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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Mustang / December 2007Patience is a virtue...so is stubbornness! A GT500 at last. (kinda long)
Whew! As The Greatful Dead so eloquently stated...what a long strange trip it's been. My quest for one of these cars has finally come to a close. I began looking as soon as the '07's started to hit the lots. I was certain the hoopla would die down and the dealers would be selling at MSRP by the winter of '06. I could _not_ have been more wrong. Hell, my local dealer is *still* sitting on his '07, it's been there since before Thanksgiving, of 2006. (He's still looking for over $15k in blue-sky, although I've been able to talk him down to $2k over) I've given up analyzing the market dynamic that is keeping the mark-up so ridiculously high. Production isn't low by any standards, with over 10,000 units in 2007! I'm just chalking it up to an over-abundance of Automobile Collectards® with more dollars than sense. <shrug> Visiting friends in Maine over Christmas I happened across a blue hardtop (with white stripes) and figured , what the hell, might as well take a look. The Blue w/ white looked pretty good to me, even though I had my heart set on an all Black car. Talked a bit, checked out the sticker, asked how much.... I wasn't really prepared for his response... He'd knock $500 off the sticker, if I could take delivery before the end of the month. Yep, $500. _under_ the MSRP. Damn, that was refreshing....I wrote the deposit check on the spot, returned with the balance and a trailer the next day. Tucked it away in the garage, next to the '03, last night. Wow, it all happened so fast I can scarcely believe it. Got a couple options I could do without, but I am pretty impressed with the HID lighting, head and shoulders above the headlights on the '03. Of course the weather sucks right now, and I've only driven it about 80 feet, but damn, I'm liking it a whole lot, silly stripes and all. I can hardly wait 'till spring.... Screw that,... soon as the roads dry up! :) One of my first trips will be to my local dealer, so he knows damn well I won't be looking at his overpriced '07 anymore. Perhaps I'll buy some floor mats. :) GO PATS!! and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! -- John C. '03 Cobra Convt. (improved) '08 Cobra HT (only 500 hp, but we can fix that) Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins....<shrug> 3 out of 4 ain't bad. ;) Way to go, John! DEFINATELY, take the car to your local dealer and be sure to tell him how much you paid!! Oh, and let me add... YOU LUCKY BASTARD! Green with envy, Patrick '93 Cobra (235 HP or as much as yours puts out at idle) > Whew! As The Greatful Dead so eloquently stated...what a long strange trip it's > been. [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > > Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins....<shrug> 3 out of 4 ain't bad. ;) > Way to go, John! DEFINATELY, take the car to your local dealer and be > sure to tell him how much you paid!! > > Oh, and let me add... YOU LUCKY BASTARD! > > Green with envy, Bout six different shades. But I'll put some of those HID lights in the 89 and it'll be JUST as good! > Patrick > '93 Cobra (235 HP or as much as yours puts out at idle) [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] >> >> Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins....<shrug> 3 out of 4 ain't bad. ;)  Signature"I get the impression that Jamie is a papusa or two short of a combination plate." - Kent Wills "So you think AUK is some kind of really tight knit CABAL? ROTFLMAO! Its a bunch of lazy tossers with too much time on their hands and few friends. WELCOME TO USENET. Drive thru please..." - §ñühw¤£f NoOption5L@aol.com wrote: > On Dec 29, 10:33 am, "John C." <j...@shore.net> wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Green with envy, Bout six different shades. But I'll put some of those HID lights in the 89 and it'll be JUST as good! Hey now! Don't forget the stripes!! SignatureJohn C. '03 Cobra Convt. (improved) '08 Cobra HT > NoOption5L@aol.com wrote: >> On Dec 29, 10:33 am, "John C." <j...@shore.net> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Hey now! Don't forget the stripes!! Nah, stripes don't work with Cabernet red. Signature"Pontiac giving us the Aztec is like someone telling a story they think isn't funny but everyone laughs anyway." - Michael Johnson "Daytime television sucked 20 years ago, and it still sucks today!" - Marc Bissonette On Dec 29, 10:33 am, "John C." <j...@shore.net> wrote: Way to go, John! DEFINATELY, take the car to your local dealer and be sure to tell him how much you paid!! Oh, you can be sure the price just might slip out. :) SignatureJohn C. '03 Cobra Convt. (improved) '08 Cobra HT I'm glad you didn't get gouged on the car. Maybe Ford is starting to feel some pressure from the new Challenger and upcoming Camaro. They have needed some competition for the Mustang for quite a while. The GT500 is a fantastic car but barely worth MSRP, IMO. Ford should be pleased with themselves for raping as many buyers as they have over the past couple of years. > Whew! As The Greatful Dead so eloquently stated...what a long strange trip it's > been. [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > > Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins....