RE: RHD Ford Mustang begins testing

[willisit]

croyde said:

£45k

Might have to wait 5 years then. That's nuts when you can import a new 5.0 GT for £35k all in. OK it'll be LHD but that just adds to the kudos

I'm certainly not in the know - it's just opinion. Chevy did it for £35k and the UK/Euro cars did have quite a few changes (not quite the steering wheel though). Ford are doing this on a much larger scale - so if they want, they can do it for £35k... I just didn't get the feeling they would when I spoke to them!

[michaelcolby83]

croyde said:

kinghottinger said:

Nors said:

Whilst I like these and think offering RHD for once is a great thing, I can't help thinking being an American built Ford, it will be held together with stickyback plastic and will rattle itself to bits in the first 6 months!

Couldn't be further from the truth in my experience with a 2007 GT

I currently own a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis

Nice car mate, I thought about running a Ford Crown Victoria but the lack of parts in Britain put me off running one as a daily driver. I wish Ford would start selling the Taurus in right hand drive.

[J4CKO]

not sure where the perception comes from that Fords are bargain basement material, they aren't that cheap , a Focus is pretty much on a par with a Golf price wise.

Its all perception, the Audi owner in the office will rattle on about quality, then two weeks later tell you about his oil pump drive failing and killing the engine, the all the other problems he has encountered on his "Quality" product, I really dont think beyond the interior they are any better than anything else, Ford included, in fact Fords tend to drive better, but as long as the Ford has some "Ghastly Plastics" and the wrong badge that is enough justification, the Germans make some decent cars but so do Ford, even Vauxhall do, the Koreans do and so do the French (sometimes)


The germans dont always get it right, a lot of BMW's seem to have the paint applied by roller and I sat in a 135i at CPOP and the seat material looked like a badly fitted Faux leather seat cover.

has anyone ever had to have counselling due to some harder than average dash materials, I remember what they were like in the seventies and eighties, like sitting in Action Mans Tank !

[Prawnboy]

J4CKO said:

a Focus is pretty much on a par with a Golf price wise.

entry level focus is 20% cheaper & has 16" alloys that would cost a further £895 on the golf making the focus 26% cheaper like for like.

[croyde]

michaelcolby83 said:

Nice car mate, I thought about running a Ford Crown Victoria but the lack of parts in Britain put me off running one as a daily driver. I wish Ford would start selling the Taurus in right hand drive.

Thanks

It only has 30 odd thousand miles on the clock so hopefully it will be a while before I find out about parts. Consumables like oil filters are easy to come by and there is tons of stuff on eBay US at reasonable prices but they get you on the postage and VAT etc.

[Roo]

michaelcolby83 said:

croyde said:

kinghottinger said:

Nors said:

Whilst I like these and think offering RHD for once is a great thing, I can't help thinking being an American built Ford, it will be held together with stickyback plastic and will rattle itself to bits in the first 6 months!

Couldn't be further from the truth in my experience with a 2007 GT

I currently own a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis

Nice car mate, I thought about running a Ford Crown Victoria but the lack of parts in Britain put me off running one as a daily driver. I wish Ford would start selling the Taurus in right hand drive.

The only parts you need are run of the mill consumables which you can get from US Automotive in Bedford.

Everything else can be ordered from Rock Auto and arrives in three days.

You don't need much though. They're bullet proof.

[ivantate]

Try buying one in the US for the listed price.

Basically, having just been through this with a different 'American legend' over here I can now see the way we brits think US cars are cheaper.

So, the spec, in the US that really is base spec, use a key to open it, no AC, no side airbags etc.... everything is optional. Now they are getting wise with packages it gets a bit silly and you nearly always need to end up with the mid-high spec model.
Price, dealer has a $700 documentation fee. Usually there are some mandatory paint treatments or similar, $500. And then the state taxes + title fees.
Soon starts to add up.

Also, there are good finance rates but the $7k off a pre-reg deal doesn't happen.

I think the 5.0 will have a small customer base and maintain good residuals. The 4cyl, will be discounted everywhere and drop.

