Ford never tried to use that marketing line on its Flex, probably because the cars are separated by 3 model years, a couple dozen feet of cargo space and over $100,000.
But it still occurred to me as I hauled a load of spare Ford GT parts home in it recently. Yup, I'm stockpiling Ford GT parts because A) I might need them someday and B) even if I don't, I'm thinking they're better than money in the bank as far as future value goes. And I felt this way even before A) the government added a third shift to every mint in country and B) the U.S. automotive supplier base appeared destined for its own carpocalypse (supplier-ocalypse?).
Continue reading 2009 Ford Flex Limited: "There's a Little Ford GT in Every Flex We Build".
Categories: 2005 Ford GT,2009 Ford Flex Limited
It's not every weekend I have access to both a Ford GT
and a Nissan GT-R
. In fact, I'd say it only happens about once a month.
But it did happen this past weekend, and I spent enough time in both vehicles to get a sense of their unique character traits. Thus, what follows is my completely unbiased appraisal of how these two supercars stack up.
Continue reading 2009 Nissan GT-R: Ford GT vs. Nissan GT-R -- Beyond the Numbers.
Categories: 2005 Ford GT,2009 Nissan GT-R
I was thinking the other day (always a dangerous proposition, I know) and wondering how all the current (or really, really recently departed) Edmunds/Inside Line long-term vehicles stack up against each other in fuel economy, at least the fuel economy we've been recording during their time with us. So I made a list. For you and for me. In case we were both wondering.
The only current vehicles missing from my list are the Audi R8 and the Dodge Grand Caravan, and that's because no one has entered any fuel data into the tracking spreadsheet for those vehicles yet. The very top and the very bottom of the list aren't going to surprise anybody (I don't think), but the middle is kinda interesting. Seeing the Rondo and the WRX so close to each other made me raise my eyebrows. Ditto the Ford GT's spot above the Veracruz. Ready to check it all out? Follow the jump with me.
Continue reading The Big List of Fuel Economy.
Categories: 2002 BMW M3,2004 Toyota Prius,2005 Ford GT,2005 Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDI,2006 Lexus RX 400h,2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT,2007 Ford Edge SEL,2007 Honda Civic GX,2007 Honda Fit Sport,2007 Kia Rondo,2007 Saturn Aura XR,2007 Toyota Tundra SR5 Double Cab,2008 BMW 135i,2008 BMW X5 4.8i,2008 Buick Enclave CX,2008 Cadillac CTS V6 DI,2008 Ford Focus SES Coupe,2008 Honda Accord EX-L V6,2008 Hyundai Veracruz SE AWD,2008 Mazda CX-9,2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport,2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR,2008 Pontiac G8 GT,2008 Scion xB,2008 Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe,2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI,2009 Ford Flex Limited,2009 Nissan GT-R
Since that first, nasty windshield "star" happened to the long-term 2005 Ford GT in December of 2006
it's picked up a few other love marks in the front glass. That's the bad news.
The good news is Santa Monica Ford has a company that can replace the windshield without removing the entire front clip. I know of another Ford GT owner who had this performed at the same dealership and the process was performed with no complaints or issues.
So this week the Ford GT was dropped off at Santa Monica Ford at about 7:45 a.m. to have the windshield replaced and the slight buzz in the driver's door panel (coming from the loose aluminum door panel trim ring) addressed.
Continue reading 2005 Ford GT: Windshield Replaced and Final Blog Post.
Categories: 2005 Ford GT
When I decided to drive the long-term 2005 Ford GT from Los Angeles to Denver for my high school reunion
I had some expectations, assumptions and hopes. I expected it to provide a relatively comfortable and entertaining form of high-speed travel. I assumed it would prove fully functional over a 2,300-mile road trip. And I hoped it didn't suffer any mechanical maladies.
Turns out my plan was flawed; my expectations, assumptions and hopes skewed far too low. Not only did the Ford GT prove a flawless cross-country mount but it performed said duty at a level I didn't predict. I'd like to think Ford's exotic couldn't still surprise me after 13,000 miles, but it could and did.
