Since we are all sharing shots from yesterday's Willow Springs run here's a look at the long-term Ford GT between Turn 2 and Turn 3. I drove the car 100 miles up to Willow with no plans to track it (we rented the facility for another purpose), but at one point I noticed the empty racetrack and the fully-fueled GT sitting in the parking area. Hmmm...

Once upon a time Enzo Ferrari had a vision of his customers driving their Ferrari on public roads to the track, racing it on the track (and winning), and driving it home -- all with minimal "set-up" between street and track duty. The early 250 GTs and GTOs were capable of doing just that, and the bar he set with those cars is what many a manufacturer has tried to emulate ever since.

Continue reading...

What started out as a simple Best Buy run to see if they had any wireless Rock Band guitars for the Xbox 360 turned into a Wii run -- all in the Long-Term Ford GT.

After seeing said wireless guitars on display at the store entrance I casually asked about the availability of a Nintendo Wii. This question has been met with a quick, "Nope, none in stock" over the past 18 months, but on this particular day the store employee said, "Let me check" and returned with hushed instructions to "Go to register 8 and tell them your name." I think the Wii is still rather hard to get, but an order had apparently just come in. As I was buying mine I saw another guy at the next register getting his.

Continue reading...

Sometimes you just can't leave well enough alone. The long-term Ford GT already has a smaller supercharger pulley, an ECU reflash, a Ford Racing short shifter, a Ford Racing transaxle cooler and an Accufab air intake lining (to keep the intake tube from collapsing during full-throttle blasts).

But the factory exhaust note is pretty tame on this exotic, even by my standards. It's great for long-distance road travel because engine noise is essentially a non-issue. But it's pretty much a non-issue when hitting redline, too. Seems like there should be a happy medium, and after much discussion with other Ford GT owners the Borla/Ford Racing exhaust system sounded like the "just right" noise level I was looking for. Additional benefits include a 30 pound drop in weight compared to the factory muffler, and far more attractive exhaust tips (the standard exhaust tips scream "corporate bean counters").

Continue reading...

I'm the worst when it comes to driving with low-fuel lights on. My wife hates it. Ironically, she's gotten pretty bad (good?) at it herself (I've trained her well).

Regardless, if I'm in a car and it's not actually on the "E" I tend to keep driving. Most modern cars have very conservative fuel gauges, allowing their drivers to carry out blatant irresponsibility when it comes to planning fuel stops. The long-term Ford GT is no different. The "red" zone starts at 1/8th of the fuel gauge, and the "Check Gauges" light comes on around 1/16th. But only wimps chicken out at that point.

On my way home in the GT on Friday I was passing the last gas station on PCH for about 25 miles when the warning light came on. "Hmmm," I thought, "if I've only got 1 gallon left and I average 16.5 mpg, I'm not going to make it." "But," I told myself, "most cars have 1 gallon left when the gauge actually hits 'E' -- so I'm good." And on I drove.

Continue reading...

The long-term 2005 Ford GT has crossed 12,000 miles on the odometer. The last 1,000 miles rolled up slowly, as the weather in Southern California for most of January and February wasn't GT-friendly (seemed like the worst weather showed up Friday afternoons and cleared out Sunday nights for awhile there...).

But I've just finished updating the car's fuel log, and lifetime fuel mileage is holding steady at 16.51 mpg. I can't complain about that, as the last two tankfuls were burned at Willow Springs Raceway as part of "The GT School" I attended. This was a track day/instructional event dedicated to the Ford GT, though a Porsche Carrera GT did show up (the guy's Ford GT is modded and having overheating issues, but he'd paid his money, and it is called "The GT School").

Continue reading...

The rear tires on our Long-Term Ford GT were replaced at 7,000 miles. The official reason for replacement was a large metal shard that skewered the driver's side rear tire during freeway driving, but the tires had less than a couple hundred miles of useable/safe life left, so at least the road debris didn't destroy a new pair.

At that time I took a close look at the front tires and figured they had another couple thousand miles left. Maybe around 9K they'd have to go. Well, the GT is about to turn over 12,000 miles and the front tires are fully functional. In fact, they still look like they have "a couple thousand miles left." It's downright weird. Like a rubberized version of Dorian Gray or something. Maybe I just need to help move things along by hitting a track or something, but at this rate the rear tires will need replacing -- again -- before the fronts wear out.

Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief, Edmunds.com @ 11,878 miles 

We'd all like to think automakers are looking out for our best interests. Maybe they ensure that our car's doors unlock in the case of a rollover. Maybe they have a telematics system to automatically call emergency services if an airbag deploys. Maybe they provide a warning light if our window washer fluid gets too low.

Well, god bless those folks at Ford, they want to make sure our GT's tires are properly inflated. As this tire pressure warning sticker in the driver's door jamb clearly states, we should inflate the Ford GT's Goodyear Eagle F1s to 40 psi "when driving over 150 mph."

Good to know.

Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief, Edmunds.com @ 11,830 miles

Beyond being "the pace car for an entire company" the Ford GT was supposed to preview upcoming technology that would eventually make it to lower-priced, volume sellers. One of the highly touted features on the GT back in 2005 was the "capless refueling system" that doesn't require a separate twist cap. Sort of like the keyless entry system on many modern cars, the GT's capless system still catches me off guard. It's great when I go to fill the vehicle because it removes a step in the process. Just slide the nozzle into the fuel tube and squeeze. But when the pump clicks off and I remove the nozzle there's still a momentary sense of needing to replace the "cap" rather than simply shutting the external fuel door.

Driving (and fueling) the GT more often would likely remove any residual force of habit related to gas caps, and owners of the 2008 Ford Explorer or upcoming 2009 Ford F-150 will likely get used to the system quickly. Beyond removing the extra step at gas stations (and the possbility of forgetting/losing the cap) this design is supposed to reduce the escape of gasoline vapors and the chance of setting off your check engine light by not tightening the fuel cap sufficiently.

Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief, Edmunds.com @ 11,793 miles

Karl's recent Ford GT post declaring Peter Gabriel an acceptable accompaniment to the monster Ford got me thinking -- and questioning his sensibilities.

What would an appropriate soundtrack be?

The scene:
You're in a modded Ford GT.
You're on the PCH.  For those of you who've not experienced the road, it has long sweeping corners, amazing views, and cops. Not the ideal spot for flat-out, high speed hoonery, but a terrific drive none-the-less.
The sun's setting and the traffic is light.

No cheating, mechanical noises (engine/exhaust) don't count unless you're playing them from a CD.

My pick: Common Rider's first and only full length album, 'Last Wave Rockers.'

Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant

It was starting to feel like we should gather the animals two-by-two in "sunny" Southern California. But with January now a dreary memory it seems the weather that draws and/or keeps most of us here finally returned last week. While the long-term Ford GT is fully capable of being driven in bad weather, it's not prudent given he car's traction-challenged nature -- even on the driest of days. The mods to the engine that now give it a zero-to-60 time of 3.6 seconds also mean you want warm pavement, warm tires and a prudent right foot. Lose any one of those ingredients and you're asking for trouble.

But trouble was the last thing on my mind as I drove up PCH last Friday afternoon and caught a postcard-perfect sunset. After nearly a month undercover the GT seemed as happy to be out as I was driving it. BTW, what look like mountains on the horizon are actually the Channel Islands about 20 miles off the coast between Ventura and Santa Barbara. You can only see them from the mainland on clear days. Throw in a little Peter Gabriel/Solsbury Hill on the radio and all seems nearly right with the world.

Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief, Edmunds.com @ 11,710 miles