If you are still stuck driving a rusty 2004 Ford Freestar or Mercury Monterey minivan prematurely, you have our deepest condolences. But for all your suffering, you may gain some ‘small measure of quiet satisfaction from Ford
Remember the survey initiated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last year? Well the good news is that the NHTSA has updated the question to a real engineering analysis, according to the Detroit News. In particular, the feds are trying to determine if there is any difference between the models of 2004 vehicles that have thundered close 22 reports of rust in the rear wheel wells, and from 2005 to 2007 models, for which there ‘has no complaints registered. (A 2006 model pictured above).
Ford Taurus SHO.
” src=”http://www.autocarmagz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Five-Worst-Mercury-Rebadges-of-All-Time-02-640×286.jpg” alt=”To be fair, the Mercury Grand Marquis totally hit its intended target. The only problem is that the target was set way back in 1983 when the Panther-based Grand Marquis was first introduced. There has been one major redesign of the car, which took place in 1992, but the guts of the Grand Marquis and its Crown Victoria stablemate from Ford have soldiered on without anything resembling a major overhaul.
If only the Grand Marquis had received the attention it should have gotten all along, we can envision quite a nice new Marauder that we’d love to own ourselves. We’re thinking turbocharged V6 engine, all-wheel drive and a large body. Oh wait, we’re thinking of the brand new Ford Taurus SHO.
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