Comments on: Flex quieter than competitors: Ford

By: zoomzoomr

zoomzoomr — Fri, 16 May 2008 04:23:51 +0000

Let’s not forget that the Flex is built from a heavy platform that is now several years old, used for everything from the Ford Freehundrus, Mercury Monteble, Lincoln MKS and the old Volvo V70. The deciding factor in its quietness will be the amount of heavy sound-deadening material Ford chooses to pack into its already weighty unibody.. which will directly correlate to reduced fuel economy.

Ford should instead worry about reducing the weight, since more shoppers these days are worried about how much it will cost to fill this decidedly unaerodynamic shoebox up than how well they can hear their 7 annoying passengers inside. They should leave the quietness to the Lincoln MKT sibling.

By: Veda

Veda — Fri, 16 May 2008 02:08:58 +0000

“Ferrari is very noisy inside: I always wanted one.”

The moral of the story in US is always ego. They don’t care about interior quality…

By: Bubs Solo

Bubs Solo — Fri, 16 May 2008 02:03:30 +0000

this thing will out sell your 2009 pilot 1115

By: WordPressSucks

WordPressSucks — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:27:19 +0000

Quiet is somewhere at the bottom of a list of reasons why I would buy an SUV….

By: tripleonefive

tripleonefive — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:17:54 +0000

I dont think this surprises me Ford is desparate and has to sell cars
As far as this being nice and stylish yes being better than anything currently offered from Japan HELL NO ! and its certainly not going to be quieter than a Pilot let alone an MDX
I do commend Ford for being different and taking a chance though
Its still a POS but hey at least ford knows their place

By: DialM4Speed

DialM4Speed — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:52:17 +0000

Well when it comes out I’ll see it at the autoshow but I still don’t like rolling tissue boxes.

By: Bubs Solo

Bubs Solo — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:15:31 +0000

how many of you guys saw one first hand or ever sat in one??
I have and this is unlike anything Ford has built before. Cover the badgeing and I swore I was in a luxury vehicle.
High quality materials throughout. 14 speaker suround sound
mini fridge/freezer usb port I could go on and on. This thing will sell. Whether you love it or hate it atleast check it out it surprises even the most skeptical (Mr. 1115 himself).

By: moto-racer13

moto-racer13 — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:08:45 +0000

A quiet unreliable car. I guess its good that way you can’t hear all the mechanical problems going on while driving it.

By: steve333

steve333 — Thu, 15 May 2008 04:17:42 +0000

Its a giid vehicle with a bad name. They should have called it Fairlane.

By: Carwatcher

Carwatcher — Thu, 15 May 2008 02:01:38 +0000

It’s just another Ford SUV that’s going to sit on dealer lots like tumble weed. See one Ford SUV you’ve seen them all.

By: DeansterTJ

DeansterTJ — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:36:08 +0000

Quiet is a proxy for quality? To achieve that level of sound isolation, Ford had to plug every cubic inch of door/hood space with foam and rubber. That’s no more sophisticated than soundproofing a studio with mattresses. Ford ingenuity strikes again. Fags.

By: seanm415

seanm415 — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:29:16 +0000

I guess it was cheaper to focus on the perception of quality than on actual quality.

By: DialM4Speed

DialM4Speed — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:10:17 +0000

It’s ugly as dirt and if I was running Ford I wouldn’t have allowed it to be built but it looks like a scion XB and those **** boxes sell so why not?

By: autonut

autonut — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:56:46 +0000

johnny, I never saw Scotsman crawling our on all 4. i think it is genetic thing: if you wear a kilt you cant be on all 4. You never can be sure that Englishmen will not confuse you with with his woman rear view. That can lead to unexplainable situation once sobered up.

By: global_lightning

global_lightning — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:39:26 +0000

Sounds like that old Zen riddle:
“If a car does not sell, will it make a sound?”

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:13:24 +0000

autonut: if you see some Scotsman crawling out of a pub on all fours, those are probably my relations from somewhere far down the tree, though not as far as I’d like to admit. At least you’re only 4 hours away from your normal time continuum, not so bad as when you start from the left coast.

