ford doesnt outdo ferrari after all

You have to consider the role of status in all of this, but the Ford GT was compared against the CGT and Enzo in an earlier Motor Trend test and did fairly well. The exclusivity factor and all of the subjective marks are what put Ferrari in rarified air, while Ford, despite building a great super car, really has to deliver something beyond special to maintain a price in the $100-$200K arena.

The GT seems like a great car, and Ford knew what it was doing by benchmarking the 360, but it will be an uphill struggle for them to compete in the premium priced car market. Maybe they should focus on Mercedes and AMG, who seem to have figured out how to make the transition from mass-production to high-priced super cars.

 

are you kidding me? The Ford GT is a huge success in the one area that matters - public excitement. It's a halo product for the marketing folks. Who'd of thought Ford could even compete with AM or MB and "win" per C&D. Wonder how excited the AM guys were in the Ford boardroom!

 

I saw a Ford GT up close at the Edmonton Grand Prix (pace car and Ford show booth). Beautiful car. Sounds delicious. But ya know, I'd take a 348, 355, 360, 430 over it any day. You just can't been that scream that a Ferrari makes, nor can you beat the beautiful proportions that the cars exhibit. Especially the 355, 360CS, and the 430.

 

I think Ford has done what it set out to do, notwithstanding the recall problem at the outset. People ***** about paying over sticker for the latest hot car, but when it's gettable, it's likely the ugly girl nobody wants to dance with.
I haven't driven the Ford yet, so I'll reserve on comparisons- I do think magazine reviews are instructive in context, if you know the biases of the writer(s) and the limitations of their 'testing.' (Remember, not all of the "magic" can be revealed by the numbers).
As far as using Mercedes/AMG as a model, I disagree (respectfully). The AMG thing has become as essential on a Mercedes as the right handbag or shoes in NY fashion circles- a car not sporting one is declasse. And frankly, bragging rights over straight line numbers for the crawl down the West Side Highway in an overweight ubersedan (e55 excepted) doesn't mean too much anyway, when your cars break down left and right due to software and associated glitches.
I took a close look at a CL 65 the other night at one of my regular eating spots and thought the interior looked plasticy and cheap for a car of that 'level.' It did have a great exhaust note, though....
Kudos to Ford. I'd much rather have that car than the Benz I just mentioned, even if the latter is more fashionable in certain circles.

 

I could have sworn this this thread was about this...

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=135076952&postcount=1

But then the thread would have to be renamed "Ford OUTDOES Ferrari afterall?

 

Ford will never entirely outdo Ferrari. About the only item Ford has over Ferrari is an endless record of recall notices for everything that has rolled out of the Ford factory.

Don't forget WHY the GT40 was built the first time around. You don't think Ford is still bitter because Enzo escorted them out of his office when they were about to buy Ferrari?

 

The fact that many american magazines said is because they want to see it that way but Ferrari is very diferrent car. The one to be born the fisrt time as a race car, few cars a year, one engine a day etc. And alwyas the measure for any other sportscar.

 

Wild that 40 years after the great Ford / Ferrari wars at LeMans, we're all having this "same" discussion. I thought it was remarkable that Ford actually produced the GT40 supercar, and with such sensitivity toward the original. Whether they'll still be worth the same $$$ in a few years remains to be seen.

For Ferrari, producing the 430 was neither remarkable nor surprising, except perhaps for that little switch they put on the steering wheel. Ferrari doesn't do "retro", they just continue to produce astonishing vehicles with . . .yawn. . . mundane regularlity.

Except for the 412s, perhaps the mondial coupes, and maybe the recent styling of the 612, has Ferrari every really produced a car that DIDN'T create a lightning strike of excitement for its performance, styling, exclusivity, and visceral appeal?

For Ford, a miracle in 1964, a miracle again in 2004. For Ferrari? Business as usual in Modena, and Enzo wouldn't have it any other way. . .

 

LOL! You're kidding, right? Do you think that while Bill Ford is trying to save the family business from going under he's worried that his uncle got rebuffed in an acquisition bid? And I'd say that anyone talking about Ferraris and trying to point out Ford quality deficiencies is like the pot calling the kettle black...!

 

If the production cars can put up the same numbers as the magazine cars, IMO the GT is a very, very impressive machine. All the better if Ford makes so many that prices tumble. How can you argue with the GT's performance?

