Clarksons GT 40

mike65

ooops!

Ford will not be too chuffed with this sort of coverage - you could'nt buy it!

So there we are. A 35-year dream. A two-year wait. Ten years of damn hard work. And what do I get? The most miserable month’s motoring it is possible to imagine.

Strangely, however, as the GT rumbled down my drive for the last time, I felt like Julie Walters watching Michael Caine getting on the plane at the end of Educating Rita. I actually cried.

There’s a very good reason for this. I genuinely believe that some machines have a soul and I can’t bear to think of my Ford sitting in a warehouse now, unloved and unwanted. It is fine. It is perfect. It knows it’s a great, great car that was ruined by a useless ape who fitted a crummy aftermarket alarm system.

Ford has said I can buy the car back any time. It has even lent me an Aston Martin DB9 while I make up my mind. I don’t know though. I just don’t know.

Normally I finish these columns with an opinion of mine. But this time it’s the other way round. I’d love to hear yours.

Mike.

unkel

Not too sure what to think of this story. Some minor electrical problems and he asks for his money back after all the trouble he went through in getting the car?

Verdict So good you can have mine
Rating Five stars

I'm starting to think the car is not as good as he thought at all. Looks like he's been Clarksoned :eek:

Johnny Storm

Clarkson used to be funny......

drdre

yeah i seen this in the sunday times, he did deserve his money back.he waited so long for the car and spent too much for it.so there should have been no probs with it.

DubTony

This quote from his column

I then did something the man at Ford wasn’t expecting. I asked for my money back.

And that, the next day, is what happened.

They put £126,000 in my account and sent a man to pick up the car

He then went on to say that he'd never profit from being a motoring journalist. It could be said that he has.

He didn't get a letter back from the Ford warranty manager saying that the technician's report stated that everything was operating normally He didn't have a muppet technician drive his new GT for 26 minutes (covering only 6 miles) and confirm that it was working perfectly. No, he just said "Gimme me money back" and he got it.

I'm going on about a Renault Megane auto my wife got early last year. Dodgy auto box lost power on acceleration in second gear (A sort of vroom - eh - vroom thing). Renault gave us no satisfaction. In the end she traded it and lost a packet. Anyway, point is, if my name was Jeremy Clarkson would I have gotten my money back?


I successfully discouraged a friend from buying a new Laguna by telling him my Megane problem and that they were pieces of crap. He bought a Nissan instead. :mad:

Nuttzz

DubTony wrote:

This quote from his column




I successfully discouraged a friend from buying a new Laguna by telling him my Megane problem and that they were pieces of crap. He bought a Nissan instead. :mad:

who are more or less owned by Renault

fletch

Surprised he didn't mention this in tonights show

John R

"Yes Mr. Clarkson, you can have your money back as long as you don't say another word about our car."

unkel

I'm disappointed Jeremy didn't call a spade a spade on this occasion like he usually does - to be more pointed: a Ford GT is not what he thought it would be - why else would he demand his money back? Surely not for some basic electrical problems?

I'm getting quite suspicious now too. Ford has done a truly astonishing job in bringing in quality control over the last 10 years. Then Jaguars were as reliable as Ladas, now the're more reliable than Mercedes-Benz

Only managed to catch the last 30 mins of Top Gear tonight (I don't see it at all most Sundays) and the piece about the Oslo run was lame in the extreme tbh

DubTony

Nuttzz wrote:

who are more or less owned by Renault

Lock, stock and barrel I believe.

OfflerCrocGod

Yes, I get the feeling that the GT 40 is actually a lot less satisfying then Clarkson is actually letting on. It was his childhood dream car after all, I doubt he'd want to trash it.

green-blood

" It was his childhood dream car after all"

should have bought a GT40 then and not a retro design FORD GT, if he believes cars have soul (which I do) he'd know you can't photocopy an outline and transfer the soul to a new model, VW failed with the new Beetle, BMW failed with the BINI and now the Ford GT

lomb

he can sell it at a 50 grand profit if he wants, its worth 170 stg and he paid a lot less.

the jew

I kinda felt sorry for his troubles, but then remembered, he spent £126,000 on a car.

MercMad

should have bought a GT40 then and not a retro design FORD GT, if he believes cars have soul (which I do)

.............dont you remember.................he tried !

