Since I've had my car, I've noticed a curious phenomenon >> at least one of three things happens when I'm out driving: 1) people stare at the car; 2) someone will comment on the car; 3) other drivers act like hooligans and try to race you.

Case in point: earlier this evening I was out for a lengthy highway drive for the express purpose of running the car at varying RPMs during the break-in period. I was in the right lane, just cruising along, when a guy in an '01 BMW 740i began flanking me - nose-to-nose - then suddenly accelerating slightly to about half a car length ahead of me...then dropping back and flanking me nose-to-nose again. He did this three or four times; basically the universal sign for "let's go!" Given his age (mid-40s) and the fact that he had three kids in the car with him, I thought it was kind of stupid.

That is, until I decided to be stupid, too.

I began suddenly accelerating and pulling ahead of him, at which point (naturally) he began to do the same. As we were quickly approaching a bridge (Port Mann, for the benefit of those who live in this region) and a fair bit of traffic - and as I was now ahead of him - I figured he would just back off after my 'minor' demonstration.

Nope.

He began to accelerate to my left quite hard, beginning to overtake me. I assume he was thinking, "I'm not gonna have my $100K BMW taken by a 'domestic'." Well, to quote Jeremy Clarkson, the "I am a child" gene overcame me, and I decided to see what our Stangs are really capable of (for a short burst, mind you). I dropped her into third and buried the accelerator about two-thirds, and oh my god, do these cars move quick. I found myself entering the incline of the bridge at a speed that was making me pretty uncomfortable - about 90 MPH - and quickly glanced back to find that the Bimmer was falling behind fast. But as I was coming up on traffic very, very rapidly, I realized I needed to back off from this little escapade immediately, or someone (probably me) wouldn't be going home in one piece.

As I backed off, he began accelerating again in the extreme left lane (now split into three lanes), which was clear of traffic, and pulled way out ahead of me because I was stuck behind other vehicles at a more sensible 55 MPH in the right-most lane.

What's interesting is that once the Stang hit that speed, it really wanted to run (you could feel it), but I was at a speed that, given the road conditions, made me suddenly feel as though I really wasn't in control.

Once we crossed over the bridge, the highway moved back into a LONG (probably 10 miles anyway), smooth two lane stretch, and the traffic began to thin, I sped up and eventually saw him directly in front of me. I came up behind him fast in the left lane, flashed to pass (which he ignored), and so pulled over to the right lane and flew past him. He made one final attempt to catch me, and when I noticed that, I dumped it into third again and dropped the lead foot.

He went bye-bye pretty quick.

Point of the story >> these cars are fast even bone stock.

Counterpoint to the story >> racing on public roads is dumb. You all know it, I know it, and now I know that one has to be very vigilent and responsible in these cars, because they seem to bring out the boy racer in a lot of people, and you have to be careful not to take the bait while out on public roads.

I guess I should have surmised that new Mustang GT + Redfire + shiny = hooliganism. I just didn't expect to turn into a hooligan myself.

 

It happens to everyone sooner or later.

I suppose a "nice kill" and a "dont do that ever again" are both in order

I haven't had a single challenge in the Bullitt yet, I suppose thats because it tends to go under the radar, but every car that thought it was fast revved against the II. go figure

 

It's crazy that the S197's still turn heads after being out for 3 years.

 

nice kill

yeah random people do come up to you.
someone asked me how and when i bought it, complimented the color.
another person rolled down their window and asked about my mpg.

and people do want to race.

driving a mustang is a whole different experience.
it makes mundane everyday routines, like going to work, more enjoyable.

 

Yeah, they both are. And I oughta know better.

Honestly, I was more impressed by the sheer power this car possesses than I was by the - relatively - easy victory.

But I do think that "shiny new red Mustang" translates into "challenge!" for some people.

I think that's because there's nothing else like them on the road. You'll never mistake the current Mustang for ANY other car on the road today, but from a distance, you might mistake a Corolla for an IS350, or any number of other Japanese cars.

I quite like that.

Amen brother.

 

I put my new GT/CS thru it's paces on a long empty stretch of highway so I would know about what to expect.
You are right, RFK, they are quick, right out of the box, so to speak.
I learned to shift it before it hits 6K rpms in 1st and 2nd, 3rd gear was about 105 mph, so shifted there, was at 120 or so when I shut it down, still to learn the top end.
Having two other fast cars, I have learned that people will mess with you. Have also learned that no matter how fast you think you are, there is always someone faster.
But is great to know that when they do mess with you, you can mess back with them, provided the traffic conditions warrant messing back, sometimes is just best to smile and wave bye to them and let them go.
Real nice looking car you have there !!!
Ron

 

Even after stopping by the shop, my mech tells me, "you do realize you'll be a target now and people will wanna race you" - yeeeeah, I know....

What I find even more amazing, is that there doesn't even have to be any "ford" or "mustang" markings on the outside of the car. People just know.....and that's pretty cool....

 

Thanks, Ron.

And in case no one has said it already, welcome to the site!

There's no question that there are faster cars out there, but not a lot of them, and for those that are, you're usually moving into exotic or near-exotic territory.

It's interesting, I'm not sure that guy last night would have challenged a Porsche 911, but there is something sort of theatrical and dramatic about the new Mustang that seems to make people want to test themselves by running against it.

Long live the muscle car!

 

It's very cool.

 

Car and Driver said this about the Mustang GT in it's January 2007 magazine.

