald Trump may get impeached or arrested or disgraced or unseated or whatever. But what people had better realize is that if he’s gone, a large percentage of the population will be looking for something or someone JUST like him …to replace him. There’s too much at stake; too many socialists on the horizon, too many empty suits looking for lifetime political gigs, too many “nice guys” with great smiles and weak spines, to take anymore chances. We just want an asshole who can play. And with the economy roaring and North Korea neutralized and ISIS basically contained and defeated, it appears that despite all the weirdness that surrounds him, he can, indeed, play. Reply Reply All Forward

Like the saying goes..."you can't make this shit up"

Agree-that is my point-a Fusion Wagon would give someone with 3 little kids the room they need, and if they are not in the "snow belt" a cost savings as they don't need that extra driving axle. And for those in the snow belt, they could get the cube and AWD without the higher ride associated with the typical SUV.