Well I (we) have two Tauruses (also). Both 2001s. The one with the flex fuel engine (SES) had four trouble issues in 94K(!) miles: 1. Ignition coil pack (Cost:$70), 2. Bad flex fuel sensor ($30); 3. One O2 sensor ($40) and one dirty MAF sensor ($4 - for a can of cleaner). This engine still doesn't use any oil. The other Taurus (SEL) at 65K miles - Duratec engine: one warped rotor; an EGR pressure sensor ($35 but under warranty); and a burned-up AC clutch ($600 - OK that was painful - a month ago). Oh, one more thing: both needed new batteries this summer. That's it, I'm not including regular maintenance items such as brakes. I hope the Xfire will do half as good as these two, and my daughter abused the hell out of the 94Kmi one for 3 years, that was her first car, it has dents small and larger of course, but it runs, and runs well, and everything works. I know people with MBs with a whole lot more troubles in much fewer miles. The real difference is maintenance. Peple with expensive cars usually have both the money, the time and the inclination to do the required maintenance on time. People with less means (and cost) skip things. Of course, the end result is predictable. There are other non-obvious factors too, but I won't go into those.