HEMI's new car pictures

[SVT666]

Flames can lose to anyone in a shoot-out. They lose quite easily on the road as well. Strange, as they're far and away the best team at home, with 27 wins in the Saddledome; the Predators (overrated, they play in the Central division against Chicago, Columbus and St. Louis), Red Wings (overrated, they play in the Central division against Chicago, Columbus and St. Louis), and Sabres are closest, with 23. On the road they only have 8 wins, the same as the Panthers (who have one more OT/SO loss, therefore are one point better), one worse than the Kings (who only have 2 OT/SO losses, therefore are acutally worse if you count points), and four worse than the Flyers (who also happen to have easily the worst home record in the league, with only 5 wins in 40 games)!

To be fair, no one in the Northwest Division can win on the road.

[thewizard16]

Very nice, I'm sure it's nice to have after waiting for so long. I'm also happy for you that it doesn't bear the Taurus X name. I just can't warm up to that.

[93JC]

To be fair, no one in the Northwest Division can win on the road.

True. Every team has a losing record, save the Canucks I think.

Give me a second.




Looked it up: the Canucks are 17-13-3, Avalanche are 14-15-2, Wild are 14-18-3, Oilers are 12-16-4 and Flames are 8-15-8.

[nickdrinkwater]

Congratulations on the new car!  Very smart.  And glad you've got it dirty already - not many SUV owners ever do!

[Ron From Regina]

I just have to drive our Jeep down my street, and its that dirty.

[SVT666]

Congratulations on the new car!? Very smart.? And glad you've got it dirty already - not many SUV owners ever do!

Driving it out of the driveway got it dirty.

[SVT666]

True. Every team has a losing record, save the Canucks I think.

Give me a second.




Looked it up: the Canucks are 17-13-3, Avalanche are 14-15-2, Wild are 14-18-3, Oilers are 12-16-4 and Flames are 8-15-8.

Those records must have improved just recently because as little as two or three weeks ago they all had losing road records.

[93JC]

Congratulations on the new car!? Very smart.? And glad you've got it dirty already - not many SUV owners ever do!

Dirty?

Crikey, I need to find a way to take a picture of my car. Easily three times as dirty as that.

[Catman]

Nice!

[Atomic]

how is the freestyle selling? fmc canceled plans for the mercury version due to a very poor reception and initial sales numbers of the ford model. rumor has it in detroit that the edge will eventually "replace" this vehicle when/if it meets sales expectations. ford is calling the freestyle "taurus x" for 2008 (as we all know by now) in an effort to try to jump start sales.

[Atomic]

p.s. (SEE MY PREVIOUS COMMENTS, ABOVE)

PLEASE don't get me wrong! i like this vehicle  ! i'm merely concerned about it's future. fmc has done a very poor job marketing the wonderful freestyle imo.

[SVT666]

how is the freestyle selling? fmc canceled plans for the mercury version due to a very poor reception and initial sales numbers of the ford model. rumor has it in detroit that the edge will eventually "replace" this vehicle when/if it meets sales expectations. ford is calling the freestyle "taurus x" for 2008 (as we all know by now) in an effort to try to jump start sales.

The Edge is much much smaller then the Freestyle.  It doesn't have 3 rows of seating either.  Ford had announced it was going to cancel it due ot poor sales, but since gas prices skyrocketed the sales increased dramatically as well.  Ford then cancelled the cancellation and is giving it the new 260 hp 3.5L V6 and a new face.  I personally don't see a need to increase the horsepower because it's plenty for a family vehicle and I have no problems passing or merging.

[SVT666]

1 MONTH UPDATE

Everytime I drive the Freestyle I like it more and more.  Here are my raves and rants:

Raves:
1. Transmission:  I love CVT.  It was a little weird at first with no shifting and all, but it doesn't take long to get used to always being at the right RPM for whatever you're doing.  When you slow down and go around a corner in a car with a conventional auto, and you step on the gas halfway through the corner you have to wait for the tranny to downshift and it can be a little jolting.  Not so with CVT.  There is no waiting for downshifts.  The power is right there, right now.  Because of the CVT the 203 hp feels more like 250 hp and I honestly can't figure out why the car rags all complained about a lack of power.  It may not be the fastest from a dead stop, but passing power is more then plenty.  I would kill to have this transmission in my truck. 

2. Interior materials and build quality:  Second to none in this price range.  Very tight panel gaps, rattle free, and nice to the touch.

3. Interior flexibility:  All of the seats except the driver's seat fold to make a flat floor throughout the entire car.  The cargo space behind the second row (with the third row folded) was big enough that we brought home a Broil King Signet 90 BBQ and all our groceries on Saturday.  When I saw the size of the box for BBQ, I thought I was going to have to come home and get the truck, but it fit.

4. Ride and Handling:  Very nice.  Very smooth, very direct, and corners very well for such a large car.

5. Seats:  Very comfortable, however they don't offer much in the way of lateral support....actually none.  but corner carving is not what this car is for.  The second row occupants sit higher then the first row, and the third row is higher then the second row.  The roofline goes up with the seats so someone of my height is actually very comfortable in the third row...not to mention the leg room in the third row is outstanding.

