Ford GT and The Stig vs Focus???


Joehand1

Joehand1

Tungsten GT Owner
Sep 20, 2007
602
Hattiesburg, MS, USA
Ford GT and The Stig vs Focus RS???

http://www.topgear.com/us/features/more/are-you-stig-enough

I really think when I trade my Mustang GT in (my daily driver) I'm getting a Focus RS. Good Car Ford.
 
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Hey I like Jeremy, but I get annoyed with his constant misquoting of FGT specs. Didn't he OWN one of our cars??? And I am sure I would like this new Focus RS, but come on.....

Jeremy, the FGT had 550 hp, not 500 as you quote.
The FGT does not weigh "4,000-odd pounds", it is more like 3300.
With regard to the FGT interior layout and gauges I disagree with your statement "The GT never allows you quite the same level of nonchalance." We have basic singularly dedicated analog gauges, RPM, oil pressure, temp...oh an speedo, boost pressure/vaccume and volts. All pretty basic to grasp, just like a race car should be.
"You can't really see out of it, and it feels lorry wide." Maybe the rear visibility is a bit compromised, but front view is not bad....and "lorry" wide? For a car 42" high and low CG that can produce 1+ G's on a skid pad, it has to be wide....
"The supercharger belt is spinning just over your right shoulder, about 6 inches from your ear, and everything feels unfamiliar." Unfamiliar??? point-and -go... I never hear any supercharger noise through the triple-pane firewall glass. Do you??? Ford NHV engineers did a fantastic job with this issue.
"Part of their speed is based on their inability to be intimidating in the same way as a $130K-odd behemoth with a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 that's bellowing a thick, angry aria just behind your ears." Jeremy, have you ever seen a FGT? Mine has a MOD 5.4L engine and all I hear is the sweet sound of a V8 from the rear of my car.

He has NO credibility in this comparative article.....
 
That car in the article has got to be "Euro-Spec" and if you can figure out how to get one of them into the States...good luck!
As my "island car", I have a Focus wagon which is bullet-proof. This article gives me reason to "up-grade ya"!.


Joehand1 said:
http://www.topgear.com/us/features/more/are-you-stig-enough

I really think when I trade my Mustang GT in (my daily driver) I'm getting a Focus RS. Good Car Ford.
Click to expand...
 
I will defer to Neilda about Clarkson, who had some very profound comments about JC the last time this type of discussion erupted. However, I do think that Clarkson, like any other journalist trying to sell papers/air time, is guilty of embellishing every new dynamic car that he tests. If the car exhibits exceptional traits, well then, it's the best ever, until the next "best" one arrives. All one has to do is look at the last couple of super car test drives and listen to his exclamations of how "incredible" this car is, or how "perfect" that one was. Then, three months and ten other car review later, the exceptional or perfect cars tested were obtuse in handling, or overly thirsty, or cramped inside.
Me thinks Clarkson would complain if Shannon Elizabeth showed up at his door ready to rock with no questions asked. A month later, he'd describe the experience as burdensome, or he'd say she was clingy afterward...
 
Amen!
and Spot On
 
First off, Clarkson didn't write the article.
Also,I really don't think the author was in any way negative about the GT he was just making the point that it IS a hard car to drive at the limit, I have firsthand knowledge of this as I did a 360 in mine on the track last week.
Also, I have read that the Euro spec RS will be imported in 2010.
 
Matech GT Champion done amongst the best out there.The car speaks for its self we don't have to.
 
You guys don't get it, I love my GT, but you have to be a very good driver to get even half of the GT's capabilities.
 
As far as Im concerned I agree with everything the article said, I mean after all who wants a FORD GT when you can have a FOCUS:biggrin
 
I think Ford did a good job with the RS, why all the trash talk?
 
Joe,
YOU miss MY point!

I was not trashing the Focus.....Sounds like an extremely capable, affordable machine! Ford did a great job with this offering.

I was trashing the numbskull who wrote the article comparing inaccurately to the FGT.
 
I'm pumped about Ford's new offerings, and the way they have navigated this economy. Bought a chunk of Ford stock four weeks ago and it is up 52%.
Go Ford!

This Focus sounds like a fantastic car. The comparison to a Ford GT doesn't make sense on any level to me. Two completly different tools. Plus this yahoo ought to get a few facts straight on the GT before he trash talks it. Can't even get weight and HP right?

Rick
 
It is pretty sad when a car show like Top Gear can't even hire Journalists that know anything about the car they are writing about. Hell spending 3 minutes on Yahoo would've told you curb weight, engine size and hp/tq numbers.
 
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I love Top Gear but Jermey has lost some credibility in my eyes.

What changed from his initial assessment of the FGT as "epic" and now? Hmmm. :bs

Seems like poppy cock to me. Just fluff to sell magizines.
 
Waxer said:
I love Top Gear but Jermey has lost some credibility in my eyes.

What changed from his initial assessment of the FGT as "epic" and now? Hmmm. :bs

Seems like poppy cock to me. Just fluff to sell magizines.
Click to expand...

Gentlemen, first things first. Clarkson didn't write that piece on the Top Gear site. It was written by Tom Ford and it was Ford who, despite his name, got a few facts wrong about the GT's power and weight.

However I have driven the Focus RS over those roads above Nice. They are used as special stages on the Monte Carlo Rally. They are fast, narrow, windy and there's usually a hell of a drop over the side if you get it wrong. Trust me, the Focus RS is a formidable machine and far, far easier to drive over roads like this than the GT. On that score Tom Ford is dead right.

That's all.
 
Tom Ford

tom_ford(1).jpg


Jeremy Clarkson

jeremy-clarkson_280_465178a.jpg


Two completely different people - entirely unrelated. Mr Ford wrote the article, Mr Clarkson was probably asleep at the time.

Apart from Mr Ford getting his bhp out, I'd agree with a fair bit of what he said - it is a scary wide car (on European roads) compared to ordinary cars, also it's impossible at British road junctions being left hand drive - when you approach at an oblique angle you see nothing.

Driving the GT on the limit (other than in a straight line) is like most supercars, a foolhardy thing to do unless you're on a track....
 
Thanks Neil, at least you guys in Britain know what I was trying to say. I have driven 160 on the track in mine, it is as solid as a rock at that speed and the brakes are the best non ceramic brakes in the world. However, I am way too old and slow to take advantage of even a tenth of the GT's capabilities. No electronic nannies, it's all you.
 
You lost me at "front wheel drive":thumbsdow
 
Joehand1 said:
First off, Clarkson didn't write the article.
Also,I really don't think the author was in any way negative about the GT he was just making the point that it IS a hard car to drive at the limit, I have firsthand knowledge of this as I did a 360 in mine on the track last week.
Also, I have read that the Euro spec RS will be imported in 2010.
Click to expand...

I'm definitely no expert driver but I find the GT very forgiving and easy to drive at the limit - assumig the tires are warm. Power on oversteer is of course different w/ that much HP at the back, but other than that, it is pretty difficult to spin the car. What happened?
 
I've heard a lot of great things about this Focus and wonder if and when it will find its way to the states. Although there are a few facts that could have been tweaked a little more in the GT's favor (as Indy GT and a few others pointed out), I read the article from the Focus' point of view - as another great car that Ford built - rather than as a knock on the GT. I proudly bought my first Ford a few months ago (a Focus of all things) and other than missing the burst of acceleration my little Z had, I have, and continue to be, pleasantly surprised with my Ford. Since then, I've really enjoyed reading about many of the cars that Ford designs - not just the GT. This one sounds like a winner. Way to go Ford! :thumbsup
 
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