Spy Photo of Next Shelby GT500

Looks nice but why would it be called a GT 500? wouldn't GT 350 be more appropriate? After all it isn't a big block car.

Might be for 500 hp and not 500 cid.

My thoughts exactly. These numbers were never tied to horsepower or displacement; these cars were named because of Shelby's imagination. Let the SBs stay 350s, and the BBs stay 500s. This, and this alone makes any sense...

And a "5.4 liter" mod, i.e., roughly 330 ci engine, definitely does not count as a big block. Hell, I'd love to see a pumped V10 in a new GT-500. Why the hell not??

Geeze guy, listen to yourselves. Ford offers a 5.4 liter supercharged V8 for less than $40K and just because they title it "GT500" you're complaining it shouldn't be called that because it "isn't a big-block car." I say F..* the big block. That S/C'd 5.4 will thump any previous big block and *more* than deserves the title. Hell, in a way, calling it a GT500 is a way to underrate its potential... maybe they should have called it GT600 or 700.

Side note: In the new issue of MM&FF. A slightly modded Ford GT with its S/C'd 5.4 ran high 10's at over 130 mph. Yes, the Mustang is heavier than the GT, but still... could we see GT500s running *easy*

11s with just a couple bolt-on parts...? GT500 indeed!

Patrick '93 Cobra

Ford offers a small amount of cars so equipped at a list price of under $40K knowing full well that's not the reality. 7500 units... over how many ford dealers?

Might as well argue over the name and other silly details. This is going to be nothing more than car-rag boasting my-favorite-car-is-faster-than- your-favorite car HS stuff anyway.

Sorry, Brent. Not this time. Ford says they'll sell as many GT500s as there are buyers.

Patrick '93 Cobra

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote in news:1111629907.812897.18970 @g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

I sure hope so. It's about time that Ford put out a supercar for the masses (even at > $40k). Awesome machine.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

On Thu, 24 Mar 2005 13:21:23 GMT, Joe wrote something wonderfully witty:

Let me guess that you really didn't mean "Supercar" as the term is normally used. Perhaps you meant super car as is "Damn dude you have a super car". I still think that it will be a major marketing mistake to creep into the Corvette's price range unless it can compete feature with feature against it.

The Mustang enjoys a very narrow market segment with almost no competition for sales. Very few Mustang shoppers are considering other alternatives to their purchase, especially when it comes to the GT. Expanding the price into another vehicles market space just might bring the consideration of other options into play for the undecided consumer.

Back in every early `99 I had received a payout from my old employer and was starting a new job that was 1.5 hour drive away each day. I wanted a really nice daily driver for the long commute as my current car a VW GTi was coming of lease and I had decided to not keep it. One car under consideration was a triple white Cobra drop-top. While it was a lo verily car and I ended up purchasing a very low milage used Corvette coupe for a very a pretty significant price differential in favor of the Corvette. Now perhaps not everyone looks at all options and gives consideration to all alternatives as I do, but with the constant increases in car prices and now the cost of gasoline, that damn Vette got ~25mpg on the highway, Ford needs to be careful to keep within it's demographic, market space, and price space as well. Encroachment may just end up making the vehicle untenable having customers consider alternatives that might exist at that pricing structure.

Now when the kids got their driver licenses the Vette became untenable from an insurance perspective and I dropped back punted and ended up buying an `01 V6 premium drop-top which is also a really fun car that does rake me over the coals on insurance. Matter of fact it has now become my 17yo's daily driver as I recently moved into an `05 F-150 SXT. I needed a truck and the kid needed a car, what can ya do?

I'll believe it when I see it.

ZombyWoof wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

wrote

mistake

feature

Actually, I meant 'supercar' relative to the rest of the Ford lineup. You have a great point about the Corvette though, ZW. Ford has to keep the GT500's price under the Corvette's or only the Ford die-hards will buy it. IMO the GT500 can't seriously compete with the Corvette simply beacuse of the chassis.

