Vannin' Home Forums Ford General Discussion econolines.ipbhost.com SUSPENDED

The Econoline message board has been down for over 3 days now. Does anyone have any idea what has happened, or how to contact the current owner (Hoofbeats - he's a member here)? Personally, I've never seen a "suspended" tag on a URL before. Usually if a site is down it'll say error 404, cannot be found, or something to the effect that it doesn't exist. So what is a suspension? Who can suspend a site besides the owner, and for what reason? This forum has been extremely helpful to many people and has (had?) tons of information on it, and was the authority for all things related to mid Fords. What is going on? Any ideas are welcome.

I think Ford is cracking down on unauthorized use of its licensed trademarks and names. The excellent fuel injection site www.oldfuelinjection.com that used to becalled www.fordfuelinjection.com that dealt with the late 80s to mid 905 MAF based Ford fuel injections systems was taken down earlier this year. it really sucks because these websites are invaluable sources of information.

Henry Ford is really rolling in his grave then!!

I suppose the theory you've laid out is very plausible, though senseless and insensitive on the part of Ford. What in the world is wrong with those people who manage that company? Henry Ford wasn't happy when the unions and bankers took control of his life's works way back when, and now they kill the Econoline, the world's best-selling and most profitable van, and to top it off they want to kill all memory of it, and ways for people to keep them on the road? It's not about money from Ford's side but some kind of draconian socialistic tyranny to keep vehicles out of the hands of the people, the exact opposite of what Henry vowed to do by introducing the Model T for the masses. I recall an interview with some descendent of Henry's about 10-12 years ago wherein he laid out his plans to make the company "greener" by controlling the whole cycle of the cars' production, from cradle to grave, so to speak, but it wasn't about profit, it was about controlling the way people use and have access to vehicles, the socialist dream of limiting access to vehicles to only those who "need" them. The whole thing reeks of draconian socialism. In any case, for Ford to go after "trademark" violations is against the understood fair use doctrine, which allows people to use information that has been printed for informational purposes (as opposed to trying to make a profit from it). It is reprehensible behavior to shut down sources of information. There was no profit making going on or intended with this website. If the scenario you laid out is accurate, I am disheartened and disgusted by Ford's irresponsible, reckless and predatory behavior.

Henry Ford was also a racist, a bigot, an anti-semite, and a horrible father. So don't thinking that just because Henry Ford said something or disagreed with something that he was right.

I don't connect your post to anything socialist or see why the policies you discuss are "socialist." I am not aware of any "socialist" movement to keep people from buying cars. It sounds like you use the term "socialist" for anything you don't like or disagree with.

I hope your post was a joke.

My post was not a joke, and I think if you had more experience with history and the world, you would know what I was talking about. Sorry for making an attempt to enlighten you. Really, I don't and can't blame you for your lack of understanding and education, and I'd forgive your flippant remark about my educational post if you were to show some kind of concerted effort to actually learn. But it's OK. I don't expect everybody to be on the same learning curve, nor have the same experience or desire to learn about these age-old issues as I. So no sweat, brother!

You have not responded to any of the pertinent issues regarding Ford's decision to shut down legitimate sources of knowledge and information for apparently no good reason (since you discount completely any ties to socialistic inclinations).

I just spent at least 15 minutes on editing the post in order to help you understand why Henry Ford was a true American and a hero, but unfortunately the software wouldn't let me post it (time expired) and I lost everything I wrote.

I was making another attempt to explain some things to you because you seem to be an intelligent man, intelligent enough to realize why it's unfair and illogical to use an ad-hominem attack against a person like you did by hurling the "bigot" and "anti-semite" slurs.

