I should state, right off the bat, that I have never owned one of your cars. That said, I must admit a serious lust for your new Festiva:
Which, it turns out, leads to this letter and bit of confusion.
I was recently at a stoplight in my Nissan Versa (which I love and could not recommend more highly. In fact, you could learn a lot from that car but I’ll get to that in a bit). I was stopped behind a Chrysler Pacifica Crossover SUV:
Then, in the lane next to ours, a brand new 2011 Taurus SHO pulled up to the stop along side of the Pacifica:
That is when I noticed something. This car was larger in size, in every detail, then the Pacifica.
Therein lies my confusion. In what America is it any longer OK to make any car, full size or not, larger than what is classified by most standards as a truck? How can a company that makes such lovely small cars for the rest of the world, who is finally bringing those cars to here, still think that the world needs any “car” as big as the Taurus? It’s embarrassing.
I also noticed the badge of this car proudly advertised it’s EcoBoost™ engine. Which I have heard advertised on radio and TV and touted as some boon to gas economy and the environment. Sounds great on paper but when you stick it in a car this size, the result is meager at best. The standard engine Highway EPA for this car rating is only 25MPG. With EcoBoost™ it is 28MPG. Come on, this is 2011! This is America! We can do better than that!
By contrast, your Festiva gets 40 MPG on the Highway, my Nissan Versa is rated for 34 MPG but I get 40 MPG on a consistent basis on the Highway.
I think you are the only great American car company. I really believe you can make really great, affordable, gas efficient cars. This open letter is simply to ask you not to make another design and environmental catastrophe like the Taurus. I think you are better than that. I think America is better than that.
Sincerely,
Patrick