Continue reading 2005 Ford GT: Reunion Road Trip -- Expect Perfection.
Categories: 2005 Ford GT
It only took 14 hours to drive from Ventura County to Denver in the long-term 2005 Ford GT, and that's pretty good considering it was a daytime run with plenty of traffic in and around Las Vegas. I give partial credit to this black Chrysler 300C with 20-inch wheels. The guy wanted to go fast between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, which made him a perfect blocker as long as I stayed with him.
Continue reading 2005 Ford GT: Ventura County to Denver Road Trip.
Categories: 2005 Ford GT
The only thing worse than 2,000 miles of road grime is 2,000 miles of road grime on non-waxed paint. As such, I spent about six hours yesterday washing and waxing the Ford GT's paint in prep for its journey though the Rocky Mountains. To do the job correctly you can't just wash it and dry it off, and you can't even just add a coat of wax. No, to do it right you much strip all the old/existing wax off and start from scratch.
So the first step was washing the car to remove all existing dirt and grime from the paint. The GT was still pretty clean from the last washing so this was relatively quick and easy.
First trip across GT's painted surface.
Next I used a clay bar to remove any previous wax build up. Spraying each area with diluted Zaino Z6 provides a lubricant to help the bar slide across the paint. These clay bars can do amazing things, especially on paint with built up gunk and grime. The GT's paint was relatively grime free, but the process did remove some black spots in the painted white stripes over the top of the car. It was less effective on the dark scuffs in the vinyl tape stripes on the rocker panels.
Second trip across GT's painted surface.
Continue reading 2005 Ford GT: A Day of Washing. And Washing. And Washing. And....
Categories: 2005 Ford GT
With a 2000-plus-mile road trip approaching in less than two weeks it was time to address the GT's tire status. It was clear the rears needed replaced. They seem to average about 7,000 miles, and the odo was at 13,400 on the second set. However, the fronts were original, and hadn't quite reached the wear bars.
As with any
tire work the first order of business is to get the car elevated, but the GT's underbody pans make that tricky. Jack the car up from the wrong points and you'll crunch the pans (I've seen and heard many stories of underbody damage from GT's being incorrectly lifted). The experts at Stokes Tire Pros in Santa Monica took a close look under the car, confirmed their lift couldn't reach all four points at once, and decided to life each axle separately.
Continue reading 2005 Ford GT: Where the Rubber Meets the Open Road.
Categories: 2005 Ford GT
On the eve of Independence Day, I thought I'd peruse our garage for the most American metal. Amongst the many long-termers presently in the long-term fleet, we have quite the selection of cars built by domestic makers. Some are excellent representives of this great land, others ... not so much. And that's not counting the pretty cool American cars that reside in our editors' own garages: Trans Ams, Challengers, Corvettes and Schmidt's big ol' F-150.
Of course, what constitutes an American car these days is up for debate given the Focus is hecho en Mexico and our Hyundai Veracruz is hecho en Alabama. But I'll leave those determinations up to you. And the nominees for our Most American Car are...
Buick Enclave
Cadillac CTS
Chevy Silverado
Dodge Caravan (oh dear god, I hope not)
Ford Edge
Ford Focus
Ford GT
Pontiac G8 GT
Saturn Aura
James Riswick, Automotive Editor
Categories: 2005 Ford GT,2007 Chevrolet Silverado LT,2007 Ford Edge SEL,2007 Saturn Aura XR,2008 Buick Enclave CX,2008 Cadillac CTS V6 DI,2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT,2008 Ford Focus SES Coupe,2008 Pontiac G8 GT
I've been wanting to add iPod support to the Ford GT ever since I picked up an iPhone last December. With all the other audio add-ons supplied by the JVC KDNX-5000 (Bluetooth, Sirius and Navigation) it was the only item left that could be added. I don't really need to listen to songs with my iPhone, as the head unit can play DVD-Rs that hold all my music with room to spare. But I hate having to decide between iPod charging and radar detector power, so charging the phone was my primary goal.
