http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/2013-ford-shelby-gt500-confirmed-662-hp-love-192449470.html
I was going to get a Prius C in 2013, but many this might be a better fit for me. :-)
GT500 or a Prius?
By jvolstad Follow Thu, 26 Apr 2012, 7:13pm 5,251 views 44 comments
In San Antonio TX 78254
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Don't forget about the nice banked, sweeping left-hander on 680 south as you enter Fremont after coming off of the grade. I pulled 125mph through there at 2AM in 2003. The AMG I was trying to keep up with had to be pulling over 150 lol. God that was stupid!
Autocross is loads of fun. I used to do it pretty regularly with the BMWCCA down in Marina (Monterey). Once my new motor comes, I'll probably start that up again.
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You really have to think about what you want your car to do for you. If you "wanna go fast" like Ricky Bobby then the muscle car is for you. If you want to impress granola crunchers and homely chicks with ugly shoes, get a Prius. If you want to be economical with a fast depreciating "investment" that is a giant waste of money, then get a three to four year old civic or camry, or similar car.
If you want an"pussy wagon" to impress young hot chicks with your means, then buck up and get a BMW, Lexus, or Mercedes. Those cars say very plainly "I have money" and you will attract many shallow gold digging whores who will sleep with you without having to pay them first. You're "showing" them the money, not giving it to them.
Consider your transportation needs and choose accordingly. Maybe you would be better off with a bicycle!
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thomas.wong1986 says
My car, shortly after I graduated from High School:
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Quigley says
or get a cheapo dinky alpha spider veloce
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Quigley says
Do people ACTUALLY think, "wow, that guy must have money" when they see someone in a new BMW, Merc or Lexus? I think, "hmmm, I wonder what his monthly payments are?" Given the easy financing out there for cars, damn near anyone can rock an expensive car. Maybe lots of people are still fooled by these "status symbols." A loan officer friend of my parents told them years ago that he could always tell who was going to qualify for a mortgage by the car that they arrived in. If it was new & expensive, he knew that they were going to have trouble qualifying!
That probably sounds funny coming from someone with "BMW" in his screen name. Then again, it is going on 22 years old, I paid $2000 cash for it in 2005 and it "doesn't count" as far as new BMW owners are concerned. Thank goodness, I wouldn't want THAT group to consider me one of them! Now, never mind that the cost of various maintenance and elective projects on the car have just recently exceeded $18k lol. Still, that's a lot cheaper than any new car that would be as fun to drive as this one.
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What's the difference between a BMW and a porcupine?..........The pricks are on the OUTSIDE of the porcupine.
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thomas.wong1986 says
A buddy of mine in high school drove one of those. I could never get used to the shifter sticking out of the damn dashboard! Fun car, though.
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I've got a German car too. It came together with a hot Italian/Austrian girl, free water front property, and it gets great millage for a house. Did I mention it goes up in value every year?
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thomas.wong1986 says
If that's Your's wong, I will have to reappraise my conservative image of you.
This is my present meditative outlet.
The redline is 11,000, but I had to put the camera back in my pocket before setting up for the curve just the other side of the bridge.
If this crashes (again) during an adrenaline fix. I will not have to answer to the classic car gods.
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TMAC54 says
Is this CA 280? The cops are just waiting for speeders along this highway.
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jvolstad says
I guess it's been awhile since you visited the bay area. They changed the name from Ca 280 to "do80" ! I Swear to Alla, at 70+ you get dogged out the way.
That GT 500 catches my Eye. Not just that Cyan color but the old school styling looks like drifting on it's way to happen.
Back in 2006, I got the opportunity , to throw these Mustangs around Infineon raceway. Traction control On and OFF ! Beat the instructors lap time and tore a brake pad off its mounting plate. I tend to be hard on rental equipment.
But These are worth investing the $600 and some heavy breathin.
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TMAC54 says
Do80? I have not heard that expression before. I'm down in the South Bay Area every weekend. I set my cruise control to 65 and stay out of the far left lane.
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This is a problem?
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/man-sues-bmw-alleging-motorcycle-seat-gave-him-010902532.html
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jvolstad says
Thank You for that article. I will share it with the group(s) I ride with. No wonder they all have Bob's big goofy smile !
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jvolstad says
Funny thing today. Saw this guy.. very old guy, riding a very old BMW motorbike (Could of have been from the '20s-30s).. didnt look like it had alot of power, but it sure turned more heads than a new shiny BMW. Always great to see some vintage bikes, Hogs, Indian, Triumps, BSA, BMWs.
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Sports cars are a waste of money. Pay all this money to drive the speed limit and sit in traffic with everyone else. I just got a Prius C actually. I got 60mpg driving into work this morning.