Henry Ford's whole life was dedicated to helping the average man afford the means to exercise his freedom of movement. Which is absolutely American, and anti-social/anti-communist. Socialists (version of Communist) feel a need to control their fellow man and dictate his actions and movements. The American way is to live and let live, not try to control others in any way. Henry Ford realized the importance of the automobile in not only commerce but also in leisure, and knew that it was instrumental in giving the common man the physical freedom to travel, which is to exercise his freedom of movement. Even back then, 100 years ago, it was commonly held by the "elite" (so they thought of themselves then as they do today) that the common man needn't be able to afford an automobile, so they made no attempt to produce a car for the common man. This attitude was borne of arrogance and conceit. Henry saw through this and wanted to produce a car that people could afford so that they could drive around and be free. This is extremely important to understand about Henry and what drove him. He succeeded in doing just that, much to the chagrin of his fellow industrialists (who were mostly elitists, not freedom-loving Americans like himself). It was a matter of ideology of Henry's. He was deeply opposed to those un-American people who wanted to dictate how others should live. He also saw a business opportunity in make a profit producing cars. But his primary goal was visionary, ideological. And he succeeded. He kept lowering the price of his Model T so that more people could afford one, knowing full well that it would help motorize America and allow the common man to exercise and experience freedom of movement.

We as Americans owe practically our whole car culture to the drive and vision of this American hero.

"Henry Ford's anti-Semitic views echoed the fears and assumptions of many Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Anti-Semitism in America saw a change in expression and virulence when increased immigration from Europe brought millions of Jews to the U.S. during Ford's childhood in the latter half of the 19th century. It reached its peak during the mid-1920s: a time when Ku Klux Klan membership had reached four million, Prohibition restricted alcohol consumption, and discriminatory immigration policies were enacted favoring immigrants from northern and western Europe over other parts of the world.

A close friend recalled a camping trip in 1919 during which Ford lectured a group around the campfire. He "attributes all evil to Jews or to the Jewish capitalists," the friend wrote in his diary. "The Jews caused the war, the Jews caused the outbreak of thieving and robbery all over the country, the Jews caused the inefficiency of the navy…"

In 1918, Henry Ford purchased his hometown newspaper, The Dearborn Independent. A year and a half later, he began publishing a series of articles that claimed a vast Jewish conspiracy was infecting America. The series ran in the following 91 issues. Ford bound the articles into four volumes titled "The International Jew," and distributed half a million copies to his vast network of dealerships and subscribers. The rhetoric was not unusual for its content, as much as its scope. As one of the most famous men in America, Henry Ford legitimized ideas that otherwise may have been given little authority."

Above quote taken from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/interview/henryford-antisemitism/

And this man deserves to be called a hero why, exactly?

The only thing Ford did was attempt to line his pockets by making cars as cheaply as possible and try to sell them to as many people as possible. He was the first to implement assembly line production, which is a good or bad thing, depending on your viewpoint. Henry Ford's most impressive car-related attribute was simply that he was the first to do assembly line. Like so many other industrilists of his age, personally he was reprehensible in his views and actions. I recognize that Henry Ford was an important figure in the development of the automobile and car culture, but "hero" is definitely too strong a word to use for him.

You really need to study American history more if you honetly believe that "the American way is to live and let live." A more accurate summary of the American way would be "Me first, and screw everybody else." Tell it to the native americans who the white Europeans slaughtered and stole from as they rampaged across the continent, breaking treaties with impunity (when they bothered to make treaties at all). Tell it to the immigrants and racial "minorities" who were blatantly exploited, discriminated against, enslaved, abused, and killed lawfully bythe whites. Tell it to the workers killed and maimed by the business practices of greedy capitalist robber baron "captains of industry" in the days before unions became powerful enough to demand safe working environments, limited work days, and things like the weekend.

But this is getting too far afield from vans and straying into politics and/or reigion, so I won't post anymore.

Just a small point.....if other sites have problems don't bring it here....Ford, like GM before it is enforcing their trademarks and copy rights......there will be lots of sites renamed Phord after this...

Reed, I respect your right to have your opinion and express it, and I don't feel we would likely be able to convince each other to alter our respective opinions. Perhaps this conversation would be better suited to a campfire at a van-in. ;)

Doc, I was trying to get information about the whos and whys of the shutdown of that website. This is the main or largest collection of vanners on the planet, so I hoped someone would have a clue why one of the most important forums just got suspended.