kach22i Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0...77058_1,00.html It is fine. It is perfect. It knows it’s a great, great car that was ruined by a useless ape who fitted a crummy aftermarket alarm system. Ford has said I can buy the car back any time. It has even lent me an Aston Martin DB9 while I make up my mind. I don’t know though. I just don’t know. Normally I finish these columns with an opinion of mine. But this time it’s the other way round. I’d love to hear yours. One thing: I know I could sell the car privately and make a £50,000 profit. But I have never profited from my position as a motoring journalist. And I never will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centerpunch Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0...77058_1,00.html Well, that's the beginning of the story. But he changed his mind and actually bought the same Ford GT a second time. Here's the story in sequence: July 3 http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0...77058_1,00.html July 6 http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0...82915_1,00.html August 21 http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0...1742033,00.html October 2 http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0...1805419,00.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kach22i Posted February 15, 2006 Author Share Posted February 15, 2006 August 21http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0...1742033,00.html The first time I drove it I’d just jumped out of a Ferrari 360 Stradale. It’s a different beast. To get the full satisfaction you have to push that car. It is difficult to be satisfied just driving round in it. Not so with the Ford GT. I have never had such a reaction from people as I did in this car. They love it. I love it. It’s a love-in! But it’s a mistake to compare cars in the quest for what is “best†— that’s one of my messages to members of the P1 club. Don’t say one is right and one is wrong, because it doesn’t work like that. There are different styles and different ways of having a similar experience. Sometimes we feel Stradale, sometimes Ford GT. The GT is what it is, and it’s great because of that. A rightfully proud Ford. The last article is about the SLK mostly. Which link does it say he bought it back? I only did a quick scan of the articles and missed it - sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centerpunch Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 The last article is about the SLK mostly. Which link does it say he bought it back? I only did a quick scan of the articles and missed it - sorry. So it's too much trouble for you to actually read about him buying it back, and instead you want me to read it to you? OK, here goes, from the last article I gave you a link to. (If this is still too much for you to read, just try the sentence in bold.) Ready? The first three weeks of Ford GT ownership were not happy. Its alarm went off constantly, the anti-theft tracker cried wolf every five minutes and the satellite navigation system caused the engine to think it might be a dishwasher of some kind. So I sent it away and demanded my money back. This didn’t go down well with the readership of The Sunday Times. Every day my in-box was choked with more and more missives from angry people saying I’d been too rash, that I’d waited 40 years for this car and shouldn’t have given up because of some small electronic glitches. You were right, of course, so I’m delighted to say that it’s back, sitting in my drive looking all blue and huge. They’ve fixed the alarm by winding down the sensitivity of the sensors. Now you could host a showjumping competition in there and the siren would remain mute. They’ve fixed the tracker by turning it off. And I don’t know how they fixed the sat nav, but whatever they did it only lasted a mile before the engine warning light came on again. Who cares? This sort of thing is bound to happen on a car that’s right out there at the technical limits of what’s possible. The mistake I made before is thinking the big Ford could be an everyday car, and it can’t. It’s for when the sun is shining and the roads are quiet. It’s a car for high days and holy days. For Tuesdays and wet November days and negotiating-mini-roundabout days I needed some back-up. I needed something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kach22i Posted February 17, 2006 Author Share Posted February 17, 2006 Well, that's the beginning of the story. But he changed his mind and actually bought the same Ford GT a second time. bought the same Ford GT a second time. = You were right, of course, so I’m delighted to say that it’s back, sitting in my drive looking all blue and huge. So that's how I missed it. It did not click in my mind because I did not equate a second time purchase to sitting in my drive. Sitting in my drive, as opposed to what? Sitting at the shop? Those crazy Brits, when will they learn to write in American? :D I needed something else. [/i] Perhaps this story is not over. B) I needed something else. [/i] Perhaps this story is not over. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centerpunch Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 Perhaps this story is not over. B) Seems clear to me: Clarkson: "The mistake I made before is thinking the big Ford could be an everyday car, and it can’t. It’s for when the sun is shining and the roads are quiet. It’s a car for high days and holy days. For Tuesdays and wet November days and negotiating-mini-roundabout days I needed some back-up. I needed something else." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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