Yes and he does have Dinan Upgrades on his 05 325. However, he does change out all the fluids in that car every other 200 miles so that will prolong his drivetrain past the next two ice ages.
That guy is full of advice. Some good, some completely way off. I was going to start a thread where I correct some of the responses he had to questions in the past few issues of the Roundel. 17" wheels needed to fit 750iL brakes on an E24? Nope. Bigger brakes on an E24 not worth it? THat thing is a pig, of course it needs better brakes!
Oink oink pig pig do away with the pork! Ok, back to my senses. Mike Miller is the man. Go to the TechTalk section in the August issue. He put down my question!
[Reviving the epicness of the thread with some crap I left hanging from last time I got here ...] Beats the heck outta me why Ford did this, but you're right about styling being subjective. I actually prefer the retro styling of the X-Type (recalling the 4.2 of the '60s) to the Mondeo. I happen to like many of the retro-styled cars out there, including the Jaguars (X-, S-, and XJ), the newest Mustang, the new Challenger, and I even liked the PT Cruiser in its day. Heck, I drive an E28 because I think it's one of the best-looking BMWs ever made. So what does that tell ya? While you have a point, bear in mind that the X-Type could be had in the UK as a FWD 2.0 liter diesel ... IMHO, our all-AWD offerings with nothing less than a 2.5 V-6 were superior. The 3.0 put out the same peak power (227) as the contemporary Subaru WRX, except it was normally aspirated, so spread much more evenly down the rpm band. As one who has wanted to have a Jaguar for many years, finding an affordable one with the decent reliability of a Ford in a compact Quattro-like package with Jaguar looks was a delight. The Jaguar touches included a 'wood block metronome' indicator signal, actual (if kinda' ugly) wood on the dash, lovely leather sport seats, a nice English-accented lady in the nav system, screaming kitty roundels all around, and even the 'leaper' on the hood [The English can't get those! 'Pedestrian safety' regs or some such nonsense. ]! For sheer ego gratification, this thing is miles ahead of any BMW I've ever driven. I mean, we all know how the 'unwashed masses' are overly impressed with even the humblest of BMWs ("Ooh! You have a BMW? What's a '318'?"). Well, multiply that by ten ("Whoa! A red Jaguar!"). Seriously, this car turns heads everywhere. And, although I will always feel more comfortable and at home in my ratty old E28s, this is a very competent sedan to drive anywhere and under any conditions. Finally, and maybe best of all, the resale value isn't crap, so you can pick these up really cheaply, as I did (~half price just over a year old). I only wish they'd keep building 'em.
Sure, bigger engines will always be superior to the smaller ones, but that 2.0 diesel will be a helluva lot cheaper to buy than the larger 2.5. And, a helluva lot more economical. Wouldn't you like to have a "flashy" car (since you like it, call it a good-looking car) and turn heads while drawing 35-40mpg? Is that why there are just sooooo many old 80's and early 90's Fords running? Oh wait, there aren't that many. Actually, it's quite a pathetic number. And is that why every single person I know with a Focus has problems with it? And why the majority of late-90's Ford Explorers (and early 2000's) have squeaking suspensions and knocking noises and rattles every time you turn the wheel? I know at least some of them keep their cars in a maintained state... Sorry, it's not a knock on you, I just hate Ford with a passion... I'm a bit confused here; don't you mean the resale value is crap? If it wasn't crap, you wouldn't be able to buy a 1-year-old Jag for half the price...
To az 3579 I used to love my Ford. I had an 06 Mustang Gt convertible with a hurst short throw shifter. It's still a great car. I loved it for the first 2 years I owned it. Over the last year, I drove it less and less as we started taking my wifes new 3 series convertible everywhere! It's a completely different experience. I sold my Mustang this last week. I thought I'd keep that the rest of my life. It got to the point of wondering why I was keeping it. I drove it to work 3-4 days a week, an 18 miles round trip. Otherwise, we're riding with the Roundel everywhere we go. Now, I'm considering a 328xi or an X3 for my wife to drive year round. "Guess what I'll be driving in the Spring when the snow melts??"
Fast Forward 19 years................. "Hi..... I'm E39Chris525i's son and need help deciding on a car... Currently my family has a beat-to-crap 2001 E39 525i manual with 485,000 miles on it... an even older 1987 528e automatic with an odometer that quit after 275,000 miles fifteen years ago, a 2003 E46 325xi, a 2025 X10 7.8e (electric) w/ 37 speed transmission, a 2021 .01225ei hybrid with cvt-m-a-smg tranny, and 2027 E9762 M9 with the psychic mind-reading anticipative transmission. Since Pops, stingy old coot that he is, says there's a snowball's chance in hell I'll ever be ALLOWED in the M9, that's out - but.. the plan is for me to take the X10 to college, but its 32 person carrying capacity is way more car than I need to transport 1 person who rarely, if ever, needs a utility vehicle. Kelly Blue Book says the X10 is worth around $730k. Which BMW is best to replace it with in that price bracket ( + or - ~$300k). I am looking for a fun car, ideally an E9759 M8.8, that I can take to the track or autocross events, but one that isn't too powerful (I mean, seriously, who needs over 3800 hp?) for an 18 year old and is easy on insurance. I am also looking to eventually upgrade the car aesthetically and possibly performance wise. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!"
I am on the ground LMAO while my co-workers think I'm on crack. Well put. LOL. I'm about to start another thread which unfortunately won't be as epic as this thread .
Well, there's your basic problem. You refuse to consider that Ford may build a decent car once in awhile. "You can't put too much water into a nuclear reactor."
Ford has made a few good cars in about 100 years: Ford GT Ford GT Ford GT 67 Mustang GT 500 Ford Model T?
Pick other models. I've seen some pretty strange stories about the early GT's. And, all GT's built up to I think 2005 were recalled for some reason I don't remember. Then there were stories about how there were leaks in many of the engines and some other stuff I can't remember. For such an expensive car, you'd think Ford would get it right? Nope. But, I've got to hand it to them; at least they had the balls to recall all of those models and at least try to fix most of the problems customers were having. And the Model T? Terribly complicated to drive.
I suspect he may have been referring to the Ford GT that won LeMans. That would be the GT40 in 1966, 1968, & 1969 (A Ford Mk IV won in '67; the same car won in '68 & '69). Or maybe he means the three that finished 1-2-3 in 1966. Compared to a modern manual shift car? Not really. Just different. The Model A was also a workhorse for its time. The year after it ceased production, Ford introduced one of the most successful V8s in history: the flathead (1932). Following that, there was the small block in ~1962 that powered not only the first Mustangs, but both the Sunbeam Tiger and the AC Cobra Anglo-American 'hybrids'. I'm a big BMW fan, but I'm not so BMW-centric that I don't appreciate other great cars - and there are lots of them, from almost every manufacturer in the world. OK; not Trabant ...
