http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/ Autoblog Comments for Australians get 404 hp/398 lb-ft FPV Cobra http://www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/Oct 7th 2007 2:08AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/Oct 7th 2007 2:40AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/
I'll take both the ute and sedan Cobras, please.]]>Oct 7th 2007 11:09AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/
Whether you like it or not, the typical person would rather have a Camry, Accord, or Altima. Sure me and you would prefer this Ford, but that doesn't mean my mom would too. And I'm pretty sure most Americans buy like her....]]>Oct 7th 2007 6:40PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/Oct 7th 2007 2:17AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/Oct 7th 2007 3:01AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/
If they were serious about a special edition car, it'd be a 500hp+ GT-HO, not a "look new stripes a wheels!" Cobra that was lame when it first came out, and just as lame now.]]>Oct 7th 2007 3:22AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/
Nothing hurts sales more than bad PR from a car that blows engines under warranty.]]>Oct 7th 2007 8:21AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_Cobra]]>Oct 7th 2007 11:09PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/
The GTO proved it...

The GTO proved that selling a car with aged aesthetics, and a fuel tank in the trunk isn't the wisest choice.

If Thomas Edison used that sort of pessimism, we'd still be living by gas or candle light, and probably rattling our morse code keys talking about how ungainly the stanley steamer is compared to the tried and true horse drawn carriages.

It is called progress. If something isn't the right thing, you improve it before writing off the concept.

And since when do americans not like big horsepower RWD vehicles? This is the land of the pickup truck based V8 SUV, right? And the Mustang in your avatar...

The GTO name was writing checks that the older Monaro coupe couldn't cash. If it had been a Grand Prix coupe, or a Tempest, or something, it probably wouldn't be so bad, but it still looked soft and round. Good for the 90s, a little dated more recently.

That doesn't mean that a BETTER car can't perform and sell well.]]>Oct 7th 2007 3:26AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/
Maybe if they made average cars NOT look like bland vanilla pieces of crap, they might have a fighting chance as a performance model. The aesthetics of the Falcon are improved by SRT anyways, they look much better than their base counter-part. The GTO suffered from an absolutely horrible look. They could have done so much better, but it looked so average it negated any effect the horse power figures could have. Compared to Europe and Australia devisions, the cars in NA are down right conservative and dull. I'd take a Focus ST over any import on the market. Ford/GM/Chrysler have themselves to blame as much as their Import competitors.]]>Oct 7th 2007 5:05AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/Oct 7th 2007 7:40AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/Oct 7th 2007 8:39AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/Oct 7th 2007 9:47AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/
reference the domestic demand, albeit a minority:
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/shifting-habits/

-Edward]]>Oct 7th 2007 10:11AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/
Consider this car is flared and striped I highly doubt it would blend in with the sea of traffic in US roads, nor does it really fit the defintion of bland.

I drove the XR6T Falcon when I was in Sydney with the turbocharged inline 6 and it absolutely shames the Mustang and every other Ford US sedan in every respect. It's a handsome, well proportioned and good looking car and the engine was simply amazing. Some of us aren't as turned-on by retro designs as others, why shouldn't Ford satisfy both?

The all-new Falcon debuts next year, the current model this Cobra is based on debuted back in the late 90s and has gone through numerous updates since then.

This is a nice way of sending it out.]]>Oct 7th 2007 11:12AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/Oct 7th 2007 9:12PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/i agree that the F6 is doing well against HSV (who need to have a torana or somethign damnit) -but i doubt these cobra's will triple or even increase in price much. sad to say but many of the 'limited' editions offered by ford and holden of the past decade or so haven't increased in value as far as i can tell.
i ascribe it to the fact that they really aren't that different to their sibling models, and there are more of them, so they have less impact as say, a GTHO and the like.
it would be different if they released stuff like the 427 monaro etc imo.]]>Oct 7th 2007 10:15PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/
Rather, it would be the tradditional Domestic Sedan consumer who wants command-tractor-trailer-minivan seating in the Ford 500/Taurus. Case in point: Look at how the V6 Fusion 'sport' model is de-sportified from the Mazda 6.

Do tastes effect perception or does perception effect tastes?

Or, we could just end this blog thread if Ford would bring back the likes of the ORIGINAL SHO or the Contour SVT. The story repeats itself... Was it, is it, a purely accounting decison based on the minority number of customers that are enthusiats?]]>Oct 7th 2007 11:52AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/07/australians-get-404-hp-398-lb-ft-fpv-cobra/
BTW - the $65k sedan translates to $58,472.00 US - that's like a supercharged Saleen Mustang (465 bhp) with the MaxGrip rear diff, gas-guzzler tax, and freight. I don't know what other taxes you'd add or subtract from the Falcon, but it still seems a little pricey. ]]>Oct 7th 2007 12:09PM