akirby

Make sure the tags are not in all caps - Sync interprets those as acronyms. Someone else had a similar problem but don't remember the solution (if there was one). Do a search.

Honda's lawyers haven't dealt with some of the lawsuits that Ford's lawyers have. Maybe they'll loosen up if the competition is doing it.

Hand held devices are not designed into a vehicle and are not sold by the vehicle mfr, therefore it is unlikely that Garmin could be held liable for a vehicle accident. Auto mfrs, OTOH, are extremely vulnerable thanks to stupid juries that blame the big companies and require absolutely no personal responsibility. Voice controls work fine. The only restriction is that you can't enter a new destination which requires typing the address, looking at a list, etc - not things you want to do while driving. You can choose a pre-entered destination.

It's the cheap splitter. Verify by connecting each one individually without it.

Wider, much longer, 3rd row seating, "gotta have it" styling. The bigger question is whether they need the Flex, Taurus X and Explorer (especially once the explorer goes unibody).

We're planning to buy either an Edge or MKX later this year. I like the Flex and would at least consider it, but the wife says it's hideous. I think it will be a big market success (relative to how many the plan to make) and will do well. The exterior is distinctive in a love it or hate it kind of way rather than being boring and unnoticed - so that will definitely help. But I think the interior room and features is what will seal the deal.

Once it's broken in you should be able to get close to 20 mpg (fwd) but that depends a lot on how you drive and how much stop-n-go you do. There have been a couple of engineering/parts issues but those should be fixed by the time the 09s come out. Even those appear to be one time issues - once fixed they won't reoccur.

I knew what you meant. When I read it I got this mental picture of putting kayaks in a bike rack and thought it was really funny. If anyone finds Lex's sense of humor, please return it to him asap.

That's ok for bikes but I don't think it will work too well for kayaks.

Interestingly, Ford used to have a policy that the selling dealer performs all warranty work unless you live more than 50 miles away. I believe this was still in effect up to around 1990 but was repealed shortly thereafter.

No. It does have adaptive halogens that move when going around corners but no HIDs. The MKS has adaptive HIDs so I'd expect to see those on either the 09 or 10 MKX.

Seems like a waste of time to me (besides being illegal). Why do you need fog lights and high beams?

Ford's nav system won at least one award last year.

I'd say it's probably the brake pedal interlock that's preventing it from being taken out of park. Probably just a simple sensor. Tell them to try pressing really hard on the brake pedal. I think there is also an emergency release documented in the owner's manual, just in case.

Find out if she's parking on an incline and whether or not she's using the parking brake.

Right - and it's not just a hybrid, it's a fuel cell powered plug-in hybrid.

That says ESCAPE, not EDGE.

Do you always visit the same contacts on a trip? If so you can store each one as a waypoint instead of a destination so you'd only need one destination per trip with multiple waypoints. There are built-in replacement radios with navigation and DVD and portable navigation units - check them out at Crutchfield.com. Not sure if any of them support more than 25 destinations though.

Clay bar.

If they're not offering a cash rebate alternative then yes, those are great rates. My CU is offering the following rates: 24 - 3.99 36 - 4.50 48 - 5.20 60 - 5.70 I threw the dealer a bone and let them finance me at a higher rate (assuming they get a spiff) with Ford Credit, I took the additional $500 rebate then refinanced it a month later. Win/win.

I never finance with the dealership. I get better rates with my credit union. If they offer cash or APR I take the cash and usually get close to the same APR at my CU. On my Fusion I did take the $500 Ford credit cash and financed with them at a higher APR, waited one month and then refinanced with the CU. If you think of Ford credit as being a separate entity, they're just buying your business.

Don't confuse cash rebates with paying cash. Regardless of how you finance the vehicle you are either buying it or leasing it. Each has separate incentives. If you purchase the vehicle, you get certain cash rebates. In your case $1500. If you decide to finance the vehicle with Ford Credit you get an additional $500 rebate. If you finance it somewhere else or pay cash you don't get the extra $500. It's that simple.

Ford brakes have done that for a long time including my 2000 Lincoln LS. Doesn't affect the stopping power - it just feels spongy. Must be something in the master cylinder design or materials.

There, I fixed it for you.

All Ford/Lincoln/Mercury owner's manuals back to 1996 can be downloaded here: https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenance/owne...als/default.asp