factory Ford escape grill block...

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

Yes, but it's a slippery (aero) catfish!

Can I take a moment to say what a joy it is to read your posts ! And to say thank you for posting!
Happy Holyday !

[mallrat]

Originally Posted by elhigh

...like consumers didn't pay for everything in the first place? I thought that was how it was supposed to work.

I'll pay extra for better features, more quality, higher performance. It's why I don't pay for cable TV but do donate to public TV and public radio.

In some cases, the word "suffer" should take the place of "pay". Decreased drivability of mid-70s cars as manufacturers struggled to meet emissions standards .for example, and drivers, owners, and end consumers suffering because of reduced reliability of late model semi trucks due to new emissions equipment not ready for production.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by elhigh

I'll pay extra for better features, more quality, higher performance.

Me too. My point is that the particular bits of those features we're talking about in this thread would almost certainly not be available for you and I to pay extra for, were it not for government mandated fuel economy standards.

I've been in the imported car camp for a long time, truth be told. American cars just didn't cut it in terms of quality. Ford is the one American automaker I am once again seriously considering.

[ChazInMT]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Only because you've been trained to think so.

Who are you calling trained???

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

GRILLE = what USED to serve as air-channel opening for radiator has now become nothing more than cosmetic design element at the front end of a vehicle.

Not a new thing; aftermarketers stepped up to the plate by offering fake front grilles for early Corvairs.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77051115@N00/5666496982/

[NickelB NL]

Here in the EU the ford fiesta and focus econetic have factory fitted controllable grillblocks. And the big companies are using those "simple" aero mods on all of their cars. Each year a new feature, so they can claim better figures.

[redpoint5]

I look forward to being "retrained" to think that smaller grilles are sexy. Now that I can spot the fake large ones, it makes me the functionalist in me cry a little.

[Xist]

Heh. What about spoilers? Both my HX and my dad's Focus SFE have one and we like them!

[redpoint5]

^^^^^^ Not a fan of the look ^^^^^^

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

^^^^^^ Not a fan of the look ^^^^^^

That's not a spoiler........✋
A.) it's an extension of the roll bar 😏
B.) it's a whale tail...😵