Motor Mag Top 9 Muscle Cars

[Cobra]

that is as close to a real shout out as you can get :D

bound to be plenty of comment but they would have proof read this article and double checked all the data ..

FORD IS BACKKKKKK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol:

[Guest esky]

I'm interested to see how crap the XR8 went.

"the XR8 struggles to find a reason for being.”

WOW, why would you buy one?

[rs2000]

I'm interested to see how crap the XR8 went.

"the XR8 struggles to find a reason for being.”

WOW, why would you buy one?

imo

the xr8 is in fords lineup to go head to head with ss commodore.

the only way it could possibly be dropped from sale would be for ford to manufactor a car similar to the sv8, possibly based on something like a xts.

then the xr6t could come standard with 18's, tremec box and more kw's to leapfrog the ss Late model camira for all round performance, sophistication and value. :idea:

[mercturbo]

Wasn't there a review by one of these motor mags recently that said XR8 was clearly a step ahead of SS but falls a bit short of Clubsport? I still struggle with the XR8 rating, something's going on here, and SV8 is just a fast exec VY and handles like it too! This would dissapoint FMCO as the guys put heaps of effort into it.

[BrentS]

I agree MercTurbo. The XR8 got a great review when it was put up against the SS and the Clubsport a few months ago in another article. I suppose that the GT shows the Ford V8 at its best, and the XR6T illustrates the excitement, refinement & nimble handling of the turbo, so the lesser-powered XR8 is only ever going to fall somewhere in between. To me, it still rates pretty highly as a competent competitor to the SS, even if its no GT.

The XR8 was criticised for having a too soft front end which was tuned too much for comfort. However, I'd bet that if Ford stiffened the front springs up, you'd read in another article how the car rides roughly, bangs over potholes, and skips nervously over bumps. Tough to please everyone I suppose.

[Redhawk]

Lets look at this with a little less emotion about going head to head with Expensive Daewoo this and Expensive Daewoo that.

The Blue Oval needs to be the bench mark and let the other manufacturers come up to that in all aspects of the business.

As the BA gets more and more exposure it is going to get stronger, and as the 'dark side' catches up then the 'force' raises the bar.

The ground work has been laid with the XR6 Turbo and the GT. These platforms are going to get stronger and stronger. Evolving from these cars will be the 350kW GTHO, and perhaps a XR6TS or whatever, the possibilites are endless. If it means the demise of the XR8......well so be it, the only constant in this world is change. Who would have thought 10 years ago there was going to be an XR6 Turbo, with the performance that it has.

Its been less than 12 months since the BA was released and look at the impact already.

I'm looking at Commadore owners in their brand new rides and thinking......'poor sods' :D

[bez]

Hmmm.... XR8 8th and Late model camira SS 6th. I swear I read a comparo in Motor that said the XR8 was the better car.

What the???

Unfortunately for the XR8, I think it was being compared to the XR6T more than the other cars. It was

never going to fare well in the value stakes in a performance orientated test.

Although as a XR6T fan, I am very happy with the result, I found the report to be far too opinionated.

The fact that they now think the SS is better than XR8 proves this.

that's my opinion anyway

[Henry]

All this thread and the Motor article are proving is that the Ford v Expensive Daewoo thing will never be settled.

As I have stated on this forum before I had the privilege of driving the XR8 and XR6T, both manual, back to back when I purchased my T.

The XR8 sounds awesome and the gearbox is slightly better, but oh the grief when u hit the corner and the front dives for the bitumen. Its rating is fair enough in my opinion. Recall also that the Clubsport beat the GT recently as well.

The BA across the range is a damn fine car, just a pity about the weight. Ford Oz had $500M to do the BA and obviously compromises had to be made. Clearly some of these are in the suspension of the 8s which are not quite up to what we came to expect given the T3 in terms of handling.

But fear not, in the BA2 and future models, more suitable suspension will emerge, the engines will be given a more harder edge and the times will come.

I think we are all guilty of being diehard Blue Oval Fans and miss the glory days of the HO when a Expensive Daewoo wouldnt get close in a straight line. Somehow just matching them doesnt seem sufficient. How about a "GT6" I.e a turbo 6 pumping out 320-350kw. Should be cost effective for Ford Oz to develop and maybe a better option than a blown Boss.

[Redhawk]

Yeah Henry, hearing you, nice to hear people on the same wave length (GT6 hmmm) B)

[AMoffat]

I'm happy at the moment with my measely 240 kws. I cart one of my kids about over the countryside every weekend so she can play rep basketball. I am constantly treating this car like my motorcycle, finding the backroads between rural cities instead of the highways.

Somebody before said you needed to learn to drive it, rather than just pressing the throttle at any time, as in a V8. This I also believe is true.

For me, I don't care how fast it is off the lights, how fast it is over the quarter etc. I love the well balanced handling that gets better and more responsive the more you load it up. And the power on the go that enables such an ease of overtaking.

That's where it is at. Nearly 7000 K's and going strong.