yur1279

It might be hard gettign one for the first year, but from the way it looks, it seems it will be continued into at least 08. Also, I don't think the average car shopper is going to see the gt500 on a lot and decide to drop 40K +.

bpmurr

I was thinking maybe they are floating the 7k number out there to see how many people sign up to buy one. By winter this year they should have a good idea what kind of demand there is from preorders. Then there could be an increase in production numbers and give suppliers time to ramp up extra production.

1st Stang

I had one dealer tell me he thought they might go out the door for around $75k! I think I'll just keep the '05 GT vert I'm driving now. Afterall, it's still a great car. I couldn't really see using the GT500 as a daily driver anyhow.

Also, if anyone gets an SRT for close to sticker I'd be surprised. These will be subject to the same 'limited availability charge' IMHO.

Mongoose

Last week I placed deposit on the car.
This is a SVT dealer and I was told car would be $2500.00 over sticker.

jwenger

Man, I'm glad I didn't wait. I was 3rd on one list and 5th on another. I HATE waiting, I waited for the Mustang GT but was disappointed by the way it changed SO much from the concept. I know the concept came after the real production design was in place but why?? Why does Ford play mind games with us??Well anyway, I went out and bought my daughters 2003 ZO6 Vet. I looks real good and handles great pulls over 1.0 G . It'll do a legit 0-60 in 3.9sec and the 1/4 in 12.4 and tops out at 175mph. It only weighs 3120 with an all aluminum frame titanium pipes andd mufflers and has 405hp so it is 7.7 lbs/hp. Its all the car I'll ever want so even though I love Mustangs, I'm glad I did what I did. I am still on this forum and I think you guys are great. I hope you all get what you want and will be happy with it.

ArkAngelx3

LOL, i cant wait to see how many people are gonna be booted off their list. I mean no disrespect, but its going to happen. Some of you who are confident, that you are going to get one because you are on "The List" are going to be in for a rude awakening!!!

Tres Wright

Yup, this line is Ford's way of telling the dealers not to get anyone's hopes up:

"Despite the extremely high market interest in this product, it is important to appropriately manage the expectations of your customers according to your actual allocation."

And this line renders current waiting lists meaningless:

"We are already receiving customer inquiries about GT500 availability as well as reports of dealers holding deposits for this car. Dealer allocation will not be announced until the first quarter of 2006."

With only 7k being made, there are going to be LOTS of disappointed people. And I'm sure most of the "lucky" ones are going to pay dearly, current promises of MSRP will be dust in the wind once dealers realize they're only getting 1 to 4 units.

I can't even imagine what it would be like to try and get one of the Shelby verts!

Hollywood_North GT

So, I have several questions in my mind about all of this:

1. HTT said production would be 7000-7500, "but that we'll build however many people want." So which is it, and why all the coy games?

2. Does that 7000-7500 number INCLUDE convertibles, and if so, what percentage will be verts?

3. A dealership here in Canada told me today that "they were being allocated 12 cars...and that ALL were presold." Does anyone else see at least a couple of problems with THAT statement?

4. This is Ford's flagship Mustang - it's a Cobra with or without the Shelby name. So with this kind of "allocation" aren't there going to be a lot of disenfranchised Mustang fans out there who want one...are willing to pay for one...but can't get one? Is Ford really gonna say to all those people, "Too bad, you can't have one and we're not interested in selling cars to you"?

Something doesn't add up here. :scratch:

Tony Alonso

CAFE standards...

Rampant

If I read this right, in 2003, around 8400 Cobra coupes, 5000 Cobra verts, and 2000 10th anniversary Cobras were produced. That is 15,400 Cobras in 2003 alone. (someone please correct me it I am wrong).

And they are going to produce less than half of that for the GT500 over 2 years???

That makes no sense to me -- especially considering the fevor the new car has produced. Add to that the Shelby name and the low price, and they should at least double the annual allotment, not quarter it.

