My Next Car

[tombarker13ffh]

No, I'm not already considering trading off my FFH, but I'm not really one to drive the same car for 5 whole years either. My last three cars I've paid off early and immediately traded for a new vehicle. My wife hates it. (I also paid $24k for her car and $22k for her college education, but we won't go there) But I'm pretty sure of at least one thing: my daily driver will always be a four-door sedan with great looks and comfort.

 

I'm conflicted though because I am a huge Ford Racing and performance enthusiast, as I've owned three Mustangs, they've just never been practical enough as my only vehicle. Four doors and fuel efficiency are what made me trade off my '13 Mustang V6. So the only way I really see myself owning a Mustang again is if it's my second car or my kids are old enough to move away to college (one's 1 year old and the other's -3 months).

 

Point is, I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy a '15 Mustang as a second car unless they turn out completely hideous, not likely given the good looks of the Fusion. I'm curious if anyone else wishes they had some power under their right foot? Or if maybe sacking the Hybrid for a sedan with a nice blend of 300+HP and 30 MPG would be a better way to go then daily driving an FFH and saving a Mustang for fun driving/racing?

[hybridbear]

I miss the Saabs we used to have with the turbo. I also miss the wackiness of the Saabs. My solution is to go test drive a used Saab somewhere sometime to quell that urge. After getting used to spending so little on gas I could never go back to driving something that does worse. I hate the build quality and interior materials of the Prius, but not its gas mileage. If the next gen Prius really does get 75 MPG on the EPA test cycles and is made better...otherwise I hope that in a few years we have the circumstances to get a plug-in hybrid. I look at our driving patterns and we could almost always get by with the 20 or so miles of EV range provided by Ford's Energi models. If only we had a place to plug in...

[tombarker13ffh]

Yeah, I don't think I could give up the 50+MPG. I'll probably keep buying Hybrids, but there are other cars I've always wanted, like a BMW and a Shelby GT500. I'll probably just have to buy a bigger garage to keep all my cars in, lol.

 

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail/photos/multiPhotoPopup.jsp?listingId=115664760&tracktype=newcc&aff=national#6

 

Mmmm....

Edited May 9, 2013 by tombarker13ffh

[hybridbear]

Yeah, I don't think I could give up the 50+MPG. I'll probably keep buying Hybrids, but there are other cars I've always wanted, like a BMW and a Shelby GT500. I'll probably just have to buy a bigger garage to keep all my cars in, lol.

 

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail/photos/multiPhotoPopup.jsp?listingId=115664760&tracktype=newcc&aff=national#6

 

Mmmm....

If I had money to afford a more expensive car I would want a Tesla Model S as my first choice. After that would be a BMW M5. That's talking about cars that are outside our price range today but not outlandish like a Aston Martin or something

[GrySql]

I sold the Expedition and kept the '03 Mustang GT 'vert I bought new, so I have both types of cars.

Us old guys are supposed to have a brown 1998 Buick LeSabre but the FFH took that out of the equation.

Then, a old baby boomer has to have a hotrod, the GT takes care of that, it still looks new.

I mod it every so often so at certain times we can cruise and have some old time, asphalt blistering fun.

 

My next car will be another hybrid in a few years, maybe a Lincoln.

Hope to still have the GT, it's become an institution around here - the grandkids love it.

Edited May 10, 2013 by GrySql

[acdii]

FFH and an Ecoboost Flex, best of both worlds! :) What I like about the Flex is when I want economy, I got it. A 4600# box that gets up to 22 MPG so far, yet when I want to smoke someone, I just drop my right foot. I couldnt tell you how many times I had someone behind me get up to me on the right at a light, thinking they could get by me at the merge, and wind up still behind me. Not that I do that a lot, just once in a while to piss someone off. Depends on my mood. It's an eye opener and a head shaker when a 7 passenger station wagon leaps and moves.

 

Last week my mom cracked up her MKS, and we have been driving her to work, so our carpooling was put on hold since then. I have been driving the Flex all week, and my wife drove the FFH and drove my mom. I got used to the comfort of the Flex, and this morning we were able to car pool again. I noticed I had cramps and pains in my back that I haven't had in over a week, so it must be from the car. Here I thought the 10 FFH was comfortable, guess not as much as I thought.

 

Still, 42.8 MPG! Take the good with the bad.

 

Still tossing around replacing the 10 with either a 13 or a Cmax Energi. My wife likes the idea of the Energi and likes the Cmax better because it isnt as pretty as the new Fusion. She would be afraid to drive the new Fusion as she doesnt want to hurt it. (women!)

[mokee]

I have always longed for a '69 Mach I Ford Mustang with a Hurst shifter and the Cleveland engine in metallic blue.

[keithsm2]

Im running a CTS-V Coupe with about 580HP and the FFH.... I really enjoy the hybrid as much as the "V". I do like shifting gears and some acceleration once in a while though. ....but once i knew i was getting a hybrid.....sitting at lights and rolling along at 45mph with all that gas going to waste just really seemed to eat at me.....still trying to decide if i should keep it for our retirement car or just sell it.... :(

[GrySql]

Im running a CTS-V Coupe - still trying to decide if i should keep it for our retirement car or just sell it.... :(

The depreciation on that car is probably something to consider.

