Christmas in July my ass, it was V-GT Day.
Gentlemen,
To our members who have been selected for NFGT ownership I've heard it described as Christmas in July but I think that misses the mark. For me this was an all out assault with a defined objective like storming the beaches at Normandy. From the first moment I heard a new Ford GT was going to be built I never once considered the possibility that I wouldn't own one. I literally didn't care if I had to sell my home and one of my stores, work around the clock, or sell one of my kidneys it just had to happen. Obsession doesn't begin to describe it. My yellow GT is like a family member and I had no desire to own any other supercar. I'm a Ford fanatic and I don't buy any other brand for work or play so there was nothing left for me to acquire UNTIL....Ford dropped a Liquid Blue and Carbon Fiber bomb on my Pearl Harbor of contentment.
One day I'm fine. The next day my world was shattered and a singular focus occupied way too many of my hours and days. I traveled to see the new GT. Salivated over it at Rally 10. Watched it race at Daytona and Le Mans. And when the application web site went live I lived on it. I wrote, rewrote, proof read, and then rewrote again every section a dozen times. I cropped and captioned hundreds of photos and kept changing them. I created two videos and kept redoing them until I was happy and had them professionally edited. Then when they were done I decided they needed to be better so I started over from scratch.
No box was unfilled, no question unanswered, no picture not posted, no story untold, no video not made, and all to the best of my ability. Failure was not an option. My friends, family, and employees were worried about me. Thank God I was able to fly off to Europe to bomb around in #34 with DBK and 4 other GT maniacs for 2 and a half weeks to take my mind off of that application. Then Ford pulls off a miracle first year win at Le Mans and stoked my fever pitch desire to an even higher level. Good grief, now if I don't score a new GT it's literally going to ruin my life. This can't be healthy. Perhaps I should seek professional help. No, screw that. I'm going to get a new GT, I'm going to order it just the way I like, and I'm going to watch them build it. In my minds eye I've already owned the damn thing for a year already.
Weeks passed, no word yet. It was agonizing. And finally.....DBK puts up the "Check Your In Box" thread and members start posting their letters. I received NOTHING. 15 minutes later....NOTHING. 30 minutes later....NOTHING. An hour later.....NOTHING. I'm apoplectic and Lynda is getting worried about me. John and Michelle call to tell me they got a GT. Barry in Flagstaff got a GT. I received NOTHING!!!! I called Lynda and told her I was driving over to pick her up for dinner and she asked again if I had heard anything. Again I checked my phone and NOTHING. My world was turning black and my head was spinning as I started driving mindlessly to her home. While sailing down Shea Boulevard I hit refresh on my iPhone mail once more and BINGO!!!!! There it was!!!!! The Holy Grail!!!!!!! I felt like I'd just been hit with a ball bat. My all out, no stone left unturned, don't spare the horses assault upon acquiring a new Ford GT was finally successful. But it wasn't Christmas at all. It was joyful relief and I genuinely felt like that sailor in Times Square on VJ Day.
This was an adventure and an experience I'll never forget. What a ride. Thank you to Bill, Edsel, Henry, Raj, and the whole team at Ford for laying it all on the line and having the balls to build and race a new Ford GT. To Raj for giving maniacs like me a legitimate shot to acquire one. And to my friend DBK who can't fully fathom the brotherhood he's assembled with his Forum and the appreciation we have for his efforts.
It's going to take a while for me to get back to normal but that's OK. For now I'm happy in this surreal state of joy and relief. If the new GT is half as exciting as this whole process has been it will be one hell of a ride. All the best.
Chip
Gentlemen,
To our members who have been selected for NFGT ownership I've heard it described as Christmas in July but I think that misses the mark. For me this was an all out assault with a defined objective like storming the beaches at Normandy. From the first moment I heard a new Ford GT was going to be built I never once considered the possibility that I wouldn't own one. I literally didn't care if I had to sell my home and one of my stores, work around the clock, or sell one of my kidneys it just had to happen. Obsession doesn't begin to describe it. My yellow GT is like a family member and I had no desire to own any other supercar. I'm a Ford fanatic and I don't buy any other brand for work or play so there was nothing left for me to acquire UNTIL....Ford dropped a Liquid Blue and Carbon Fiber bomb on my Pearl Harbor of contentment.
One day I'm fine. The next day my world was shattered and a singular focus occupied way too many of my hours and days. I traveled to see the new GT. Salivated over it at Rally 10. Watched it race at Daytona and Le Mans. And when the application web site went live I lived on it. I wrote, rewrote, proof read, and then rewrote again every section a dozen times. I cropped and captioned hundreds of photos and kept changing them. I created two videos and kept redoing them until I was happy and had them professionally edited. Then when they were done I decided they needed to be better so I started over from scratch.
No box was unfilled, no question unanswered, no picture not posted, no story untold, no video not made, and all to the best of my ability. Failure was not an option. My friends, family, and employees were worried about me. Thank God I was able to fly off to Europe to bomb around in #34 with DBK and 4 other GT maniacs for 2 and a half weeks to take my mind off of that application. Then Ford pulls off a miracle first year win at Le Mans and stoked my fever pitch desire to an even higher level. Good grief, now if I don't score a new GT it's literally going to ruin my life. This can't be healthy. Perhaps I should seek professional help. No, screw that. I'm going to get a new GT, I'm going to order it just the way I like, and I'm going to watch them build it. In my minds eye I've already owned the damn thing for a year already.
Weeks passed, no word yet. It was agonizing. And finally.....DBK puts up the "Check Your In Box" thread and members start posting their letters. I received NOTHING. 15 minutes later....NOTHING. 30 minutes later....NOTHING. An hour later.....NOTHING. I'm apoplectic and Lynda is getting worried about me. John and Michelle call to tell me they got a GT. Barry in Flagstaff got a GT. I received NOTHING!!!! I called Lynda and told her I was driving over to pick her up for dinner and she asked again if I had heard anything. Again I checked my phone and NOTHING. My world was turning black and my head was spinning as I started driving mindlessly to her home. While sailing down Shea Boulevard I hit refresh on my iPhone mail once more and BINGO!!!!! There it was!!!!! The Holy Grail!!!!!!! I felt like I'd just been hit with a ball bat. My all out, no stone left unturned, don't spare the horses assault upon acquiring a new Ford GT was finally successful. But it wasn't Christmas at all. It was joyful relief and I genuinely felt like that sailor in Times Square on VJ Day.
This was an adventure and an experience I'll never forget. What a ride. Thank you to Bill, Edsel, Henry, Raj, and the whole team at Ford for laying it all on the line and having the balls to build and race a new Ford GT. To Raj for giving maniacs like me a legitimate shot to acquire one. And to my friend DBK who can't fully fathom the brotherhood he's assembled with his Forum and the appreciation we have for his efforts.
It's going to take a while for me to get back to normal but that's OK. For now I'm happy in this surreal state of joy and relief. If the new GT is half as exciting as this whole process has been it will be one hell of a ride. All the best.
Chip
Attachments
Last edited:
.
