the real deal with recent GT orders

GET A 'STANG!!!! You'll never regret it...

I just get a bit of a chuckle out of people who drive GTO's and think they're driving something exclusive, and that Mustangs are a dime a dozen. It's a freaking 30k Pontiac, it's not a Maybach or something. And I miss GTO's all the time, I usually mistake them for Grand Prixs.

Before I replaced my '01 GT, I drove three cars, the Stang, the GTO, and a 330ci. The BMW was a tight ride, but I know what a mess they are mechanically (especially electrically from friends and family members who have owned them), and frankly it wasn't all that nice for $40k. Just not worth it at all to me to spend that kind of money on a car I definitely didn't love. Now an M3, that's something different. But that's just out of my price range.

When I drove the GTO, I drove an auto. Thought it was very sluggish and even loose. I didn't think it was all that quick off the line even, maybe the manual is better, I don't know. The dealer I went to only had autos. The styling was just so humdrum, and please enough with the interior. Heck the interior on my wife's 4-year old Lexus ES 300 is far superior. The car just wasn't worth an extra $4k to me, plus my '95 Z28 was the biggest POS on the planet.

So for me, the Stang was the best fit again. My '01 never had a problem, the best car I've ever owned apart from my first car, an '88 Mazda MX-6 that I drove into the ground. So I felt no shame in spending $200 under MSRP for a car right off the lot. I saved nearly $6k on my '01 GT after 9/11, and I wasn't going to lose sleep on the $1,600 I paid over what I could have got for ordering on X-plan. And nobody in California (certainly Southern Cal) is walking on to a dealer lot and getting a GT for X-plan. BlueOval can back me up on that, he and I together probably hit every dealer in So Cal. You want X-plan here, you order one. And frankly, I was sick of waiting for the one I did order.

Kerrdogg said:

I'll be ordering the 07 Shelby but that is still awhile away, would cancel my 05 order and pickup one of the 6 Saleens they have but I already have a set of Bonspeed Delta 20's with tires, Eibach springs, and Baer Brakes on order.

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I certainly wouldn't pay the $14k+ premium for a Saleen that's mostly show and no go. I like the look of the Saleen but that's it. There are a couple of dealers here in SoCal who have several 281s as onsite inventory. They're not selling but Saleen certainly isn't having any problems getting its GT orders...is it!

[QUOTE='01SilverBullet]
Before I replaced my '01 GT, I drove three cars, the Stang, the GTO, and a 330ci. The BMW was a tight ride, but I know what a mess they are mechanically (especially electrically from friends and family members who have owned them), and frankly it wasn't all that nice for $40k. Just not worth it at all to me to spend that kind of money on a car I definitely didn't love. Now an M3, that's something different. But that's just out of my price range.

So for me, the Stang was the best fit again. My '01 never had a problem, the best car I've ever owned apart from my first car, an '88 Mazda MX-6 that I drove into the ground. So I felt no shame in spending $200 under MSRP for a car right off the lot. I saved nearly $6k on my '01 GT after 9/11, and I wasn't going to lose sleep on the $1,600 I paid over what I could have got for ordering on X-plan. And nobody in California (certainly Southern Cal) is walking on to a dealer lot and getting a GT for X-plan. BlueOval can back me up on that, he and I together probably hit every dealer in So Cal. You want X-plan here, you order one. And frankly, I was sick of waiting for the one I did order.[/QUOTE]

Bullet is right on. Ordering is a necessity for X-plan in SoCal. I ordered on 3/18 and I'm still C/U. The dealership told me 12 weeks for delivery. I don't believe it. Originally, I drove a BMW 330ci vert as my alternate. I liked the car...then I drove the M3...I've changed my alternate! I admit that I want the Mustang for the style and value but after driving the M3, it's nice to know that I can get a car that is a joy to drive (granted, for a lot more $$$) that I'd be happy to have in the garage for years to come...and the wife likes the M3 better too!

So, if Ford and the dealerships can't get their s**t together in the next 4 weeks, they'll be losing a previously loyal repeat FLM customer to a competitor.

The customer satisfaction manager at my dealership called last week to ask me about my "buying experience". I said, "I'll let you know when I actually get my car". I also let them know that I'd be buying a BMW instead if I don't have build date by the end of May. Why? Because the dealer told me 12 weeks to delivery and I think that giving Ford 10 weeks to get me a build date on an order at the end of the 05 production cycle at a "10" priority that my dealership has allotment for (according to them) is more then generous. If they can't deliver, that's their problem. It's not like they have a monopoly on a miracle vaccine that we must have to live.

MyBlueOval said:

I certainly wouldn't pay the $14k+ premium for a Saleen that's mostly show and no go. I like the look of the Saleen but that's it. There are a couple of dealers here in SoCal who have several 281s as onsite inventory. They're not selling but Saleen certainly isn't having any problems getting its GT orders...is it!

