Automobile magazine says of the new Camaro...

[DiabloTX]

I preferred the Firebird anyway, starting with my '73.

I did to, starting with my '77 S.E. Trans Am.  But that all changed with the 4Gen f-body.

[Xasthur]

More emphasis should be placed on inline 6 instead of V6 engines. My inline 6 puts out so much torque and sounds so much better than V6s of similar sizes. A 4.0L I6 sounds so much better than V6s. There is also lots of room left in the engine bay too. People bolt turbos and superchargers on all the time without having to make room at all. I'm bangin' on about this engine, sorry guys. I'll post some pictures of the engine and the new Ford XR series later, I'd like to know what you Yanks make of it.

[Bronk]

More emphasis should be placed on inline 6 instead of V6 engines. My inline 6 puts out so much torque and sounds so much better than V6s of similar sizes. A 4.0L I6 sounds so much better than V6s. There is also lots of room left in the engine bay too. People bolt turbos and superchargers on all the time without having to make room at all. I'm bangin' on about this engine, sorry guys. I'll post some pictures of the engine and the new Ford XR series later, I'd like to know what you Yanks make of it.

My cod please gimme that ausie ford falcon.

[DiabloTX]

More emphasis should be placed on inline 6 instead of V6 engines. My inline 6 puts out so much torque and sounds so much better than V6s of similar sizes. A 4.0L I6 sounds so much better than V6s. There is also lots of room left in the engine bay too. People bolt turbos and superchargers on all the time without having to make room at all. I'm bangin' on about this engine, sorry guys. I'll post some pictures of the engine and the new Ford XR series later, I'd like to know what you Yanks make of it.

Funny you should bring that up as in the late 80's while I was in the navy I was pretty damned impressed with the products Ford in Europe were making then.  I thought Ford would be foolish not to try and sell them in the North American market.  Well, in typical Ford style they came up with the Merkur brand and imported those cars completely messed up and given stupid names like XR4Ti.  Leave it to Ford to make a good product and then totaly phuq it up.

[Xasthur]

XR6









XR8




Clips:

Stock NA XR6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuOz9sCNHJ4

another NA XR6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JniCHzxkj_Y

This is an older I6 engine:

Some silly bugger with the same car as me  (1995 I6 Falcon):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NFt__PwoWU

Sounds pretty good for a stock 6 cylinder engine, I think. Particularly one that is 13 years old (and his has done 230k! mine is a baby, still only done 120k km)

[DiabloTX]

I'm sorta digging that hugger orange one, Xas. 

Here's my pride and joy.  And, no, I'm not buying a new Camaro to replace it with.  I like this one far too much for that.

[CAP1]

Funny you should bring that up as in the late 80's while I was in the navy I was pretty damned impressed with the products Ford in Europe were making then.  I thought Ford would be foolish not to try and sell them in the North American market.  Well, in typical Ford style they came up with the Merkur brand and imported those cars completely messed up and given stupid names like XR4Ti.  Leave it to Ford to make a good product and then totaly phuq it up.

heh......the xr4ti.......i remember them. such fine examples of engineering

[sluggish]

I did to, starting with my '77 S.E. Trans Am.  But that all changed with the 4Gen f-body.

You have to admit that last WS6 TA was bad azz.

[DiabloTX]

You have to admit that last WS6 TA was bad azz.

There's a SOM (sunset orange metallic) 2001 WS6 that I would have bought before the Z28 but the guy wanted far too much for it.

[A8TOOL]

OK Body style, crap car







Right off show room floor it was a Crap body style and an even crappier car









The new one has a nice body style and might be a better car than previous American blundermobiles but I still would not buy one new. In fact i have not bought a new American car for decades.

The reason.....it makes absolutely no sense to buy something that needs repair right out of the wrapper. Let someone else go through all the trouble of going back and forth to the dealership fixing all the small stuff that wasn't done right the first time. I'm also not willing to blindly lose 25 to 30% of my cars value the very moment I sign the paperwork.

2008 Dodge Charger

Price $26,500 minus an immediate loss of $6,600 = $19,900...... minus ...the more you drive it the less it becomes worth and don't forget to figure the tax and  financing charges you'll be spending for it.

[Xasthur]

That's why you buy freshly used cars with low Ks on the clock.