 

Yes -- the 360 and 430. Fugly cars with wind-tunnel bland styling (or celica kit-car styling in the case of the 430) and far too many of each produced. The Ford GT is a much better looking car, better sounding car and far more exclusive.

 

The ford gt becomes more interesting at window or say 135..., cars are now trading at 167 http://www.fordgtprices.com/pages/9/index.htm. There are serious design flaws with the car and i hear ford dealers, those scions of high end service, have received NO training or bulletins on how to repair GT's...so you may have to source your own service....[not too appetising in comparison with the superb service for ferrari i get from gary at AutoGallery] still i'll consider one when they hit 135 which i expect as the supply overhang is large. If my research indicates the thing will de actually driveable [ever notice there are no GT's with miles for sale?]

I wholeheartedly agree with Bill's analysis of MB, a brand very similar to Ford now, just more bling customer oriented: poor products that break, summarised by Norbert Haug's recent comment in Formula 1: "we need the Renault to break down a couple times [like we do] and then we'll make a chase of it [sic]". MB are for suckers, even worse than BMW with its i drive. These 2 brands have created the perfect space for the new Porsche twin turbo 4wd sedan to be successful in.

 

Nahhh, that was sarchasm. But you are right about the Ford/Ferrari deficiencies. Ford just happens to have more of them driving on the road

 

First, it may seem like Ford has more recall notices for everything it has rolled out, however, give them credit for recognizing, acknowledging, and rectifying those problems for their customers. My wife had a VW Jetta that had an O2 sensor that failed like every 5 minutes, an integrated keyfob key that was defective (VW assured me that there were not problems with it, however when it was finally replaced, the new one was of an improved design that addressed the defect?!?!) but yet there were no recalls whatsoever.

I was fortunate enough to get into the Wixom assembly plant where the final assembly takes place on the GT. Very neat process, the cars are definately cool. My brother mentioned that I had a Ferrari and there was PLENTY of comments made about Ferrari. Anything I've ever seen about the GT, there is always a comment or two made about a 360. Oh well. A GT will never be a Ferrari, but it's not supposed to be.

 

FWIW, the Ford was the winner in the recent Autoweek readers' poll.

http://autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=102646

 

While I love Ferraris I would still chose the Ford GT over any of the post BB512i Ferrari production cars. That being said, listen to a Aston DB9 before you say a Ferrari has the best sounding engine. Other than an F1 car, I've never heard a better sounding engine than the one in the new DB9!

 

Personally, I think the GT is a spectacular car, recalls aside. I visited Roush and SVT as part of another project back when they were doing the prototypes. It was EXCITING. This was small, select group of guys and their incredible capability and enthusiasm were obvious to me. I'd would have been surpised if there had been no teething pain as the car was developed and brought to market quickly. Overall, it is a fantastic performer, no question. I have three Ferraris (and several other ltalian cars) and I love them, but that is certainly not a justification for slamming the GT. I'd love to have one, and may purchase one as the prices come down to sticker and below, which I think we all knew was inevitable. Ferraris seem to get a magical boost in value due to the name recognition and perceived status appeal, but realistically, I think most actual owners (not dreamers) buy them for the way they drive, not what other people think about us because we own them (I couldn't care less, I'd drive a Simca if I thought it was fun).
By the way, I am also one of the "suckers" that buys Mercedes products. I have had two AMGs, and my current everyday driver ML55 has never missed a beat in over 80k miles. I've pulled Ferraris, Caterhams, Maseratis, Alfas etc all over the country with it, all at superlegal speeds, and used it to deliver my kids to school through every sort of Rocky Mountain weather. No problems, zero, nothing. It bounces off the limiter at 155 and has done so many, many, many times. It's just a car, but a damn good one, despite all the prognostication and whining about Mercedes we've seen here. If you going to curse Mercedes for making heavy pigs (which they do) and turn around and say how great BMWs are, you are just going to get a lot of LOL from me- modern BMWs are just as porky. Even the M3 has turned into a luxoblob. For that matter, Ferraris have put on some serious middle age fat. Different cars have different purposes- deal with it.
Just because another car is a great car doesn't mean your own is devalued somehow- most of the GT bashing seems to be related to some Ferrari owners somehow being afraid that the GT is better. It clearly puts out better numbers than all but a very elite group of Ferraris, but is that all you buy a car for? I think the GT is fantastic, but that's no reflection on what I think of any other cars.