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You are right bdub, unless you take the car to sanctioned driving events on weekends. It is also nice to have a car that gives vivid feedback and will to exactly as-commanded on windy roads, allowing you to maintain the posted speed limit through corners.
The Prius is a great car when used what it was designed for. I went on a climbing trip in Joshua Tree a couple of years ago with some friends. 4 people + a week's gear & stuff in a Prius sedan. 1100 miles. $68 in gas. NICE. With that said though, I'd be bored to death in one any time I wasn't sitting in traffic (which is never, I walk to work). Not everyone "gets" the fun-car thing, and that's fine.
I prefer my fun-car to be light and slightly underpowered. You can drive the hell out of it like it is stolen, and in the end not be vastly exceeding the speed limit. Street racing and gross violations of traffic law are unacceptable.
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bmwman91 says
Or add emissions/polution to your consideration.
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I don't buy the pollution argument for new hybrids, either. For one, new gasoline civics are very very clean. A Prius is cleaner sure, but the Civic puts out darn little to begin with. If knowing that you are polluting less buys you some comfort, and you were going to get a new car anyway, then more power to you I guess.
In the end, buying a new car of any sort is just about the least environmentally friendly thing one can do. The amount of energy required to injection mold a plastic bumper is immense, and most stuff in new cars is plastic. Think of all the diesel-powered infrastructure behind car manufacturing & material transport. The materials for NiMH batteries come from strip mines. Tires are made from oil. Electronics are made & assembled in mainland China where waste products are dumped into the environment. So really, purchasing a new car to use less gasoline only serves to fuel the production system that makes the cars, and overall, it is dirty and consumes a lot of energy.
People are welcome to buy new cars, but they just need to be honest about WHY. They do it because they WANT it; they want to CONSUME. People hide behind "environmental consciousness" because nobody really likes to admit to being a consumer whore (we ALL are). I don't care if someone does it...our entire economy & way of life is predicated upon consumption. People just need to be honest about it...they WANT a new car, at the expense of the environment. There's no need to claim otherwise, unless one really doesn't see the big picture!
Anyway, like I said, the Prius is a good economy car for someone that was hell-bent on buying a new car anyway. If money and environmental conservation really were huge factors to someone, they would buy a clean used car with a small 4 cylinder engine and keep their tires properly inflated.
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My 2011 GT500 has 550HP, is tons of fun to drive and is also a
hybrid model (burns both fuel and tires). You measure a car like
this in smiles per gallon not miles per gallon.
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tdr says
hahahaha, nice
I bet it is a blast to drive. A good V8 is a wonderful thing. I don't care how great someone's turbo setup is on their 4 banger, an 8 still has a better feel to it! And that's coming from someone that just had a fully built 4 banger made for their old BMW! I considered an LS1 swap, but it was going to take far too long. Folks have done the swap, and in a 2500lb car, it is amazing!
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bmwman91 says
Yeah, I agree with you. And I've bought three new cars so far. My Prius is eight years old, but I have a two year old Honda. I was just pointing out there are other considerations that can be brought to the purchase decision other than gas and money savings.
Also helpful to consider the whole system
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-electric-vehicles-20120416,0,5852349.story
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Thanks for the link, that is interesting.
Ultimately, I think that our way of life will need some serious adjustments, and conspicuous consumption will need to go away. Since our whole civilization & economy require consumption of goods, it will be an interesting transformation.
So for the time being, I guess we should all enjoy our ability to be consumer whores!
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bmwman91 says
I'm definitely a "car guy". For me, it just comes down to economics. I drive about 20k miles a year. My Prius C does great driving to/from work in trafic. Maybe I will get me a little Miata to mess with on the weekends.
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bdub says
Understood. 20k miles is probably enough to warrant a hybrid, particularly if you were going to buy a new car anyway.
And yes, you should get a Miata. One of my coworkers is really into them & takes his to Laguna Seca fairly often. His comment was that it is a death trap without a welded-in roll cage, but it is so light and tossable that you have to try to NOT have fun. They are a tad under-powered, but with some new software & maybe a lighter flywheel, they are even more fun. Hell, even in under-powered form they are great!
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tdr says
Ah! that is sweet!
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Saw one of the new Prius Plug-in models today. Funny thing is that it wasn't plugged into anything. I don't think plug-in cars are worth the extra money over a regular Hybrid.
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bmwman91 says
This could be fun. A moderately stock V8 in a 2500 pound Miata.
http://www.monstermiata.com/
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RIP Carroll Shelby. A true legend.
Also, recently Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, creator of the iconic 911, died at the age of 76.
Sadly death comes in threes. This just in:
Ivan Jerkmeoff, inventor of the Smart car, died in a head on accident with a tricycle. The driver of the tricycle survived with minor injuries.
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I really don't buy the argument that its too much horsepower. Even at those ridiculous power levels of the new GT500, its still slower then a lot of motorcycles.