Provided you buy it from someone who ran the engine in properly, you'll get a car with 20 000 KM on the clock and save yourself a cool $10k.

I'll only buy brand spanking new if I end up with bucket loads of cash later in life.

[68Wooley]

Funny you should bring that up as in the late 80's while I was in the navy I was pretty damned impressed with the products Ford in Europe were making then....

In the late 80's, Ford's European lineup included the Mk 2 Fiesta, the Mk2/3 Escort, the Sierra and the Granada. All truly awful cars which no true car lover would touch (the Sierra RS Cosworth being the one very notable exception). That era marked the absolute low-point of Ford in Europe. Which makes their turn-around in the ninties - starting with the introduction of the Mondeo (dull but much better to drive than its mainstream competition) and latterly the 'New-Edge' Focus and Ka - all the more remarkable. Right now, Ford in Europe builds some of the best driving cars in their classes - the current Focus (the Mk2 - not the ugly face lifted Mk1 on sale in the US) and Mondeo are exceptional products (from a driver's perspective) as is apparently the forthcoming Fiesta. The new Ka is based on the same platform as the 'cooler than a MINI' Fiat 500 so should be pretty good too.

Unfortunately, even with such a great lineup, Ford in Europe's image will be forever tarnished by the dross they turned out in the eighties.

[DiabloTX]

In the late 80's, Ford's European lineup included the Mk 2 Fiesta, the Mk2/3 Escort, the Sierra and the Granada. All truly awful cars which no true car lover would touch (the Sierra RS Cosworth being the one very notable exception). That era marked the absolute low-point of Ford in Europe. Which makes their turn-around in the ninties - starting with the introduction of the Mondeo (dull but much better to drive than its mainstream competition) and latterly the 'New-Edge' Focus and Ka - all the more remarkable. Right now, Ford in Europe builds some of the best driving cars in their classes - the current Focus (the Mk2 - not the ugly face lifted Mk1 on sale in the US) and Mondeo are exceptional products (from a driver's perspective) as is apparently the forthcoming Fiesta. The new Ka is based on the same platform as the 'cooler than a MINI' Fiat 500 so should be pretty good too.

Unfortunately, even with such a great lineup, Ford in Europe's image will be forever tarnished by the dross they turned out in the eighties.

It may have been a low point for Ford in Europe but those products were still light-years ahead of the American products.  Apparently Ford thought the samw way and decided to import them to North America.

[clerick]

It may have been a low point for Ford in Europe but those products were still light-years ahead of the American products.  Apparently Ford thought the samw way and decided to import them to North America.

Seems that every time ford brings on of their cars over it fails here.  The contour was the Mondeo and, in SVT trim, it was an excellent car for the money.

The Merkur Xr4Ti was basically a sierra minus the 2.0 DOHC motor that powered the European Cosworth versions. I helped a buddy drop a 302 into one a number of years ago... WOW!

The Mk2 Focus is here in the US in Mazda and Volvo trim. The Mazda Speed 3 is a very nice machine.

Think Escort and a bland econo-box comes to mind. Go to Europe and it means something totally different.  See http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6650811186775607339. Ford give me THIS car!

[68Wooley]

Seems that every time ford brings on of their cars over it fails here.  The contour was the Mondeo and, in SVT trim, it was an excellent car for the money.

The Merkur Xr4Ti was basically a sierra minus the 2.0 DOHC motor that powered the European Cosworth versions. I helped a buddy drop a 302 into one a number of years ago... WOW!

The Mk2 Focus is here in the US in Mazda and Volvo trim. The Mazda Speed 3 is a very nice machine.

Think Escort and a bland econo-box comes to mind. Go to Europe and it means something totally different.  See http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6650811186775607339. Ford give me THIS car!

The Escort in Europe meant bland crappy hatchback beloved by OAP's and wanna-be boy-racers in XR3i trim. The Cosworth version was late model rarity as similar to standard Escorts as today's Evos are to run-of-the-mill Lancers.

The Mazda Speed 3 is apparently ruined by torque steer and isn't a match on the Focus ST for poise and handling (I've not driven either so that's based on reviews I've read). In standard spec though, other than cheapish looking trim, I would agree that the Mazda 3 is a great little car.