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So the wife and I ran down to the LA Auto Show yesterday to find that Ford had the largest section of any manufacturer. They had about half of one of the two halls.
Ford also had a section dedicated the Boss with a competition orange sitting on a chassis dyno (setup as a drag race simulator) and black Laguna Seca. There were also alot of the Boss specific parts displayed just outside of the area, very cool setup.
So the plan was to save Ford for last but since Fords section was so big we kept running into it, lol. So there we were, meandering through a bunch of Volvos when we round the corner only to be confronted by this:
So a few thoughts on competition orange: WOW!
I went to the show to see the LS but the CO was really striking. I think alot of folks that have criticized the styling of these cars are going to change their tune once they see them in person. The car just makes sense. I also think that YB and Red will look very good based on my own comparison of the CO to this car:
Maybe it was a difference in lighting but the CO blew the Kona car away...not even close.
Now for the main reason I went to show:
I was a little concerned that the car might look cartoonish and tacky based on some of the Ford media shots. I was actually surprised at how sweet it looked in person (although I have to admit that CO is really the color to have). The most controversial part of the car, the wheels, made sense on the car and actually look really cool:
My impression was "this is a really special car" as opposed to "look what that idiot did to his mustang". You can tell it is factory, and that it looks like that for a reason. The feeling I had was actually a little similar to seeing all the cool features of a high end car like a Maserati in that you notice all of the details that went into the car.
Sitting in the LS I wanted to get a feel for the seats as I have seen alot of folks wondering whether or not these will be a worthwhile option for the Boss. Having performance oriented seats have the obvious benefits of holding you in place on track, but I think an area that is overlooked is the overall feeling they give a car. A good way to think of a stiffer, tighter fitting seat is much like stiffer springs or a somewhat notchy aftermarket shifter in that you will feel much more connected to what the car is doing. From this perspective, if I do not end up with an LS, I consider the Recaros a must have option. They will simply have a huge impact on the driving experience even if you do not plan to track the car.
I did have a chance to witness a rather large gentleman sitting in and playing with the adjustments on the seats. He was probably only '6 tall but about 240lbs. He did not look that excited. I am '6 and 180lbs, although the seats are stiffer and tighter than the base seats my own choice would be a slightly more aggressive and tighter fit based on my size. The cloth looked to be of good quality and I think another benefit is that they should wear much better than the leather in a GT500. Hear are a few pics:
and the side/back:
My big disappointment from the show was that I did not get a look under the hood. The next best thing was that Ford had a bunch of the parts laying out:
I checked out the intake as I was curious as to materials. Why put a heavy piece of aluminum so high on the engine? Well, the intake is composite....the whole thing. So I know it looks like metal but it is not. What ford did is actually the best of both worlds, the intake looks cool (ie: not like a big hunk of plastic) but has all the benefits of a composite intake (low heat transfer, light etc).
Here are a few random parts:
Rod and Piston
Flywheel cutout and clutch
Engine cutout display
Rear end with girdle cutout
Heads....look up under that valve...notice anything?
Overall, the setup was/is very nice. There seems to be alot of interest in the car and all of the comments I heard from people at the display were positive. If you have an opportunity to go down make sure you take advantage of it!
Ford also had a section dedicated the Boss with a competition orange sitting on a chassis dyno (setup as a drag race simulator) and black Laguna Seca. There were also alot of the Boss specific parts displayed just outside of the area, very cool setup.
So the plan was to save Ford for last but since Fords section was so big we kept running into it, lol. So there we were, meandering through a bunch of Volvos when we round the corner only to be confronted by this:
So a few thoughts on competition orange: WOW!
I went to the show to see the LS but the CO was really striking. I think alot of folks that have criticized the styling of these cars are going to change their tune once they see them in person. The car just makes sense. I also think that YB and Red will look very good based on my own comparison of the CO to this car:
Maybe it was a difference in lighting but the CO blew the Kona car away...not even close.
Now for the main reason I went to show:
I was a little concerned that the car might look cartoonish and tacky based on some of the Ford media shots. I was actually surprised at how sweet it looked in person (although I have to admit that CO is really the color to have). The most controversial part of the car, the wheels, made sense on the car and actually look really cool:
My impression was "this is a really special car" as opposed to "look what that idiot did to his mustang". You can tell it is factory, and that it looks like that for a reason. The feeling I had was actually a little similar to seeing all the cool features of a high end car like a Maserati in that you notice all of the details that went into the car.
Sitting in the LS I wanted to get a feel for the seats as I have seen alot of folks wondering whether or not these will be a worthwhile option for the Boss. Having performance oriented seats have the obvious benefits of holding you in place on track, but I think an area that is overlooked is the overall feeling they give a car. A good way to think of a stiffer, tighter fitting seat is much like stiffer springs or a somewhat notchy aftermarket shifter in that you will feel much more connected to what the car is doing. From this perspective, if I do not end up with an LS, I consider the Recaros a must have option. They will simply have a huge impact on the driving experience even if you do not plan to track the car.
I did have a chance to witness a rather large gentleman sitting in and playing with the adjustments on the seats. He was probably only '6 tall but about 240lbs. He did not look that excited. I am '6 and 180lbs, although the seats are stiffer and tighter than the base seats my own choice would be a slightly more aggressive and tighter fit based on my size. The cloth looked to be of good quality and I think another benefit is that they should wear much better than the leather in a GT500. Hear are a few pics:
and the side/back:
My big disappointment from the show was that I did not get a look under the hood. The next best thing was that Ford had a bunch of the parts laying out:
I checked out the intake as I was curious as to materials. Why put a heavy piece of aluminum so high on the engine? Well, the intake is composite....the whole thing. So I know it looks like metal but it is not. What ford did is actually the best of both worlds, the intake looks cool (ie: not like a big hunk of plastic) but has all the benefits of a composite intake (low heat transfer, light etc).
Here are a few random parts:
Rod and Piston
Flywheel cutout and clutch
Engine cutout display
Rear end with girdle cutout
Heads....look up under that valve...notice anything?
Overall, the setup was/is very nice. There seems to be alot of interest in the car and all of the comments I heard from people at the display were positive. If you have an opportunity to go down make sure you take advantage of it!