2008 Ford Fivehundred spied

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Leftlanenews.com
Spied: 2008 Ford Five Hundred facelift


Spy photographer Chris Doane for Brenda Priddy & Co. caught the facelifted 2008 Ford Five Hundred sans disguise in testing. The grille is completely uncovered, revealing the new three-bar look to the car. Looking through the camouflage, we can also bits and pieces of the changes to the headlamps and taillights – giving the car both a more contemporary look.
The 2008 Five Hundred is expected to go on sale around April of next year. In early July 2007, Ford will begin offering an all-new 3.5-liter DOHC V6 and possibly even an optional 3.0-liter V6 hybrid powerplant. The car will be official unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show next year. As reported earlier, sales of the Ford 500 this month fell 51 percent compared to the same month last year.

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Gallery after the jump…
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the bras say



I AM A TEST PROTOTYPE!

LOOK AT ME AND TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS
 
CCX
the bras say



I AM A TEST PROTOTYPE!

LOOK AT ME AND TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS
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Damn right, unless of course they are on everday cars that people use to supposedly 'protect' them. :ouch:
 
I hope it will now either handle better, or ride more comfortably. When I drove one on a road trip last year, it sucked at both. What is the point?
 
Ugh... Why won't they get rid of that hideous grille? It's even worse on the Fusion, which I think would look quite good were it not for the stupid front end.
 
a6m5
I hope it will now either handle better, or ride more comfortably. When I drove one on a road trip last year, it sucked at both. What is the point?
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Its still going to be stealing from the S80's parts bin, but I have no idea what the "refresh" of both models with have in store. I do know that a 3.5L Duratec V6 and a 6-speed automatic will be options on the "refreshed" Fivehundred, but there still is no word on the possibility of the Yahmaha V8 making it's way back to Ford...
 
Well, before new engine or transmission, I hope they correct the suspension/ride setup. As much as I'd like to see some crazy Yamaha motor and sporty transmission in it, this thing should be the Ford's answer to Avalon, I think. Little more refinement in the interior and more relaxed ride would be my recommendation.

I haven't met one person who likes the new grill. If they like it, they are awfully quiet about it. Of course, Ford in the U.S. is making strange decisions, left and right. Their course is to put this freak mach 3 grill on many other Ford vehicles. You guys complain about George W. Bush, who's in charge of Ford? :D
 
Awww, the "Gillette" grille isn't that bad, IMO, as they want to tie all of the models together. I belive the Focus is getting the same grille this year as well, and that certainly won't be a pretty car.

...As for being an Avalon compeditor, it isn't going to happen. Although they do compete in the same class, I wouldn't put the two together, as Ford allready recieved a whoopin' from the Toyota last year. IMO, if you take what the Fivehundred was meant to be (comfortable, quiet, large/capable) it is a decently good car. But when you look at it in the context of what an American car "should" be, they got it all wrong. Look no further than the Chrysler 300 for refrence, as GM certainly has, as their new models my become the new standard as well.
 
YSSMAN
Awww, the "Gillette" grille isn't that bad, IMO, as they want to tie all of the models together. I belive the Focus is getting the same grille this year as well, and that certainly won't be a pretty car.
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Might not be bad to some, but would buyers prefer to have it on the front-end of their car? I wouldn't think so. Ford is giving away Focus right now(0%, $2,500 back), so maybe this new Focus is due out soon?

YSSMAN
...As for being an Avalon compeditor, it isn't going to happen. Although they do compete in the same class, I wouldn't put the two together, as Ford allready recieved a whoopin' from the Toyota last year. IMO, if you take what the Fivehundred was meant to be (comfortable, quiet, large/capable) it is a decently good car.
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I still say it's far from a "comfortable" car. I've ridden in a Focus on a similar road trip as I've taken in a Five Hundred(I-5 North to Seattle area). I was just as comfortable in Focus as I was in a Five Hundred, except for the size and luxury part. That's just plain sad.

YSSMAN
But when you look at it in the context of what an American car "should" be, they got it all wrong. Look no further than the Chrysler 300 for refrence, as GM certainly has, as their new models my become the new standard as well.
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Ford is just plain retarded with their cars right now. 180-turnaround from when they released the new Mustangs. I know I whine about this all the time, but Toyota/Scion, Honda are selling the heck out of their compacts right now. All Ford's got going is the badly needs to be redesigned Focus and still no xB(hip), Aveo(cheap), Yaris(affordable) or Fit(everything :drool: ) type cars. I wonder how many millions they lost out on that alone. Even Nissan in similar situation with their aged Sentra came out with Versa(also selling like hot pancakes). Forget about foreseeing the market, they can't even adapt in a reasonable amount of time. Long losing streaks in my eyes. :indiff:
 
The new duratec will produce 250-260 hp, so says car and driver. (oct 06)

The new grille is the new corporate grille patern going around, mercury has a waterfall grille, Lincoln has the swath of thin chrome bars.
 
