Do you even know what the Rubicon consists of? Its obvious you have very little real world knowledge on the subject matter. Everything you mention, a 10 year old could read in a magazine. Is that where you get all your info???


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Once again, your making assumptions. Every Rubicon and 97+ Jeep that I have rode/drove has had no quality issues.

Since when does height effect road noise? Wouldn't contact with the pavement produce road noise. A 44" and 15" tire will have the same contact area (assuming same width) AND, the same tread pattern is on the Rubicon that is on many of the serious off road buggies.

once again, every jeep that I have drove has had no problems staying in the road, or skipping around on the bumps. The Rubicon that I drove actually performed better on the bumps than my truck.

Logical thinking say's who.

Ok, what does every rock buggie have? 1) strong axles 2) lockers front/rear 3) skid protection 4) Reduced T-case gearing 4) coil over springs/shocks with a 3 or 4 link suspencion.
OK, what does the Rubicon have??? every one of these, no other production vehicle has every one of these qualities. And for that reason, it excells in off road situations and is the best off road vehicle produced to this date.

Um, its named after a trail...

You might recall your recall, the Rubicon was announced long before the movie was produced.

75% of what makes the Rubicon the most capable vehicle is not easily viewable. The Wheels/Tires and Rocker Protection is the only thing viewable. The axles, T-case, Lockers are not easily seen unless someone knew what they were looking for.

Probley the people who like trails that requires something other than a full size truck to go down. Black Bear Pass in Colorado for example, your full size truck would be a very unsafe vehicle to even attempt the trail. Another example, Tuff's situation. It would be intersting to see the exact area of where he got stuck, more than likely a Rubicon would have a much better chance at getting out over the Full size truck.

 

I dunno- It reminds me of the early Scouts of the 60's....

 

What if Ford built an answer to the H2?

Ah, an answer to the question no one is asking . . .

The H2 started out as a hot commodity, and now it sits on lots, like moldy bread on a bakers shelf, unable to be given away.

Why would Ford want to build an "answer" to that?

Here's some questions instead . . .

What if Ford were to build their vehicles better? What if the interiors were made of quality materials, what if they built trucks (and cars) that were not problematic and required service frequently? What if, during service, their company didn't jerk their customers around with regard to warranty claims? What if bean counters didn't run the company, penny pinching to the point where they decrease the number of threads holding their spark plugs in from 8 to 4, thereby creating a vehicle that would no longer launch plugs thru the engine, or being so cheap as to remove most of the sound-deadening material from their newly redesigned trucks because it cuts into their profit margin (ironically one of the things automotive critiques and owners loved about the new F150 was it's improvement in refinement and quietness . . . and Ford even made it's quietness a big part of their ad campaign . . . well, not for 2005, they removed soundproofing and have gone cheaper on some materials). What if they spent their development time and money on making their new vehicles (which are admittedly a step in the right direction what with the mustang and Freestar and such) even better and. for once, world class, as well as improve their dealer network and service divisions . . . not waste it on an "answer" to the stupid H2.

Just my opinion . . .

 

Nice Opinion Kobiashi...
I agree- Ford does build some uninspiring automobiles, but they have a few that I'd have in the garage.

2004 Mustang Cobra
2004 Crown Victoria LX-Sport (Which I would then put 19" wheels on, lower it, add a K&N air filter and a true dual exhaust to make my own Marauder and save $10,000.)
2004 Focus (Nice Little Car)

Do I love any of their cars? No, not really- but they are decent cars...

Now their trucks on the other hand; while I won’t say Ford are the best truck on the planet, I do know that Ford trucks restored my faith in American products. I'd vowed to never buy another American vehicle, then the 1997 F-150 came out; and I was hooked. I'm proud to say that after 5 years of trucking with Ford, I've only had one problem; and that was a 10 minute fix at the service desk (Which was excellent by the way).
------------------------------------------------------------------

Sure, I know no one asked the question- but I think it's a question that deserves to be asked; after all- it's all about sales and Ford could use some inspiring models. They've lost their title as having the Best-Selling Full size SUV: Previously the Expedition had this from 1998 - 2001, but the Tahoe took that crown in 2002 and never looked back. The Explorer is loosing ground as well, and reports show the Silverado/Sierra gaining on the F-150. They had the best selling Luxury SUV (Navigator) but the Escalade took that title and ran away with it in 2002 as well.

