Drove a 05 for 28 miles - and got paid for it!

ALright, to start I said the color of the 05 was Teal. I'm not sure if thats the exact Ford color code, so chill. It was a light blue/green shade. It was not the blue/silver shade that Ford had at SEMA last year. Had light tan interior.

Second, I knew exactly what every car was. But, during the testing, the interviewer was not aloud to tell you what the cars were. The first things we rated was the outside of each car.(Each car had a letter, which is how the interviewer referred to it all day) So when we went from car to car, I jokingly said, "Oh, you mean the one that looks a lot like a 350Z, or GTO., etc."

As for this being on another thread, don't know what you're talking about. You can search all my threads. Wasn't me.

pony542 brings some good points. In my group of four was me(28) a guy my age, and two women my age. In the other group of four they were all in their 40s or later.

RICKS, if my report isn't worth the server space, then I guess 25 replies of BS is worth it?? Sorry I didn't get a professional to write up my report.

Also, everyone got bent out of shape because I said the rear-end was loose. Well, compared to the other cars, IT WAS!

To help some of you get the picture, here's what the test was. I'll talk about the whole drive of the 05, and throw in comments about the other cars.

Started on the outside. How do I rate the look of the front end(almost all of it we rated 1-10. Others we rated just about right, too soft, too hard, etc.) How do I rate the side? Rear end? Open the door. How by looking do you rate the comfort of the seat? Quality of the carpet? Have a seat. How do you rate the comfort? Is it too wide, too narrow, just right? How do you rate the gauge cluster? Center console? Passenger console? How is your view out of the mirrors?
(OF course I gave the 05 the highest marks on the exterior. The GTO had the best seats. The rear seats in it were also bolstered. The 05 seats were comfortable, but had very little lateral support. They didn't hold you in like the other 3 seats. The cluster in the 05 was sweet of course. We also got to go through the preset colors. But the test was in the day-time, so they were hard to see .)

Then we started the car. How ws the sound at idle? Too soft, too loud, just right. The 05 idle was was pretty quiet. But it woke up when revved, and definetly still has the Mustang sound. The rx-8 you couldn't hear, I really liked the 350Z for a 6er, and the GTO was probably the loudest. Plus it torqued the car when you revved it up. Then we pulled out. Left the parking lot and pulled up to the curb. How was the braking? Pedal too short, long? etc. Then to the road. The first road we went down was really rough(Agoura Rd. if you interested) He asked about ride. Too stiff, too soft, just about right?
(All four rode about the same. We were only doing 35, so handling wasn't an issue. The 05 and GTO were a little softer over this part. The RX was the worst.)
At the next stop sign, we rolled off across the road and did a full acceleration till you hit 40. He asked about the pickup? Did it feel strong? Was the exhaust too soft, loud, or just right?
(1st I drove the 350Z. And I was surprised by how fast it did this. Really smooth shift right before 40. Next was the GTO. It didn't really do much for me. It sounded nice, but didn't seem right. I'm sure the Auto has something to do with it. The RX-8 was next. It finally got to 40 at a little over 7000 rpm. It ws just starting to get rolling. And lstly the 05. It felt like it had the most pickup. It threw me back the hardest. It seemed to rev quicker than the other cars.)
Next questions, How smooth was the transmission shift? Was it too soon, late, or just right?
( THe Z felt real quick and smooth. The GTO had a lot og lag when I pressed the gas. The shift was a little clunky also. The last two it was funny. Neither the RX or Mustang shifted before 40. I had to let out of the gas on both before they shifted. )
At the next stop sign, he asked about the view out of the sides. How much hood can you see? Front? Rear? etc. Then we turned toward the highway. Was the blinker to loud? Soft? etc. The Mustang one BTW sounds like when you click a Snapple lid. Didn't like it. I have a Focus rental car right now with the same clicker.

When we got on the highway, he asked us to change lanes to the center lane? How was the view out of the mirrors? Did you feel confident changing lanes?
( The Z was really hard to see out of. The Mustang mirrors are big. No problems there. )
Next, he had me slow down to 50, then do a full acceleration and tell him when we got to 70. Again, how was the shift? The Exhaust?
( First I had the Z, it just downshifted and took off. Like I said, I really liked the sound of it. The GTO again took a long time to downshift, but it moved well. The RX, well, yeah. Then the Mustang. It shifted quick and strong. But as soon as I got into it, someone yanked over in front of me(this is the 101 we're on). So I slowed down again and took off. I actually took it closer to 80 before telling him. (There was a guy in an F-150 next to me on the 2nd one, I'm sure he got a kick out of it) The exhaust sounded really nice, but I still said it was too quiet. )

Then we got off the highway toward the canyons. Along the way he asked about the cup holder. Its funny, the RXs cup holders is behind your body. WTF were they thinking? The Zs is also pretty far back. He also at a light aksed about the brakes. Did it take too much pressure to stop? Was the distance you pushed to pedal too far or short?