MatttheTuner
The new duratec will produce 250-260 hp, so says car and driver. (oct 06)
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Combined with the new 6-speed automatic, the car could become a bit better than what it was before, as there is actually some "useable" power there. That 6-speed automatic is essentially the same unit that is going to be in the GM units, specifically models like the Pontiac G6 (other Epsilon models) and the Saturn Outlook (other GMT960 models), etc.

...Given however that the transmission can handle up to 300BHP (by Ford's design), it is only a matter of time before they drop in the Yahmaha, IMO. That could do some interesting things with the car later on down the road, but even then, I don't think the car has enough of "it" to get everything smoothed out in time for the Zeta cars and the updated LY models comming down the road...
 
::bump::

LLN.com
Ford has finally dropped the bra-and-diaper disguise treatment on one its Ford Five Hundred prototypes, giving us a much clearer look at the styling tweaks in store. The Fusion-inspired three-bar grille is clearly visible, especially once you imagine large swaths of chrome in place of the tape. (Recent spy shots showed the grille without tape).



The car's new headlights have been resized to match the grille height, and now sweep more widely around the fenders. The front air-dam now has six blocky openings, similar to those we have seen on restyled Focus prototypes. Angular new fog lamps finish off the the Five Hundred's new mug.



The Five Hundred's rear-end has received some attention as well, but the changes appear to be limited to new lenses occupying the same space as the current car. The new lenses are predominantly white, with three strips of red residing within. Gallery after the jump…



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Looks MUCH better now. 👍
 
Eh, looks like a late 90's early 2000's Toyota Avalon in the front.

Yet, I don't really mind it too much and appreciate how Ford is sticking to a specific design cue.
 
Feh, I think the Five-hundred will become obsolete with the advent of an FR platform. still, the last few years of it's career should be as competitive as possible...
 
Matt you're right. Ive driven the 500, and I didnt like it. It was a few weeks ago, but it didnt feel right when driving. (But keep in mind, I drove the 500 after driving a 2004 745Li. So my opinion may be a little weighted to one side.)
 
A yamaha V8 would be a cool possibility for this 500, but I don't see it happening at all. Weren't we told by Ford themselves that this new 3.5 V6 was forced induction ready? So the new 3.5 has around 265hp already right? Just imagine it either supercharged or turbo'd and we'd get into the 300+hp level! put 2 and 2 together we've got ourselves a Ford 500 SHO!!
 
ND4SPD
A yamaha V8 would be a cool possibility for this 500, but I don't see it happening at all. Weren't we told by Ford themselves that this new 3.5 V6 was forced induction ready? So the new 3.5 has around 265hp already right? Just imagine it either supercharged or turbo'd and we'd get into the 300+hp level! put 2 and 2 together we've got ourselves a Ford 500 SHO!!
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Supposedly the new Fusion and Five Hundred are getting the new 3.5L V6 that is in the new Ford Edge. Produces ~268bhp. I've got that new Ford Edge booklet somewhere...
 
i would prefer a high performance version of the fusion before the 500, i cant see my moms 500 ever being much more than a moms car, whereas the fusion has the potential written all over it as long as its no just a rebadged mazdaspeed 6. btw the 6 speed auto was in the 500 from the start, i even did the acceleration test to make sure the owners manual was not lying
 
Now I think the current Mondeo-esque style looks good:

2007.ford.fivehundred.20052582-E.jpg


So it will be interesting to see how these changes effect the overall look of the car. Certainly it isn't very exciting now, but it is a nice car for those of us looking for something big, roomy, and comfortable. Hell, even I can fit inside of the trunk comfortably... Thats just plain awesome.

But, I still think a Yamaha V8 version would be awesome! I mean, they are doing it with the S80 (of which the Fivehundred shares its platform), so why not the Ford?

---

By the way guys, the actual title of the car is Fivehundred, not 500.
 
...So now the Ford Five Hundred is even more anonymous...

I hate when the corporate-identity stamp has to be disfigured on every car. It always makes the original design look worse.
 

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