Its all about learning to control the power and modulate your right foot. Sure, it requires a lot more discipline then an under-powered car where you can just mash the pedal, but knowing how much power to apply is a really good driving skill to learn. (and really fun to practice)
. 300+hp used to be ridiculously fast in a sports car. now a hairdressor's V6 mustang has 305hp.(which by the way, also gets 30+mpg)
That new GT500 is really baddass. We are really at the golden age of automobiles. 200+mph car that you can buy without getting a mortgage and you can reliably drive daily, 50+mpg cars, electric cars, quality american cars that rival imports, PZEV internal combustion cars that exhausts cleaner air then it takes in in smoggy cities, cars lasting at least 100k miles with minimal wear...
its good to be a car guy
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Serpentor says
I'm a real estate specuvesting guy, not a car guy as you know. I'm looking for a full-size mid-end luxury sedan. I'm currently eyeing either a S550 or LS460. I don't need the V-8 engine because a V-6 does the job just fine for me, and it's a little greener from a gas consumption standpoint. What other equivalent car do you recommend? :)
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The LS460 without a doubt. Built to be virtually indestructible and just as luxurious as the Mercedes, but without the nagging quality issues MB has been dealing with as of the last 5-10 years. (not to mention less expensive) I swear those Lexus engineers all have OCD because every component is ridiculously well engineered and built.
If you don't care about having a insanely fast luxury car (Mercedes still is one of the best) you can't go wrong with Lexus.
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BTW... Both models you mentioned only come with V8s
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oops misread your question. You wanted alternatives to those 2 options. The one off the top of my head is the Acura RL sedan. The thing is.. even though it has a 6cyl engine the gas mileage isn't better, partially because it has the AWD. The current model is also kind of ugly compared to the 2 models you are looking at...They are coming out with a new model this year so maybe it'll be better.
The other much inexpensive option (for a 6cyl 4door luxury sedan) would be the Cadillac CTS. It's not at the same level prestige as the other cars, but its quality is pretty good, better then the MB IMHO. If it was me though, I'd the the CTS-V with the crazy supercharged V8. LOL
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Man, I totally forgot about the Acura RL. I like the look of the S550 with the sport package, but I agree with you that the LS460 is a better buy.
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E-man says
If you want a peppy V-6 the Infiniti G37 or M37 sedans are worth looking at.
G37: 3.7L V6, 330 HP, and 25 mpg highway, 3700 lbs. 0-60 in 5.0s
MB S550: 4.4L V8. 430 HP, 25 mpg highway, 4455 lbs. 0-60 in 4.8s
LS460: 4.6L V8, 380 HP, 24 mpg highway, 4244 lbs. 0-60 in 5.4s
The Infiniti is 500 to 700 lbs lighter and a lower price point than the S550 or LS460, but I dont think the MB S550 or LS460 have a V-6 option, only V-8.
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Norcalbear,
For some reasons, I'm not a fan of infiniti, Audi or Caddillac. As of now, it's either the S class or the LS. I'm only buying a 3-year new model for 1/2 the price by the way, not a brand new one. :)
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Good choice buying used. I never buy brand new or finance.
Yeah my friends with Audi's all seem to visit the stealership alot for stupid fixes. They do make beautiful cars though. Infinities are ok but not quite Lexus caliber. What about BMW 5 or 7 series?
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I currently have an E500 and it's time for an upgrade. Wife hated it when I bought the E Class instead of the S Class. Gas mileage is about the same for all of them. I like the new 7 series too, but I'd have to wait for a couple of years before I can buy a 3-yr old model.
Here is the catch. I can drop $50k on an investment property, which would give me a $500/month positive cash-flow compared to drop $50k on a car. I can finance the car, which is tax deductible as a business expense. The $500/month positive cash-flow is not quite enough to cover the monthly car payment unless I drop about $15k as a downpayment for the car. I know I want it all, but haven't figured out a good way to accomplish it yet. :)
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E-man says
used == good
3yo is about the break even on vehicles, so i have no problems with your financials
If its MB S-class or Lexus LS, then you are V8, I thought you wanted options in the V6.
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Bear,
If the gas mileage is about the same between a V-6 and a V-8, then there is really no difference for me. I was hoping for a better alternative.
Let's take the MBZ E350 V-6 for example. The 2011 model and prior get 17 city & 26 why with 268 HP. The 2012 model gets 19 city & 28 hwy with 302 HP. That's an improvement. The S550 gets 16 and 24 miles/gal, respectively. Too bad MBZ only made a S350 once in 2006 and discontinued it.
I do too much city driving so a V-6 is all good to me. Only if the GS350, 5 series, or E Class were a little bigger. That's all. :)
Remember, happy wife = happy life. Especially she's the bread winner of the family. :)