In asking some people, I've found that potential Mustang V6 buyers will consider cars like the Eclipse or Honda. V8 (GT) buyers didn't really consider anything else - they wanted a Mustang GT plain and simple.

differential

untenable

Not too much at that point. I'm in a similar situation in that my son needs a car, and I've already got the LX which sits in the garage, so it'll probably end up becoming his.

Joe Calypso Green '93 5.0 LX AOD hatch with a few goodies Black '03 Dakota 5.9 R/T CC

The flipside of that coin is that the Mustang will continue to sell well in its intended market, and any higher priced specialty vehicles that move outside of that market will just be competition in another market, and that's good for both marques. The Corvette is much like the Mustang in that it doesn't have a direct competitor in its price range, and so the base model Vette could go toe-to-toe with the GT500 with a bit of an overlap. Nobody wants to take on the Mustang for the pony-car dollars, but Ford's finally stepping it up a notch, and isn't that what we all wanted to see anyway? The Ford GT was great, but how many have you seen on the roads, and how many people do you know that can afford one?

Cars like the GT500 also make people think about the Mustangs... even if they can only afford a base-model. It'll probably help V6 sales, and aftermarket parts supplies will jump at the chance to make everyone's V6 look like the GT500. I'm not real fond of it, but it doesn't hurt sales for anyone. While the GT500 itself may suffer against the Vette, it'll still sell enough units to be recognized. I think it'll do nothing but help lower-priced Mustangs sell.

You're also going new vs. used. New vs. new, stock and stock, the Cobra was most likely cheaper, and still a better deal bang-for-the-buck than the Corvette most likely. It was also a payment you probably didn't want to make. I don't see encroachment being negative to anything except possibly the model that's offending. The GT500 breaking into base-model Vette territory isn't going to make your average V6 or GT buyer think of other cars unless the prices of those cars go up considerably. Like Joe said, the average GT buyer doesn't want anything else but. The V6 buyer, I'd bet, chooses the car more for style than anything else, and the GT500 should help the stylish image that the car already has.

Funny how life turns out sometimes. I don't want to get rid of my toys when I get married or have children, but sometimes it's silly to hold onto things when the cost of doing so is that great. Your priorities are in the right spot, and I think that inheriting an '01 V6 Mustang at 17 is a hell of a gift for him, and a statement of your trust in him as well... you should both be proud..

JS

On Sat, 26 Mar 2005 23:55:34 GMT, "JS" wrote something wonderfully witty:

Actually I'm just stating what I did. No comparison other then what was the best bang for the buck or smiles per mile at the time. It wasn't about money, it is almost never about money completely during the purchase cycle. One of the biggest problems with the Cobra was it was almost pedestrian and not all that much different from the GT. Just another Mustang to most people. Now the comments I got on a Competition Yellow Corvette and the interest people showed in it would have never been matched by the Cobra by anyone of then pure enthusiasts. Now that is not to say that I care what people think or buy any particular car because of positive feedback of others. I gave up thinking that a nice car gets you laid about 30 years ago.

Him's a her.

You have a good point there, and it's whatever makes you happy... that should be the driving factor in an auto purchase... unless what makes you happy is out of the price range. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed what you purchased, and at a discount as well. I understand the "it's just another Mustang" argument. I get "is that a V6 or V8" from your average pedestrian now and then, and I have a '97 Cobra. Back when I ran Mercury Capris, I'd usually get "Is that thing a Mustang?" It surprised me one day when a guy asked "What year is your Capri?" Nobody would need ask what you were driving in a bright yellow Corvette, that's for sure.

My apologies. In any event though... I hope to some day have a kid that I can trust enough to turn over the keys to something decent. Too many kids these days don't respect anything, let alone something given to them for free.

JS

"JS" wrote | My apologies. In any event though... I hope to some day have a kid that I | can trust enough to turn over the keys to something decent. Too many kids | these days don't respect anything, let alone something given to them for | free. | | JS

Boy oh boy... can you say THAT again!

