2009 Ford Flex: Trip to San Francisco

Of course, that church was featured in the movie "Dirty Harry."

The Flex looks great at the The Wharf....a good angle for it, one of the nicer pics of it that I remember seeing.

hey in that first picture - did y'all eat at North Beach across the street?

Woot, two Flex posts in one day! :)

How did it handle SF's narrow streets? That's probably my least-favorite city to drive in. I honestly hope I never have to take my Flex there, but just this morning my son said he wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge. Ugh...

Is that first photo on Filbert Street too?

Man I miss San Fran..

@jrcarch: Yes, North Beach Pizza is across the street. We stopped in for lunch.

@felonious: Yeah, it's a tricky city to drive around in if you aren't familiar with it. Getting around was fine. Flex didn't seem overly big. Navigation system was helpful, though mostly just for the map; its directions to our hotel were wonky.

@desmo
Nope, it's on Grant Avenue and Union Street.

Thanks for the reply Brent. I've also noticed that the nav system's directions are often sub-optimal. Or should I say, *my wife* has noticed this and informed me of it, repeatedly. :) I'm glad the Flex didn't seem too big. That vehicle pulls off the strangest optical illusions... It looks huge in pictures, but standing next to it you feel like it's actually kinda small. Inside feels ginormous, yet it still fits in normal parking places and my garage just fine. I'm obviously still getting used to it. :)

The Flex is the kind of vehicle that would be perfect with a diesel six.

@felonious,

As with anything familiarity makes things easier. I'm in the city a couple times a week and I have no trouble piloting my S550 around with confidence (which is actually slightly larger than the Flex), but I can remember my first drive through there. I was in college and in my W202 C-Class, even that felt massive at the time. My advice to novices is just to leave your car in San Jose, take Cal-Train up to the city and then use MUNI to get around. Ticket prices are low and you don't have to worry about paying the ridiculous fees to park. Congrats on the Flex, though, it's a remarkable car.

"Fisherman's Wharf. I don't believe there's any fishing going on here anymore, unless you count fishing for tourist's dollars."

LOL! Good one, Brent! =Þ

Another benefit of this trip over Riz's is that the car didn't need to get outfitted in square wheels and tires to fit in.

Man, this Flex is proving itself time and time again. If it can handle SF with little to no problem (mostly on the experience of the driver and nav unit) that should give most SUV drivers the confidence to drive in and out of SF. Great car, the Flex. Insideline should keep it, permanently.

the civic tailgating you was thinking "great, another f-ing tourist taking pictures of the bridge while driving and all i want is my coffee..."

I think these extended tests are great. Most any car (except a new Chrysler minivan!) can get to 25k miles without significant issues. 50k is where the squeaks and rattles show up and the brakes and shocks start to show their age. With leasing being much less a part of the new car transactions now, we're going to see more used cars with 50k + on the odo, will be nice to see how they hold up over the longer haul. Would be really interesting to take say an A4 or C300, Accord or TL and Fusion or LaCrosse to 100k and see what holds up best and costs least overall. Throw a 328i in as well, the free maintenance for the first 50k would be a plus, but my BMW experience proved those 50k on the back side of the warranty are quite expensive!

by the what camera do you guys use, the pics are always awesome... Or is it just because of the Sun ;)

Thanks Brent. Makes me really miss the city..

is anyone else sick of the Edmund's InsideLine not updating these blogs for days its very disappointing they used to update all the time, now it is rare to see an update even every three days apart (or more like every 2weeks) I WISH THEY WOULD UPDATE THEIR BLOGS MORE even if its about something simple like the exhaust smell or something i miss reading them every other day if not every day.