It's fine to like GM cars more than others, but even the Ford-haters must admit that right now Ford is much farther ahead in the realm of performance vehicles than GM is (with the exception of the C6).

Add to the fact that Ford is offering quite a bit more exciting vehicles than GM, and I would tend to think GM better produce some sort of "blue devil", 5th Gen, or some kind of exciting car besides the C6 fairly soon. I can get a CTSv? Please. I'd rather not shell out $50,000+ for a modded version of the
same car my Grandma takes to church on Sundays. I'd rather get the Mercury Marauder.

People will call me a GM-hater, and that's fine. But take a look at the car in my sig, I love that car and I hate GM. I paid for my car at the dealer, spent a lot of money on aftermarket parts and even joined a GM enthusiast website. I've done quite a bit to add to the hype of GM, but I recognize that GM is not offering us the same options as it once did.

What can I say?

SVT

Hopefully GM follows suit.

 

Hmmm, if I'm not mistaken, if a Ford SVT dealer is not doing their job, or their service on the SVT end is very poor, you could complain to SVT directly and they could opt to pull their liscense as a SVT dealership. It's a priveledge to be a SVT dealer, not a right. Just like in sucky NJ, its a priveledge to drive, not a right, bastards...

 

Now that is funny. I haven't seen too many old people in CTS's, but it looks like you have to show your ARP membership to buy a Grand Marquis or Crown Victoria.

 

In all three case, my car came back with more things wrong than when it entered the shop, and in one case the paint on the trunk was damaged and they tried to claim that it came in that way. The shop manager even went through this BS demonstration of why it happened, which he claimed was because the trunk lid was replaced at one time and it was a crappy paint job. That's funny because he missed the OEM VIN sticker that still resides on the inside of the trunk lid.

Also in two of the three cases, I had to diagnose what the problem most likely was for them. My point was that with a dealer that is given the privledge of being an SVT dealer, one would expect their customer service and quality of repair service to be top notch. This isn't the case with this dealer. In fact it was other local SVT and Mustang owners that directed me to the place where I now get my Mustang serviced because they had similar problems with this dealer. As far as servicing modified vehicles, the guy sells supercharged Rousch Mustangs, therefore, I assumed he could handle a 96 GT with a Vortech and modified exhaust. If he can't, then what does he do for the Rousches he sells... farm them out to other shops???

I'm not knocking Ford's or all Ford dealers. Just this one.

 

Your anti-GM bias shows in sharp relief here. At least I've stated my preferences explicitly

Unfortunately, your numbers are off. Go to edmunds.com when you are ready for a dose of reality. The wunnerful 04 Cobra? Street price $35k, ancient styling/structure, tiny back seat. The Lightning? $32k, also ancient, ZERO back seat. For $32k you can instead get a a fresh, roomy 350hp GTO. How is that so different? A working schmuck as you mentioned is likely to have a kid or two... where do you suppose they should be stashed - in the tiny Mustang back seat, or the truck bed of the L? Don't even get me started on the excellent performance value offered by the Pontiac CompG GTP, a product for which there is NO Ford counterpart with similar features and street price, or the the upcoming TrailBlazer SS...

And as for the new DAIMLERCX hemi cars... too bad they're not up to GM's quality standards:

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michi...3014750700.xml

 

I'm not a Ford-hater, but I'd be hard-pressed to "admit" the above, since it is not valid. Why should I make an exception for the C6, or for that matter any year Corvette? In fact (aside from the quirky Cobra R) the Ford GT is the first Ford car in many years that can hang with the top production Vette.

 

Agreed. Why must I praise Ford for making a Mustang GT have as much hp as the Camaro did back in 98? There is nothing new that this Mustang is bringing to the table. The Ford GT, yeah but no one here has the cash, at least I think, to touch one.
Why do I have to praise Ford for making a car that they would be stupid to let go? Do you praise GM for keeping the Corvette?
How about praise GM for bringing the GTO from one side of the world to the other?
How about praise GM for getting into the luxury sports car segment and hit it hard?
How about praise GM for getting into the sport compact market with factory installed power adders?
How about praise GM for releasing a crap load of cars that at this point, none of the other 2 have matched yet?

 

aMEN to that! An example - the Saturn Vue Redline. Along with the upcoming TrailBlazer SS, it's giving GM nearly exclusive rights to the performance SUV niche. But that's nothing new... anyone remember the Typhoon...

 

How does Ford have more performance and more "exciting" vehicles over GM? They have the Mustang and Lighting and that is it. What else does Ford Have?

 

By exciting cars, i think they mean cars "they'd" be personally interested in. I don't think they mean sheer numbers if i understood correct, because GM's got the sheer numbers and size. For some here, the only GM car they express interest in is the Camaro, and we won't see that for atleast another 2 more years. I don't know. So maybe they meant "performance cars they'd actually want to buy" or something along those lines.

GM does have a lot to offer, and they'll be rolling off more products in the years to come. Same with Ford and DC.

Btw: Ford Motor Co has more than just lightning, GT, and Mustang. Seems you're only concentrating on the Ford brand alone, which wouldn't compare evenly with GM as a corporation and as a whole. In the end, niether is short in options.

 

There are a ton of old people around here in CTS's, just like there are a ton of old people who drive in Grand Marquis. But considering a modified old man's car, I'd take the Mercury Marauder any day. Why? The Marauder looks cooler. It doesn't look like some sort of giant elongated diamond with 4 doors. A diamond is a symbol of high society, but driving around in the automotive equivalent of a diamond doesn't quite have the same cultural significance.

 

I'd say that all 3 car companies are gonna be looking good in 2 years or so.

 

BWAAHAHAHAHAH!!

Your telling me you rather take the hunk of crap, 35 year old chassis'ed Marauder with a underpowered engine and power-zapping trans over a true luxury sports sedan? And people call me biased!! HA!

I have yet to see an old person drive or even like the new CTS design, but I see more people in there mid to late 30's to 50's driving them.

 

To each his own I guess, but if you were giving me a free choice between a Marauder and a CTS-V, I would consider myself brain-dead to pick the Marauder. For pure sport driving there is no decision to make. 400 HP with a suspension tuned at Nurburing vs. 300 HP and a suspension tuned at a marshmellow factory.

Consider that the car mags didn't even prefer the Marauder to the old B-body Impala SS from 8 years ago....

 

I forget the exact figure, but since CTS's debut, Cadillac's average buyer age dropped significantly...

Ya, there are some old folks driving CTS's, but I see old folks driving Vibe's, Grand Ams, Camaros, Corvettes, BMW's, just about anything...


On the other hand, you don't see too many young people driving around in Grand Marquis'...