Please read this thread and contribute your ideas

http://www.smaxownersclub.com/forum/...at-Do-You-Want

Thanks,

Paul

New Ford S-Max for Europe only

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/new-...pe-only/260855

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

New Ford S-Max not a ‘global’ model...
...unlike the next Mondeo

Due in 2014; Galaxy, too

"A new Ford S-Max is due in 2014 and, unlike the new Mondeo it’ll be based on, it will be produced for Europe only.

The new Mondeo, revealed at the Detroit motor show yesterday, will be virtually identical in all markets, as part of the ‘One Ford’ strategy to produce global models.

However, at an exclusive preview of the new Mondeo, Ford executives told What Car? that the next S-Max won’t be sold in the US, so will be developed exclusively for European markets.

MPVs have limited – and diminishing – appeal to US buyers, so the practical option developed from the same platform is likely to be a crossover/SUV-style vehicle for US buyers.

The next S-Max is due on sale in 2014, and is likely to be revealed in concept car form within the next 18 months. It’s expected to stay close to the current car’s ‘sporty-but-practical’ ethos and will use the same range of engines as the new Mondeo. The seating system is likely to be a development of the current car’s folding set-up.

Our sources also confirmed that a separate – but closely related – Galaxy is due at the same time and that Ford is not considering combining the two cars into one new model.

As with the current car, the next Galaxy will share many parts with the S-Max, but have a higher, longer body for more interior space."

Source: whatcar.com
All Rights Reserved

Right then you lot - stop using the C-word and have yourselves an s-maxtastic New Year.

And don't come moaning to me if you have a sore head on New Year's Day - it's your own damn fault

Yes it's the 1st of December & I now permit everyone to use the C-word.

Use of the C-word will be acceptable until 23:59:59 on the 26th of December. After that time the ban will be restored and permission is granted to use the HNY greeting until 23:59:59 on the 6th of January 2012.

No need for each of you to email me & thank me for this incredible gesture of goodwill, I take it that you will all appreciate the supreme effort it's taken me to grant this freedom.

So go on, knock your socks off & use the C-word with confidence that you won't face a public stoning, unlike me after inadvertently using the C-word without appropriate punctuation on Facebook yesterday. Still feeling rather bruised, or was that the dodgy Asda prawn sandwich I ate at lunchtime?

Paul

Thanks to JasonMarie I've been reminded that this month is SMAXOC's 5th birthday. Cake & fizzy pop all round

It's also timely to let you know that myself & Zozzer have been discussing "what next" in terms of the website.

We've reached a position where reliability is close to 100% thanks to Zozzer & Montgomery Scott's work behind the scene down in the basement of SMAXOC HQ. Thanks needs to go out to these two and anyone else involved at Two:Design.

Software is constantly evolving and I'm conscious that some other owner's club sites have the lead on us in terms of user friendliness. I've recently been dabbling on the BriSkoda site and have to say that I'm impressed with the online presentation on my laptop/Mac. However it's when you access that particular site via an iPhone that it stands out from the crowd. The same has to be said of the Caravan Talk website.

So my challenge is this. Can you as members identify for us a list of websites/forums/owner's clubs that you think are worthy of closer inspection? As a prolific user of the said iPhone I am keen that we become more 'smartphone friendly' in the near future. But this also applied to accessing the site via a range of screen sizes & operating systems. Here at SMAXOC HQ I access the site by iPhone [iOS 4], MacMini [OS X 10.5.8], HP laptop [Windows 7 Home Premium], Acer netbook [Windows 7 Starter edition] and an old Dell laptop [Ubuntu - Linux]. It just depends on which device is available & not being used by the family.

My one ongoing question is whether we can 'easily' and 'simply' swap to another software package. As we now have just over 3 years worth of data stored on the server we can't afford to lose that amassed knowledge and many other software packages would not allow us to port across that important data. However that question is one that I have laid at Zozzer's feet and he, with Mr Scott, will investigate further and advise accordingly. When this idea was last looked at the result was an emphatic "computer says no". But things change, new software is written & who knows we might break out of the clutches of vBulletin one day.

Please reply to this post & we can then look at who is doing what & how.

Thanks,

Paul.