The recall is real as is dealers crashing them I know of 2 that have been crashed by dealers in Westchester NY.
He seemed to have the grand blue oval conspiracy thing on his mind... Mind you he is a great guy but some of his "Notions" are very entertaining if lacking merit. BTW Dealers who are used to having Lincoln Town Car's as their demo's should never never drive this car. It is a hell of a car. PEROID. My eyeballs are still bouncing around the back of my skull....
As of the end of December, when the recall was issued, there was an article stating that of the 448 cars produced, only 110 or so were actually in the hands of customers and Ford contacted them directly to warn them of the issue. Doody, I found your car: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4521276762&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT
This was in today's USA Today: Ford Puts Production On Hold until parts available Ford has recalled the GT because of a potential flaw that could cause the suspension control arms to fall apart and the car to crash. Production was halted because replacement parts are not yet available. When Ford notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the recall Dec. 22, it anticipated having parts as soon as Jan. 15, according to NHTSA files. It didn't, and now Ford doesn't expect replacements before Feb. 1. Ford began calling GT owners Dec. 15 telling them not to drive their cars because of the potential flaw. "Everybody's been pretty understanding about it. They all pretty much have another car to drive, so that wasn't a concern," Ford spokesman Alan Hall reports. When replacement control arms are available, "We'll pick up their cars in an enclosed transport and give them the white-glove treatment." Production won't resume until control arms have been replaced in the 448 GTs Ford built before the halt. Of those, Ford says, 289 were shipped to dealers. Sales tracker Autodata shows the first GT sales were reported last October, and 144 sold last year. Control arm casting defects are very real... this is not BS. This kind of defect can have catastrophic consequences. Do not take this notification lightly. Brad
bobafett, did you have a written contract with the dealer? If so, you might find this interesting. http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums/z8/6029997-1.html
That's a story I like! Just what I would have done but think he could jhave made all the diff instead of half?
Good link... and big kudos to the guy for sticking it to the ******bags. Unfortunately for me, all of my written correspondance is in email. While not inadmissable, it's not entirely the same. Of course, this guy is smarter than I - I just let the whole thing go (knowing what he does - we'll be buying them for MSRP or less in a year). --Dan
Just a quick note on the amount of cars that have been delivered in comparison to the amount that have been shipped. Many dealership owners are keeping the cars. They then keep it in the showroom as a draw. Some will put some absolutally ridiculous price on it, knowing that the chances of it selling at that are slim to none......... when the truth is that they don't really want to sell it. At least not until they can get another one in. According to some guys who work on the GT, the flaw in the control arm was found in a routine inspection of one of their "use and abuse" cars. It had a crack by the ball joint hole. This is when the problem with Brembos manufacturing process (they changed it without informing Ford) was discovered. One of the workers gave a very detailed description of exactly what happened in the casting process. It was very interesting. Ford was not pleased.
The dealership here sold one on the condition that they be able to keep it in the showroom for 40 days before being delivered to the buyer
Regarding reliability/durability, the Ford GT engine was put through the same requirements and reliability/durability standards as a regular Mustang or F-150 engine or any other production engine for that matter. Meaning the engine was heavily tested and passed (with ease too) tests simulating 150k miles of wear and tear. Like the Lightning and Cobra motors, this engine is overbuilt as well and is hardly stressed-out at the facotory 550hp. If i could get my hands on two (one can dream), i'd heavily modifiy one of them into the 750+hp range. Also, Ford exces have said that the GT will have the maintanance costs and intervals of a 50k Ls6 z06. Given that bit of info, i wouldn't be labeling this GT as a "Fix or repair daily" like that one guy 2 pages back. If anything, the GT will most likely prove to be the one supercar with the most durable engine. For those interested and who haven't already seen this, Hot Rod mag did a 5 page break-down of the GT's engine. It covers the parts and materials used, as well as that durability test i mentioned earlier. http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engine/113_0311_gt/index.html
Vibrant thanks for the link. interesting material. i'll be getting one...can't wait for the hype to die down I've offered 10 over for a NOW car but that is way below current market.
the G still rocks...i have 10500 miles on it now. Just over $700 for the 2 routine scheduled services. Driver window is sticking sometimes but nothing else to report.
bobafett: the guy on that thread... I know personally. I don't know if it is as TRUE as he swears... but I don't know if it is not... YET... Will let ya know.
Other commitments... Big Bend Open Road Race is that weekend (www.bborr.com) sponsorship and all that jazz
I heard the price for first 2 GTs which were exported to Japan. Buyers paid approx. $190K price range (based on $1=100yen), which means cheaper than rumored price in the US. I found this price pretty reasonable considering the original price is $150K (plus whatever the option), duty & freight, & whoever's commission. Jeep Cherokee was selling equal to $40K's in 80's in Japan when it was popular, so it's not that bad, don't you think?
Seems very reasonable for the GT.. Especially given how scarce they are right now - why I cant seem to figure out. I dont think Ford planned it this way.
I saw a GT the other day at the gas station right up the street from my highschool. It was black, and had florida plates. I live in Saint Louis....hmm....
Rare? Err...methinks not. Jim; looks like a fun event. Enjoy! At the least, I'll catch you in Monterey again. --Dan
I found out white GT in Japan was bought by the Grand Tourismo designer/owner. Image Unavailable, Please Login
