Drove a Mach 1 today

What was the asking price? The Mach 1 has the heritage ties, is visually striking, is a close performer on a street-driven basis, and is a bit easier on gas. If you regularly drive your vehicles in track conditions, then the Cobra is a great base to start.

Thoughts?

C>...and it was great. Used, with 15K on it. As far as daily driveability, it

dollar for dollar I think the Mach wins.I bought one two weeks ago (after looking at a Cobra) for 10 grand less.Read the magazine articles and see who the picked...Mach 1.

driveability, it

I drove one today also as I own a 2004 Azure Blue Mach 1 5 speed. I am well satisified with it.

Davïd Greenville, NC

Asking was $25 but we didn't even get to negotiate. I think they would have gone down at least one maybe even two grand. They were also willing to give

It's hard for me to compare the Mach to a Cobra, anyway, as I got to drive a Cobra for a week! The Mach was really very nice.

Yes, it's a great value and an awesome car, but...still. I've had my heart set on a Cobra for quite a while. I don't like to settle (done that too much in my life) and if I bought the Mach, I know I'd be settling.

Cindy

Realized I forgot a couple points.

Aesthetics aside (I prefer the Cobra), we got great gas mileage from the Cobra (over 25mpg!) we had for a week. I must admit that shaker looks pretty cool, though. :-)

Cindy

If you regularly drive your vehicles in track conditions,

I'm not sure where I'll be using it most. I do race, mostly drags. I recently found myself into autox, but that was with an auto. Not sure how I'd fare with manual. I'm still learning manual, actually. And damn the Cobra is a bitch in city traffic! The Mach was quite pleasant in comparison.

Ahhh. Nah. It's a Cobra or nuttin'! I told myself, after driving a '96 GT for four years, next time I was going to get the best my limited cash would buy. IMHO, not much beats the Cobra.

Cindy

Don't settle for less, go for the gusto and don't look back!

Great mileage - how much around town and highway? I've managed 26 mpg a couple of times highway in my '03 Mach.

The Mach definitely has a bent for drag racing. The Cobra's IRS would be a natural for autox. I've autox'ed the Mach, and it is quite nose heavy! Most of the course was spent in 2nd gear, since the redline is up at

Buy the Mach 1 (haha) - seriously, both are great choices. I previously had a '96 Cobra. It was a lot of fun. The '03/'04 Cobra definitely has the most motor, but both cars have the panache of exclusivity and distinctive styling cues.

Good luck in your decision and purchase.

Some people in the past couple of months have gotten brand new ones for $23K-$25K! Ford had incentives on them. I think you would have been able to get below that if they really wanted to sell the car.

You were quite fortunate to get the Cobra for that l>Asking was $25 but we didn't even get to negotiate. I think they would have

Mach 1 looks are *very* sexy. Cobra looks are also VERY sexy in my opinion. Blower whine just turns me on. Mach 1 has higher compression so it's a bit more iffy to add a blower to a Mach if you're wanting more performance. With a Cobra, you've got much more room to play if you ever got HP hungry at the track... and as far as handling, you can always beef up the suspension in any car. Just my .02 cents. I'd rather have the 03/04 Cobra.

-Mike

What was the asking price? The Mach 1 has the heritage ties, is visually striking, is a close performer on a street-driven basis, and is a bit easier on gas. Aesthetics aside (I prefer the Cobra), we got great gas mileage from the Cobra (over 25mpg!) we had for a week. I must admit that shaker looks pretty cool, though. :-)Great mileage - how much around town and highway?

Highway was at least 25mpg, if not better. Town, if I kept my foot out of it, was pretty good, too. I don't know exactly how good 'cause I only filled the car up once when I got it home after a 250 mile drive and didn't keep an eye on the mileage.

I've managed 26 mpg a couple of times highway in my '03 Mach.

Nice to have a new car with a fresh motor. I'm really looking forward to that when I get my Cobra. The Cobra we drove got much better mileage than my '96.

I'm not sure where I'll be using it most. I do race, mostly drags. I recently found myself into autox, but that was with an auto. Not sure how I'd fare with manual. I'm still learning manual, actually. And damn the Cobra is a bitch in city traffic! The Mach was quite pleasant in comparison. The Mach definitely has a bent for drag racing. The Cobra's IRS would be a natural for autox. I've autox'ed the Mach, and it is quite nose heavy!

