Hey Guys, I never thought I'd have anything substantial to add but here are some tidbits I uncovered at the Atlanta Innovation Drive. ( I was looking for you Brad...)

I'm a Bullit lover so I asked one of the well placed Ford people (whose name I would rather not diclose) if and when DHG would be available, he responded that it would probably be no time soon. I pushed and theorized that it would be 07 or 08 before we saw one. He seemed to affirm that was a good guess, stating that they are very excited about the new Steve McQueen commercials and that he himself would like to do a Bullit. He explained to me that the hood was pre-stamped and ready to accept an intake and also pointed to the dot pattern above the rear view mirror on the windsheild where there is actually a pony emblem, and referenced the ponies found on the cloth interior (We were standing next to a Windveil Blue GT at the time with leather). He stated that there was a lot they could do to for SE editions.

The topic of the IUP came up and he mentioned that a lot of people liked the look of the black dash with the silver steering wheel because it more closely mirrors the originals and said that we would very soon have the option to mix components, to what extent I do not know.

Lastly we discussed that commercials, Cornfield and Anthem. He was surprised to learn that I already knew about the Anthem commercial. He gave me a blow by blow of the Cornfield commercial, I'll share that if you want but he stated it is already in theaters and since I've already wrote so much your probably already asleep.....

I'm sorry if some of this has been posted before....

 

This is one of only a few pics that came out well from this morning. We had so much fun at the event so bravo to Ford.. couple of things we learned:

Ford was very P'O'd that reviews from inside Ford came out before the media embargo was released(!)
The engineer knew *all* about this site and was more than willing to answer our questions - about the 3000 held back - the only reason they pull them back are for EPA emissions reasons or safety reasons. There are two lots once the car has been produced - the "good to ship" and the "check these ones over" lot. Apparently some cars need a lot of adjustments once they come off the line but this is normal and happens in every car mfg plant.
The "weld" on the inside of the firewall is for either a) lowering sound in the cabin or B) stop moisture from entering the cabin.

I drove a v6 at the event and have to say I floored that thing as hard as i could and kept the accelerator close to the ground all the way around - VERY impressed and would not be disappointed with a 6. Handles very firmly and solidly.

Was the person who hit the cones a member on here?!? Own up!

 

Some of the people working the Innovation Drive are "hired help" they're from a marketing company based in Chicago. Just to give ya a heads up. Not saying that the person talking to you is a legit Ford employee.. but the majority of the people working these types of events.. are not Ford employees and a from that marketing research company.

 

I'm hoping for a Bullitt edition of this one in the next two or three years. Will be buying a nice WV Blue one to have while waiting for it to come out. Nothing over the top, just enough to enjoy till that Bullitt hits the streets. Hopefully it will be among the first of the SE's out so that I dont get too tempted by a Boss or next gen Mach ... lol.

 

I think he was BSing you.

If Ford identifies any problem that would result in a lot of warranty claims or a recall they will hold cars.

For example when the 2 seat T-Bird was introduced they found out that the hydraulic cooling fan motors were defective. Ford held both T-Birds and Lincoln LS (which use the same fan) until the vendor was able to deliver replacement fan motors. ALL the T-Birds and LSs were repaired at Wixom assembly before being released to ship.

 

I hear what you're saying but he was a Ford employee - he was arguing with a Lincoln LS engineer about the layout of the engine compartment... and sorry if I wasn't clear but he said that they hold cars if they don't meet requirements but will only recall them if they left the factory for safety/EPA - according to him.

I hear ya though.

Go Dawgs!

 

Amy the guy I spoke to was most definitely a Ford guy. His clothing was even different (not that that means anything) and I also got his job title as well. ( I don't want to get the guy in trouble!)

UGA Karl, I was in the 9:00 shift and I saw the girl in the V6 eat the cone too, good times.....good times.... We even chatted with her afterwards.

One more thing, the guy had no idea when a Shelby Edition would come out... he seemed a bit exasperated about that one...

 

I just got back from the innovation drive in Atlanta. Here is what stood out to me. The overall design of the car is execlent. I don't know if any one took the time to look at the static display under the tent, but they rolled the lips on the rear wheel wells so a larger size tire should fit no problem. The inside of the car is very nice. The seats blow the current one out of the water. Yes the dash is hard plastic, but this is a trend you see becomming more common place in cars now. The clutch is extremely light, but is easy to modulate. The throws on the shifter seemed a little long to me, not as short as my triax. The after market should remedy this. The exhaust note is spot on aggressive, but not intruding. The car handels great crisp turn in and no wheel hop. Ford deffinately has a winner on their hands. My one complaint is with the event itself. Come on Ford only one drive per customer? Good grief! Lexus and Mercedes let you drive as many times as you want, just reneter the line. It is not like the lines were a mile long. Several times there were only a dozen or so waiting to drive. While I did get to drive the GTs three times before 10:00 I wanted to drive the 6 to check out the auto, but NOOOO!!!! and no one was in line for it. Well enough belly aching.

Here is how I felt after driving the GT.