PurpleMustReign...

[S197]

You own a Mustang or just like the avatar? Not sure if you're aware but S197 is the production code for the 05+ Mustangs. Just curious since I have a 2005 GT.

[glg]

You own a Mustang or just like the avatar? Not sure if you're aware but S197 is the production code for the 05+ Mustangs. Just curious since I have a 2005 GT.

My boss has an '05 GT. Very nice ride. I'm so glad they decided to give it a retro look as opposed to the horrible 80's-90's-early 00's looks.

[wang_chi7]

My boss has an '05 GT. Very nice ride. I'm so glad they decided to give it a retro look as opposed to the horrible 80's-90's-early 00's looks.

ditto on the new look. They're very sharp looking.

[PurpleMustReign]

No, I don't own one, but I will someday. Its my dream car. I'd love to have one similar to my avatar.

[S197]

My boss has an '05 GT. Very nice ride. I'm so glad they decided to give it a retro look as opposed to the horrible 80's-90's-early 00's looks.

Yep, that's what sold me on the new one. The '64ish front end and the later 60's fastback styling in the back. Handles much better than the older ones too (used to have a '94).

No, I don't own one, but I will someday. Its my dream car. I'd love to have one similar to my avatar.

Cool. The base models aren't all that pricey, of course if you're going to get one you gotta go with the GT, IMO. Ford is in some trouble so there should be good deals coming around, I know they offered 0% financing not too long ago.

The new Camaro looks really nice too and should put up stiff competition. It would be great to see all the pony cars around again.

[Canadian Viking]

Handles much better than the older ones too (used to have a '94).

They handle "better", even with the live rear axle? Something that I will never understand about Ford is the reliance on a suspension system that was outdated 40 years ago. Give that car a decent rear end, shave a bunch of weight off of it (I know that an independant suspension is heavier) and it could be a pretty good performance car.

As it stands, the Mustang is a good looking vehicle, but they need to build it so that it will go around corners and over bumps rather than just in a straight line.

[S197]

They handle "better", even with the live rear axle? Something that I will never understand about Ford is the reliance on a suspension system that was outdated 40 years ago. Give that car a decent rear end, shave a bunch of weight off of it (I know that an independant suspension is heavier) and it could be a pretty good performance car.

As it stands, the Mustang is a good looking vehicle, but they need to build it so that it will go around corners and over bumps rather than just in a straight line.

The reason they go with the live axle is because believe it or not, most Mustang owners want a live axle. A large portion of Mustang owners are more drag racers than say SCCA, and there's just too much wheel hop in an independent rear suspension for their liking.

The previous Cobra Mustang (not the Shelby GT500) had an independent rear suspension. This is one area where I don't like the new Shelby, it should've had independent rear suspension and is too heavy. I'm looking forward to the Shelby KR edition which should be out soon.

But yes, even with the solid rear axle the car handles much better. Saleen, Steeda, Rousch, etc. have proven they can make them work and be very successful road racing cars. As for the outdated suspension setup, you can argue that but you can say the same thing for the Corvette's leaf springs, which is even older technology.

Plus, we're talking about a $30k car here...

[Canadian Viking]

You're right, the 'vette's suspension is really outdated! *grin*

I didn't make my comments as any sort of a slam. I hadn't thought of the drag racing element.

BTW, in Canada, it is almost $40,000 for the mustang gt.... That puts it in with some pretty high end cars.

[S197]

You're right, the 'vette's suspension is really outdated! *grin*

I didn't make my comments as any sort of a slam. I hadn't thought of the drag racing element.

BTW, in Canada, it is almost $40,000 for the mustang gt.... That puts it in with some pretty high end cars.

Well leaf springs are very old technology but you don't have to look further than the Z06 to see that the corvette is an amazingly good car. I just wanted to point out that sometimes old technology doesn't always mean it's bad. But I agree with you on the independent rear suspension, especially on the higher end mustangs like the Cobras.

