And here is the new Motor Trend GT500 article

[03Terminator]

I think it's still too early to form a solid opinion about the car. It's still in it's concept stage afterall. There are some things I like about it and some I don't. For one I think it needs an IRS to be competative with the Z06. Two, I don't like the added weight. Lastly, I think the wheels and tires suck. Oh and then there is the price, that's if Ford brings it to production at any thing over 40 grand. The things I like about it are the styling, the power, and the new chassis. Did I mention it's a Shelby??!! The quality also seems to be up from the previous 03/04 Cobras, at least in the few 05 GT's I've seen. Some guys are upset that the car doesn't have the Ford GT's motor and that the engine is only an evolution of the 03/04's. I actually see this as a good thing as the core design has been in production for two years now. Bottom line is that a lot of things could change on this car before it is actually produced regardless of what Ford said. Overall I like the car but I'm waiting to see the final production version before I decide to can it or give it the thumbs up.

 

[jwfisher]

Death of the SVT Cobra, slow death of the Mustang.

- so they gave us this imposture to keep the ranks from burning Hai Tang in effigy

The thing that bothers me about him is that he keeps on coming up with these BS remarks to explain away what are actually budgetary decisions.

He has applied these to the loss of the front SLA, the loss of the IRS, and now the loss of the entire SVT Cobra.

So we have a cancelled SVT Cobra, we only have a very limited (from a handling dynamics standpoint) Shelby GT500 that also can't be sustained in a political climate that will sooner or later demand better mileage and emissions. Never mind customers who want something less than an understeering over-weight tall coupe.

Then we have a Sport Trac which will suffer the same fate, a new AWD SVT Fusion - but one that just uses the drivetrain and engine from Mazda, and SVT Focus - but not until probably 2009 (by which time the competition will be in the mid-350 range, leaving it well behind), and some unknown fixer-upper work on other cars.

What's next? Only the total demise of SVE/SVT could be worse... and maybe that's already happened.

And will there ever be a true SVT Cobra again?

 

[Formula51]

The most shocking thing to me is the rumors that it is going to be EVEN HEAVIER. How can it be even an adequate sports car with a weight of over 3650lbs, a solid rear axle, an incredibly bad weight distribution, and a high center of gravity? It will undoubtedul go fast, but I really think this new GT500 is a modern day muscle car now and not a sports car, which there is nothing wrong with as long as they come out with a SVT Cobra. Perhaps there will be a SVT Cobra with IRS and a better weight balance for the other enthusiasts?