[Nicholls22]

I'm surprised there is no middle spec engine with this car? Be nice to see a 2.0 Turbo for the Eco nuts, a nice V6 turbo or supercharged unit for those who want the best of both. Some engineered exhaust notes and 'some' (loosely put) economy, and a great big snarling V8, for those who just want to watch the World burn...with the option to super charge of course.

Imagine that?

- A GT450 (guess the power) with a V6 Turbo or Super charged engine to rival the BMW M3/M4 and Audi's whatever RS version they are currently marketing, I mean creating to cash in on.

Ford, if you are reading this.....^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[kambites]

ivantate said:

So, the spec, in the US that really is base spec, use a key to open it, no AC, no side airbags etc.... everything is optional.

I wish they'd do the same here because I don't particularly want any of those things. It mildly annoys me how in the UK we're forced to pay for features that we don't want because they're standard equipment.

[Fastdruid]

pimpchez said:

kambites said:

Gecko1978 said:

Dr G said:

Duratec turbo version widely rumoured/reported to start at 30k.

excuse the ignorance but is the the engin in the focus ST so a 2.5 4pot turbo with say 300bhp or do the engines come in larger sizes. I am just wondering what affect on performance the extra weight would have.

It's a 2.3 litre, presumably an evolution of the engine in the Mazda 6 MPS?

Sure is .

Same block and reworked head , even utilizes the same HPFP

I was 99% sure it was the evolution (same bore/stroke and I knew Ford had taken over that line of engines) but wasn't sure how close/changed it was...

[Fastdruid]

irocfan said:

aka_kerrly said:

it would be a far sadder day if Ford were announcing a Mustang TDI!

that'll happen

Well there is already a Focus STD

[michaelcolby83]

Roo said:

michaelcolby83 said:

croyde said:

kinghottinger said:

Nors said:

Whilst I like these and think offering RHD for once is a great thing, I can't help thinking being an American built Ford, it will be held together with stickyback plastic and will rattle itself to bits in the first 6 months!

Couldn't be further from the truth in my experience with a 2007 GT

I currently own a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis

Nice car mate, I thought about running a Ford Crown Victoria but the lack of parts in Britain put me off running one as a daily driver. I wish Ford would start selling the Taurus in right hand drive.

The only parts you need are run of the mill consumables which you can get from US Automotive in Bedford.

Everything else can be ordered from Rock Auto and arrives in three days.

You don't need much though. They're bullet proof.

Thanks for the info, I didn't know that. This was a couple of months back, in the end I plumped for a very well looked after, 50,000 mile 2006 Vectra, which is a comfortable long distance cruiser in its own right.

[Roo]

Nicholls22 said:

I'm surprised there is no middle spec engine with this car? Be nice to see a 2.0 Turbo for the Eco nuts, a nice V6 turbo or supercharged unit for those who want the best of both. Some engineered exhaust notes and 'some' (loosely put) economy, and a great big snarling V8, for those who just want to watch the World burn...with the option to super charge of course.

Imagine that?

- A GT450 (guess the power) with a V6 Turbo or Super charged engine to rival the BMW M3/M4 and Audi's whatever RS version they are currently marketing, I mean creating to cash in on.

Ford, if you are reading this.....^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

There are three engine options, it's just that we will only get two here.

Why would you need a turbo V6 or S/C engine to make 450BHP?

[PanzerCommander]

Base Model (which we are not getting); $23,600 Specs:

http://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/trim/v6fastback//...

As you can see it is very well equipped for a basic car.

Roo said:

There are three engine options, it's just that we will only get two here.

Why would you need a turbo V6 or S/C engine to make 450BHP?

What he said, the stock 5.0L in the up and coming car produces 420hp, stick the BOSS intake on it and a few little tweaks here and there and you have your 450hp, no need for FI of any sort and the stock 5.0 will be more than a match for the M3/M4.

Current line up of engines:
V6 - Base model
I4 Turbo - Mid range
V8 - top engine

We aren't getting the V6, I would imagine there will be a blown V8 in the future which will be an SVT Cobra or some such name, with 550hp or more.

