RiceEater said:
I know it sounds really weird, and I don't know quite how it works out, but basically the auto in this car is VERY good. I have heard of a few GTO drivers I know with M6's that can run lets say roughly 4.5sec 0-60 and high 12's in the 1/4 stock. So yes the manual can be made to move faster, but not too much so. Plus the guys who got those times are really experienced manual users. I mean they're on par with professional racers almost... well 2 are anyway (one was a former stunt driver).
Well, i wonder, do you think most gto buyers would rather take the autmatic, or the stick? I know the dealer in my town has two on the floor, both with the stick. They ordered all, or most of them that way. Usually, its the faster acceleration times which sells the stick.. In this case, if the automatic is really a tenth quicker, I dont know. I wonder if the installation of the short shift kit improves the performance numbers.. it would have to. But suprisingly, I didnt think the throws were really that long, or the shifter that rubbery after sitting in the car and playing with it for awhile.. I thought it felt pretty damn good to me.. I didnt know what the car mags were talking about really.
Colorwise, the dealer only had 2.. a yellow and a cyclone gray. From the pics I think I like impulse blue, the black, and the red, in that order. The cyclone grey I saw i thought id like from the pics.. But, it was so bland in person, the car I think needs color, or black. Interesting how no white is offered.
When I next went to a ford dealer, they told me there were no 05 GTs anywhere, and for an 06, id have to leave a deposit now, and not expect to see it before January! As for test drives of either I was told forget about it.. That always bothered me.. How can you expect to buy a performance car, without having the ability to test its performance? I dont mean to bang on it, but at least we should be able to experience the transmission, and at least a taste of its power and handling. What do they expect us to do??
Oh.. back to the stangs.. The problem Im told is that in order to get GTs, the dealers have to take a certain number of V6s. Thats why we see V6s on the lots, but not GTs. It seems they so totally misread the market, that even their 30% projected increase was not nearly enough.. Plus, they said the allocation of automatics to sticks was all wrong, so that stick GTs are going to be in short supply also.
Well, one man's loss is another man's gain. At least there are GTOs available. Even its shape is growing on me. And, I love that interior.. The seats are so well bolstered, they really seem to hold you in.

arty: