Guess what I got as a birthday present!
07-30-2010, 09:44 AM
#1
3rd Gear Member
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: NC
Posts: 971
Guess what I got as a birthday present!
A 2011 GT500, that's what! Kona Blue w/ silver stripes and charcoal interior and Electronics package. It just kind of happened. I had ZERO intention of buying one. To be honest, I never really was a fan of them. I went to the dealership yesterday to put in my order for an '11 GT and ended up with this thing. How, you ask? All because of two silly reasons: 1) I couldn't get the pedestal spoiler on the '11 GT w/o also getting the godawful, gawdy hood scoop (went round and round for like 20 minutes fighting over that,) and 2) I couldn't figure out what exterior color I wanted. I had the color narrowed down to Race Red and Ebony; brick red interior was mandatory regardless of exterior because I wanted the red steering wheel.
Anyway, we're sitting at the table building out my GT and the GT500 was sitting there right beside us about 2' away; plastic still on the seats and carpet. As I'm agonizing over my lack of real personalization of my GT, I figured I'd have some fun and throw a wild offer for the GT500. Mind you, it's not the color I wanted and I detest black interiors. I really had no intention of buying the thing; especially considering there was a $5,000 markup. So I ask the salesman if they'd take $49,000 for it. He said no, but I asked him to ask his boss, anyway. His boss, of course, said no. I already knew that. But you never know if you don't ask... So back to building out my GT and trying to decide on a color. Unbeknownst to me, his boss asks his boss and the sum bish actually countered!! Now I'm in my head like, "Whoa! This is getting serious!"
So I had to think fast to get myself out of a situation. I told him I'd take their offer if they'd buy out the rest of the lease on my 550i. I'm thinking, "This is a money grubbing car dealership. No WAY they're gonna go for that!" Well slap my butt and call me Mustang Sally, they did!! So now here I am with a GT500. A car I never even had the slightest interest in (too heavy (more on that later)), much less owning one.
I hate to be long winded here, but I'm just a wee bit stoked. The sound of this thing is intoxicating. And if you punch it hard enough, the supercharger whine is like crack. The power is just what I've always wanted to feel in a car. It's just brilliant. The problem is, you're already breaking every speed limit in the nation before you even get to the juicy part of the power and without even putting a strain on the supercharger.
I'm disappointed that I won't get to enjoy the 7K RPM song of the GT that I was so looking forward to. This thing's redline looks to be only 6250. Lame. But when you look at the speedometer, running out to the redline is pretty much pointless in this car unless you're on a race track of some sort.
Now about that weight. It's funny how 550HP/510TQ can erase some pounds; in a straight line, that is. (I still don't know that I'd want to tussle w/ a GT on a twisty road. This doesn't have the SVT performance package.) Power to weight ratio, baby! (I can only dream what a Z06 or ZR1 feels like!) It weighs about the same as my 550i, but the power makes it feel lighter. I moved my 550i after driving the GT500, and it just felt heavy. Not so heavy as to not be able to get out of its own way, but you could definitely tell it's down on the "man sauce" compared to the GT500.
And talk about getting a LOT of stares! This thing attracts eyeballs like a fridge attracts magnets. Unfortunately, that includes cop eyes. Even if it is in admiration, I'd rather they look elsewhere. Anyway, I'm sort of happy for now. At least until it's time for the first payment!
Happy birthday to me today!
[edit]
Here are some cell phone pics...
Anyway, we're sitting at the table building out my GT and the GT500 was sitting there right beside us about 2' away; plastic still on the seats and carpet. As I'm agonizing over my lack of real personalization of my GT, I figured I'd have some fun and throw a wild offer for the GT500. Mind you, it's not the color I wanted and I detest black interiors. I really had no intention of buying the thing; especially considering there was a $5,000 markup. So I ask the salesman if they'd take $49,000 for it. He said no, but I asked him to ask his boss, anyway. His boss, of course, said no. I already knew that. But you never know if you don't ask... So back to building out my GT and trying to decide on a color. Unbeknownst to me, his boss asks his boss and the sum bish actually countered!! Now I'm in my head like, "Whoa! This is getting serious!"
So I had to think fast to get myself out of a situation. I told him I'd take their offer if they'd buy out the rest of the lease on my 550i. I'm thinking, "This is a money grubbing car dealership. No WAY they're gonna go for that!" Well slap my butt and call me Mustang Sally, they did!! So now here I am with a GT500. A car I never even had the slightest interest in (too heavy (more on that later)), much less owning one.
I hate to be long winded here, but I'm just a wee bit stoked. The sound of this thing is intoxicating. And if you punch it hard enough, the supercharger whine is like crack. The power is just what I've always wanted to feel in a car. It's just brilliant. The problem is, you're already breaking every speed limit in the nation before you even get to the juicy part of the power and without even putting a strain on the supercharger.
I'm disappointed that I won't get to enjoy the 7K RPM song of the GT that I was so looking forward to. This thing's redline looks to be only 6250. Lame. But when you look at the speedometer, running out to the redline is pretty much pointless in this car unless you're on a race track of some sort.Now about that weight. It's funny how 550HP/510TQ can erase some pounds; in a straight line, that is. (I still don't know that I'd want to tussle w/ a GT on a twisty road. This doesn't have the SVT performance package.) Power to weight ratio, baby! (I can only dream what a Z06 or ZR1 feels like!) It weighs about the same as my 550i, but the power makes it feel lighter. I moved my 550i after driving the GT500, and it just felt heavy. Not so heavy as to not be able to get out of its own way, but you could definitely tell it's down on the "man sauce" compared to the GT500.
And talk about getting a LOT of stares! This thing attracts eyeballs like a fridge attracts magnets. Unfortunately, that includes cop eyes. Even if it is in admiration, I'd rather they look elsewhere. Anyway, I'm sort of happy for now. At least until it's time for the first payment!
Happy birthday to me today!
[edit]
Here are some cell phone pics...
Last edited by GT Premi; 07-30-2010 at 01:41 PM. Reason: Adding pics.