The H2 has no competition, and contrary to your statement above- they are selling like Krispy Kreme's on a Sunday morning. Suburbans outsell Excursions by about 6 to 1 (Or more), and with the Excursion all but dead, what does Ford have to lose?

I see H2's all the time, yellow ones, black ones, white ones, red ones, burgundy ones, silver ones, and green ones. I've even seen the truck H2 SUT. You live in California- there aren't many trucks at all in California; and their won't be with gas at $2.87/gallon. But, in 47 of the other 50 states, trucks & full-size SUV's are running wild.

I think a Ford, built like I mentioned- while it may be the answer to the question no one asked (A lot of people use that phrase since Motor Trend used it to slap-at BMW's I-Drive), I'd wager the response to that answer would be the hasty departure off the showroom floor of the BRONCO, were Ford to build it as described with a reasonable sticker- say, $29,000 stripped - $34,000 loaded with few, if any available options.

 

Well, I live in Lost Angeles, and there a millions of trucks and SUVs here. Lots of SUVs. Way too many SUVs. More SUVs than . . . well, you get the idea.

Anyway, we probably have more H2s here than anywhere. There are even limo companies that have super-stretch H2 Limos.



When the H2 first came out it sold like crazy, there were big dealer mark-ups, and a waiting list (This is the car nut capital of the world after all). Now, after the craze, they sit on dealer lots unable to be moved.

Why? Because common sense sunk in and folks began to realize that they were useless, oversized, pieces of crap (on the Chevy Tahoe platform no less). It's not that the H2 has no competition, it's that it doesn't need competition.

I agree, Ford could use inspiring products, but there are better things to build than an H2 killer.

(By the way, Motor Trend started using the "The answer to the question no one is asking" phrase after they picked up on it from the kids at autoextemist used it so well (also used it to bitchslap the i-drive . . . among other things; and they, no doubt, stole it from someone else).

I'm not saying all wasteful/useless vehicles need not be examined (I think my love of the Lightning has been established, and I can't think of a more useless vehicle), but there are other catagories/vehicles that I think Ford should be focusing on rather than the H2.

SUVs are a dime a dozen. The answer would be to come up with something that replaces the SUV with something equally practical, more efficient, and amazingly cool (not to mention well built).

Again, my opinion, for whatever that's worth.

 

Redneck logic rears it`s ugly head once more

 

I would call dzervit a lot of things, but redneck isn't one of them.

 

Although...10 year old...now that has some promise!

 

yeah he may just be a ten year old, a ten year old trapped in the body of a 6' 10'' freak!

 

I'm begining to believe that fatman66 hit on a keyword in his last post... hmmm... perplexing.

RP

 

Although I love my 04, I think I would have bought a full size bronco from the same platform in a heartbeat!

pic stolen from jvernacchio's gallery then photoshopped.



edit: edited a couple things in the pic

 

NOW T H A T IS F'ING AWESOME!!! I'LL TAKE 3!!

 

AMEN!

 

"key word", would it happen to start with an 'fr' and end with an 'eak'?

 

Your lucky, the few that I've driven sucked. Not assumptions, real world driving. Not impressed one bit with the jeeps. Overpriced.

Yeah, and when's the last time you saw a 44" the same width as a 15? Tire noise is only one of the sources of noise, anyway... did you read how I said the wind noise and drivetrain chatter are also annoying?

That's your opinion. I on the otherhand gave the opinion it sucked and I might as well drive a Geo Tracker and save my money.

I still say the LR Discovery would mop the floor with a Jeep. Neither would make it on a serious rock climb. They need to be modified. Yeah, its beefed up from the factory. Still needs work.

As for the movie-prop rant - sorry, but the timing is way to close. yeah, its named after a trail, but marketing had it's hand in it I bet. Big movie, jeep w/ the same name... that's a sales pitch. Even if the lemming jeep buyers don't realize they aren't even the same flippen vehicle.

WTF?! I said MICHIGAN... there isn't much around MICHIGAN that would require the Rubixcubacon. And if I was going on any risky trail, it would be in an older CJ that was built for the task, not some cutsey pie warm and fuzzy $30,000 mocha latte special.

Jeeps have their place in the off-road world. But not in my driveway.

You love jeeps, I get it. I hate them. Get it?

EDIT: I'm not 10. I get my license in a couple years!! TAKE THAT!