 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Ford / Ford Mustang / December 2006Hangin' at the dealership
The lease was coming to an end on Jean's 2004 Escape. After an exhaustive overview of the automotive industry, she decided to go with another Escape, so we went over yesterday to pick up her new 2007. Sweet truck - titanium green with pebble leather interior. Her '04 was the dark green, and we got tired of that after a time. The titanium green is almost a light grey with a hint of green in it, and a pleasant change. And Jean is thrilled with the leather, as opposed to the cloth seats in the '04. And there's nothing finer than a brand new engine bay. My god, not a speck of dirt anywhere. Of course, I busied myself walking the lot, specifically through the row of Mustangs. They had a beautiful white/black V6 convertible in the showroom, retail $29K with the pony package, but it was the GTs that I wanted to see. Two outside had the redfire paint with gold boy-toy stripes, and I can't say whether I like that or not. Part of me says it's a bit childish, the other part thinks it's REALLY kewl. That first part of me really likes the Windveil Blue coupe with black leather interior, and the other part watched drooling as a Ford GT backed out of a parking space and headed around back to the service area. (Gee - what's that big shiny metal thing where the back seat would normally be?) I found out about a couple of things that the Ford Vehicles website says nothing about. F'r instance, the V6 Performance Package... NO details about what-all is in that. Yeah, I figure bigger wheels and tires, but where does the "performance" come into it? A Pony Appearance Package, I get that, but performance? The other thing I noticed was something called the "GT Appearance Package." Couldn't miss it, really. Looks like an ugly non-functional "hood scoop" plopped on the nose with some ...uh... "nice" exhaust tips (if you really need that). I wouldn't pay extra for that. Finally, for those who like to piss and moan about such things, I'm told that they have a Shelby coming in, and the bidding quickly went to $25,000 above retail. Should go higher. dwight > The lease was coming to an end on Jean's 2004 Escape. After an exhaustive > overview of the automotive industry, she decided to go with another Escape, > so we went over yesterday to pick up her new 2007. What else did you look at? Just curious. > Of course, I busied myself walking the lot, specifically through the row of > Mustangs. They had a beautiful white/black V6 convertible in the showroom, > retail $29K with the pony package, but it was the GTs that I wanted to see. Being a performance person, I just could not see skipping a V8 in exchange for a convertible. And then I could see buying a V8 'vert instead of just getting a bigger dog Shelby. > Two outside had the redfire paint with gold boy-toy stripes, and I can't say > whether I like that or not. Part of me says it's a bit childish, the other > part thinks it's REALLY kewl. That first part of me really likes the > Windveil Blue coupe with black leather interior, Yesterday, I was eyeing an all-white '05-'07 GT Mustang. God, they're pretty! > and the other part watched > drooling as a Ford GT backed out of a parking space and headed around back > to the service area. (Gee - what's that big shiny metal thing where the back > seat would normally be?) Probably just a big thumpin' bass unit. > I found out about a couple of things that the Ford Vehicles website says > nothing about. F'r instance, the V6 Performance Package... NO details about > what-all is in that. Yeah, I figure bigger wheels and tires, but where does > the "performance" come into it? A Pony Appearance Package, I get that, but > performance? Handling/cornering performance. I can't wait for the base model to get the new [250hp think] V6. That'll be a nice setup for those who are missing 2 cylinders. > The other thing I noticed was something called the "GT Appearance Package." > Couldn't miss it, really. Looks like an ugly non-functional "hood scoop" > plopped on the nose with some ...uh... "nice" exhaust tips (if you really > need that). I wouldn't pay extra for that. I agree. What a waste. And for something that doesn't even look good/better. > Finally, for those who like to piss and moan about such things, I'm told > that they have a Shelby coming in, and the bidding quickly went to $25,000 > above retail. Should go higher. Those people are insane. The market is soon going to be saturated with performance -- Camaro, Challenger, even more/and likely better Shelbys and who knows what else. Oh well, I just a hope a few buy them, stick them in a nice garage for a couple years, then decide they have to have the next "hot thing", and sell it to me for less than half they paid for it. Patrick >> The lease was coming to an end on Jean's 2004 Escape. After an exhaustive >> overview of the automotive industry, she decided to go with another >> Escape, >> so we went over yesterday to pick up her new 2007. > > What else did you look at? Just curious. I dragged Jean to the auto show early this year, and she looked at a LOT of SUVs. I just about forced her to walk through the Hondas, Toyotas, GMs, and she only paused at the Lexus. She sat in several of them, but the Lexus was her favorite (forgeddabout it). I was pushing her toward the Liberty, but no. When we left, she'd made up her mind to get another Escape. I suppose the great thing about it is that the '07 is MUCH nicer than her '04, and it's an environment she's comfortable with. Ford did just enough tweaking to make it "new" to her, yet everything is in the same place - the exception being the floor-mounted shifter instead of the old column mount. >> Of course, I busied myself walking the lot, specifically through the row >> of [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > exchange for a convertible. And then I could see buying a V8 'vert > instead of just getting a bigger dog Shelby. It's like I said... I could