By: autonut

autonut — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:56:24 +0000

Johnnycanuck, This note is from Europe (UK). That is why I haven’t been on site all that often:confused in space and time.
To build something right you need 2 components: desire and know how. So far article covered desire to get this Flex as quiet as RX350. They did not comment on know how to make it as good as RX350. I am for Ford to make some coin, let’s hope that it is better then RX350 and it will convert all Lexus owners into Flex owners.

By: cookie4me

cookie4me — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:27:38 +0000

Gee, I think “hating on it” is a little harsh. The styling just isn’t my thing but otherwise it looks like an above average execution. They should have put sliding doors on it though. Anyone looking at this thing as a family hauler is going to think of how nice those sliding doors are in parking lots, etc.

By: howsmydriving

howsmydriving — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:13:12 +0000

Flex = too big, too little power. Glad it at least has low noise levels as a virtue. Would rather be caught dead in a Flex than your average minivan.

By: foster1

foster1 — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:11:18 +0000

Remember You can’t have beatifull without ugly.

By: foster1

foster1 — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:10:50 +0000

At least it looks new and different.

By: foster1

foster1 — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:10:13 +0000

The Ford Edge is quieter than the Lexux Rx350. So Im sure this will be too. It should be a pretty good seller for ford and I am sure it will be a fun Crossover to drive unlike the Lexus and Toyota boriiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

By: LaCaLover

LaCaLover — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:02:34 +0000

Cathedrals echo like ****

By: AMGoff

AMGoff — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:57:56 +0000

And as far as this article goes… I think Ford chose it’s “competitors” very carefully… they say it’s quieter than a Highlander… but is it quieter than the Lexus badged Highlander?? They say it’s quieter than the Acadia… but is it quieter than the Enclave??

I highly doubt it… while I’ve never been in a Lexus CUV/SUV, I know first hand that the Enclave is quiet… almost cathedral-esque…

By: AMGoff

AMGoff — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:53:52 +0000

PhreknQwk…

That’s not even a fair comparison… the Flex is an entirely different animal compared to a GMT900 or an Expedition. Any benefits vehicles of this class bring are largely due to the fact that they’re essentially minivans with standard rear doors. While a Tahoe and/or Expedition is a true and utter waste for those looking for nothing more than a people mover… they still make perfect sense for anyone who has to actually haul big things.

By: F451

F451 — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:53:20 +0000

I’ve liked this vehicle since day one, and like it even more now. There have been some magazine articles on it with the ones I’ve read being positive.

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:43:14 +0000

Like it or not this is an important vehicle for Ford. They should be applauded for trying to get it right right out of the box. Maybe if they’d spent more time doing the same thing in the past they wouldn’t be in their current predicament.

By: PhreknQwk

PhreknQwk — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:40:24 +0000

Haaaateeeers.

I have no need for an SUV type, but if I had to have a 5-7 seater, I’d definitely consider this over an Expedition or Tahoe. Better MPG, easier to get in and out, faster, more room, oh and with a window tint and some nice wheels this rig will actually look cool. I’ve seen some of the SEMA ones for Ford.

I get so surprised at how many people want to “hate” just because.

By: MercMark

MercMark — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:38:47 +0000

Looks like a good monkey hauler!
I just wish it had a partition, like a limo, so I could block out the “interior” noise too.

By: LaCaLover

LaCaLover — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:29:38 +0000

It looks like a Land Rover with Downs syndrome. The ludicrously styled Focus sells to the great unwashed so this probably will too

By: kitko

kitko — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:18:46 +0000

Well, it looks like a Land Rover rip-off so I guess it has to quiter given the fact that a Land Rover is also a luxury car.

By: xyunya

xyunya — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:10:40 +0000

Ferrari is very noisy inside: I always wanted one.

By: F3INT))AP3X

F3INT))AP3X — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:05:54 +0000

You’ll eat your words when Ford sells a bundle

By: cookie4me

cookie4me — Wed, 14 May 2008 20:49:32 +0000

The real reason is so that occupants will not be able to hear the jeers and disparaging comments on the styling of their ride.