Call me crazy, but I think he may be telling the truth...pg. 2 post 36




http://forums.stangnet.com/showthrea...=487165&page=2


All in all an interesting read, thought you guys might enjoy it

 

Thanks for posting that, it was buried pretty deep in that post. Once again, the fan boys come out to try to discredit what he had to say... just take handling for example. "Ford promised us it would handle!" Put it up against cars with IRS, and it's going to be the worst of the bunch, what do you expect?

Almost $29,000 MSPR, though? Yikes... I hope it was optioned out completely for that price.

 

That's exactly what I thought when he mentioned the 'Stang felt loose. It is still a live axle so that's expected. However, he did say that the ride through the rough road was pleasant compared to the others. The main thing that stood out to me was what he said about more "neck-snapping" power than the GTO. He also said it felt noticeably faster than the other three

 

the tail coming out on the 05 gt isn't due to the lack of an irs...under cetain conditions a solid rear will peform better than an irs, it's the placement of the engine. look at a picture of the relationship of the front axle plane and the firewall. the distance between the two, determines the placement of the engine. the greater the mass of the engine that can reside BEHIND the front axle plane determines how neutral the car will handle in the twisties...that's why nissan made such a big deal out of the "front mid engine" design of the current z: almost all of the v6 is ideally placed behind the front axle plane.

another approach to this dilemma of the engine placement is utilizing a rear transaxle (like the vette): this affords the best compromise for traction, handling and space requirments for passsengers and luggage.

one way to ovecome this design problem with the 05 is go with the v6...less weight over the front end and less money!! defintely a good deal. jackg 90 seville 95k

 

Looks believable... Although a bit biased. I noticed he kept discrediting the GTO. I've never driven one, but they are supposed to be awesome... Should have felt the most powerful....

 

I spoke to a guy who drove it. He loved the handling, Styling and performance. He said we will love it.

But, I am nervous about the performance. I need this car to run at least 13.8 in the Quarter mile.

If I see Car and Driver and Motortrend running 14.0 or even a 14.2, I am going to be pissed!

A 300HP car should be in the 13's!!

 

Mark my words, it'll do better than 13.8sec....but maybe not in MT or C&D.

 

I wonder if the tires on all of the cars were of the same quality?

When I test drove the GTO, it did not have as good of a tire as my stock Mustang.

That would make a huge difference on handling and such.

 

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index....opic=3621&st=0

Call me crazy, but that's the exact same post as here, except he changed some details.

 

is it? details? you better read 'em again

 

B) #1 LOL. The guy’s not a professional writer; but I think he did a fairly good job of expressing his "brief" encounter. Cut him some slack, seems like we’re getting antsy and looking at more ways to contrive mental masturbation and becoming such nitpickers because someone said something based on their experience and wasn’t what we thought or wanted to hear.
#2 These type of studies are geared towards a cross-section and ask focused questions for specific reasons. Hence the term "Focus Group".
#3 Nothing was said abut price specific; general question only. Recent review in MM&FF listed the GTO at ~#33K. Wouldn't place anything on price as to what it will finally be until it comes out from Ford; 3-4 weeks?? Everything else is pure speculation
#3 Take the article for what it is ... informative opinion of another enthusiast. Even when the "Pro's" do their thing we will all have differing opinions.
#4 Bottom line; I’m an engineer and like hard facts to base decisions, expressed opinions are nice. However, when it comes to spending MY money the only opinion that will matter is mine when I get My butt in MY 05 and do MY own testing

 

I agree with you woody. I myself am an Architect, and similar to Engineers... I also respond only to facts. And the only way to really get the facts is to drive it yourself. Even when the real reviews start coming out, it's not going to change my mind in either way. For those of you who aren't sure, wait and test drive it. For those, like myself, who have already fell in love with the car... sit back and enjoy the ride.

 

It's going to be an awasome car, especially in SE form!

 

Your thought process amazes me :scratch:

You respond to only facts...seeing as that you have to drive it yourself, have you done a full test drive to gather these facts? What's even funnier is that even when the "real" reviews come out, they won't alter your opinions...oops I mean facts about this car...hmmm maybe because you've already ordered one and stuck either way.

Unfortunately, not everyone is like you so I figured people would enjoy to hear people's semi-nonbiased opinions until the time we can gather our own facts

 

Don't start with the SE talk again.....I'm almost over that. :bang:

 

Seemed pretty credible to me and pretty much matched what my expectations for the Stang are.

I've driven the GTO (ATX) and RX-8 (MTX). As for the former, it does have a great interior and just seems like a generally well thought out car, very un-Detroit GM in its refinement and sophistication. Less of a fast but oafish muscle car than a powerfull V8 GT-type car.

The RX-8 has a fantastic suspension though the power band is way up the very high (9K) rpm range, I'm sure it would have felt much perkier with an MTX.

As for the Stang, the seats do look a touch flat even if an improvement over the current ones (how could they NOT be), which seems born out by his experience. I imagine the generally greatly improved overall ergonomics help a lot here in comparison to the pitifull ergos on the current car.

Also, the comments about the live axle getting flummoxed over the bumps isn't any surprise either and may prove to be one of the '05's dynamic achilles heels on anything other than glossy smooth pavement. The motor, in contrast, sounds like it will be strong and torquey as I might expect from the 300hp 3V design.

 

Great comment......concerned but reserved.