Ford GT

[twobjshelbys]

I switched from a CSX Cobra to the Ford GT. When I bought the Cobra it was a tossup between the GT and the Cobra, but I'd wanted a Cobra since I heard Cosby's 200MPH, I decided to do it. As I've explained, the wife hated the Cobra so we switched to the car with A/C, regular seat belts, no roll bar, no burns on the legs, etc.

Both cars will kill you in a heartbeat. First thing to do is ditch the factory tires for Bridgestones. It is the "last analog supercar" - full manual 6 gear transmission, no TCS no Stability Control, only ABS. It's real easy to get the rear end to spin around on you.

The GT is a very comfortable car to ride in and drive. However, it has a luggage compartment in the front that you can't even fit a pop cooler let alone any kind of suitcase. The thing that fits is the soft sided bag that the car cover came in and that's about it. But only put your underwear in it. Whatever you do don't put anything in there that will melt because it will. It's right behind the radiator so gets toasty warm.

It's very wide. Be very careful if you only have a single 8' wide standard garage door. Mine was standard construction and I had 2" on each side clearance to the mirrors (the widest part of the car). The doors open with the cutout above so you probably won't open them far enough in the garage to get in or out if there is another car next to it. I always take out the other car before I try to move it. The width and doors also mean parking in parking lots is very difficult - if someone pulls up next to you you probably won't get in or out (Jeremy Clarkson from the British Top Gear did a wonderful parody of this getting out crawling out like a snake).

Visibility out the rear is another issue and is the primary reason I've decided to sell mine. The passenger side has a blind spot big enough to hide a schoolbus so driving in traffic and lane changes can be difficult.

Another down side is service parts. More and more parts are unavailable, especially some body parts. Those that are available are incredibly expensive. Headlights now go for over $5000 (yes, 5 thousand dollars). Some unscrupulous people bought parts and sell them on ebay but Ford has within the past few months made FGT parts purchase require a VIN number and some parts require return so they know people aren't draining spares for those that really need them. Some parts can be on backorder for months, the lastest one I knew of was the wheel bearing assembly.

Insurance costs are on the rise (probably because of the parts issues) and because of the frame many insurance companies will total the car for all but the most minor damage.

Prices have gone through the roof, but have seasonally leveled out. Base price (without options) was 140K in 2005 and then 150K in late 2005 through 2006. All the options added another 13-15K (the Macintosh radio alone was 5K and stripes were 8K) The other options were painted calipers and upgraded wheels. The Heritage (Gulf colors) was a 13.5K option but you deleted the stripes so it only added 5K or so over a 4 option car.



I love the GT! It's without a doubt the most "complete" sports car I've ever driven. When I was driving the Corvettes at the Bondurant schools (3 times) I was wishing the Vette could do more, but the GT on the track I didn't even get close to reaching its capabilities. Gary Patterson drove it at the 2013 GT Rally and said even he was not at the max. Take it out on a twisty mountain road and you'll get to see what it is all about.

I'll probably think of more later...