But he couldn't fit into the thing !!!

So exactly what was wrong with the car ? Did it let him down, leave him stranded or wtf ?

528i

green-blood wrote:

" It was his childhood dream car after all"

should have bought a GT40 then and not a retro design FORD GT, if he believes cars have soul (which I do) he'd know you can't photocopy an outline and transfer the soul to a new model, VW failed with the new Beetle, BMW failed with the BINI and now the Ford GT

each of those have been an overwhelming success, soul me arse, its the bottom line what counts at the end of the day

Praetorian

He should have had a little more patience and kept his dream car. An experience like this would annoy me to no end, but I wouldn't give up on the car. A wire loose somewhere. £126,000 seems like a bargain to me

kaimera

I want one.

CBG gave it 5*.

if not :: gimme THIS! Maybach Exelero

DubTony

528i wrote:

each of those have been an overwhelming success, soul me arse, its the bottom line what counts at the end of the day

The bottom line? 528i, I thought you'd have been more interested in the red line

green-blood

tbh I think he's been doing too many white lines...

dudara

unkel wrote:

I'm disappointed Jeremy didn't call a spade a spade on this occasion like he usually does - to be more pointed: a Ford GT is not what he thought it would be - why else would he demand his money back? Surely not for some basic electrical problems?

I'm getting quite suspicious now too. Ford has done a truly astonishing job in bringing in quality control over the last 10 years. Then Jaguars were as reliable as Ladas, now the're more reliable than Mercedes-Benz

From what I understood in the article, it seems that the alarm was retro-fitted by another company. But still, it seems a bit odd that he didn't go the bother of changing the alarm.

And if you weren't Clarkson, would you get an Aston Martin to keep you happy while you make your mind up?

FX Meister

Well if you were the type of customer that can get their hands on, and pay for a GT them I'm sure you could get an Aston Martin while you made your mind up.

RicardoSmith

I'm happy for him. Hes an idiot. The car has an alarm problem. If it really was his dream car he would and couldafford to get a better alarm fitted. But instead he makes a song and dance about it, and returns it. The man is a moaning wuzz. Top Gear used to be about cars. and driving Now its about Clarksons image and him whining on about some drivel.

unkel

RicardoSmith wrote:

Hes an idiot. The car has an alarm problem. If it really was his dream car he would and couldafford to get a better alarm fitted. But instead he makes a song and dance about it, and returns it

You're missing my point. I don't believe it was just an alarm problem. I'm getting the feeling JC realised the car is nowhere near as good as he initially thought (and hoped and dreamt) it was going to be. Then he just uses the easy way out by reporting a, no doubt genuine, issue with the aftermarket alarm system

I sure hope I am wrong

astec123

Unkel is correct, I was reading a book by him, not sure what the title is but it was an early 90s one and it reviewed loads of exotic machines. His GT40 one was the only one you could see no passion in, he loved the thing from day one, so to be offered the chance of your dream car/home/better half like ford offered him he snapped it up. Clarkson has had a lot of other problems that he has not as publically announced such as the start up problem (which was mentioned a few weeks back on Top Gear), there are others beyond this and if I remember correctly the car has had about 1/4 of the time since it arrived in working order, the rest its been broken and unusable so he is well within his rights to get the thing returned.

I dont like the new GT 40 its not a GT40 any more, the original was 40inches high this is 42/3 (not totally sure) so I dont like that plus about a hundred other reasons I dont like it.

528i

I reckon he's pretending it was only an alarm problem (having received 50k to keep his mouth shut) and that it was infact riddled with electrical faults from the outset.

It is after all, a Ford.

astec123

Correct its a crappy ford, we had an Escort in 00 and it had a brakes problem, if it was washed and put in the garage the next day most of the time it would have the handbrake locked on, the ford dealer in cork (CAB motors) did nothing they kept saying the car was fine, even the mechanic that came to get the car out of the garage had to make an almighty thud to get the car to go anywhere. The handbrake could be taken off and it would still sit there lurching. Good on you ford, you pissed of probably the most important man in motoring with your GT and me with your crappy escort. But clarkson has had numberous problems from the outset.

dahamsta

Slight difference between a mass-produced Ford Escargot and a hand-built GT40. Not that I'd touch either of them with a barge pole.

adam

bmoferrall

If he really wanted to keep the Ford I'm sure those problems could have been ironed out easily enough.

