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This is one thing I've always loved about the car business. They live in the future. There's a very simple reason for this. You can go over to a Ford dealer and buy a 2013 Ford Escape right now, and drive it over to your friend's house and show off.

"Lookee here. I got the NEW Ford Escape. 2013 model. It's great. I'm AHEAD OF THE CURVE. I'm into next year's model already. Yeeeee-hah!"

Three points. Number one, it's an aptly named car. It's called an Escape because you need to know how to get the fuck out of there when it catches on fire.

And two, now that they've screwed up the 2013 version, why don't they just press on with their marketing? Ford should just SKIP 2013 and move ahead and start making 2014 Ford Escapes, and the idiots that buy them now can feel even MORE ahead of the curve and increase their bragging rights. If there are indeed any bragging rights involved in buying a car that is spontaneously combustible.

Third, finally, this isn't even the first recall of these rolling bombs. They don't brake either, the carpet gets in the way. It's an UNSTOPPABLE rolling bomb. More like a military assault vehicle of some kind as opposed to a wholesome SUV that transports a family while destroying what remains of our atmosphere. What's a catchy slogan for all this? "American engineering - second to all."

Ford Motor Co. is telling owners of one version of the brand-new Ford Escape not to drive the SUVs until dealers can fix fuel lines that can crack and spill gasoline, causing engine fires.

The company issued the unusual warning on Thursday and said it is recalling 2013 Escapes equipped with 1.6-liter four-cylinder engines. Dealers will pick up the Escapes and drop off a loaner car that customers can use until the repairs are finished. The company is hoping to ship parts and get all the SUVs repaired in the next two weeks.

Ford says it has three reports of fires: two at the factory and one while a customer was driving an Escape. No one has been injured.

The recall affects 11,500 Escapes in the U.S. and Canada. Only 4,800 have been sold to customers. The rest are on dealer lots and will be fixed before they are sold, spokeswoman Marcey Zwiebel said. "We are obviously taking very quick action in the interest of our customers' safety," she said.

Escapes powered by other engines are not affected, nor are other Ford models with 1.6-liter engines, Zwiebel said.

This is the second recall of the redesigned Escape, which went on sale in June. On Saturday, the company said it would recall more than 10,000 Escapes to fix carpet padding that could interfere with braking. Problems often crop up when new vehicles are introduced, even though automakers have improved quality in recent years.

The new Escape is among Ford's top-selling vehicles. People bought 28,500 last month, up 28 percent from June 2011.

[Associated Press]