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Saleen gets gutted base sixbangers and converts them to S281, S281SC, S281E. These cars are not GTs from Ford.

alfman9 said:

Saleen gets gutted base sixbangers and converts them to S281, S281SC, S281E. These cars are not GTs from Ford.

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if thats the case, no wonder they carry such an inflated price.

alfman9 said:

Saleen gets gutted base sixbangers and converts them to S281, S281SC, S281E. These cars are not GTs from Ford.

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I don't think that's right. I believe that for the 2005s they're getting "deluxe" GTs and then working their magic...I gotta do some research.

[QUOTE='01SilverBullet]I just get a bit of a chuckle out of people who drive GTO's and think they're driving something exclusive, and that Mustangs are a dime a dozen. It's a freaking 30k Pontiac, it's not a Maybach or something. And I miss GTO's all the time, I usually mistake them for Grand Prixs.

When I drove the GTO, I drove an auto. Thought it was very sluggish and even loose. I didn't think it was all that quick off the line even, maybe the manual is better, I don't know. The dealer I went to only had autos. The styling was just so humdrum, and please enough with the interior. Heck the interior on my wife's 4-year old Lexus ES 300 is far superior. The car just wasn't worth an extra $4k to me, plus my '95 Z28 was the biggest POS on the planet.[/QUOTE]


First, it is NOT A PONTIAC! It is a Holden Monaro, an Aussie rip-roaring GT car. The fit and finish are NOT comparable to ANYTHING GM builds here other than the Caddies. Automatics should be BANNED in any performance car. The T-56 is a superior tranny to what the 'stangs come with...PERIOD! Add an upgrade [B&M shifter] for <$200 to fix the sloppy shifting for this awesome 6-speed. If you TRULY believe that the 'stang has a superior interior, PLEASE share a little of what you are smoking!

Now, as I said previously, I was ready to pay MSRP for a GT, so buying one for a few hundred under sticker sounds great! In Dec '86, when I ordered a 1987 Mustang GT simply from the brochure [Ford was struggling w/ the EPA over the release; for the uninitiated, that was the first year of the 225hp, body-cladded GT, the car that SAVED the Mustang, when Ford was preparing to go to the front wheel drive platform that became the Probe], I paid $500 over Invoice, which was UNHEARD OF in most places in those days. This release has been different, and poorly managed, PERIOD!

Jennifer6525 said:

Take this for what it's worth but when I was at the dealership yesterday checking on the status of my car the sales manager told me that I was lucky that I ordered when I did(beginning of March) because I was the last order that was going to get filled for an '05 and everyone else would have to take an '06.He told me that the owners of the dealership had relatives that wanted '05's (GT's I beleive) and they couldnt get them.Now I dont know if they couldnt get allocation for them(small dealership)or they couldnt get them because the demand was/is too high but I thought that was rather interesting that the owners couldnt even get a new Mustang.



Good Luck with your car though,I hope you get it.

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I ordered a GT on X-plan 2/12 and took delivery on 4/23. Not bad considering all I've heard. My guy told me that had I waited a few more weeks (past 2/12) that mine would have been an 06. Lucky me!

mtbdoc said:

First, it is NOT A PONTIAC! It is a Holden Monaro, an Aussie rip-roaring GT car. The fit and finish are NOT comparable to ANYTHING GM builds here other than the Caddies. Automatics should be BANNED in any performance car. The T-56 is a superior tranny to what the 'stangs come with...PERIOD! Add an upgrade [B&M shifter] for <$200 to fix the sloppy shifting for this awesome 6-speed. If you TRULY believe that the 'stang has a superior interior, PLEASE share a little of what you are smoking!

Now, as I said previously, I was ready to pay MSRP for a GT, so buying one for a few hundred under sticker sounds great! In Dec '86, when I ordered a 1987 Mustang GT simply from the brochure [Ford was struggling w/ the EPA over the release; for the uninitiated, that was the first year of the 225hp, body-cladded GT, the car that SAVED the Mustang, when Ford was preparing to go to the front wheel drive platform that became the Probe], I paid $500 over Invoice, which was UNHEARD OF in most places in those days. This release has been different, and poorly managed, PERIOD!

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all i can say is: :damnit:

I just picked up My GT from the dealer on April 27th and he told me they wern't taking anymore 2005 orders....so You are cutting it close with a April 20th order.

i just got a call yesterday from 128 ford, and they said my car just came off the truck. black/black gt premium, shaker 1000, active alarm, IUP, spoiler delete, side airbags. i think it took around 2 months from when i ordered it, maybe a week or 2 less. i live in nyc, so i dont get the car till next friday, i have to get it registerd here first. i cant wait. i am about to order the flows and magna catted x. its FINNALLLY here!