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Varney, WV Car Consumer Discussions

Re: Parasitic power drain 2001 GMC Yukon XL [ddelay]

by nichole523 on Fri Oct 31 12:32:07 PDT 2008

I feel your pain! I have a 2004 Yukon with no instrument cluster and now I have the same problem...did you ever find a solution??? My husband is very good w/vehicles and is at his witts end....high payment, cant afford $365.00 for the cluster let alone to fix this...Im going to have to let it go back. Im not dealing w/this all winter!! Varney's GMC in Bangor, Maine, where I bought this pile of crap, told me this morning that not even they have a solution. Go Figure. I WILL NEVER BUY A GM PRODUCT AGAIN!!!!!!

Re: I am leaning towards using the bold [iluvmysephia1]

by tiff_c on Sat Dec 08 21:30:00 PST 2007

tiff c, otherwise we might think that the person's quote are your words...and, as was already mentioned by somebody else, that starts getting corn-fusing. Ya know what I mean, Vern? IIRC Vern was the smart one. :P Jim Varney/Ernest was always the one getting in a mess, a real Drongo ! :D

Article Comments: Riding shotgun in the new Jaguar XKR

by KarenS on Mon Aug 21 08:40:31 PDT 2006

Ride along with us as we get an exclusive look at the new Jaguar XKR. Our tour guide is none other than Chief Program Engineer Russ Varney. Can't beat that! Post your comments here. Riding shotgun in the new Jaguar XKR

Re: The Sad Truth Jaguar versus Lincoln

by douglasr on Sun Mar 19 08:11:06 PST 2006

Fellow Lincoln drivers, Jaguar has indeed consumed $6Bn of Ford Motor's corporate cash. It has yet to make a profit for Ford. What is not true is that its reliability is low, the new Xk/XJ chassis have consistently scored in the top ten for J.D. Powers customer satisfaction and reliabiliy, and Harbour Associates ranked the Castle Bromwich and Gaydon plants as some of the best in Europe---certainly number one in the Ford Motor Empire. The same is true of Wixom where Lincoln will be built for 15 more months. The V/H aluminum architecture at Jaguar/Astons is an industry leader along with the use of aluminum substructures. The Jaguar bodyshell weighs 60% less than its steel counterpart, weighing roughly 220Kg or 400 pounds. The weight difference in the bodyshell is equal to the weight of all the passengers in the car. The performance curve is therefore enhanced as a result. The variable platform used by both allows quick design and production of varients, the Rapide being done in six months from a drawing to a driving car. Jaguar/Astons also represents the first of CAD/CAM Rapid Prototyping method at Ford, which provided demonstration of the technology that was subsequently used for Zephyr. The net result is that the current XK Coupe/Convertible has a bodyshell with 30% less components and welds required with greater rigidity---3,000 welds versus 5,000, and an equal change in the type of extrusions and aluminum castings required. Build tolerances were increased according to Russ Varney, the programs engineer for Jaguar---"We were able to build 7 prototypes instead of the 100 it used to require...the first was nearly perfect. We were able to get to that last .01%" Jaguar/Astons represents a new level of quality that Ford Motor here-to-fore has never been able to achieve since the 1960's. Aston/Jaguar also has its own engine casting plant in Cologne (Koln) Germany---able to make precision V12 and high performance V8 engines. These motors could be used for Lincoln... Jaguar has lost money for Ford because it expanded far too rapidly, going from a brand that sold 8,000-25,000 cars per year in America over the decades and then attempting to sell ten times that many all while expanding its customer base that it never had before. Too much too soon. Had they built the XJ/XK and improved its reputation for quality and performance first, and then offered a 'mini' Jag that would have worked. As its stands, dealers were flooded with cars that the public was unsure of, and in some cases never wanted. One reason why the Reitzle Expansion and Revival Plan for Lincoln was rejected: it took money away from Jaguar, and Ford executives thought they could make it their corporate BMW...without understanding the instrinsic appeal of Jaguar...(having pushed and driven some of the finest Jags from XK150's, E 4.2Litre and V12 convertibles, to name a few I have a fair understanding of the marque.) Plus, the Brown's Lane plant was built in 1919 and infrequently modernised---why they switched to Castle Bromwich. In short, investment costs required were twice what was needed, and the market wasn't ready to accept 150,000 Jaguars where it used to sell 50,000 worldwide. If anything, Ford Motor has the resources and the people to build V12 Lincolns again, using aluminum variable architecture, appeal to the traditional blue-blooded American Lincoln driver, all while retaining the style for which Lincoln was once noted. They could easily market cars as Zephyr for $29,000 and add horsepower, likewise sell a Lincoln at $49,500-59,000 with high performance V8's, and an exclusive V12 in sedan and convertible form. Imperial is coming...and they will equipe the new car with V10 and SRT8 engines. Where is Lincoln? The late shift at Hermisilio and Chicago...that is all that remains. Simply put...there's no champion at Ford Motor for Lincoln. They are clearly trying to downgrade the brand...much like Oldsmobile at GM. If they succeed in implimenting their current plan...it will take more than the blue-jeans set to save it. All they will need to decide it what inscription to put on the headstone, and the press release announcing the end of Lincoln. DouglasR (Sources; Ward's Automotive, Edmunds Online)

Jim Varney

by rickabt on Sat Jul 01 11:38:01 PDT 2000

Jim Varney died last year from cancer, but he still appears in commercials for this area's largest Chevrolet dealership ... rest his soul! I've heard that he has appeared in commercials for many dealerships all across the country. I thought there was a law saying that spokespeople should use the product or service offered by the company they advertise ... Jim Varney must have a lot of cars, I guess. I never understood the appeal of Jim Varney for a car dealership unless the dealer wanted to stimulate a response from people with bad credit. Fran Tarkenton also speaks for a subprime-level (caters to sufferers of bad credit) lending institution called Bar None ... does that mean that Fran's financing his car at 21% interest, too?

Macarthur2

by markz2k on Sat Jul 01 04:46:51 PDT 2000

I know exactly what you mean about the carls jr. ads. I used to go there at least 3 times a week before they started the sloppy/gross ads several years ago. I haven't been to a Carls for at least 3 years, and they're all over the place here in Irvine. Co-workers hate it if I drive to lunch cause I won't go there. (And won't go with them if that's where they're going!)Won't go to Taco Bell either, those commercials are probably even more annoying than the carls ones. I actually emailed a comment to carls from their site once a few years back. I got a reply from someone in marketing who was pleasant about the issue, but basically said we're happy to lose a few hundred/thousand customers who don't like the ads to gain the several thousand that do like them. And then there's the ULTRA-ANNOYING ads for Cerritos Auto square with jim varney (the Hey, Vern guy) That idiot is the only reason I need to never come close to shopping there. Yes, they got me to remember the name of their shopping center with the obnoxious ads, but they also got me to remember the ads are so obnoxious that I will avoid shopping there at all costs!