But getting back to the Edge; I think Ford has a hit on its hands, and I really hope they do. As much as I’ve bashed them for several years now, I don’t want to see them go down the tubes, and if they don’t get something going soon, I’m afraid that’s a real possibility. I actually prefer the look of the Edge to Lincoln’s version. The front end of the Lincoln just looks too “fussy” to me, whereas the Edge is very clean and modern, without being weird.

It’s ghey.

The driving dynamics are probably spectacular. The one thing Ford does well is dynamics. The Focus was, until maybe this year with the launch of the Civic, the standard by which small cars were judged for driving dynamics. The Fusion is stellar. The Five Hundred despite the flack it gets is the best driving large car I’ve ever driven; extrememly responsive and handles very well. Even Ford’s Explorer has stellar driving dyanmics. And if your definition is power, the Edge seems to have it.

Everyone thinks that one vehicle needs to save Ford and unfortunately that will not happen. This is not the 1980s. The market is SO competitive. It will take a line-up of vehicles with the same quality of the Edge to compete. I guarantee that this vehicle alone will not save Ford, but this vehicle with a continually improved Fusion, a continually improved Mustang, a good Super Duty (yes, even in our gas paranoia), a nicely redone Escape and a new Focus could.

Finally, all of Ford’s SUV money went to pay pensions and health care for its tens of thousands of retired workers. Ford’s (and GM’s and Chrysler’s) cost structure is the disadvantage. Less money went to products and R&D because labor costs were astronomical. Less revenue came in because good R&D wasn’t done. And so on. There are other factors like high cost of quality, but manufacturing quality over the last 10 years was often a reflection of more difficult cost environments. Product quality was a reflection of less R&D.

From an evolution perspective, they want the Edge to be the CUV for Double Income No Kids or us (Double Income and an infant) and then when the baby gets older or gets a sibling, you’ll move to a Freestyle or a People Mover.

From a product placement, marketing materials, and advertising placement viewpoint, they want late 20s/early 30s to take this out to a nice dinner but be able to carry a stroller if they need to… I don’t want grandparents to drive it…

But I do believe that a company can “change its colors” for the better, and at first glance, the Edge appears to be evidence that Ford is doing just that. Ford is literally fighting for its survival, and it’s amazing what a company can do when its back is against the wall. What they need to do next is introduce a new Focus, and a replacement for the ancient Crown Victoria, that are truly inspiring.

I wonder how fast it will be with that new 3.5 Duratec. If the car is fast and has a nice interior then that will be a deciding factor if i would consider it as a possible next car for me.