Beachboy

The "advertised" special deal was shown to be $77, but by the time they add the royalties, state and local taxes, it came to $93 for the year. Yes, they waive the $15 reconnection fee. One thing that's different is that you have to leave your radio turned on to channel 184 while they "ping" it to re-establish the connection. Since at the moment, my car is stuck in the garage due to blizzard conditions, I'll have to get online or call them when I'm ready to have it pinged. When I first established Sirius service, they had me connected while I was talking to them on the phone, so I'm not sure why re-establishing service is any different. I agree that Sirius is only worth half price and that was the only reason I re-established it. In the week without Sirius, I did come to realize how bad local FM programming had become, with more ads than music! You do have to be careful to cancel the service a few days before the expiration date, or else they'll automatically bill your credit card next time for the full subscription fee. The Sirius sales rep seemed somewhat upset that my credit card will expire just before the next subscription is due, but I told her the credit card company only issues them for two year periods, and I'll have a new card with the same account number next year. If you cancel service AFTER they renew it on your credit cars, there is a $75 disconnect fee. It seems like satellite radio companies are as sleazy as satellite TV providers.

Well, in less than a week after my Sirius subscription expired, they've offered me a one year deal at $6.42/month plus royalties and taxes. Half the usual price (but the royalties and fees I'm sure are continued at full price). At the end of the one year special offer, it automatically renews at full price unless I cancel it. I might have to consider this offer carefully, since I do miss Sirius.

Thanks for everybody's input. I think I'll let my subscription end this Wednesday, then see how badly Sirius wants my business. They've been calling me almost daily and sending me endless junk mail, always with the same (full price) offers. I dislike the way they show one price, then in small print they add the taxes and royalties, making it about 25% higher than they initially advertised. There are definitely some aspects of Sirius that I like, but another $16/month charge in this economy is hard to justify.

I've heard from others that the closer you get to the expiration date, the sweeter the offers are. Sirus has been trying to call me about every day, but their automated dialer hangs up after the second ring, so I'm missing the calls, since I usually can't get to the phone in just two rings. The one time I did talk to a representative, she said there was a $15 reinstatement fee if I renewed after the expiration date. I guess I'm going to have to decide fast, since the subscription is up next Wednesday. I don't listen to CD's, MP3's, or ipods, so FM is my only media choice after Sirus goes away. I guess I need to run a CD through the system at least once, to make sure the player works, although I think I'm past the 12,000 mile warranty for accessories.

My six-month free Sirus subscription is almost up, and I haven't decided whether or not to renew it or just let it drop. I was curious how many other owners let Sirus drop once it ceased to be free. I don't like the way Sirus tosses you somewhat attractive prices, then somewhere on down the renewal, adds the various taxes and copyright fees. Why don't they just price the whole package upfront, rather than this "bait and switch" tactic? I also don't like the way they say you have to notify them if you want to terminate service; you can't simply just quit paying your renewals. I've heard Sirus has a less than admirable customer service reputation, so I don't know if I want to enter into a contract with them or not. What's everyone else's experience with paying for Sirus after the freebie period has expired?

I stand by the fact MY Milan's gauges are IMPOSSIBLE to read in normal daylight. The blue illuminated numerals simply cannot be read in daytime, whether its sunny or overcast outside. At night, they still aren't very legible. I've noticed that at least some '10 Fusion's appear to have white painted numerals on the speedometer and tach, rather than these goofy blue illuminated things on the Milan. I could also do without the juvenile flashing/wildly swinging needle scheme the gauges do every time you start the car. There's no reason for that to be programmed into the operating system. Give me regular, old fashioned displays anyday! I'm evidently in the minority here about being unhappy with my new Milan.

On my Milan, and evidently on some Fusions also, the speedometer and tach numbers are illuminated, by the backlighting. When the ignition is off, the only thing you see on the tach or speedometer are the chrome "hash" marks. The numbers are not painted or printed onto the faces, but are cut outs illuminated from behind by the backlighting. The brightness cannot be adjusted when the headlights are off, and the standard lighting "level" is inadequate in normal daylight. I agree with frjoel that is a significant and serious deficiency.