live with the new V6 convertible, but I'd have to keep TFrog for fun. Now, for a GT convertible, I'd seriously consider dumping both of my '93s. >> Two outside had the redfire paint with gold boy-toy stripes, and I can't >> say [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Yesterday, I was eyeing an all-white '05-'07 GT Mustang. God, they're > pretty! Can't argue with white. But it's like me and yellow - love it, wouldn't own it. >> and the other part watched >> drooling as a Ford GT backed out of a parking space and headed around [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Probably just a big thumpin' bass unit. Yeah. The GT. Not the Mustang GT. That big thumpin' bass unit was pumpin' through dual exhaust and sounded fantastic. But it has to be weird, having all that engine right over your right shoulder. >> I found out about a couple of things that the Ford Vehicles website says >> nothing about. F'r instance, the V6 Performance Package... NO details [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > Patrick The guy who buys a Shelby now for $65,000+ is probably not worried about the soon-to-be-run-of-the-mill Camaros or Challengers. He'd still have something special and could probably dump it for the next great thing without batting an eyelash. Problem is, these folks ain't stoopit. No way they're selling it to you, me, or anyone else for half price. :() > > What else did you look at? Just curious. > >> Of course, I busied myself walking the lot, specifically through the row > >> of > >> Mustangs. They had a beautiful white/black V6 convertible in the > >> showroom, > >> retail $29K with the pony package, but it was the GTs that I wanted to > >> see. > > Being a performance person, I just could not see skipping a V8 in > > exchange for a convertible. And then I could see buying a V8 'vert > > instead of just getting a bigger dog Shelby. > It's like I said... I could live with the new V6 convertible, but I'd have > to keep TFrog for fun. Now, for a GT convertible, I'd seriously consider > dumping both of my '93s. I'm not into convertibles. They just don't do it for me. I wouldn't even consider one. > >> Two outside had the redfire paint with gold boy-toy stripes, and I can't > >> say > >> whether I like that or not. Part of me says it's a bit childish, the > >> other > >> part thinks it's REALLY kewl. That first part of me really likes the > >> Windveil Blue coupe with black leather interior, > > Yesterday, I was eyeing an all-white '05-'07 GT Mustang. God, they're > > pretty! > Can't argue with white. But it's like me and yellow - love it, wouldn't own > it. I can understand the yellow, but white would be fine for me. And I really like the white with black trim -- Mach 1 style. > >> and the other part watched > >> drooling as a Ford GT backed out of a parking space and headed around > >> back > >> to the service area. (Gee - what's that big shiny metal thing where the > >> back > >> seat would normally be?) > > Probably just a big thumpin' bass unit. > Yeah. The GT. Not the Mustang GT. I know. Just messing with you. > That big thumpin' bass unit was pumpin' > through dual exhaust and sounded fantastic. But it has to be weird, having > all that engine right over your right shoulder. Yesterday I had a 405 HP Z06 with an aftermarket exhaust next to me, same thing sounded FANTASTIC! > >> I found out about a couple of things that the Ford Vehicles website says > >> nothing about. F'r instance, the V6 Performance Package... NO details [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >> but > >> performance? > > Handling/cornering performance. I can't wait for the base model to get > > the new [250hp think] V6. That'll be a nice setup for those who are > > missing 2 cylinders. > >> The other thing I noticed was something called the "GT Appearance > >> Package." [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > the next "hot thing", and sell it to me for less than half they paid > > for it. > The guy who buys a Shelby now for $65,000+ is probably not worried about the > soon-to-be-run-of-the-mill Camaros or Challengers. He'd still have something > special and could probably dump it for the next great thing without batting > an eyelash. > Problem is, these folks ain't stoopit. No way they're selling it to you, me, > or anyone else for half price. My '93 was a $20K car new and after about 5 years and 36,000 miles I got it for just over half -- 13 something. And you know these guys paying way over sticker won't recoup that money when Ford continues to build them and after an even better next generation comes out in a few years. Patrick >> The guy who buys a Shelby now for $65,000+ is probably not worried about >> the [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Patrick Well, that's why it's a gamble. I mean no disrespect, and you KNOW that I would have much preferred a '93 Cobra instead of the LX, but you can't really compare a 1993 Cobra to the Shelby GT500 of any era. The gamble here is that the bottom won't drop out of the market, for whatever reason, and that the car will appreciate in value or at least retain most of its value for a good time. None of the US automakers was prepared to see the bottom drop out in 1973. The economy wasn't prepared to see two jetliners crash into the WTC. The odds are fairly good that a limited edition 500hp model of the world's favorite pony car will be worth a good percentage of its retail price or more in the foreseeable future, but that never takes into account the unforeseeable. My personal nightmare is that we'll finally build a high-performance automobile that runs on water, and all of those nice new Shelbys will be junked in favor of one of those. dwight (Wasn't a 1971 Mustang worth next to nothing in the mid-80's?) > None of the US automakers was prepared to see the bottom drop out in 1973. > The economy wasn't prepared to see two jetliners crash into the WTC. The > odds are fairly good that a limited edition 500hp model of the world's > favorite