As far as the CAFE standards are concerned, build a few more thousand Escape hybrids or something -- there should be ways around that.

Hollywood_North GT

CAFE...? Sorry to be ignorant, but can someone please enlighten me?

Tony Alonso

Corporate Average Fuel Economy - a US government requirement that an auto manufacturer's selection of cars for sale are able to get a certain fuel mileage. I am not 100% certain of the calculation method for Mustang, but my supposition is that these cars will be thirsty enough that this will be taken into consideration for determining how many to make. Too many of them and the overall fuel mileage number for Ford car's would be lowered.

As far as making a few more Escape hybrids, it is my understanding there is a capacity constraint on the battery technology that goes into them.

I would love to see all of the myriad of decisions that go into this stuff.

Sharp

I agree. This is the Mustang I have been waiting for my whole life and now there probably won't be enough to go around. That really stinks. :bang:

Tres Wright

The CAFE standards are averaged across the entire fleet. It is split into trucks and cars, so for example the big 4x4 trucks do not get averaged in with the Mustang. But you'd be surprised, the CAFE standards are pretty wimpy. I think the fleet average for cars is something like 23 mpg. Attempts have been made over the years to raise the standards, but the government has been pro-oil for quite some time and the attempts have all failed. It is unlikely the CAFE standards have any impact at all on Shelby or GT production, the GTs are already over the minimum requirement and the Shelby will probably be over 23 mpg highway as well (manufacturer's MPG ratings are calculated based on driving like a grandma, so a supercharger doesn't necessarily affect it much). Ford has other reasons for limiting production. My guess is they are trying to create pent-up demand that can be shunted over to GT sales; and/or they're trying to keep the interest levels high to avoid the inevitable drop in sales when the "new car euphoria" goes away.

Tony Alonso

According to this table on the NHTSA website, the MPG looks to be higher than 23 mpg for domestic passenger cars. While not the sole reason, I would still maintain this has some bearing on production numbers along with riding the fine line of maintaining desirability, production capacity (e.g., engines), and other magical factors that only Ford insiders would know.

I agree with you Tres that the marketing manager's communication is the confirmation these things are going to be tough to get.

Perhaps that is why a California Special, with GT500 styling cues, will possibly appear close to the production of this car.

Hollywood_North GT

Could also explain why the aforementioned Bullitt edition - and perhaps other SE models - are allegedly going to come out as soon as '08. If the Bullit came in around 350 -375 horsepower, it would fill a performance gap, too.

Why do I get the feeling that after the Shelby's two-year run, that the car will still be produced, just without any of the Shelby badging...as an SVT Cobra. And then production will be upped to better meet consumer demand.

b_btrick

Just my .02, but the letter does not say that only 7,000 will be made. It says
"At current projections, we expect around 7,000 units to be produced for the 2007 model year"
which to me means the same as when they said that they expected to produce about 150,000 05 mustangs (gt and v6 combined) and ended up producing about 190,000.
It seems more likely that the 7,000 number is the number they are expecting to be able to sell and as was said by HTT(?) earlier in the year, if there is a market for more than that then more will be produced.

FiaCobra

I'm kinda sweating it out over here because i knew going into this thing, it was gonna be "against all odds". I'm currently #4 on the list at my local SVT dealer, who only took 6 deposits. I ran into the "mustang" salesman from this dealership at a local car show yesterday and asked him how many Shelby's were they going to be allotted. He told me 3 cars with a possible 4th one for a reward for sales or something along those lines. Hmmm, looks like i'm right on the boarderline. I knew this wasn't going to be easy !!

Hollywood_North GT

Is is just me, or does this whole thing seem a little retarded?

With Ford Corporate hurting for sales, if you have a guaranteed, bonafide hit that will make money, it seems to me that you would do everything you could do make sure that people who want - and can afford - one of these cars, can get one.

How many other mass-production auto makers play this game, I wonder? None are immediately coming to mind.

d_mackey

Where did you see this quote? I'm curious as to the source and context.