I picked up the appropriate iPod cable (JVC KS-PD100) at Best Buy, pulled the fuse box cover (in the passenger footwell) and plugged it into the Sirius unit. The whole job took less than an hour and now I can charge the phone and monitor incoming radar beams at the same time.
Continue reading 2005 Ford GT: iPod your Exotic.
Categories: 2005 Ford GT
Washing the long-term Ford GT isn't an easy or simple task. You can't just take it to the local "soap 'n rinse" without almost guaranteeing disappointment and/or damage. There's a lot of surface area and detail work to be done when washing it yourself, so plan on at least an hour and more likely 90 minutes to do it right, and that's before you've done anything with wax.
And yet, when the job is done the time always feels well spent...
Karl Brauer, Edmunds.com Editor in Chief @ 13,400 miles
Categories: 2005 Ford GT
One of the few running changes in the Ford GTs two-year run was the removal of the front grille. It happened in late 2005, and it was done to increase airflow to the radiator for improved engine cooling. With our long-term 2005 Ford GT being about 3/4 of the way through the first year's production (number 1456 out of approximately 2000) it still has the front grille.
Many 2005 GT owners have pulled the grille, but we haven't seen an engine temp problem, even during our track run at The GT School, so the grille remains in our car. However, after driving it back from the Southern California high desert recently it was clear how cooling effectiveness could be compromised by this small piece of plastic.
Continue reading 2005 Ford GT: A Study in Cooling...and Entomology.
Categories: 2005 Ford GT
Since we are all sharing shots from yesterday's Willow Springs run here's a look at the long-term Ford GT between Turn 2 and Turn 3. I drove the car 100 miles up to Willow with no plans to track it (we rented the facility for another purpose), but at one point I noticed the empty racetrack and the fully-fueled GT sitting in the parking area. Hmmm...
Once upon a time Enzo Ferrari had a vision of his customers driving their Ferrari on public roads to the track, racing it on the track (and winning), and driving it home -- all with minimal "set-up" between street and track duty. The early 250 GTs and GTOs were capable of doing just that, and the bar he set with those cars is what many a manufacturer has tried to emulate ever since.
Continue reading 2005 Ford GT: Tracking Straight and True.
Categories: 2005 Ford GT
What started out as a simple Best Buy run to see if they had any wireless Rock Band guitars for the Xbox 360 turned into a Wii run -- all in the Long-Term Ford GT.
After seeing said wireless guitars on display at the store entrance I casually asked about the availability of a Nintendo Wii. This question has been met with a quick, "Nope, none in stock" over the past 18 months, but on this particular day the store employee said, "Let me check" and returned with hushed instructions to "Go to register 8 and tell them your name." I think the Wii is still rather hard to get, but an order had apparently just come in. As I was buying mine I saw another guy at the next register getting his.
Continue reading 2005 Ford GT: Wii!!!!!!!.
Categories: 2005 Ford GT
Sometimes you just can't leave well enough alone. The long-term Ford GT already has a smaller supercharger pulley, an ECU reflash, a Ford Racing short shifter, a Ford Racing transaxle cooler and an Accufab air intake lining (to keep the intake tube from collapsing during full-throttle blasts).
But the factory exhaust note is pretty tame on this exotic, even by my standards. It's great for long-distance road travel because engine noise is essentially a non-issue. But it's pretty much a non-issue when hitting redline, too. Seems like there should be a happy medium, and after much discussion with other Ford GT owners the Borla/Ford Racing exhaust system sounded like the "just right" noise level I was looking for. Additional benefits include a 30 pound drop in weight compared to the factory muffler, and far more attractive exhaust tips (the standard exhaust tips scream "corporate bean counters").
Continue reading 2005 Ford GT: More Mods and a Fabulous Ford Event.
Categories: 2005 Ford GT