Ford Flexes Pricing Muscle: $28,995

By Marty Padgett February 27th, 2008

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It's one of the more highly anticipated crossovers of 2008 -- and now, Ford's Flex crossover apparently has a base price assigned to it.

Automotive News reports that Ford will charge $28,995, including destination, for the base 2009 Ford Flex when it goes on sale in the summer. The weekly news reader says it got its information from a dealer printout.

According to the info, the Flex will be offered in three trim levels and in front- or all-wheel drive. The most expensive Flex Limited will top the pricing ladder at $37,255.

Six- and seven-passenger versions of the Flex will be offered, and a 3.5-liter V-6 with "more than 260 horsepower" will be standard. The sole transmission will be a six-speed automatic.

Last year at its New York Auto Show debut, the Flex made a big impression with limo-like equipment, including second-row footrests, the Ford Sync "infotainment" system, an optional rear-seat DVD system with eight-inch screen, a 2300-song digital jukebox, even a refrigerator. No information on pricing of those options has been announced.

Ford will assemble the Flex at its Oakville, Ontario, plant. The Flex will be priced above the current Taurus X crossover, which is expected to be replaced by a production version of the Explorer America concept from the recent Detroit auto show.

Ford prices the Flex at $28,995 - Automotive News

Tags: Shoppers

Posted in: 2008, Ford, Crossover, Taurus X

Fewer Teens Jumping Behind the Wheel

By Paul Eisenstein February 27th, 2008

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The ink wasn’t even dry on my new driver’s license, but heading home in my “new” car – actually a fairly ancient and rickety Chevy Bel Air – I was on top of the world and convinced I could win the Indy 500. Charging into a hard turn, near my home, I got my first lesson in driving dynamics, spinning my way through the corner and barely missing a tree.

That’s not all that different from the experience of many American motorists, when they first get their licenses. As teens we feel a mix of infallibility and invulnerability. Unfortunately, far too many young drivers learn their mistakes only as the result of devastating crashes.

Though kids may have the quickest reflexes, their judgment is often clouded by inexperience, a situation worsened by distractions like cellphones and friends. Meanwhile, the fatal crash rate among 16-year-olds driving at night is double that in daytime.

So, reports a new story in the New York Times, there’s a growing effort to limit the number of teens who get behind the wheel – at least without some oversight. Restricted licenses are becoming commonplace, the paper reports, while adding that with the high cost of insurance, many 16-year-olds are simply choosing, on their own, to wait before they jump behind the wheel.

Only 29.8 percent of U.S. 16-year-olds were licensed, in 2006, down from 43.8 percent, in 1998, reveal data from the Federal Highway Administration.

New Jersey, where I grew up, is the only state in the U.S. where you have to wait for your 17th birthday to drive. Every other state starts kids out at 16 or younger – some farm states authorize learners permits as early as 14.

But new laws have added a variety of restrictions: in some states, a parent must be present in the vehicle, others restrict the number of passengers. Illinois, the Times reports, sets a nighttime driving curfew of 10 PM, during weekdays, 11 PM on the weekend.

But often, it’s money that makes us change our ways, and insurers are sharply increasing their premiums for covering young drivers or adding a teen to the family policy – sometimes by as much as 100 percent above the base rates.

Social trends may also be playing a factor. Back in the day, you simply weren’t cool without a set of wheels. It almost didn’t matter what you drove when I got my license. Today’s teens often expect fancy wheels, and parents seem surprisingly eager to supply them. The same school lot where I parked my ancient Chevy is now filled with Land Rovers and BMWs. Yet there’s a growing number of teens who see cars not as a ticket to freedom but an environmental threat to be avoided.

Whatever the reason, delaying the automotive day of reckoning – or at least requiring young drivers to get better training – is good for all of us.

Tags: Industry

Big Cuts at BMW

By Paul Eisenstein February 27th, 2008

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With a new round of job cuts, the German automaker, BMW, now plans to eliminate about 7.5 percent of its worldwide workforce, and even more cuts could follow, officials said, pointing to the increasingly lopsided U.S./Euro exchange rate.

In an announcement at company headquarters, in Munich, personnel chief Ernst Baumann revealed that 5,600 more jobs will be eliminated, on top of 2,500 cuts already announced, for a total of 8,100 full-time, contract and other workers. The move will save in the “three-digit” million Euro range, Baumann noted, declining to provide more details.

The cuts might come as a surprise, considering BMW is generally seen as one of the world’s most successful car companies. But like most German makers, it traditionally has been reluctant to trim jobs to improve productivity – an effort that would also require the approval of its militant union members, who, by law, have a strong say in company management.

But last December, new CEO Norbert Reithofer made it clear he would rethink the automaker’s entire cost structure in an effort to raise its returns, the company saying that, “all cost structures (would be) put to the test.”

Reithofer’s campaign is driven, to a significant degree, by the sharp decline of the U.S. dollar. American consumers make up a disproportionate share of global luxury sales, and BMW has to face a difficult choice if it hopes to maintain that market: either cut production costs and hold prices, or raise the window sticker to reflect the weak dollar and risk losing buyers to competitors like Lexus or Mercedes-Benz.

2008 BMW 128i Convertible Road Test. Return of a legend (almost). by Paul A. Eisenstein (1/29/2008)

Tags: Industry