The EPA's already approved the move to 15% ethanol. The big kicker is that they recommend it only in cars 2007 and newer. So are gas stations going to have to put in a third set of tanks and pumps (10% ethanol, 15% ethanol, and premium)? The automakers, small engine makers, as well as the environmentalists are dead set against the trend towards more ethanol, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Or do the EPA bureaucrats figure everybody should be rich enough to be driving 2007 or newer cars and to heck with those of us in older vehicles?

Thanks bbf2530. I'll give Crutchfield a call this weekend. I've purchased a lot of home stereo equipment from Crutchfield over the years, and they are a first rate company to do business with. I'll take a look at their installation instructions, but I gotta admit I'm nervous about tearing into the door panels of a two month old car! I installed my share of car stereos when I was a teenager, but that was back in the days of a pair of 6x9's in the rear deck and an 8 track player hanging under the dash! :hysterical2:

Thanks for a great idea.....I didn't know if the upholstery was treated at the factory or not, but I'll invest in a can of scotch guard this weekend and see how it works. It's the driver's seat I'm mostly worried about, as the other seats will likely rarely be used. And yeah, living with the cloth until such time as its in uncleanable shape, then going to leather skins is probably what I need to do. The cloth might surprise me and last better than I expect.

I have the stock 6 speaker system. My biggest disappointment is the lack of high frequency response. Due to my age, my hearing has dropped off in the high frequencies, so I want a speaker with a brighter-than-normal treble response. Will any good 6x8 name brand speaker easily swap with my stock speakers, or is the head unit itself lacking in frequency response? A local stereo shop said I really needed an amp along with upgraded speakers, despite the fact I don't listen to music at high volumes. They recommended a total install, costing around $3,000, but I never could pin them down on how well the new headunit would integrate into the dash.

Well, I made the mistake of being in the new car market at the end of the model year. My new car requirements had three stipulations: it had to be red in color, it had to have a sunroof, and it had to have leather upholstery. The Milan I bought hit two out of three requirements. There was nothing available in the area that fit all three criteria, even in a Fusion. The candy apple red color must be rather unpopular, as my car had sat on the dealer's lot for seven months, but I loved it and it was the main reason I bought this particular Milan. Right now, I'm trying to determine if I'd be happy enough with the car if I got the seats reupholstered in leather to make it worthwhile to keep. I'm very hard on seats and I'm afraid this light colored cloth upholstery will be easily soiled or stained. I've never owned a car with cloth upholstery before, but I remember my dad always throwing those clear plastic seat covers on every new car he bought with cloth upholstery. I do tend to eat and drink on my 100 mile commutes to work, and also I have had nosebleeds on occasion where blood got on the seats. That's why I've always leaned towards leather or vinyl on all my previous cars. People have told me modern cloth upholstery is much better than what I remember from the 1950's, so maybe I'm worrying too much.

For me, its a "big deal" having to pay the $400 for SYNC only to find out it won't do a thing for me. When I bought the car, the salesman assured me it worked just like ONSTAR does in my wife's Buick LaCrosse. I wanted a "stand alone" type device like ONSTAR that doesn't require a cell phone or ipod to be useful. I wish car manufacturers would go back to the days of "ala carte" options rather than the packages that bundle multiple items together. Anybody know why Mercury forces you to buy SYNC if you want a sunroof, while with a Ford Fusion, they bundle the upgraded sound system with the sunroof? I would have greatly preferred to have the Sony upgraded stereo, since going to an aftermarket stereo appears to be impossible considering how integrated the radio is into these cars.

Thanks for the replies. I just looked on the Katzkin website, who is the official aftermarket supplier for Ford, and they indicate a cost around $2,000 to $2,500, which is a bit steeper than I was hoping for. I was a little unclear if the original cloth upholstery remained in place and the aftermarket leather could be removed later if desired, or if the leather installation was permanent. I'll give my dealer a call and see if they've had any experience with the aftermarket leather installations. Unfortunately, when I bought my Milan a few weeks ago, it was the end of the line for production and not only was there not much product selection to choose from, the option of ordering one built to spec was gone. Otherwise, I would have a Premier model (with leather) instead of the base.

Well, thanks for the suggestions. This whole SYNC thing is bugging me to death and it drives me up a wall having options that won't work for me. That, coupled with a couple of other major concerns with the car, are prompting me towards looking into trading it for something else. Thanks anyway for the help.