<shrug> 3 out of 4 ain't bad. ;) > I'm glad you didn't get gouged on the car. Maybe Ford is starting to > feel some pressure from the new Challenger and upcoming Camaro. They > have needed some competition for the Mustang for quite a while. The > GT500 is a fantastic car but barely worth MSRP, IMO. Ford should be > pleased with themselves for raping as many buyers as they have over the > past couple of years. Amen. If I didn't find one at MSRP, I would not have bought one, period. I've got nothing against a dealer making a decent profit on their cars, but the gouging that has been occcuring is ridiculous. There is more than enough built-in profit at MSRP! My car is outfitted with the Nav system and Mach 1000, overpriced money-makers, IMO. (the HID lighting is pricey too, but I actually consider that a worthy upgrade) Oh well, I'll take the bad with the good. Now I'm looking ahead to the many "improvements" that will need to made. :) -- John C. '03 Cobra Convt. (improved) '08 Cobra HT >> I'm glad you didn't get gouged on the car. Maybe Ford is starting to >> feel some pressure from the new Challenger and upcoming Camaro. They [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Oh well, I'll take the bad with the good. Now I'm looking ahead to the many > "improvements" that will need to made. :) What improvements are you thinking about? > > Oh well, I'll take the bad with the good. Now I'm looking ahead to the many > > "improvements" that will need to made. :) > > What improvements are you thinking about? After wasting time on the '03, playing with pulley swaps, cams and a ported Eaton, the plan in mind for the '08 is to go right to one of the new KB blowers. I'm thinking the 5.4 should be able to pump out a comfortable 700-750 rwhp with the KB "H" series. I'm not too keen on this "drive by wire" crap and how that will effect modifications on the intake side, but it will be a learning experience at the very least. :) The '03 has some SHM cams that give it a nice lopey idle. If there's some out there for the 5.4, that'll probably be on the shopping list. I'm not really up-to-date on what's out there, there will be quite a bit of research to do before diving in. -- John C. '03 Cobra Convt. (improved) '08 Cobra HT >> > Oh well, I'll take the bad with the good. Now I'm looking ahead to the >> > many [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > will effect modifications on the intake side, but it will be a learning > experience at the very least. :) Not a problem... http://www.kennebell.net/superchargers/ford/Shelby/Shelby.htm http://www.kennebell.net/homepage/SuperSnakePressRelease.htm > The '03 has some SHM cams that give it a nice lopey idle. If there's some > out [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > '03 Cobra Convt. (improved) > '08 Cobra HT >>> Oh well, I'll take the bad with the good. Now I'm looking ahead to the many >>> "improvements" that will need to made. :) [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > will effect modifications on the intake side, but it will be a learning > experience at the very least. :) I have the Kenne Bell Blowzilla/Flowzilla combo on my '89 LX. Knowing how KB engineers their kits for the modular motors it should be one hell of an improvement over the stock Roots blower. I would think 700-800 rwhp should be a snap with one of their kits. The twin screws are much more efficient from both thermal and mechanical aspects. KB has an awesome intercooler and very free flowing intake manifolds. I think the wire controlled throttle can be adjusted through software to give much better response than the stock setup. IMO, unless you do serious rear end modifications anything over 550-600 rwhp will just go up in smoke so a KB blower should more than get you enough usable horsepower. Unless you are looking for a dyno queen. ;) > The '03 has some SHM cams that give it a nice lopey idle. If there's some out > there for the 5.4, that'll probably be on the shopping list. > > I'm not really up-to-date on what's out there, there will be quite a bit of > research to do before diving in. The KB kits are pretty complete so you may not need any more engine mods. I wonder if the stock T-56 is up to handling that much torque. The rear end should be fine. I would think the tires will spin before before it breaks, even with slicks. The T-56, I'm not so sure. Maybe just maybe, the dealers 15K over msrp was designed to keep it on the lot as an attention grabber. No one wants it at +15K but hey, for 2K over invoice, I have this nice GT with your name on it. > Whew! As The Greatful Dead so eloquently stated...what a long strange trip it's > been. [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > > Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins....<shrug> 3 out of 4 ain't bad. ;) > Maybe just maybe, the dealers 15K over msrp was designed to keep it on > the lot as an attention grabber. No one wants it at +15K but hey, for > 2K over invoice, I have this nice GT with your name on it. Definitely possible. With 4 failed auctions on Ebay, I'm convinced he really is a greedy SOB, though. :) When he fed me his "It's a rare color" line, my response was "In 20 years it'll be a rare color, now it's just ugly". The look on his face, ..priceless. :) SignatureJohn C. '03 Cobra Convt. (improved) '08 Cobra HT
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