oh - neither of us doubt it's the real deal. both of us want one. i simply doubt the buyers are gonna come out of the woodwork to pick up that much volume in that period of time. because of the crash standards issues, they have a limited window. question: how come you haven't bought one yet? doody.
Uh, first of all, relax. It was in jest. But there was truth in me calling them bastards. For what, you ask? Go back and re-read Dan's post. Secondly, I have no problem with dealer's "getting what the market can bear", but when they start demanding absurd prices like $300K, they're trying to dictate the open market value. Which, by the way, is dropping every month... currently around $210-215K. At least we agree on one thing: I absolutely don't see these cars selling for as low as $90K two years out.
Reason being I have enough metal to keep me busy on sunday's, my Maser makes a good station car, and owning an oil painting I'm not that interested in a poster if you catch my drift.
There is simply no way the market place will bear that volume of cars. 360 Spider this ain't! Whether it's 90, or 110, I certainly don't expect them to be selling for MSRP in due time. After all, you can get gallardos at invoice all day long now. The target market for this car (there are *not* 2000 people who are waiting to spend 150-300k and won't buy "yurripeun" cars) is absolutely saturated. You've got the 360/430, Gallardo, P Turbo, GT2, GT3, Murcie, Diablos, 550/575, Viper, Corvette, etc. etc. Now look at where those cars are. 360s are at real prices ('99s can be had for ~100), 575s are being offered at invoice w/o question, GT2s are barely commanding 130 for a 190k car, GT3s aren't as hard-hit but surely aren't making the big love, Gallardos are being offered at invoice, etc. This isn't '99, and the Ford GT, while a killer car, isn't a 300k car. I've seen people make comparably fast cars in sub 100k (Devek White Car, for instance), so to justify a dealer gouging over MSRP is silly at best. Jim, can't say I agree with the sentiment - if it's just a poster, why tout it? --Dan
Dan After having driven one I think it's a great car compared to a G or a 360. When I drive a 430 I'll have an opinion about which one I like better. That said none of those cars can be compared to a real MK-IV on any level. One's a piece of history one's a car.
Sorry for that mistake guys. That's what they marked it as. Believe it or not, I was standing around that car for 15 minutes and not one sales person approached me. That's pretty pathetic that they are gouging people like that. I guess I'll save my money and look at the Audi Le Mans...
That 150 was prob. MSRP + wheels, stereo, stripe, gas tax, dest.,etc. The Le Mans nose is a bit much for me as is the new RS6. Do like the Viper Coupe but not the new Vette. (look wise)
Jim, I'm not disqualifying the significance of J6 - I'm quite a fan! My point was more along the lines of this; if you feel the car is just a car, then simply say so. Your attitude towards the car (at least perceptibly) is, on one hand it's the best production car money can buy and it worth every penny of 300k+, but on the other hand, it's just a car. The two don't fit. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan and want one. No question about it. But, like a few others here, I think it's just a car. One with a lot of "hooligan" potential, but with zero practicality (the maranello, for instance, makes an infinetly better usable car). Now practicality isn't the best measure for a car, sure, but in my mind it's just another production car - one which will be surpassed at some point, and will have whatever flaws it does. I agree that it's a great car at MSRP or less. That was all I was trying to get across. If I had McLaren money for a car, I'd love to try to get Lee Holman to sell one... --Dan
At first I thought that this car would also be around $90k in two years. Now, I'm not so sure. The Ford fan river is not only wide, but also deep enough to support it. Having been lucky enough to ride in J6 (and loose circulation in my left leg for 30 minutes), I can say that it is a hell of a car. And I can imagine Ferrari engineers at the pit wall looking at it saying figlio di puttana.
I heard that there was one sitting for sale on the showroom floor of the local Ford dearler here in Memphis, so yesterday I went to visit it, (I'll not "memtion" this to my 348). The car looks great. I thought the paint was no where near Ferrari standards, but the engine bay looked just incrediable, (I long to fondle it's valves). The big blower directly behind the drivers head really got me going too! It really does look exotic to me, much more so than any other US built car I've been aquainted with. They are asking $225 for it. BTW- I was almost immediately approached by the sales MGR. He'd LOVE to sell this car. When my buddy asked me how I liked it vs my Ferrari, the sales MGR amost crawled right up my a$$!
Anyone else notice that the demand at $200k+ described as "very strong, but perhaps shallow" may already be met? EBay numbers now seem to now be stalling about 200, and there's a buy it now for 230? I'm sure the salesmen are eager to land a whale, I know one Texas dealer was offering them a $10k bonus. Do any of you have any actual sale data? Anyone bought one? Thanks, Mark McKenzie
IMO the GT looks incredibly ugly. I'd take a 360 over it anyday, because then atleast it's not going to be Fix or repair daily.
Mark, this was exactly what I wanted for this post, but I realized they may not want to disclose the information after all. Jason, most of people here would pick 360 over GT. There are some (unfortunately, not me...) who can afford BOTH of them here, and I hoped they can share the purchasing experience of GT. BTW, I found at least 2 GTs exported to Japan last year.
Please, tell us about your experiences with the 360 vs the reliability from a modified Ford Lightning, enquiring minds want to know. Sunny
I don't own and have never driven a Ford Lightning. Was that a personal rib? I obviously don't have any experience with either car, because mainly I can't afford either car. Does my age and income bracket exclude me from discussing them? My reference was to the styling of the 360 vs. GT. I wasn't trying to compare performance. The 360 is lightyears ahead in the aesthetics category. When ultimately I do go out and buy one of these cars, if I ever have the chance, I won't be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to race the next kid in his civic from stoplight to stoplight. Most people who spend this kind of money don't try to toss their car around and push it to the limits to test fate, and their wallet. If I was commenting on what would be a better track car, then my answer would be neither. Insurance doesn't cover accidents on the track.
Actually, there are a few providers of track-day insurance, even for competitive driving / timed events. Of course, in most cases you could probably argue that a non-timed event could be qualified as a driving school. --Dan
Not me. I thought the car was fantastic. I'd easily take it over the 360. Now the 430, well, that would be a closer choice. Little doubt in my mind that whatever the 360 can do, the GT can do better!
In spite of needing 40 minutes of repair 38 years ago my old Ford was able to travel 3200 miles in 24 hours which is further than any Ferrari ever has in the same time period.
A memorable moment, but flawed analogy. Comparing racecars built for a specific purpose to a production car? Given the tank size of the GT vs my 550, I'll be going a hell of a lot further than any GT.... an equally silly statement. --Dan
Neither a 360 or GT are track cars, and therefore that consideration is moot; they're street cars that can be driven on the track - which will be better composed and compliant? That's an empirical question, but they're not track cars. Like Dan and Doody, I like the GT (a lot) but I refuse to pay over sticker and refuse to goad myself into justifying that the poor, downtrodden dealers aren't actually backstabing conmen, but poor, benevolent servants of "what the market bears." Everyone remember the roar around the Murcie and Gallardo? All the "you can't get one," "I've got a car here, but it's 50k over" etc. talk - well, now they're moving at invoice. The difference is between the Lambo situation and the GT situtation is a simple matter of time; once the cars hit the ground the prices will start falling as supplyline with out pace the demand - anyone paying over MSRP now, is paying a sucker tax.