Kate

On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 09:05:39 GMT, "JS" wrote something wonderfully witty:

I guess for some people the decision to buy X, Y or Z is and easy, but since I always want all three it is always hard for me to make that final selection. I just bought a new F-150 SXT and I swear to god that if their was a GT on the lot the day that I went to buy the truck I might have come home with it. Would have been a mistake from all sorts of levels since I "need" the truck, but even at 50 that little "Buy Me" demon still sits on my shoulder. I'm the type of guy that sees something interesting sitting on the side of the road with a for sale sign on and stops just to see if it is a deal or something. Gotta check it out. Never pass up what might be the next great opportunity. That's how I ended up with 6-different 60's Camaros at one time.

I tell ya you got that right, but a deal was struck a bargain made and she lived up to her part. So I was left with no choice but to live up to mine. Raise the grades and keep them raised and you get the car. Never seen less then a B since. I know that it is bribery, but I look at it as providing the proper motivation. That little bargain lead to her getting into her first University choice as well, so all's well that ends well.

Sounds about like me. My problem is, if I stop more than once, I almost always buy it. I ended up with a Super Coupe that way... and my '97 Cobra, even though I really couldn't afford the insurance at the time. I made due. It's like they call my name though.

I don't see where that's such a bad deal. My parents were rather against bribery in school, and I never really felt compelled to achieve. In my opinion, it's somewhat like a job. The motivation to excel is better when they dangle the carrot in front of you, be it your choice of shifts, a pay raise, a new job opportunity, what have you... and when you feel stuck, you aren't as compelled to try harder. In high school, that carrot of which they speak is years off, and it's sometimes better to have a little instant gratification. It worked well in your daughter's case, and done right, I think it's better than the old "well, if you do good, you'll get into a better college (more school) and make more money later (8 years from now), that should be enough motivation" theory.

It's good that she also understood the value of getting that car and not having to pay that much money for the freedom it brings. Otherwise, it's part-time job time, and driving around in a beater instead of a nice convertible.

JS

"ZombyWoof"

**snip** | I tell ya you got that right, but a deal was struck a bargain made and | she lived up to her part. So I was left with no choice but to live up | to mine. Raise the grades and keep them raised and you get the car. | Never seen less then a B since. I know that it is bribery, but I look | at it as providing the proper motivation. That little bargain lead to | her getting into her first University choice as well, so all's well | that ends well. | --

That's not bribery, it's INCENTIVE

Kate

On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 16:35:58 GMT, "JS" wrote something wonderfully witty:

Well unfortunately when it comes to patenting their isn't a "one size fits all" manual, although there are tons of books on the subject. The kid in question is actually my second daughter and I adopted a little bit of a different approach in raising her then her sister. Instead of putting all sorts of things off-limits like I did with her sister, I let her just sort of bounce into her limits and yanked back the leash a little bit when she wandered to far off the beaten path. Seems to have worked well.

For both of my kids I made their school work their job. I put them on a pay for performance program. Sliding scale bonuses for each grade. HS A's are worth $100 per class, B's $50, C's nothing and get a D and you owe me $50, for my other daughter in college it is doubled. Last semester was a real bitch when she brought home 6 A's. I had to cough up $1200 bucks. But you know why she did it? She wanted to go on a Spring Break trip with her friends and need the cash so she buckled down and busted hump.

Neither of them of ever gotten anything less then a C and both maintain 3.xx GPA's. This is pretty good considering their HS has a pretty screwed up grading system with an A being 94 - 100. You have any idea how devastating it is to a kid to get a 92.3 and receive a B?

I used a less-expensive approach. I always told my two kids I would be more proud of them if they really busted their ass and ended up with a C, than if they coasted and got an easy B. My daughter graduated with a 3.7, my son a 4.6.

Patrick '93 Cobra