If Consumer Reports tested the Ford GT


Gruntled

GT Owner
Dec 11, 2005
203
If Consumer Reports tested the Ford GT...

Highs: Acceleration, braking, emergency handling

Lows: Price, visibility, storage space, gas mileage, noisy, only two seats, dangerous ingress/egress, harsh ride, lack of an automatic transmission option, high insurance rates

The Ford GT is a sporty car with snappy acceleration, powerful brakes and responsive steering. As the car is new, there is not yet enough data to evaluate its potential reliability. We can say that some early 2005 models have been the subject of several recalls. We would have to say we have our concerns.

THE DRIVING EXPERIENCE
The ride is firm, making even the smallest bumps harsh. The body motions are quick with the car passing our emergency handling test with flying colours. The acceleration is probably the best we have experienced, but you will need a good chiropractor as the neck is snapped violently. The 550hp V8 is the only engine option. Braking is strong and progressive, but again a trip to an ophthalmologist is needed as emergency braking caused our eyeballs to momentarily exit their sockets. We have to rate this as dangerous. Gas mileage is poor, and filling up at the local gas station takes forever as everyone and their kid brother wants to talk to you about the car. We consider this rather inconvenient. Around town we wished for an automatic transmission, and on the highway the car lacks speed control and heated seats. In a $160,000 car, we find this abhorrent.


INSIDE THE CABIN:
To take advantage of its positive driving attributes, one must first enter the car. That’s where we learned to mind our heads. The doors have an awkward shape that includes about a foot of the roof that acts like a horizontal guillotine. This poor design also makes it impossible to park in normal spaces as there is no room to maneuver when exiting the vehicle. One has to be a contortionist and climb out on all fours to exit the car. One of our testers saw an advantage to this technique as she found a dime on the pavement. We have to rate this as a safety issue.

In normal driving the car is very noisy. This is probably due to the engine being mere inches behind your head. And speaking of things near one’s head, the large supercharger drive belt is extremely close to the driver. In the event of a failure, this could be dangerous.

The leather seats are very supportive, but lack an adjustable headrest. As it is a Ford, you can have any interior colour you like, as long as it is black.

The manual transmission can be balky when cold. An automatic is not an option. Selecting reverse takes two hands to engage. The entire shifter is angled towards the driver making it awkward to place the lever in the appropriate slot.

Visibility to the outside world is strained to say the least. There are wide a-pillars that hamper vision in certain turning situations. Visibility to the rear is virtually non-existent. We found ourselves asking our passenger to get out and help us navigate when backing up. Unfortunately, on numerous occasions, we forgot to remind our passenger to “mind your head” when exiting the car.

The gauges are clear, but the speedometer is set all the way to the right on the instrument cluster. This makes it very dangerous as the driver needs to take their eyes off the road to check their speed. We learned the importance of being mindful of our speed after our fifth speeding ticket. We have to rate this dangerous and expensive.


NOTES:
We took the car to the local supermarket only to find a crowd around the car when we returned. In this day and age of parking lot robberies and assaults we find this potentially dangerous. Once the crowd subsided we realized there is no room anywhere in the car to store even a handkerchief. The car attracts crowds like bees to honey. If you are in a hurry to get home, this could cause an unnecessary delay.

Driving around, we saw numerous occurrences of other drivers performing dangerous acts like hanging out of their windows taking pictures of us with their camera phones. We find this a serious safety issue.

Overall the car is very expensive, dangerous, impractical, and socially irresponsible. We can not recommend it.
 
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FlorIdaho Chris

Yeah, I've got one.
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Pretty funny. I agree that is exactly what CR would write. :lol
 

californiacuda

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Oct 21, 2005
919
I think that CR may only approve of cars that get 60 mpg, go 0-60 in 25 sec, look like a Yugo and don't really use gas.

The cars would use a fuel that won't be available for say, 50 years and won't require any drilling, refining or transportation.

And while the U.S. is suppose to wait for this "new" fuel our economy would be pulled down to match the 3rd world countries.
 

dbk

Admin
Staff member
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jul 30, 2005
15,231
Metro Detroit
Consumer reports should just be called "bullshit". What kills me is that so many people take it as gospel when it is so clearly wrong on so many objective items. Across a broad range of topics from cars to electronics etc...
 

Cyclenirvana

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Feb 7, 2006
596
Winston-Salem, NC
This is great...I love it. Consumer reports is a great magazine for certain things, but I find it not very useful for the more sporty and exotic cars, often associated with passion. This is why I also read other articles: Car and Driver, Topgear, Road and Track, etc. Great post!
 