6. AWD:  It's very seamless.  No torque steer from the front wheels, and is simply amazing in snow and on ice.  This is the first AWD car I've ever driven.


Rants:
1. Stereo:  The speakers stink.  Ford's Audiophile systems are usually very good, however we did not order it because my wife doesn't care about sound quality and it's her car for the most part.  The Infinity system in my Ram is waaaaaaay better.

2. Steering wheel mounted speed/stereo controls:  They aren't placed in natural locations and you have to look everytime you do something.  The steering wheel controls in my Ram are 10X better because the stereo controls are on the back of the steering wheel (right where your index fingers are) and the speed controls are on the front right where your thumbs are.  I never have to look at the wheel when adjusting the controls because they are placed so logically.

3. Digital HVAC controls:  I like knobs because they can be changed faster and with less attention.  Digital requires looking at the temperature readout as you increase or decrease the temperature by pushing a button repeatedly.

4. Glass does not lift seperately from hatch like on the Explorer, Expedition, or Escape.  Dissapointing because I love that feature.


Conclusion:  The quabbles I have are fairly minor.  Once you get used to those things (except the poor sound quality), you don't even think about them anymore.  The positives about this car are just so good that I forget about the few things I have to complain about.

[TheIntrepid]

Glad you're happy Craig.

[SVT666]

Well after driving 1800 kms (1120 miles) in 5 days in the Freestyle, I gotta say I'm blown away.  We drove through the Rockies to Cranbrook, BC.  Then down across the border to Sandpoint, Idaho and then down the Coeur D'Alene, and then across to Spokane, Washington and back again.  The beauty of the CVT doesn't come through until you hit the mountains.  That's where it really shines.  There are no abrupt downshifts, the speed NEVER changes, and the needle on the tach just continuously adjusts to keep the speed perfect.  This car doesn't accelerate all that fast from a standstill, but at freeway speeds this thing just takes off for passing or going up hills. 

The cargo space is the perfect size.  I can't stress that enough.  We had our largest suitcase, our daughter's suitcase, her diaper bag, stroller, cooler, my backpack, and some miscellaneous items with room to spare.  On the way back we had all that plus a centre channel speaker, rear surround speakers, and a crap load of clothes and shoes and my rearward vision wasn't blocked and the middle row seats were up. 

I've never driven that long in a car without having to shift my body around in the driver's seat because it starts to get uncomfortable or my back starts to get sore, but I was extrememly comfortable for the entire trip including today's virtual non-stop 650 km (400 mile) trek home.  The cabin is very quiet and we had to turn my daughter's DVD player volume down quite a bit whereas in my Ram she's got to have it cranked up to max just to hear it at highway speeds (some of that has to do with the off-road tires though).

I couldn't be happier with this car.

[thewizard16]

Good, it's always nice to hear you like a car after you've lived with it a while. I've been driving a different car... in a way... than normal for the last two months I'm reasonably pleased with, but I'm not going to be keeping it, as I had a plan for it when I went and bought it anyway, and it doesn't involve me keeping it.

[The Pirate]

Glad to hear that, Hemi.  Cars don't tend to show their quirks til a few months of ownership, it's great that you're still happy with it.  My dad is starting to look at replacement options for my mom's minivan, I'm going to be steering him towards a Freestyle.

[ifcar]

Good, it's always nice to hear you like a car after you've lived with it a while. I've been driving a different car... in a way... than normal for the last two months I'm reasonably pleased with, but I'm not going to be keeping it, as I had a plan for it when I went and bought it anyway, and it doesn't involve me keeping it.

What did you buy?

[thewizard16]

What did you buy?

04 Camry XLE. I'm at work as we speak, but I can post a couple pictures this evening. I wasn't too worried about it, I don't intend on making it my primary car, and it's another Camry.

[Ron From Regina]

I just got back from a trip to the okanagan, and I have to say, mountain driving is so much more fun than cruising streight though the prairies.

[93JC]

Hell yeah. Driving to Banff is awesome: driving to Medicine Hat is maddeningly boring.

[SVT666]

Hell yeah. Driving to Banff Golden (when there is no traffic) is awesome: driving to Medicine Hat is maddeningly boring.

There I fixed it.

[93JC]

I'm sure the drive to Golden is quite interesting (I've never been, myself).

The problem with BC highways is there are so few of them, comparatively. This is obviously a result of the terrain, but having only one way of getting to any given town makes traffic suck ass.

[SVT666]

I'm sure the drive to Golden is quite interesting (I've never been, myself).

The problem with BC highways is there are so few of them, comparatively. This is obviously a result of the terrain, but having only one way of getting to any given town makes traffic suck ass.

It's because it's the Trans-Canada Highway and it's only two lane.  That's why the traffic sucks.  Otherwise, traffic in BC isn't that bad.

[Ron From Regina]

I found the drive though the tunnels at Rogers Pass pretty cool too. I didn't know the speedlimit drops from 90 to 70 (until I got shit from the wife), and took the first tunnel at around 105. It kinda looked like the formula 1 cars screaming though the tunnel at Monaco.

[Ron From Regina]

It's because it's the Trans-Canada Highway and it's only two lane.? That's why the traffic sucks.? Otherwise, traffic in BC isn't that bad.

There are enough passing lanes too, that usually you aren't stuck behind anyone for too long.