I think the F430 might have something to do with his decision to offload the Ford (it will be interesting to see if he buys one):

"Two hundred years from now, when all this environmental claptrap has been exposed as a sham, and engineers can once again devote themselves to creativity and excellence without having to worry about the trees and otters, someone, somewhere may well build a car as good as the Ferrari F430.

It’s the new baby in Ferrari’s range and it is, quite simply, the best car I’ve ever driven, not just when you’re hurtling along at Mach 7 but also on the motorway, and in town and on country lanes. In every environment, it rides, goes, stops and handles in a way that other car makers will tell you is impossible. "

Lucky he tucked the following comments in a less conspicuous review of the Octavia:

"So next week, finally, I’ll have my GT.

And, of course, I won’t mind two hoots that it’s completely outclassed by the new Ferrari. Indeed, I shall have a handy list of oven-ready retorts if you dare to suggest I’ve bought the wrong car. I don’t know what those retorts might be yet but they’ll almost certainly involve shoving a traffic cone right up your jacksie."

Full article:

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,12529-1620582,00.html

unkel

So we were right then, thanks bmoferrall for the proof

Jeremy has lost a lot of my respect over this

rabbitinlights

Its not as if he can just say to ford, "I actually want the ferrari, please let me return the GT", So publicly he would have to have a reason......

unkel

rabbitinlights wrote:

Its not as if he can just say to ford, "I actually want the ferrari, please let me return the GT", So publicly he would have to have a reason......

He could have just mentioned the problems in his column and also that he had fallen in love with the Ferrari. He would have had no difficulties at all in selling the Ford, rather than being the drama queen and demanding his money back while still giving it 5 stars :rolleyes:

528i

At the end of the day whether or not the cars any better or quicker than a 430, its the badge that counts.

Turning up to a vile ford dealership for some incompetent fás-type imbeciles to maul your expensive supercar doesn't seem right. And lets face it, you could be there every other week as it's a Ford

I'd say clarkson will buy a murcielago next.

unkel

528i wrote:

I'd say clarkson will buy a murcielago next.

Or at least, he should

drdre

clarkson should have sold it at a profit:D

Ernie Ball

"Two hundred years from now, when all this environmental claptrap has been exposed as a sham, and engineers can once again devote themselves to creativity and excellence without having to worry about the trees and otters, someone, somewhere may well build a car as good as the Ferrari F430.

Joke's on him. He'll be lucky if there's any petrol left in 50 years, let alone 200.

RicardoSmith

unkel wrote:

You're missing my point. I don't believe it was just an alarm problem. I'm getting the feeling JC realised the car is nowhere near as good as he initially thought (and hoped and dreamt) it was going to be. Then he just uses the easy way out by reporting a, no doubt genuine, issue with the aftermarket alarm system

I sure hope I am wrong

My point is. Theres nothing about clarkson thats genuine.

528i wrote:

At the end of the day whether or not the cars any better or quicker than a 430, its the badge that counts.

Turning up to a vile ford dealership for some incompetent fás-type imbeciles to maul your expensive supercar doesn't seem right. And lets face it, you could be there every other week as it's a Ford

I'd say clarkson will buy a murcielago next.

I think your badge snobbery is reaching new level there 528i...

As for slagging FAS...
http://www.fas.ie/information_and_publications/press_releases/pr_2003_3.html

Blitzkrieger

You know I've never heard of a major problem with a Ford. I owned one myself, my father owned six and loads of my friends had and still have Fords. The fact that they're top of the reliability index speaks volumes. The reliability index ranks manufacturers average number of faults (Ford were seventh or something) against the average cost of repair. Ford won by a mile. In contrast Mazda (owned by Ford) came first for reliability and fourth in the index. Seventh isn't that bad a result either, considering the amount of manufacturers out there and the fact that Ford owned three of the top six.

jayok

The fact that they're top of the reliability index speaks volumes.

What reliability index was that? By any chance was it sponsored by Ford? Any reliability index I've seen tends to put the Japanese manufacturers at the top (Lexus, Honda, Toyota, etc).

DubTony

jayok wrote:

What reliability index was that? By any chance was it sponsored by Ford? Any reliability index I've seen tends to put the Japanese manufacturers at the top (Lexus, Honda, Toyota, etc).

