Here's hoping Ford manages to sell the Five Hundred without rebates. This is a good car and deserves better than a discount start and the ultimate fate of fleet sales. The trick behind the Five Hundred is that Ford actually turned things around: whereas in the past, crossovers were based on existing sedan platforms, the Five Hundred is built on a crossover platform - the result of which equates to cavernous room on the inside, a mammoth trunk and seating positions reminiscent of driving an SUV. Indeed, the 2005 Five Hundred is a significant vehicle for Ford - and not just for sedan market share. The Five Hundred (and the new Freestyle crossover that shares its platform) employs Ford's flexible manufacturing process - the effectiveness of which will mean good things for the automaker. Flexible manufacturing is a system that makes it easier for assembly plants to quickly switch from one vehicle to another on the production line, thus enabling Ford to sell more kinds of cars to more kinds of people.
Slotted above the Focus and the upcoming Fusion, the 2005 Ford Five Hundred is three inches longer than the Taurus and a foot shorter than the Crown Victoria. According to Ford, the actual difference in the Five Hundred when compared to other sedans on the road is the engineering focus on the "H" point - otherwise known as the hip's pivot point. According to Ford engineers, from this point, all things come together or fall apart: Unless the "H" point is considered, for example, massive amounts of legroom could go to waste. For the Five Hundred, front seat passengers get a higher "H point," and, as a result, overall legroom is best in class, and getting into and out of the vehicle is much easier. In other words, Ford built a crossover and realized - shoot - we could make this into one of the most roomy and comfortable sedans on the road. Mission accomplished. Consider the Ford Five Hundred's trunk: it's bigger than the Crown Vic's, though the car itself is shorter. And the SUV-style driving position, which Ford refers to as "command" seating, provides an excellent, upright view of the road. In the back, shoulder room is plentiful and there's more than enough legroom. As far as control layout, the 2005 Ford Five Hundred has all its fingers and toes, turn signals and knobs - and they are where they should be. It's refreshing to sit inside a vehicle that uses similar textures and plastics throughout the interior, and though a few surfaces were a bit rough to the touch - specifically, the top of the front door panels - for the most part Ford interior designers put the right kind of material in the right spots to maximize comfort and enhance the driving experience.
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