As for the price aspect... with the dollar and loonie trading at 1-to-1, you should just drive across the border and buy your car in the US. Save yourself $10k

[Canadian Viking]

As for the price aspect... with the dollar and loonie trading at 1-to-1, you should just drive across the border and buy your car in the US. Save yourself $10k

Don't think that I haven't been looking into that. *grin* I move back to Canada in December and have been researching cars for the past few weeks. Cars are much cheaper across the board in the US than in Canada.

The problem with buying in the States is three fold, however: 1) many manufacturers will not allow US dealers to sell new cars to Canadians and even more are saying that they will not honour warranties on US cars; 2) many models do not meet Canadian spec and they are not being allowed into the country -- VW, for example, turned off the daytime running lights on the GTIs so that they would not meet Canadian spec(!); 3) buying in the US means a cash purchase because they will not finance people from outside the country.

But, a car like a 2007 VW GTI can be had at significant discounts and they meet Canadian spec.... When I go home to Windsor at Christmas, I will pop over to Detroit to see what I can find.

[S197]

The problem with buying in the States

Interesting.... I had no idea there were so many problems. Some of that (like not honoring the warranty) doesn't even sound legal. And we wonder why we have such a huge trade deficit.

As for financing, you might be able to get an unsecured loan from Propser.com. They do loans for up to $25k and a max term of 3 years. You won't get as good an interest rate as a bank but it may be an option and might save you some money if the discount to the vehicle is big enough.

[Canadian Viking]

The falling US dollar is doing wonders for the trade deficit, actually. It is making it much cheaper to purchase products made in America and it encourages Americans to buy domestic. It also did good things for the rest of the world by forcing the Chinese government to let the yuan increase in value.

As for the loans, I would find financing somehow if i decided to buy in the states. As for the warranty issue, a group of people have started a lawsuit against a number of the automobile companies over their pricing and, if I understand correctly, the warranty policies. The sad thing is that it isn't just foreign made cars. A car made in my home town of Windsor will be in the same boat, more expensive in Canada than in the States and probably not eligible for entry into Canada if purchased in the US....

We have Canadian spec for cars and cars built for the US market don't usually meet the standard -- a special strength bumper (which are probably identical to the ones on American cars, just tested to a different standard and thus, certified to a different standard), a metric instrument cluster, a certain type of vehicle immobiliser (sounds pretty stock, to me!), day time running lights and bilingual stickers and displays (all displays are probably bilingual, it just depends on which function is set to display...). As a result, the manufacturers argue that they have to charge Canadians 20-30% more for cars than they do in the USA. In reality, Canadian spec is actually closer to EU spec than the specs on cars headed to the USA, so if anything, cars heading to the US should be more expensive than cars headed to Canada.

Needless to say, I am quite frustrated!

[S197]

It's true that the falling dollar does help the trade deficit, however, the reason for the falling dollar is of concern. The US/Canadian dollars haven't traded at this level in over 3 decades. The Fed lowers interest rates to add liquidity to the market but at the same time causes rises in inflation and curbs foreign investment.

I'm of the opinion that we should have let the banks take the beating. You don't learn from your mistakes when the government bails you out. Yes, it's bad in the short term for the domestic economy but we're treading dangerously close to falling into the same trap that Japan fell into in the 90s.

(Wow this thread has run the gamut... from live axles and leaf springs to trade deficits and monetary policy. )

I wish you luck on finding that car though, I'd be interested to hear how things turn out.

[Canadian Viking]

Yes, this thread sure has taken some turns! *grin* That's what I love about this message board. For what its worth, I agree with you about American monetary policy right now -- it is postponing the hit and it will probably make the long-term more painful than it need be.

I'll keep you posted on the outcome of my purchase. A friend of mine who is working in Serbia buys cars in California and has them exported to Europe. I am going to give his contact a call to see what he can work out for me....

Cheers,

Jay