Ford (127 Posts)
This one might get ugly. In a special Face-Off this week, we're pitting two Fords from our personal collections against each other. In one corner, we have Associate Editor Mark Takahashi's 1957 Thunderbird, which has been in his family from day one. In the other, Photo Editor Kurt Niebuhr's 1966 Mustang, which has drawn more blood, sweat and tears than he dare admit.
With chrome and luxury doodads being the selling points of so many full-size pickups today, it's easy to forget that trucks are still supposed to get dirty. Thankfully, two automakers haven't forgotten. For today's Face Off, we've got a match between two specialized factory trucks meant to go off-road: the 2011 Dodge Ram Power Wagon and the 2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor.
The Raptor has been getting all of the attention lately because it's new, but the Power Wagon can claim to be the original. Both trucks excel in the dirt, but the devil's in the details: one is meant for high-speed running and the other low-speed crawling. Executive Editor Michael Jordan touts the Power Wagon while Senior Automotive Editor Brent Romans presents the case for the Raptor.
You may have noticed that I went along with Takahashi and his Thunderbird to the Monterey Historics rather than driving my Mustang, which was the original plan. The reason for the change: the Mustang simply wasn't road worthy yet.
In my last blog post, I covered what parts I selected. But then there was the issue finding the right shop to work on my car. The mechanics I've previously known have either long since gotten out of the business; are too far away; or just don't work on old cars. So I had to start the unpleasant process of finding a new repair shop out of the blue.
The new Mustangs are great. All of them, even the V6. They all deliver incredible amounts of performance for very little cash. My tastes in cars trend towards the ridiculous rather than sensible, so imagine my anticipation when I was assigned the new Shelby GT500 to test.
I've driven the Ford Fiesta a number of times already, but it's always been the manual transmission version. Finally got to sample the automatic, which isn't just any old automatic but actually a dual-clutch six-speed automatic that Ford calls "PowerShift". Pretty sophisticated technology for the subcompact economy car segment, where some cars still make do with a four-speed conventional automatic.
Another Monterey Weekend in the bag, and while it took me over a week to gather and size these images I'm finally able to present them here. I didn't have all the highfalutin camera equipment -- okay, or photography skill -- of Mr. Takahashi when shooting my Weekend activities, but I did capture some cool items, particularly if you're a fan of muscle cars.
Yeah, you won't see as many wire-spoked wheels as in Mark's coverage, but on the plus side you won't see as many wire-spoked wheels as in Mark's coverage (ha!). Enjoy.
We rejoin our intrepid travelers halfway through their adventures as they brave the wilds of the Monterey Peninsula. Surrounded by a menagerie of beasts -- Jaguars, Tigers, Cheetahs, Barracuda, Cobras and even a Cougar or two -- we find Associate Editor Mark Takahashi and Photo Editor Niebuhr huddled in their respective tents.
As I alluded to in last week's Thunderbird post, Photo Editor Kurt Niebuhr and I were planning on driving our old Fords up to Monterey to soak in all of the sights and sounds centered in and around the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Sadly, Kurt's Mustang was far from being roadworthy when departure time arrived, so we packed our camping equipment, luggage and camera gear into the old 'Bird's trunk and pointed its nose North. This is our story.
Tomorrow, I embark on the longest road trip this Thunderbird has undertaken in its 53-year history. With photo editor Kurt Niebuhr and his '66 Mustang in tow, we're headed up to the Monterey Peninsula to soak in the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and a host of other mouth-watering events. In anticipation of this 650-mile round trip, I've been hard at work to prepare the T-bird and iron-out any potential problems to ensure an incident-free journey.
Just yesterday Ford took the wraps off the all-new 2011 Ford Explorer. In case you haven't already heard (what, are you living under a failed BP top-kill attempt?), the new Explorer is going in a totally different direction from the past version...yet Ford wants it to be seen as meeting the same needs this highly recognized brand name has always met (competent people and cargo mover with genuine off-road/towing capabilities).
I was given a walk-through of the Explorer by the company's VP of Engineering, Paul Mascarenas, and I'd venture to say the new crossover will meet those goals. It should have enough cargo/people-moving abilities to handle the bulk of Explorer customers while retaining enough off-road/towing abilities to satisfy the minority of buyers who actually do those things. This, despite having a unibody platform and standard front-wheel drive. If you want to read more details about the new 2011 Explorer start here and follow the many links to our coverage.
However, the subject of this post isn't Ford's latest SUV but Ford's longstanding effort to turn the company around. The Blue Oval has been running at a breakneck pace; how much longer can it last?
As you no doubt noted in my last blog, I had decided on what parts I was going to buy. Since I didn't let you in on the secret then, allow me to do so now.
I've gone stock. Well, OK, period correct.
Cannonball Run is one of those all-time great, cheesy car movies. In the spirit of that classic from 1981, Associate Editor Mark Takahashi and Photo Editor Kurt Niebuhr face off to determine who would take the prize today. Takahashi -- channeling the late Dean Martin -- picks his beloved Porsche Panamera Turbo, while Niebuhr -- dressed as Captain Chaos (dun dun duuuuuun!) -- goes with the raucous Ford Raptor 6.2. Who wins? No, not Adrienne Barbeau in a Countach, that'd be lame.
Never judge a book by its cover. Yeah, yeah, yeah -- that's just something that ugly people say. I kid, of course. For automobiles, though, I generally believe that beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes down to the bone. History is littered with ugly cars with few redeeming qualities (Pacers, Calibers, Azteks, Pintos, Cimmarons -- you get the idea).
There are a few ugly cars out there, however, that have some good things going for it -- the pre-2002 BMW M Coupe and Prius come to mind. But here, I present to you, the top three ugly cars that I'd consider buying. These are cars that are somehow able to overcome their styling to impress me enough with performance, quality and features that I can forgive and forget their appearance.
My first Fun With Press Photos post involved my undying love of the 1957 Ford Thunderbird. As I was wandering through the web, I came upon a treasure trove of Thunderbirds through the years. It's a clear indication of how the Seventies were the dark years for automotive design and a graphical illustration of the 'Bird's decline.
By the way, I think I need to stage a photo shoot just like the one above with my Thunderbird. Oddly enough, I already have that costume and a pipe.
So, here's the problem: I know what I want, I just don't know how to get what I want.
Owning an old Mustang gives me thousands of options, but it also gives me thousands of opportunities to get it wrong. As noted in my introductory post, building a 1966 SCCA A Sedan Mustang shouldn't be that difficult as they were effectively Shelby GT 350 R Models in a notchback body. But that's pretty much where the information ends. Sure, I could just go around buying Shelby parts, but I'd wind up paying thousands of dollars more than I can afford. You see, when you introduce Shelby into the Mustang parts equation, prices will literally double -- or triple -- beyond those for standard replacement parts.
Advertisement
Recent Posts
Face-Off: Takahashi's 1957 Thunderbird vs Niebuhr's 1966 Mustang
November 22, 2010 10:00 AM
Face Off: Dodge Ram Power Wagon vs Ford F-150 SVT Raptor
October 18, 2010 6:21 AM
Niebuhr's 1966 Ford Mustang: Finding The Right Shop
September 22, 2010 10:00 AM
Test Car Notes: 2011 Ford Shelby GT500
September 16, 2010 6:00 AM
Test Car Notes: 2011 Ford Fiesta SES Automatic
September 2, 2010 6:00 AM
Archives
More Categories
Rants & Musings
Vehicles
Links
Edmunds Inc. Properties
Edmunds.com Inc. Blogs