DJW, since you started a little commentary on the supposed quality of Ford automobiles let me give you some of my experiences.

1989 Ford Taurus- clearcoat finish that started flaking away in 1995 (only 6 years old!). Of course every other model Ford made that year did the same thing, and Ford would do NOTHING about it. CV joints that failed repeatedly starting at 50K. Constant A/C failures.

1994 Ford Taurus- ELECTRICAL GREMLIN! I had this car in the shop more than I have ever heard anybody else with any other car. This thing lived in the shop. Car would lose all electrical function for no reason (especially interesting when you are doing 75mph on an interstate at night). Never fixed, I finally had to unload it with the caveat that it dies occasionally. A/C compressor replaced 3 times.

1995 Ford Escort- monday of last week dropped a valve on top of # 4 cylinder. Engine is now junk w/ only 113K!

1996 Lincon Continental- I won't bore you w/ the list but suffice it to say this baby is a lemon.

Just my and my families experiences w/ Fords. I will live with the relatively few "problems" that my Volvo gives me.