The 2005 Ford GT is now safely tucked away in our parking garage and the keys are no longer in my care. Waaahhhh!
A few observations:
I've never gotten the sort of looks that I got in this in any of the other cars I've taken home. In an Elise or Exige, for example, I'd get stares, but there was always a component of what-the-hell-is-that bewilderment mixed in. This is different. People KNOW what this is, or if they don't, they know that they should know, so they fake it. Awe. Double-takes. Whiplash. I saw it all. Give them a downshift and a squeeze of the throttle, and they hoot. But it gets annoying on the freeway. Several times I wanted to change lanes, and the guy pacing along next to me wouldn't move on so I could get over. I became an unwilling rolling chicane.
This thing is a pussycat on the freeway, even when things slow waaaay down. The clutch action is sure and not overly heavy. Our BMW 330i's clutch is much heavier than this one. And the shifter is firm and precise. The gearing is very tall, making stop-and-go traffic a bit of a pain, as I don't want to burn up the clutch by slipping it too much. But I don't want to stall it either. But with care and patience, its not a problem.
Coffee was a recurring theme, as the GT turned over 7,000 miles as my wife and I pulled into Java Joe's, the local caffeine pusher in town. Care in selecting a parking space is required, as the doors, with their integral authentic wrap-around roof panels, need to open wide for me to get in or out without having to limbo. As I could only manage two-feet of door opening space in my garage, I DID have to crouch and crawl to get in and out at home.
The seats are the weakest link in this car. Yes, they look sorta heritage, but I feel like a taco in these things, folded down the middle by misshapen shoulder wings. I've driven plenty of race cars, and sat in numerous racing seats, but these are just wrong. And those holes leave waffle imprints and pressure points. As much as my wife has been DYING to ride in one, she was done in twenty minutes because of the shape of them. I'd remove and replace these babies, saving them in the rafters and reinstalling them only when I was ready to sell mine at Barret-Jackson in 30-years time.
A heritage drawback that I will live with is the forward visibility. The a-pillar intrudes and the roof-line is low. But I don't care. It has to be this way in order to pull off the GT40 look that is so essential to this car. But, when I get mine (one can always dream) and replace the seats as mentioned above, I'll try to drop them as much as possible, which would also help keep my scalp from touching the roof. I'm that (holds fingers a half-inch apart) close to needing a Gurney bubble.
When it comes right down to it, the biggest drawback to this car is that it isn't mine.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 7,049 miles
dotsara says:
10:56 AM, 12/11/06
Aw. But it's a great shot of it with the lights around it. (:
linard says:
12:16 PM, 12/11/06
I agree, the seats in our GT are awful as is the visibility. Driving home last night in a deluge, I did appreciate the intensity and distance of the HIDs but the wet road stability with the tires at 50% left much to be desired. On the topic of the clutch, going on our 3rd in 1,500 miles means the car will spend some more diagnostic time with the local dealership, at that time I'm sure I'll also have the chronically dislocating passenger side door panel reattached, the power window switches that control the door locks and vice versa looked at, and the never extinguishing reverse lights fixed.
briancam says:
06:19 PM, 12/11/06
Nice pic - can you put one under my tree>?