Gruntled

GT Owner
Dec 11, 2005
203
I'm glad you guys see the humour in the post. :biggrin I wasn't intending to bash CR.
 

B O N Y

MODERATOR & FGT OWNER
Mark IV Lifetime
Sep 5, 2005
12,110
Fresno, Ca.
Great parody of a CR article. Very :biggrin

I am looking for a new vacum cleaner, any recomendations?? :lol
 

ENZO BTR

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Sep 11, 2005
1,048
Southern California
Yeah, I've always said CR works great for toasters. And if you put your car purchase on the same level as your toaster, then their automotive coverage will work for you, too. :rofl
 

FB GT40

GT Owner/B.o.D
Mark IV Lifetime
May 30, 2006
812
Folly Beach, SC
bony said:
Great parody of a CR article. Very :biggrin

I am looking for a new vacum cleaner, any recomendations?? :lol

Yeah, get one that really "sucks"!!! :cheers

Gordo
 

LEMANSZ

Gt Owner
Jan 11, 2006
601
SoCal
I love the 'socially irespoinsbile' line..that's i why I bought it..does this balance out my Prius ownership?
 

50 BMG

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2005
559
AZ
I can understand why they whine about some aspects of the car, especially the doors when they don't comprehend the reason...but...

Here are some of the finer laughing points for myself:

"And speaking of things near one’s head, the large supercharger drive belt is extremely close to the driver. In the event of a failure, this could be dangerous."

Ya... because the belt is going to come off all the idlers, go through the glass, make a 90 degree turn while clearing the seat, and bitch-slap you across the face.

"The entire shifter is angled towards the driver making it awkward to place the lever in the appropriate slot."

Compared to what? Just about every other modern production sports car with a manual transmission that has the same shifter angle?

"We found ourselves asking our passenger to get out and help us navigate. "

Wow, they must run fast. Why even own a car?

I guess the softies at CR can't use side mirrors to back up. Cause we know they didn't back up to park in a stall/spot because of the god-awful doors :lol

"Unfortunately, on numerous occasions, we forgot to remind our passenger to “mind your head” when exiting the car. "


A perfect example of short term memory loss couple with individual pain perception...:frown It only took me knocking my head once... guess I'm above average :banana

"We learned the importance of being mindful of our speed after our fifth speeding ticket. We have to rate this dangerous and expensive."

5 tickets? Damn. Next time I'm not moving at the same rate as the rest of the traffic I'm gonna explain to the officer that he should ticket Ford for faulty speedometer placement. Oh, and any government bodies that approved the car for public use.

"Overall the car is very expensive, dangerous, impractical, and socially irresponsible. We can not recommend it."

YES! Was I bashing CR in my above comments? :lol

Every responsible owner reading this, put your car up for sale ASAP!
 
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Bart Carter

GT Owner
Mar 12, 2006
272
Las Vegas
CR has its place. How do you think car companies sell all those bland cars without someone giving them high ratings for things enthusiasts don't care about? It's the sale of those cars that keep enough profit in the company in order for them to make the exciting cars. :biggrin
 

MAD IN NC

Proud Owner/ BOD blah bla
Mark IV Lifetime
Feb 14, 2006
4,219
North Carolina
Love the part about the fleet of doctors you will need. I'm still chuckling! :cheers
 

jimfro

GT Owner
Jun 20, 2006
58
Sebring, Florida
consumer reports

I couldn't agree more your right on about the magazine and the car. I took it out on the highway in traffic for the first time today and was scared sh**less, you can't see a darn thing around you and all the idots were trying to crowd up close to ogle the car. I think I am gonna practice out at the airport to get a better feel for the view out of the mirrors. Did anyone else have this problem? :frown
 

fjpikul

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jan 4, 2006
11,669
Belleville, IL
Jimfro, wait till you drive at night! Everyone else's headlights are right at your head level. This was a new experience for me and took some getting used to.
 

SteveA

GT Owner/B.O.D
Mark IV Lifetime
Dec 13, 2005
3,697
Sandpoint Id
LOL! Great post.
 

TheGt40Guy

GT Owner
Jun 29, 2006
15
murrieta
r u ****in kidding

omg its a ****in race car stop biching its a privlage to even own 1 who realy cares about all that shit and if u do go get a ****in civic lol dam