rixter

so I had the opportunity yesterday to check out 1 of the new Ford GTs
I didn't drive it (had no time) but I had the S4 w/me and got to do a comparison

exterior:
S4 flows nicely from front to back, seams fit nice
GT: it's a 15 footer at best, while very aggresive looking, the seams don't fit at all.. there were spots I could literally stick a pencil in between the panels

interior:
S4.. sports seats, tons of room gauges tilt w/wheel etc, etc, sound system strategically laid out, great vision
GT: seats are hard as a freakin park bench, gauge layout is horrible and they don't move with the wheel, leaving them hard to see... they have mounted a sub woofer right next to your ears between the seats, I assume this is to drown out the sound of the engine...
BLIND SPOTS EVERYWHERE!!!


overall:
GT is a nice looking car from a distance and very aggresive
for $150k+ I would expect a lot more in terms of comfort and useability, not to mention the gaps in the body (major oversight by the designers)
S4... geez... do I really need to spell it out?

just my 2cents

Sharkbait

Don't forget the huge recall on the Ford GT where they basically had to sleeve all the cylinders or something like that. That would suck buying a $150k car and needing major engine work right from the get-go

BC

The had to put a speedy sleeve where the rear main seal is leaking.

morganabowen

The guy from "fifth gear" (I can't remember his name) bought one, and ended up returning it, due to he poor workmanship

SteveG

If anyone wants a run down on development of the Ford, there is a new slick mag called Auto Afficionado: http://www.autoaficionado.net/. The current issue I believe is avail only by subscription but will go to newstands as they will want circulation. It has a pretty thorough background on it. They have nothing negative to say, which is a drawback but they have lots of glossy pics of high end stuff. Previous issue did lay out on Ralph Lauren's collection. I think they have back issues avail.

Mark

Back in the 60's - a friend of my dad's bought one of the original 'street legal' GT-40's....Most of what rixter points out was also true then - BUT - as a 12 year old getting a ride....DAAMMMMMM!

You gotta remember - these cars were originally designed for the 24 Hrs LeMans...over a decade BEFORE the 1st shark rolled out of Stuttgart!

Too bad Ford's quality ISN'T Job one!

ColinB

Hate to hear this. The GT40 is one of only a tiny handfull of cars I'd swap for the 928. Others include the D-type Jaguar, Maclaren F1, AM DB9. Megabucks all and out of my league (fortunately).

Colin 89GT

FBIII

Is this BIG and LAZY part II with the shoe on the other foot? This must be the perfect example of the phrase "comparing apples to oranges" I have ever seen.

worf928

IIRC Ford also had a 'cracked control arm' problem with some of the early GTs. (Coming out of The Boot at WGI in my new Ford GT.... CRACK... )

Also, as I understood the article written by The Fifth Gear Guy (cannot remember ... oh wait.... Alan Clarksdale?) described some serious problems with the ALARM system which was not a factory install? So, many not Ford's fault on that one.

But, in the end, my fantasies about the Ford GT have been blown. It's a paperweight. A $150k paperweight. Can't drive it on the track. Control arm might crack. Run up the rev range? What does the 'speedy sleave' think about that?

m21sniper

"Don't forget the huge recall on the Ford GT where they basically had to sleeve all the cylinders or something like that. That would suck buying a $150k car and needing major engine work right from the get-go"

In fairness to Ford they did develop the GT in a timeframe that's really totally unheard of.

Something like 5 months from car show prototype to an actual production model.

Quite an amazing feat, really.

pewter82

The GT is not a grand touring car like the 928, its basically a race car. Open the back hatch over the engine and you'll see what I'm talking about, its a full on race chassis.
BUT not built as good as a 928 IMHO.

docmirror

I have a brother that works at Ford in Sandy Eggo of all places. They have a fairly large network of GTs around SoCal, and he is one of the factory trained guys on it. The first issue was the mandatoy recall on the suspension for the control arm breaking away. Next, was the Ford recall for the RMS that was indirectly caused by excess blowby. Not surprising, there is now an issue with the trans shifting, but I don't know the specifics.

What seems to be happening, is like the Hertz rent-a-racer Mustang from the '60s, these cars are being bought by people that are going to do a bit of thrashing. The build of the car was for a 'sportsman' GT, not competitive type stuff. So, things are breaking, it's really not suprising.

When they first came out, I called him to see if I could get on the production list cause I kinda wanted one. It wasn't a big deal, but I had been looking at the replicas, and thought I should look into the real replica, from Ford. When they dropped the "GT40" moniker, I was dissapointed, and when my brother told me to wait for a while it was good advice. All the glossy mags have glowing things to say(can't **** of Ford, now cn we?), and it's a nice car and all, but a modern "GT40" it is not. Only in body sculpture, which is saying quite a lot.

Trivia question: What high performance car make and model was fashioned on the lines of the original GT40? da-de-dada, da-de da,,,,,, da-de-dada-dut-dadadadada (Jepoardy theme)

Doc

hacker-pschorr

I don't think a group of Porsche owners should be criticizing a car for first run production issues.

Yea, 928's are 100% trouble free when it comes to control arms (ok ball joints, I seam to remember an early 928 hitting a tree at 55mph due to a ball joint separation, very safe design).

Ever met a 911 owner with an RMS issue? At least Ford will fess up to their mistake on this one.
How about the 16V 944 cam chain?
Can’t say I know of other cars with TB issues after a trans fix.
Anyone here have a cracked and/or warped dash? Yea, our interiors are flawless.
Ask a 944 owner who’s car went up in flames due to a power steering switch.
How many of us carry a DME & fuel pump relay in the glove box?
Do you think many GT's will have 2-6 rod bearings issues with that dry sump?

Adjusted for inflation, how much would a $80,000 928 be in today’s dollars?

Maybe Ford rushed the GT into production, that is no secret. They will sort it out, it’s still one hell of a car for $150,000.

m21sniper

Another thing i should mention that i saw. I was watching a show on Discovery channel i think that documented the gestation cycle of the GT, and even with a test mule running 100 less HP it was beating a 2004 Ferrari 360 Modena by a full 1.4 seconds in head to head laptimes on their test track.

That's pretty serious performance. No stock 928 will do that.

m21sniper

"Adjusted for inflation, how much would a $80,000 928 be in today’s dollars?"

I adjusted the $47,000 sticker price of my 1983 928S about a year ago for inflation, and it worked out to something like $105,000 adjusted 2004 US dollars.