[keithsm2]

depreciation would only matter if i would try to sell it someday....assuming i want to keep it till i pass...that really doesnt matter right? Im 50 ....so it will be my last hotrod...and if i have another sacraficial car ( FFH) for daily use and such......the cadillac should be nice and be able to hang around for quite sometime.... but maybe im thinking of it all wrong....Im just thinking i wont be able to purchase such a car on retirement money... maybe now i wont have to purchase any car for a long time.......We probably only put avg amount of miles on our cars per year....

[rjent]

First I will say that I would rather walk and carry a Ford hubcap than drive anything else. But, as all things in life there are exceptions ... :)

 

Tom, you might consider going classic car for your tire smoke fix. I have two classic Corvettes, one is a numbers matching convertible with a 4 speed and small block. An absolute thrill to drive. The other is a Corvette I have owned for 30 years. It has a 350 HP hopped up small block, balance, camed, etc. Special suspension and large performance tires. Both just take my breath away, corner like on rails, and really turn heads. We have driven both across the country a couple of times, and entered and won car show categories. Both combined, in today's market, would cost less than a Titanium Energi.

 

Anyway, I take them on the twisties in our mountains here and smoke a tire now and again. Pure testosterone, and thrill factor.

 

Might be an alternative.

 

Plus, they are easy to work on and cheap to work on.

 

Just a thought.

[tombarker13ffh]

A classic Mustang would definitely be ideal for me, but my favorite is the '69 fastback and they cost quite a bit even as rust heaps. Although you can buy the frames for those cars new from Ford these days

.. Probably $40-50k to build one on the cheap side..

[rjent]

A classic Mustang would definitely be ideal for me, but my favorite is the '69 fastback and they cost quite a bit even as rust heaps. Although you can buy the frames for those cars new from Ford these days

.. Probably $40-50k to build one on the cheap side..

Yeah, the ponies are bringing premium prices, particularly the late sixties and early seventies. I had a couple of old "classic" mustangs (they weren't classic at the time :)) and they are great. The Vettes are in large numbers out there particularly in the early 70's (I have two 74's). It is an alternative affordable option for the adrenalin fix .... :)

[hybridbear]

She would be afraid to drive the new Fusion as she doesnt want to hurt it. (women!)

Hahahaha :hysterical: That's hilarious! It's nice that she shows appreciation and respect for the car though with how expensive cars are nowadays and wants to take care of it

[tombarker13ffh]

I'd probably be okay with a 65-67 coupe that I could do engine/suspension work on.. hard to find one cheap that's not rusted out though...

[GrySql]

A classic Mustang would definitely be ideal for me, but my favorite is the '69 fastback and they cost quite a bit even as rust heaps. Although you can buy the frames for those cars new from Ford these days

.. Probably $40-50k to build one on the cheap side..

Back in 1988 I restored a May '64 Mustang Convertible, Poppy Red, 'A' Code Engine, sold it to a guy from Finland.

He put it on a ship back to Finland. Cute car but it had Falcon brakes, the late 66's and up were much better cars.

 

The big 50th Anniversary of Mustangs is coming up next year.

We did the 6 day, 45th Anniversary cruise with Mustangs Across America in 2009, a lot of fun.

We had 600+ various 'Stang's covering over 10 - 20 miles of highway, quite a sight.

They are planning the 2014 event right now.

This is a small picture of one of our catered lunch stops in Texas, row upon row of various Mustangs.

That's my silver car bottom right, with my smiling wifey co-pilot.

[GrySql]

I have two classic Corvettes, one is a numbers matching convertible with a 4 speed and small block. An absolute thrill to drive. The other is a Corvette I have owned for 30 years. It has a 350 HP hopped up small block, balance, camed, etc. Special suspension and large performance tires.

Plus, they are easy to work on and cheap to work on.

 

Back when I restored the Mustang I also restored a numbers matching '64 Corvette 'Vert 300hp/350ci/4Speed, that was twice the car the '64 Mustang was in all respects (except the cute factor).

I had that car for 12 years and it brought a tear to my eye when I sold it. Many is the time when I wish I still had it.

I understand your feelings for them.

And you're right, it was easy/cheap to work on.

[gkinla]

Back in 1988 I restored a May '64 Mustang Convertible, Poppy Red, 'A' Code Engine, sold it to a guy from Finland.

He put it on a ship back to Finland. Cute car but it had Falcon brakes, the late 66's and up were much better cars.

 

The big 50th Anniversary of Mustangs is coming up next year.

We did the 6 day, 45th Anniversary cruise with Mustangs Across America in 2009, a lot of fun.

We had 600+ various 'Stang's covering over 10 - 20 miles of highway, quite a sight.

They are planning the 2014 event right now.

This is a small picture of one of our catered lunch stops in Texas, row upon row of various Mustangs.

That's my silver car bottom right, with my smiling wifey co-pilot.

I worked in Ford Parts in the mid 60's, you are correct in saying the brakes were Falcon...the whole front end was Falcon. The specific Mustang parts prefix was C5ZZ and the Falcon parts were prefixed with C5DZ. We were surprised when front end parts were needed and they were Falcon parts. We also speculated that the frame was Falcon and just the body was Mustang. It's been a long time since thought about this, yikes!

Edited May 11, 2013 by gkinla