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I'd Rather Have A Ford
The reborn Ford GT simply stirs men's souls.
BY JAY LENO
Not to take anything away from the U.S. Olympic hockey team's 1980 "miracle" win over the Russians or Joe Namath's Jets beating the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in 1969, but the greatest upset in sports in my opinion was Ford winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. The idea of Ford beating Ferrari was simply inconceivable.
It was also a terrific example of "race on Sunday, sell on Monday." I remember kids with beat-up, 6-cylinder Falcons beaming with pride because they were now driving a "real race car."
But when I heard Ford was going to bring back the GT40, my initial reaction was, "Uh, okay." I remembered the Mustang II, and I was afraid that this was going to be just another example of bad badge engineering. But my opinion changed when I saw the new Ford GT. To me, the Ford GT has the cleanest, sexiest, most attractive lines of any GT-type race car. It has the elements of a race car and the elements of a street car, all built into it. A lot of these new cars--even supercars like the Ferrari Enzo--don't emotionally move you the way a Ford GT's shape does. Of course, some guys don't agree. They point out that the new Ford GT is 13 percent bigger than the old car. Hey, if I were only 13 percent bigger than I was in 1966, I'd be thrilled.
The new car has to safely withstand a crash. It has to have airbags. It needs to look like the old car but must have all the technology to be a modern car. I don't think people really appreciate what Ford had to overcome to make this car street legal. Take that gas tank up the center--a brilliant idea, in terms of both safety and weight distribution. Also, it's true to the original idea of an American V8: supercharged, nothing overly tricky, nothing you couldn't understand or fix yourself. Okay, forget fix it yourself, but at least you can understand it.
I first drove the car at Laguna Seca with legendary Formula One champion Jackie Stewart. He is still such a good driver that you think, "Well, I might as well just turn my license in right now." It's so demoralizing. As we drove, he was saying to me, in his thick Scottish accent, "Well Jay, when yur shiftin' the cor, ya got t'be more linear, Jay. Y've got ta maike sure you do this royt.'' And of course, he's clipping the apex of each turn perfectly--while he's looking at me. He's looking at me and driving the car really fast. I'm going off the track while I'm staring at the road. He does this all with such a minimum of effort while I'm physically exhausted.
Then I realize that people like Jackie Stewart are not that much older than me. When I was 13 years old, for instance, they were like 23. But somehow, it seems like they should be 80 now. It seems like such ancient history. I find it really intriguing when I meet them, especially because they still look the same to me. I remember I was on a plane once with Mickey Mantle. So I'm thinking, that can't be Mickey Mantle--look how young he is. Then I realized that Mickey Mantle was only about 16 years older than I was when I was a kid, so he was still only 16 years older than I was then.
Stewart and I had only a few laps around the track in the car, but it was a hoot to drive. It's fast--in fact, PM's auto editors tested one and it ran 0 to 60 in 3.43 seconds and did the quarter-mile in 11.69 seconds at 122.74 mph ("Acceleration Nation 2," May 2004, page 112). That's faster than fast. And the brakes are incredible. I can't wait to get mine--red with white racing stripes. Of course, some people don't know I've already got my car on order, so I'm getting lots of calls from Ford sales guys. And the conversations usually go something like this:
"Mr. Leno?"
"Yup."
"Are you aware of the new Ford GT?"
I always say, "I've heard something about it. Are they available?"
And they say, "We have one."
To which I always say, "What's its serial number?"
And there's a long pause. "Well, we don't have it here yet, but we will have it."
And I ask, "What are you asking for the car?" And they're all like $450,000. So I say, "I just want one. I don't want three."
And they say, "Well, that is one."
So I say, "What is the list price of the car?"
And there's another long pause. Then the salesman always says, "Well, they're hard to get.''
So I reply, "I feel bad. Are you guys making enough on this? Can't I chip in a little more?"
And then I add, "Read your dealer newsletter. I bought the first one."
The one thing the American and the European carmakers have over the Japanese is a sense of history. The Japanese are getting there now with the 240Z and Mazda Cosmo (the RX-8 is its direct descendant), but that heritage isn't as strong yet. For Ford to call upon its history is a smart marketing move. Just think of that famous photo of Carroll Shelby, wearing a suit, standing there with a Mustang, a Cobra and a GT40, and the caption says, "It's a long way from bib overalls." I've always wanted to replicate that picture, with me standing with those cars.
We're in an interesting time, when American carmakers, and I don't say this sarcastically, are actually building cars that people want: the Z06 Corvette, the Dodge Viper, the Cadillac CTS-V and now it's the Ford GT. In the classic American sense, these cars have built-in simplicity and reliability. Plus they have the same power--if not as much sophistication--as some exotics. But who would have thought that people would rather have a Ford GT than a Lamborghini Gallardo?
How often does that happen? People like me are actually saying, "I'd rather have the Ford."
Honda couldn't do it with the NSX, which to everybody was the equal of a Ferrari--it was lighter, faster and it would handle better. But people in 1991 were saying, "I don't want to pay $80,000 for a Honda." Even the people at Toyota knew the Toyota name had a certain badge limitation, so they wisely called their upmarket car the Lexus, and the Nissan folks called theirs Infiniti. But Ford didn't become Fjord or some other goofy name. Ford said, "No, we're gonna put our name on it. It's gonna cost $150,000, buy it or don't." I don't think people realize how exciting or revolutionary or just how good this car is. I'll get mine as soon as it's built.
Now if I can just get back to 160 pounds, like I was in 1966.
