When talking "exotic" cars versus "normal" cars one of the biggest adjustments a potential buyer has to make (after purchase price) is entry/exit procedure. Exotics are typically low to the ground, which can mean all sorts of creative body motions when getting in and out of them. Add in the GT's specific design quirks (i.e. those "Le Mans" door cuts in the roof) and you have an extra layer of quirkiness that goes beyond even the most quirky of exotics. The result is an unintentional flailing of limbs to balance yourself while doing the "GT Limbo" during entry.
We already noted the scuff marks on the door panels from people hauling their feet in and out of the GT, but another "kick panel" area I just discovered was the lower dash. This is on the driver's side, so it's not coming from careless passengers -- it's coming from my clumsy size 11 shoes. I've been faintly aware of occassionally "brushing" the dash with my feet while getting in, and the scuffs in the dash are relatively minor. But there are several of them. And just like the outside, driver's seat bolster you often see wearing thin in sports cars from people sliding in and out of the seat, this another area that, bottom line, is seeing extra wear. With some careful concentration while sliding behind the wheel I can thread the needle between the GT's large seat bottom and low dash without my feet touching either, but how hard can one be expected to work every time they get into a vehicle?
This must be why plenty of exotic car owners eventually bail on their expensive toys and just buy a big BMW/Lexus/Mercedes sedan with 400-plus horsepwer. I'm not there yet, but (unlike during my younger days) I can at least fathom the concept of finding exotics too much trouble.
Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief, Edmunds.com @ 7,390 miles
playdrv4me says:
09:49 AM, 02/ 4/07
Exotic cars will always have their place. There really isnt anything else on the road that matches that balls to the wall acceleration and visceral connection to the road. This is the same reason that (most) exotics aren't really designed to be daily drivers. The GT looks like one of the few in that category that is at least livable on a daily basis.
With that being said, when luxury sedans are approaching the 600hp mark, the line between the two is rapidly beginning to blur.
Still, most of those who own an exotic car, probably also have the luxury sedan anyway. So the choice isn't so much which to drive, it's which to drive today.
playdrv4me says:
09:51 AM, 02/ 4/07
On a side note, whatever is causing that ridiculous formatting after I go in and re-edit my replies is really beginning to get under my skin...
editor_karl says:
02:13 AM, 02/17/07
Yeah, the "edit" system puts the "function" in "dysfunctional."