I can sympathize. When I autox'd my '96 every sharp turn felt as if the front end would never follow it. I can admit now that the nose dove forward so badly that I just had to stop several times. :-}

Most of the course was spent in 2nd gear, since the redline is up at 6800rpm and the courses were 50-55mph max at the fatest points.

Sounds like my experience. My car's an auto so I left it in 2nd the whole time. It worked well.

Ahhh. Nah. It's a Cobra or nuttin'! I told myself, after driving a '96 GT for four years, next time I was going to get the best my limited cash would buy. IMHO, not much beats the Cobra.

CindyBuy the Mach 1 (haha) - seriously, both are great choices. I previously had a '96 Cobra. It was a lot of fun. The '03/'04 Cobra definitely has the most motor, but both cars have the panache of exclusivity and distinctive styling cues.

The only thing I really don't like about the Mach is the wheels. The one we drove, however, had some ugly aftermarket "Jesse James" rims installed. YUCK! Even stock are better than those things. The salesman (btw, are there ANY qualifications for car sales people anymore? Like...I dunno...the ability to speak in complete sentences?) was dumber than a mud post and kept saying "And like I said, the Jesse James tires [yes, he did indeed say tires] cost $6000..." I love the shaker. Ultra cool! 8-) The graphics are neat, too, but are useless on a black car.

Good luck in your decision and purchase.

Decided not to get a Mach, that much I know. However, if I found a screamin' yellow Mach, I might have a hard time walking away. ;-) Cindy

I don't plan on it. :-)

Cindy

Isn't that a wonderful sound?

Mach 1 has higher compression so it's a bit

Quite honestly, I think the Mach is more car than I'll never need, but it's not more than I want. ;-)

With

I agree. Before driving the '03 I would have been satisfied with the Mach or maybe even a '98 Cobra. But now...that I know what I'd be missing... ;-)

Cindy

Oh yes... it is... *sigh*.

Same here. I'd be so happy with a Mach 1's power... but I'd be so much more happy with 03/04 Cobra power =). Take me a while to learn how to use it to it's maximum potential though lol.

Me too LOL!

Wanna hear a crappy short story? My friend Roy who HAD (yes, HAD) an 03 Cobra... heavily modified. Opened up exhaust (from headers to tailpipes), chip, 14psi pulley, CAI, shifter, tinted windows (hehe), sport springs, 175 shot nitrous, ...i *think* a few other smaller things.. well, a few weeks ago.. STOLEN. Somebody snagged his keys while he was at work (he's a loan manager for Arvest bank here).. took off with it... was racing somebody.. hit the nitrous.. lost control of the car... ran off the road straight into a light pole... bent the lightpole to nearly a 90 degree angle... TOTALED the car.. apparently the person wasn't injured badly enough to not haul ass away from the crash scene b/c nobody was found at the car he says. Right now he's driving around on a crotch rocket.... he is SOOOOOO depressed too.. and ungodly pissed off. It's a real crappy situation for him. He's only 20 years old too.

-Mike

Oh god give my regards to your friend. :-( That really sucks. I'd probably need psychotherapy. LOL! No clues as to who the thief is? Co-worker, just some customer or whatever?

Cindy

performance.

I haven't heard from him in a week now so I don't know... but as of a week ago, no idea whatsoever as to who it was. =(.

-Mike

tailpipes),

I know that I'll catch shit for this, but I hope that the bastard who stole the car limped home and died of internal injuries......

Won't catch any shit from me. The turd deserves whatever he gets.

So THAT'S Ralph Snart, eh. I always wonder what some RAMFM'ers look like. :-)

Star Trek is one of my favorites! I could watch The Voyage Home all day... Sci-Fi is the greatest!!

Cindy

The Wrath Of Kahn rules, baby! The Voyage Home is my second favorite -- 'a double dumbass to you!'.

The picture at the index of my webpage was when I was in management (I actually sold my soul to the Devil at that time) - the haircut, the suit and tie - SO NOT ME!

Later on (on the 'Meet the Snarts' page), there's pics taken of me from last month, dressed in black, wearing a leather cowboy hat (given to me from former pro-wrestler Blackjack Mulligan) and my infamous mullet (my silver hair goes down past my shoulder blades) standing in front of my 2002 Mustang.

I'd like to get a '04 Cobra, but I'm trying to pay off 2 cars, a shitload of bills and having a sick wife doesn't help, so I'll just lust in my heart about having a Black on Black Cobra....