Yeah, I'd rather ditch the plastic myself. I've seen what people call "good" plastics in cars these days, but...it's so obviously plastic it's a real detractor. Plastic can be made strong, sure (take a look at my Nalgene water bottle - it'll stop a .22 cold at 15 yards), but there's nothing luxurious or rich about it. And besides which...I haven't seen strong plastic in a vehicle yet. Nearly verything that broke on the interior of our Toyota Sienna, VW Passat, Dodge Caravan (the least reliable mechanically, but the most reliable otherwise), Ford Bronco, Dodge Ram Van, and especially VW New Beetle was obviously or traced back to plastic. Wonder why it hasn't won me over, either?

Anyhow, I am actually surprised that Ford's slipping. I really thought Ford has had the best overall lineup of vehicles out of the Big Three, and those most able to compete tit-for-tat with the favoured import marques. Must be something I'm missing.

Now, on an individual basis, I think Chrysler has two of the best cars out there with the 300c and the Magnum (not really a fan of the Charger or the Ram). The MDS is pretty silly, IMHO, so it wouldn't break my heart if they ditched that. Cad's V8-6-4 still leaves a bad taste in my mouth (sorry Fleet...not Cad's best moment)