Thursday, April 24, 2008
The 2008 Ford Land Yacht
We've rented a car for the duration of the trade show I'm currently attending. First let me say +1 to Hertz in Orlando. I booked the car on Gold Service with a 45 minute pickup time and it was there and ready 45 minutes later. Hertz at Gatwick airport could learn a thing or two from that, but I digress.
The car we've been allocated is a brand new Ford Land Yacht. I believe the badge actually calls it a 'Fusion' but make no mistake, this petrol-hungry V6 Ford handles like the steering wheel is connected to the wheels through a bowl of custard. It's frighteningly vague. Oddly, once you're going at speed, it becomes pin-sharp and hyper-sensitive to the slightest steering input. This of course means you have to spend the whole time just trying to steer the thing in a straight line. I drove to Kennedy Space Centre from Orlando last weekend and it was the most exhausting 40 minute drive I've done for ages. I spent the whole time fighting to stop the Land Yacht from veering lazily all over the road as the steering took its input from roadkill, imperfections in the asphalt and, apparently, the slightest breeze.
The drive was made worse by the clumsily designed controls and the 70's plastic dashboard that creaked and rattled on the slightest bump. It's all very quaint for a car with only 244 miles on it. Or at least it would have been 50 years ago. By today's standards though, this car is a boil on the arse of motoring technology. If this is the best Ford can do, no wonder they lost a bazillion dollars last year.
The car we've been allocated is a brand new Ford Land Yacht. I believe the badge actually calls it a 'Fusion' but make no mistake, this petrol-hungry V6 Ford handles like the steering wheel is connected to the wheels through a bowl of custard. It's frighteningly vague. Oddly, once you're going at speed, it becomes pin-sharp and hyper-sensitive to the slightest steering input. This of course means you have to spend the whole time just trying to steer the thing in a straight line. I drove to Kennedy Space Centre from Orlando last weekend and it was the most exhausting 40 minute drive I've done for ages. I spent the whole time fighting to stop the Land Yacht from veering lazily all over the road as the steering took its input from roadkill, imperfections in the asphalt and, apparently, the slightest breeze.
The drive was made worse by the clumsily designed controls and the 70's plastic dashboard that creaked and rattled on the slightest bump. It's all very quaint for a car with only 244 miles on it. Or at least it would have been 50 years ago. By today's standards though, this car is a boil on the arse of motoring technology. If this is the best Ford can do, no wonder they lost a bazillion dollars last year.
// posted by Chris @ 15:01 8 Comments Links to this post 
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