.... and maybe Mazda?

whippet

just an observation .... I reckon every mass produced manufactor of motor seems to be slated on these boards, VAG, GM, Ford ..etc .. apart from the (in my opinion extremely dull) toyota's you can't buy a mass market car with out the fear of being told that you are after buying an unreliable pos.

Do we all have to look at €100k + hand built motors to buy a decent car?

ssh

Blitzkrieger wrote:

You know I've never heard of a major problem with a Ford. I owned one myself, my father owned six and loads of my friends had and still have Fords. The fact that they're top of the reliability index speaks volumes. The reliability index ranks manufacturers average number of faults (Ford were seventh or something) against the average cost of repair. Ford won by a mile. In contrast Mazda (owned by Ford) came first for reliability and fourth in the index. Seventh isn't that bad a result either, considering the amount of manufacturers out there and the fact that Ford owned three of the top six.

Ford own 33% of Mazda. I don't think you can derive anything from Mazda's reputation about Ford's attitudes towards reliablity. Not that I'm necassarily knocking it, mind you...

ssh

whippet wrote:

just an observation .... I reckon every mass produced manufactor of motor seems to be slated on these boards, VAG, GM, Ford ..etc .. apart from the (in my opinion extremely dull) toyota's you can't buy a mass market car with out the fear of being told that you are after buying an unreliable pos.

Do we all have to look at €100k + hand built motors to buy a decent car?

What about BMW? VW?

They both make and sell an awful lot of cars and people here tend to be very complimentary about their reliability.

Blitzkrieger

jayok wrote:

What reliability index was that? ................Any reliability index I've seen tends to put the Japanese manufacturers at the top (Lexus, Honda, Toyota, etc).

I didn't say reliability survey.

Oh.........and not all Toyotas are dull.

kermit_ie

http://www.reliabilityindex.co.uk/top10.html?apc=3128339010848601

Squirrel

ssh wrote:

What about BMW? VW?

They both make and sell an awful lot of cars and people here tend to be very complimentary about their reliability.

You do know VW are part of the VAG group, the first in whippet's list

RicardoSmith

ssh wrote:

What about BMW? VW?

They both make and sell an awful lot of cars and people here tend to be very complimentary about their reliability.

BMW have only recently raised their game. They used not to be all that great either. My experience of German cars, and that of anyone I know hasn't been all that great. In terms of reliability. Whereas the Japs have been excellent. The myth german reliability is a great marketing spin. It doesn't quite match the reality.

Squirrel

RicardoSmith wrote:

BMW have only recently raised their game. They used not to be all that great either. My experience of German cars, and that of anyone I know hasn't been all that great. In terms of reliability. Whereas the Japs have been excellent. The myth german reliability is a great marketing spin. It doesn't quite match the reality.

Japanese cars are reliable
German cars have a feeling of quality which is something completely different

RicardoSmith

Squirrel wrote:

Japanese cars are reliable
German cars have a feeling of quality which is something completely different

Ummm they have a better stand of interior. But if you compared the mechanical quality of the gear change of a Honda Civic to a Golf or Astra, there Honda is miles better. A friend of mine has a 2 yrs old Porsche which he bought from new. After changing from a 10yr old car his many complaint with the Porsche has been the poor build quality of some parts of the car. Never occured to me that you'd have that kind of a problem. I've heard the same from people with new Golf (Mrk IV)'s.

Squirrel

RicardoSmith wrote:

Ummm they have a better stand of interior. But if you compared the mechanical quality of the gear change of a Honda Civic to a Golf or Astra, there Honda is miles better. A friend of mine has a 2 yrs old Porsche which he bought from new. After changing from a 10yr old car his many complaint with the Porsche has been the poor build quality of some parts of the car. Never occured to me that you'd have that kind of a problem. I've heard the same from people with new Golf (Mrk IV)'s.

The new Golf is the Mk V btw,

It depends on the car really, I've found the interiors on the cars my family have owned to be well put together, we've had all Japanese bar 1 Korean since I've been born, but some of my friends cars (BMW and Hyundai - like I have) have been fairly sh1tty tbh

RicardoSmith

Squirrel wrote:

The new Golf is the Mk V btw...

I was talking of people who bought new Mrk IV's, back in 1998/1999.