st06vert

Semperfi Thanks for the detailed heads up. Nice car you have too.

Centurion96

Joe, I was 21 when I went in in '66, I had managed to waste 3 years in college partying. There are about 50 of us here at the space center and we party hard each Nov. 10th.

Sorry about wandering off topic but by drone do you mean the '07 stock mufflers did drone or that as opposed to other after market mufflers the GTAs don't drone? When I test drove the '06s i noticed a constant muffler noise at 70 mph on the interstate. It was louder than I remember my '65 289 coupe was with a pair of well oiled cherry bombs. With my old '88 Bronco I went through several aftermarket mufflers that droned. It was made worse by the fact that the mufflers were under the passenger compartment. I ended up going back to factory stock mufflers. If there is less interior noise at cruising speed then I will go with the GTAs but if not then I'll probably stay with the factory stock mufflers.

I work about 5 miles from the coast and live about 15miles from the coast so salt shouldn't be a major issue. Since the space center is part of the Canaveral National Seashore bird droppings are a major problem. You don't even park under a tree around here. You vehicle will turn completely white in only 8 hours.

I considered the GT/CS but I don't like the fake scoops, both hood and side. I had issues with the interior color combos, by the way thanks for you for your time and effort in posting all of the interior color combos in another thread. I'm looking at getting a GT/CS rear clip and a GT500 rear spoiler from Cleavenger Ford and letting it go at that. Add the 18" polished wheels and I'm good to go. Oh yeah I couldn't get a kitchen pass on the GT/CS colors either, wife wanted it to be Torch Red.

Added: Joe - if the above thanks for the posted color combos makes no sense, it me, ain't senility wonderful, it was meant for Tres Wright.

BB

C-ration fed, under paid, over worked, Great Green Amphibious Monster.

GTJOHN

Quality is always going to be an issue when you buy something that is mass produced. Ford, GM, Chrysler are always going to have problems with Quality because they don't have hands on control over the majority of their parts and components. You are going to see the same Quality concerns with the Japanese cars built in the U.S. over time.

Now we have parts being made in Mexico and China. Everybody is supposed to be TS16949 but that hardly helps. A company is only audited once or twice a year. Its hard to react to a Quality issue when it takes three or four weeks for the parts to reach American soil, and then they are tied up in customs.
In the past, a Quality Rep could hop in his car and drive three hours to a location here in America. Now he has to book a plane flight to China or Mexico.

Think about American Quality for a moment. Especially the non-Union shops that are making parts for your Viper or Mustang. A lot of these guys are making between $6-$9 per hour. Some have no Health Insurance. How much do you really think these people care about Quality?

I am not making excuses for poor Quality. I had some minor Quality issues with my 2001 Mustang GT right after I bought that, and I was furious!
My Mustang GT was completely loaded, and cost near $25k back then. I understand how you feel paying $30k!
Heck, my Boss has had to take his 300C back to the dealership at least 8 times, and he paid $35k for it!

The great thing about these forums is that you can warn buyers about potential Quality Issues.

semperfi65

Bob

Drone is not a problem for the GTA mufflers. Yes they are louder while first starting, and much more pronounced through gear shifting. There are cerainly much more attractive to me than the stock GT/CS muffler, which is a bit more than the stock GT exhaust. There maybe a reason to do this for the manual transmission that would be a total waste of funds for an automatic.

The side scoops: I'm still not attracted to these, but they are required for the GT/CS. Many compliments from the ladies though has been the upside.

I thought the hood scoop would be great - it's not! I rented a GT-H for a few days, and fell in love. At some point, that GT-H hood will go on my vert. It is certainly an item that you will know if you like, once you've seen it in person.

The front and rear fascias are the reason for my owning the vert. Of course, when I ordered the car back in April, I was among the many who thought the FRPP suspension package was included. What a disappointment to find we were only getting a lower front shroud. It's a great package, though I'm still concerned how it would work on a vert. My guess is that's still a problem, since there will be no Shelby GT vert.

I've got several pieces from the GT500 on the car, or sitting in the living room. Take a look at the Homelink mirror a/temp as an option as well. This vert is as much fun as any car I've owned. I'm thinking it's a keeper.

One more item, you were two years older than me on original enlistment!!

Semper Fi, Joe