We went to the annual new car auto show over the weekend. Of course, the first thing I hit was Ford. I hate to say it but it was the most disappointing Ford display I have seen anywhere since 1974.

They had the GT 500 on the rotating display but that was the only Mustang that got any projection. They had a HG 2008 BULLITT sitting on the floor right behind the Shelby but it was locked the whole time, hood closed, no window sticker and absolutely no representation whatsoever. It was as if they were trying to hide it. NOTHING about being able to get the WHIPPLE and/or other performance packages with the 2008 Mustangs (or BULLITT) or anything.

I stood there by it for about 15 minutes and watched folks approach it and only a fraction of them figured out is was a BULLITT and only a fraction of those folks made comments like; "Cool, they did put one out here", or "COOL ... they did bring one" as they were running their finger over the "BULLITT" letters on the rear gas cap (altough several folks walked up to it and said "GREAT COLOR", etc., then just walked off).

I mean for the whole time I was there the hood was closed and the only thing you could see was the pretty dash and interior.

Ford had a concept GT-R (awesome car ... too bad I was told it will never happen ... OF COURSE), 3 V-6 cars (1 ragtop V-6) and only 1 other GT which was silver metallic (pretty color though).

BUTT ... NATURALLY there were plenty of the squirrel-powered FWD vehicles and SUV(s) (that needlessly rob the C.A.F.E. miles from other could-be performance Mustangs), but the Mustangs just were not the focus of the show like the Ford GT and the 2005 Mustang GT convertible was back in early 2005.

One interesting thing I noticed was that several of the cars that had stickers were from Plano, Texas ???

I told one of the reps that I wanted to be e-mailed next year and told ahead of time what is going to be at the show before I wasted my money going there again. I really only go there for Ford's display anyway. None of the reps seemed very motivated this year, as compared to say 3-4 years ago.

I don't recall any specific dealers being represented. I did recognize some of the reps being returns from previous years. The girl advertising the GT 500 said she did not work for Ford directly (contract).

Doesn't matter ... My point is they seemed to be trying to hide the 2008 BULLITT while the other 2008 GT seemed to be there only because they could say they had one there. They had the base GT on the floor in front of the Shelby, but the 2008 BULLITT was stashed behind the Shelby and you couldn't hardly see it until you walked behind the Shelby display.

They gave a MSRP of $54-K on the Shelby GT500 but in the same breath warned about the AMD(s). They NEVER ONCE mentioned the 2008 BULLITT.

I figured both a HG and black BULLITT would be there (and deserved to be on a revolving display too) and I figured there would be a GT/CS but there wasn't.

With fewer vehicles to offer you could say the Lincoln display was still bigger than all of Ford's. Mercury was in-between.

I was very disappointed in the Mustang display; no GT/CS, no GT/CS ragtop or other GT ragtop, no other Shelby (not that I really care about the Shelby) no future Mustang concept ... I couldn't believe it.

S-A-D !!! <!-- / message --><!-- sig --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

 

That's why Ford is in financial trouble.

 

Here's something to keep in mind about auto shows. Most if not all of the vehicles that you see in the Ford displays are from dealership inventory. Most dealers haven't received their Bullitt's let alone a black one, so that Bullitt might have been supplied by Ford. Also, most of the dealerships don't like to send their stuff or salesmen to the shows, cause it ends up being a waste of time for them. The cars get beat up and the salesmen only get like a $100 spiff. So yeah, there is LITTLE motivation for them to participate.

I bet the dealership from Plano got compensation to have their cars there. Our dealership gets invited to the Seattle Auto show but we generally don't provide any cars or people cause of the aforementioned reasons.

 

SUVs don't rob CAFE mpgs from Mustangs,they rob from other SUVs.
The squirrel powered vehicles are where Ford has to go.
It just proves Ford is in touch with reality.
HP Nuts like you and I are not the future, Squirrels are.

 

I checked dealer stock in Houston last week for Bullitts, and there were 4 or 5 black ones on the ground. I wanted to take a ride by one of the dealerships to see one in person (in black), but never got around to it.

One of the guys I work with saw the HG one at the show...and mentioned it today. He knew what it was after hearing me talk about mine non-stop.

 

It was the same at the san francisco auto show, the guys from every franchise, not just Ford, are sent in there pre-programmed with things to say, they can't answer complex questions.

 

You realize most of those people are from talent agencies and are not car people, right?

Planet Ford had gotten in their first two Bullets when I bought my convertible New Year's Eve. If you go there, ask for Robert, who used to be their SVT guy. He's pretty knowledgeable, and not the normal car salesman.

 

That's exactly what i was thinking. If it isn't one of the BIG shows it's probably not FMC there at all.

as far as the Bullitt goes, there are still dealers who claim it doesn't exist. that's not entirely Ford's fault.

 

I don't know, I was there saturaday afternoon and there were tons of people around the saleen stand and the gt500kr stand. the bullitt is nice, but it would never be a show stopper like the shelby line.

 

Problem is, it could be a show stopper if Ford would push the car a little more. They don't need to push a shelby. Everyone in the car world knows about a shelby. If Ford would act like the Bullitt is a big deal, they'd have no problem selling them...

 

They don't need to push the Bullitt. It's only a 7700 build, and appeals to a specific taste really. Many Mustang fans these days prefer the 'bling', the fake scoops, non functional spoilers, etc.

Many Bullitt naysayers have changed their mind though when they see the car in the flesh.

 

The new bullitts look like a v6 from the front... not a fan of it. On new yrs nite I stopped at the dealer and their was a shelby i was checking out that was parked in front of it. Never got a second look from me...I walked by it and saw the gray rims and was like wait a minute, these only come on the bullitt I looked at the rear it said bullitt! I couldnt believe it was only new yrs nite and already they had one I heard they wouldnt be out til later in the yr.
I dont like the new bullitts...no fender badging, looks like a v6 from the front view. Its alittle too plain for my taste.

 

It's exactly what a Bullitt is supposed to be. Stripped of all exterior fluff.

 

Oh, I like your avatar

 

Even though they are only selling 7,700 of them, they could act like it's an se and just not some other car. Every dealer knows what a shelby is, but you still get the morons that have no idea that that HG mustang in their dealerships is actually a Bullitt SE...

 

No matter. The Bullitts will come and go under the radar, just like they're supposed to.

 

you are both right

 

That's surprising to me. At the San Francisco Auto Show the situation was just the opposite. It was hard for me to get a decent pic of the Bullitt on display because of a continuous flow of people checking it out. Stood around for about 10 minutes until I gave up on getting a decent shot and just took this pic. But, ironically there were ZERO people around the much hyped Nissan Skyline GT-R. I was truly shocked! I couldn't believe hordes of Fast & Furious types weren't drooling all over it.

 

Well it WAS San Francisco... the fictional home of Lieutenant Frank Bullitt!!

 

probably because they know they'd have a better shot at owning a Bullitt (even w/ADM ), unlike the GT-R!

And yes, I prefer the "plain" sleeper look of the Bullitt - when I was considering ordering a S197 a few years back, I even hoped it could be special ordered with a "badge delete" to go with the spoiler delete...