pony car will be worth a good percentage of its retail price or > more in the foreseeable future, but that never takes into account the > unforeseeable. Once upon a time a '65-'70 shelby mustang was just another used car. And that was the way things were at the time... low production numbers or not, they were just used cars back then. That's how people thought about it. I agree the mid 60s stangs and Grand Sports, Cameros, 442s, and etc were at one time just old muscle cars with new muscle cars being produced every year. Old Corvettes were plastic pigs, so slow no one wanted one because you could get something much faster and cooler. As long as there are new car models and as long as someone gets a clue that kids will buy insanely fast cars, last year's model is just that, last year's model and not as good as this year's model. Anyone crazy enough to pay over sticker for any car is just crazy. Look at the overpriced Ferraris of the 80s for a reality check. By today's standards they are slow as all get out and handle like a slug. >> None of the US automakers was prepared to see the bottom drop out in >> 1973. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > not, they were just used cars back then. That's how people thought about > it. > >> None of the US automakers was prepared to see the bottom drop out in 1973. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > not, they were just used cars back then. That's how people thought about > it. Unfortunately the 03-04 Cobra isn't. I couldn't find one within 100 miles when I looked.  Signature“One of the advantages of aging gracefully is that one learns how to pace oneself without losing any of the enthusiasm.” – Patricia A. Shaffer > dwight > (Wasn't a 1971 Mustang worth next to nothing in the mid-80's?) Yep, could hardly give them away... Now look at their "off the charts" pricing... >>> What else did you look at? Just curious. > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > I'm not into convertibles. They just don't do it for me. I wouldn't > even consider one. Would it be the annoying little "drip, drip, drip..."?? Signature“One of the advantages of aging gracefully is that one learns how to pace oneself without losing any of the enthusiasm.” – Patricia A. Shaffer > The lease was coming to an end on Jean's 2004 Escape. After an exhaustive > overview of the automotive industry, she decided to go with another Escape, [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > that they have a Shelby coming in, and the bidding quickly went to $25,000 > above retail. Should go higher. Bah, he's pullin' your leg. I fielded a call from a Boston area dealer last weekend. He offered up an orange hardtop for $55k. Not exactly my favorite color, but I went to look at it. I declined at 55k, and fully expect he will be calling again at the end of December. A good many of the auctions on line are not meeting the reserves, the bubble has burst. The only glitch is the X-mas shoppers engaging in some impulse buying. (Tickle-me-Elmo syndrome) -- John C. '03 Cobra Convt. > Bah, he's pullin' your leg. I fielded a call from a Boston area dealer last > weekend. He offered up an orange hardtop for $55k. Not exactly my favorite [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > John C. > '03 Cobra Convt. Tickle your what?? Signature“One of the advantages of aging gracefully is that one learns how to pace oneself without losing any of the enthusiasm.” – Patricia A. Shaffer > I found out about a couple of things that the Ford Vehicles website says > nothing about. F'r instance, the V6 Performance Package... NO details about > what-all is in that. Yeah, I figure bigger wheels and tires, but where does > the "performance" come into it? A Pony Appearance Package, I get that, but > performance? Its the larger tires, rear anti-sway bar and I *think* larger diameter front anti-sway bar. IOW the Pony Package minus the interior stuff. Another winner is the "Comfort group" option (I think that's what it is called?) Bottom line is if you order this with the Pony Package, you get approx $400 credit which means you actually get the heated seats (The comfort package) for free..... > dwight >> I found out about a couple of things that the Ford Vehicles website says >> nothing about. F'r instance, the V6 Performance Package... NO details [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > IOW the Pony Package minus the interior stuff. I think I finally found something about the sway bars on one of the Mustang forum sites, in reference to options on the 2006 model. Still can't find anything about this on the Ford site. As I recall, the V6 convertible we rented in Arizona* was a capable handler, itself, and I think it was your basic V6 model. (It did have the interior upgrade package, but not much else.) What really impressed me, after driving the '93s for all this time, was the incredible turning radius. I couldn't stop making U-turns and playing with it, 'cause the thing would turn on a relative dime. The ride was tight enough, but I can imagine what even stiffer anti-sway bars could do... * http://home.comcast.net/~dmunroe/phoenix/ariz_7.jpg > Another winner is the "Comfort group" option (I think that's what it is > called?) > Bottom line is if you order this with the Pony Package, you get approx > $400 credit which means you actually get the heated seats (The comfort > package) for free..... Free is good. Especially for something like heated seats! (And this scrawny old butt would certainly welcome an innovation like that.) The other thing I had to research was the Safety Package ($595.00) that came with Jean's new Escape. Turns out, it's something I hope we never, ever have to use. Side impact air bags up front and Ford's Safety Canopy for both rows of seats. Sounds cool, but I hope it turns out to be nothing more than a $595 insurance policy. dwight www.tfrog93.com - now with 2007 Escape pictures and CFrog goes in for a new top... |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.