"Bold moves happen in this car every day, the kind that get you arrested. There are some vehicles with undeniable purpose. Flatbed trucks carry stuff, Escalades abet social posturing, and the Mustang GT facilitates hooliganism."

 

I'm guilty.

I know the CAR is fast, but at my age, I don't have the b-lls (or stupidity, whatever you want to call it) to follow through.

I got "into it" with one fast Civic SI a couple of weeks ago. I was leading him by about a car length through first and up the revs through second. If I put it to the floor and hit red line I could have beaten him. But all of a sudden I realized we were at 60 mpg up a 40 mph blvd. and I backed off. He didn't. I'm sure over there on the Civic forums he's posting how he beat a Mustang GT. That "kid" gene is a dangerous one. I don't know about you, but the last thing I need is to get stopped for a "speed contest".

 

It's actually the discrimination that gets to me, you could have a civic, caravan, truck and a mustang going down a 4lane highway - and 9/10 times cops bag the stang.

- thank you mr. cop for wasting my time cause of what I drive.

 

You're welcome!

 

I had that same kind of story but instead of it being a foriegn car it was another mustang 05-07 vert v6.

Im driving with my windows down enjoying the nice day minding my own bussiness(Im 19 and could never afford to be pulled over insurance wise in this kinda car) and this "fellow" pulls to my side in his v6 mustang. and begins doing the same, half a car lenght and falls back. I igonored him 3 times. Now my car has mods, although not many performace ones, he doesn't know that for all he knows I have tunes etc... On top of an already faster car then him.

Anyways, we both get stuck in traffic then then he finds a gap in the flowing traffic and floors it and the 4.0l screams. By this point Im amused and against my better judgment I find anotrher gap in traffic to find him to atleast showoff once because Im assume all he wants me to do is emberess him. Anyways, i find him roughly half amile up where he is stuck in traffic as soon as Im 15ft behind him on his right side I downshift and let my exhaust roar as I pass him and then enjoy the rest of the trip home.

Against my better judgement I had to do something. But yeah, these cars attract all sorts of attention both good and bad.




On the lighter side, I was on my way to school when I saw one of the new z06 corvetts driving. Nice look car anyways... Im about a car lenght behind him when he decides to drop back and Im thinking no way dude theres no way Im racing. He drives side by side for about a half amile and Im just ignoring him. When we get to the following stop light I see he begginings yelling something at me. So I roll my window down and he says... "Nice rims! Nices rims!" By this time Im confused and yell back, nice car. Haha. The guy laughs and then we went our seperate ways.

 

Enjoyed your story, and I'm glad to see that you're finally enjoying your car.

When my wife and I picked up ours at the dealer [she was following me], I no sooner pulled out onto a 3 lane road when two guys in a ricer are riding right up my rear bumper. My vehicle literally had 32 miles on it being only driven back and forth to the interior shop. It was a joke. When I ignored them, they drove away yucking it up thinking that they had proved something.

As far as the 7 series and the GT, that was a mismatch from the getgo [I own both]. The GT is far quicker in raw acceleration but at a certain point, driving the GT is a death trap compared to the safety and roadworthiness of the 7.

As a friendly comment, you need to calm down out there. Accelerating faster than some guy with 3 kids driving a 7 is comparable to racing grandmom in her Cadillac; it's a waste a time. Unless of course granny is driving a CTS-V and then you'd get beat.

Compliments on the new avitar - it looks great.

 

2nd

 

LOL. The Mustang sure does "inspire" not only the driver, it also gets drivers of other cars out there to "do things" one shouldn't normally do. I also enjoy letting my car stretch its legs now and then, so the temptation is understandable. Lord help you after you get an aftermarket intake/exhaust (esp. exhaust) because you'll want to hear that V8 music even more. Next time, just try to keep your cool and "send that little kid to his room" if someone is trying to provoke a race. Still, nice kill.

 

A close friend of mine has the 2001 740i sport model (which I've driven), and they are VERY solid cars, to be sure (though it seems like he's always taking the thing in for little things - most recently it's the heated seats that they can't seem to fix). Anyway, one would think its solidity would make it more roadworthy, but I'm not sure it's fair to call the Mustang a "deathtrap." The S197 chassis is extremely good, and the car is built for speed. In fact, the '07 GTs have reinforcements in the firewall which were designed to accommodate the increased power for the GT500. So I think our Stangs are plenty roadworthy.

You're absolutely right. It was stupid, but then, I wasn't looking for trouble whatsoever. And I couldn't believe this middle-aged guy was actually trying to provoke a race with me with kids in the car. I guess for some people a "red" car is the same as waving a red blanket in front of a bull: it brings out the worst in them, particularly if it's a Mustang.

Funny thing is, I've been lolligagging the car around town since I bought it; basically driving it like a granny. The highway run was meant to stretch its legs a little, so when the guy tempted me...well...the rest is history...

Next time, I will remain more disciplined.

 

Not far from where I live are farm roads - long and straight, curvy and fun, 90 degree turns - the works. Virtually no people, virtually no traffic. I head out there to have my fun. I get it out of my system there so I can resist the "kid" gene elsewhere.Otherwise, I would most certainly get myself into some trouble!

These Mustangs are terrific cars, actually unbelievable when you factor in the price range they live in. And I find they handle rather well, really. Much superior to previous generations, comparing stock-to-stock.

 

In the eight months or so I've had my GT, I haven't had one person try on the street. I'm stuck having fun with my friend who has a 05 GTO, so that isn't too much fun, lol.