I'd Rather Have A Ford
The reborn Ford GT simply stirs men's souls.
BY JAY LENO
Not to take anything away from the U.S. Olympic hockey team's 1980 "miracle" win over the Russians or Joe Namath's Jets beating the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in 1969, but the greatest upset in sports in my opinion was Ford winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. The idea of Ford beating Ferrari was simply inconceivable.
It was also a terrific example of "race on Sunday, sell on Monday." I remember kids with beat-up, 6-cylinder Falcons beaming with pride because they were now driving a "real race car."
But when I heard Ford was going to bring back the GT40, my initial reaction was, "Uh, okay." I remembered the Mustang II, and I was afraid that this was going to be just another example of bad badge engineering. But my opinion changed when I saw the new Ford GT. To me, the Ford GT has the cleanest, sexiest, most attractive lines of any GT-type race car. It has the elements of a race car and the elements of a street car, all built into it. A lot of these new cars--even supercars like the Ferrari Enzo--don't emotionally move you the way a Ford GT's shape does. Of course, some guys don't agree. They point out that the new Ford GT is 13 percent bigger than the old car. Hey, if I were only 13 percent bigger than I was in 1966, I'd be thrilled.
The new car has to safely withstand a crash. It has to have airbags. It needs to look like the old car but must have all the technology to be a modern car. I don't think people really appreciate what Ford had to overcome to make this car street legal. Take that gas tank up the center--a brilliant idea, in terms of both safety and weight distribution. Also, it's true to the original idea of an American V8: supercharged, nothing overly tricky, nothing you couldn't understand or fix yourself. Okay, forget fix it yourself, but at least you can understand it.
I first drove the car at Laguna Seca with legendary Formula One champion Jackie Stewart. He is still such a good driver that you think, "Well, I might as well just turn my license in right now." It's so demoralizing. As we drove, he was saying to me, in his thick Scottish accent, "Well Jay, when yur shiftin' the cor, ya got t'be more linear, Jay. Y've got ta maike sure you do this royt.'' And of course, he's clipping the apex of each turn perfectly--while he's looking at me. He's looking at me and driving the car really fast. I'm going off the track while I'm staring at the road. He does this all with such a minimum of effort while I'm physically exhausted.
Then I realize that people like Jackie Stewart are not that much older than me. When I was 13 years old, for instance, they were like 23. But somehow, it seems like they should be 80 now. It seems like such ancient history. I find it really intriguing when I meet them, especially because they still look the same to me. I remember I was on a plane once with Mickey Mantle. So I'm thinking, that can't be Mickey Mantle--look how young he is. Then I realized that Mickey Mantle was only about 16 years older than I was when I was a kid, so he was still only 16 years older than I was then.
Stewart and I had only a few laps around the track in the car, but it was a hoot to drive. It's fast--in fact, PM's auto editors tested one and it ran 0 to 60 in 3.43 seconds and did the quarter-mile in 11.69 seconds at 122.74 mph ("Acceleration Nation 2," May 2004, page 112). That's faster than fast. And the brakes are incredible. I can't wait to get mine--red with white racing stripes. Of course, some people don't know I've already got my car on order, so I'm getting lots of calls from Ford sales guys. And the conversations usually go something like this:
"Mr. Leno?"
"Yup."
"Are you aware of the new Ford GT?"
I always say, "I've heard something about it. Are they available?"
And they say, "We have one."
To which I always say, "What's its serial number?"
And there's a long pause. "Well, we don't have it here yet, but we will have it."
And I ask, "What are you asking for the car?" And they're all like $450,000. So I say, "I just want one. I don't want three."
And they say, "Well, that is one."
So I say, "What is the list price of the car?"
And there's another long pause. Then the salesman always says, "Well, they're hard to get.''
So I reply, "I feel bad. Are you guys making enough on this? Can't I chip in a little more?"
And then I add, "Read your dealer newsletter. I bought the first one."
The one thing the American and the European carmakers have over the Japanese is a sense of history. The Japanese are getting there now with the 240Z and Mazda Cosmo (the RX-8 is its direct descendant), but that heritage isn't as strong yet. For Ford to call upon its history is a smart marketing move. Just think of that famous photo of Carroll Shelby, wearing a suit, standing there with a Mustang, a Cobra and a GT40, and the caption says, "It's a long way from bib overalls." I've always wanted to replicate that picture, with me standing with those cars.
We're in an interesting time, when American carmakers, and I don't say this sarcastically, are actually building cars that people want: the Z06 Corvette, the Dodge Viper, the Cadillac CTS-V and now it's the Ford GT. In the classic American sense, these cars have built-in simplicity and reliability. Plus they have the same power--if not as much sophistication--as some exotics. But who would have thought that people would rather have a Ford GT than a Lamborghini Gallardo?
How often does that happen? People like me are actually saying, "I'd rather have the Ford."
Honda couldn't do it with the NSX, which to everybody was the equal of a Ferrari--it was lighter, faster and it would handle better. But people in 1991 were saying, "I don't want to pay $80,000 for a Honda." Even the people at Toyota knew the Toyota name had a certain badge limitation, so they wisely called their upmarket car the Lexus, and the Nissan folks called theirs Infiniti. But Ford didn't become Fjord or some other goofy name. Ford said, "No, we're gonna put our name on it. It's gonna cost $150,000, buy it or don't." I don't think people realize how exciting or revolutionary or just how good this car is. I'll get mine as soon as it's built.
Now if I can just get back to 160 pounds, like I was in 1966.