We did a small canyon road, and turned around on it. On the first pass, he asked about the braking. Too much? Too little? Did you feel confident? etc. Then we turned around in some gravel. Was the suspension too soft? Hard? Right? Then on the way back he asked about the steering? Was it too soft? Did you feel confident? Did it feel in control?
( First was the 350. I took it pretty quick throught the turns. Braked really well, handled almost prefectly. Next was the GTO, it handled alright, but the steering had no feedback. The steering felt more like a Cadillacs. The RX was nice through this.
Lastly the Mustang, and I liked it the least out of the 4. The first pass through I liked the braking. But I kept thinking about how the tail felt loose. We turned around, and back thru. Around some of the bends, there were bumps, and when I drove over those, the rear end kicked around a little. Now the steering was great. It gave a lot of feedback. The wheel is comfy.
To give a final analogy. The other 3 cars felt more like my buddies Stage 2. The Mustang felt more like my Stage 1. )

After the canyon road, he asked about the clusters. Were they easy to read? How about the lighting(which again was pointless since it was sunny out) Climate control? Window buttons? etc.
( Here's where 1 thing I didn't like about the 05. The dash, driver, passenger compartment, etc are all really nice trim. But the radio and climate sontrols are the same black textured plastic Ford always uses. It looked cheap compared to the rest of the stuff. The dash mimicking the 67s crash pads is awesome. The chrome around the guages I really liked. The Shaker stereo is pretty loud. Theres some pretty big speakers in the front doors also )

Next we got back onto the highway. Here we did a full accelaration again. We rolled along at 25 till the bottom of the on-ramp, and then took off to 70 onto the highway. He again asked about the shift, the exhaust, and confidence getting onto the highway.
( The Z I really liked again, except the mirrors. The GTO dropped to first and barked the tires, but its shifts were too clunky. Also I think the exhaust is too soft for an sports car. And it didn't really feel like 350 HP. The RX8 took forever. But it did finally show me some pickup over 7000 rpm, but it took awhile to get there.
Lastly the Mustang. Again, the exhaust is definetly Mustang. A little quiet for my choice, but a good start. The acceleration was the best of the 4. It had the most neck-snapping feel. It shifted hard and real quick. )

On the way back asked about the overall driving experience. When we pulled back in, he had us back the cars in. He asked about the steering. Too hard, easy, right? ALso how was the vision out. The 350Z was bad for this. The interviewer laughed and said it was always the car people hit the cones with.

We got out and he asked how much we thought the car was going to cost? And then give an overall rating.
( With a lot of bias, I rated the 05 as the best overall. Then the Z, The GTO, then the RX. In pure handling, the Z was the best. In looks, the 05 hands down. In accelaration, again the 05. In the interior, I liked the GTOs seats the best. But the 05 inside is so nice. I said I thought the Mustang would cost 32,000. )

After, we went inside to fill out a few more questions. One was " Would a price of 28,995 for car W(the 05) seem too high, low, or just right?" I liked that. I finished the questions, turned them in and they handed me an envelope. Inside, a 100 dollar bill, two twenties, and two fives.

This took me an hour to write. Maybe now you won't doubt my crediblity, becuase the first time I posted it I was in a hurry, and didn't write it up to some people standards. I don't work for Primedia.

Now, any real questions?

SVTdriver said:

2) You seem to not be able to positively identify a 350Z or could it have been a G35. In either case it should have been identifiable.
3) Looked like a GTO? Was there tape over the embroidery of the seats? Or over the GTO logo on the guages?

Click to expand...

Yes it was a 350Z. And yes they had tape over everything on the cars. It was ironic when they asked about the GTOs guages, I said of course they're hard to read, you have tape over them.

5) and most importantly. This sounds just like a near repeat of a story on themustangsource. With some details changed.
http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=3621

Click to expand...

I just looked at that post. And to rest assure some doubt, thats not me. I own an 02 Roush Stage 1 and a 1967 Coupe. They are the only two Mustangs I've owned. And I use the name 02roush on here, fnsweet, stangsource, corral, and whitefm. It sounds like the guy on there was in the same tests as me. They ran a few groups each day. Someone should ask him where he did this. (mine was at the Renaisance Hotel in Agoura Hills, CA. Reyes Adobe exit off the 101)

We have already caught him in one highly questionable instance.

Click to expand...

What would that be?

And I'll say it again, we weren't aloud to take a camera.

pony542 said:

Thing I didnt Like: Teal car. Not because of the color availability, but because you never want to introduce another variable into the equation. All the cars should have been the same family of colors, and typically a dark to neutral color .... not teal. Can biase someone's opinion of the car before he/she even drives it.

Click to expand...

In my test group, the 05 was the tealish color, and the other 3 were all silver.
In the other group, all four cars were black.

Maybe I'm calling the 05 the wrong color, but it was a blue/green/silverish color. Thats how I would describe it.