[J4CKO]

Prawnboy said:

J4CKO said:

a Focus is pretty much on a par with a Golf price wise.

entry level focus is 20% cheaper & has 16" alloys that would cost a further £895 on the golf making the focus 26% cheaper like for like.

So it is, didn't realise there was that much difference at that level, the co car drivers at work always remark on how little difference it costs for a Focus vs a Golf, so they go for the Golf, but guess that may be car allowance/lease rather than list.

[pimpchez]

Fastdruid said:

pimpchez said:

kambites said:

Gecko1978 said:

Dr G said:

Duratec turbo version widely rumoured/reported to start at 30k.

excuse the ignorance but is the the engin in the focus ST so a 2.5 4pot turbo with say 300bhp or do the engines come in larger sizes. I am just wondering what affect on performance the extra weight would have.

It's a 2.3 litre, presumably an evolution of the engine in the Mazda 6 MPS?

Sure is .

Same block and reworked head , even utilizes the same HPFP

I was 99% sure it was the evolution (same bore/stroke and I knew Ford had taken over that line of engines) but wasn't sure how close/changed it was...

Thats what i said lol, the MPS tuners in the states are now dishing out parts for the ecoboost focus ST .
Changes to the VVT (for the better i hope) and stronger bigger rods (finally) along with the usual faster/newer ECU completes the upgrades as far as i am aware.
They are even cobb tuned just like the MPS ,although the sheep use monotune in the UK.

[Escort Si-130]

Not entirely true, Focus RS mk2 are still holding their value and have not depreciated that much.

PhantomPH said:

Stick around - I expect these things will depreciate like a brick out of a first floor window. I would throw it in with the other fast Fords when it comes to depreciation - and they are not usually renowned for holding their value (trust me - I've had a couple!)

[Escort Si-130]

But European counterparts have caught up in size or are even bigger in cases. Take a look at cars like the 6 series, Audi A5, E class coupe; they are huge!

GTEYE said:

P-Jay said:

I'm not expert of course, but I can't see it being a mainstream seller - it's too euro for the type of person who'd buy a Mustang / Harley, drinks only Budwiser and wears jerseys of obscure American sports teams no one this side of the Atlantic knows - for that type of diehard Americana lover the thought of LHD wouldn't put them off much anyway.

For the average Brit buyer it's got the wrong badge and the 'Mustang' name would be a turn-off anyway.

I think it'll be the next Monaro, admired by many, bought by few.

If its the same or similar size to the previous Mustang, I think you may be right. They are quite large on European roads, car parks etc, obviously not a problem back in the States.

[J4CKO]

Escort Si-130 said:

Not entirely true, Focus RS mk2 are still holding their value and have not depreciated that much.

PhantomPH said:

Stick around - I expect these things will depreciate like a brick out of a first floor window. I would throw it in with the other fast Fords when it comes to depreciation - and they are not usually renowned for holding their value (trust me - I've had a couple!)

I think they will do ok depreciation wise, but anything with an RS badge always does ok sooner or later, to be fair to Ford, they dont really just lash it on anything and everything.

[Escort Si-130]

That is what pisses me off about PH, you have nailed it. Many of the sheep here, seem to have a faux image of all German badges being superior in everyway, diesel is king and other models from Ford, Vauxhall, Renault etc are Halfords, chav etc. Turns up in every thread, on this forum.

jamieduff1981 said:

I'd like you to be wrong, but thinking about it, there is so much bks gets talked on PH about various attributes of cars which the posters claim to know a bit about that Joe Public has no chance frankly.

I tend to pick up on Jaguar bks predominantely, because that's where a lot of my nerdiness lies at present but the number of PHers who think:

The Jag V6 is the same as the Ford V6
The X-Type/S-Type are a Mondeo
The X-Type/S-Type are a Lincoln LS
There is no mid-size petrol XF available at the moment
There is no compact exec Jag planned to replace the X-Type
etc etc etc

is frankly depressing. If so-called car-enthusiasts can be so vocally ignorant then really how can anything without a German badge succeed? Even when PH is full of posts expressing disappointment in the latest BMW 3-series and how lack-lustre it is to drive, they'll still pre-judge anything non-German to be inferior and buy the German stuff anyway.