Sucky Fords

[Turtle1217]

Choose one:
Civic si
Jetta GTI VR6
Integra RSX Type S
SVT Focus
Celica GTR

Certain Friends told me any import will beat any ford in anywhich category...so I have seen a thread lately with these 5 (and a WRX and 350Z thrown in for some reason) compared and am interested to see what everybody on this sight has to say


I would probably pick up an svt focus for the simple fact that it has won every comparo in every magazine I have read with it in it, it’s low price and excellent warranty; or possibly the RSX Type S with it’s 200 horses and great price tag. The celica is a nice car up to 20,000 miles when you have to rebuild the poorly engineered 6 speed, the civic si is over priced and under powered, the GTI VR6 is just overpriced. And I would willingly put a equally priced ford up against any of your rice burners, and the sad thing is about rice is you could get a mustang gt for thousands less than a 350Z and leave a Z owner eating your sucky ford dust.

[TatII]

what does this have to do with car comparison?

you can't compare straight line power with price. while fords give up certain things like refinement for raw power. i have mentioned in earlier in other threads that when you build a car with a set target price, you have to give up certain things for other things. so since americans mostly focus on straight line power, and american cars were designed to be mostly sold for the american market. they put the biggest engine in there with the cheapest way to get hp, everything else is really second priority.

the japanese cars are more of a global market, so they have to design cars that will satisfy the handling needs of small european roads, and handling for japanese market, yet have decent straight line ability for the u.s. market. they have to build it to be balanced in almost everyway possible.

thats my 2 cent. you can argue that all you want about going straight for the money. but the Z in my opinion is more refined, handles better. the main thing to look at in my opinion for how much more balanced the car is overall designed will be to look at its sales globally.

the Z was car of hte year on top gear magazine last year, i doubt the stang gt will ever even get near that rank world wide in australia, new zealand, japan, europe, hong kong, korea, etc etc.

[DinanM3_S2]

1) The sporty version of the Jetta is called the GLi, not the GTi. The GTi is a Golf.

2) out of those 5, I would go with either the RSX-S, or the VW GLi 1.8t (cheaper then the VR6). The RSX-S because of the luxury car interior and the i-VTec engine. Good handling for this class too. The GLi because the 1.8t w/ chip is both stronger and cheaper then a stock VR6, plus its interior is bigger then the RSX, and almost as luxurious.

3) Finally, I don't agree that Ford isn't as good as imports. The Mustang GT is argueably the best performance deal out there. I would take one over a 350z or RX8 any day. 300hp for $25,000 is amazing. Also, the Ford GT kicks the crap out of the 360 Modena, 911 Turbo, GT3, and GT2. However in other segments, Ford does struggle a little.

[nbw]

I hear the SVT Focus's handle very well. I guess I would choose it or the RSX-S.

actualy if i had the money i would go SRT4 but...

[Rod&Custom]

the Z was car of hte year on top gear magazine last year, i doubt the stang gt will ever even get near that rank world wide in australia, new zealand, japan, europe, hong kong, korea, etc etc.

Too bad the Z will never have the following or history of the Ford Mustang which sold over 100,000 cars in it's first 90 days in '64, and 160,000 by the end of that half year. Also, the Stang has and extremely succesful Trans Am racing history. If you don't know, Trans Am racing is road racing, and has nothing to do with straight line racing. Needless to say, I would go with a Ford any day.

[Turtle1217]

I watched the first race of Trans Am last week where the mustangs finished 1, 2 behind a couple of porches i believe. No arguing with the handling of the stang in the twisties, although those porches did look pretty mean too.

[Jimster]

Originally Posted by Rod&Custom

Too bad the Z will never have the following or history of the Ford Mustang which sold over 100,000 cars in it's first 90 days in '64, and 160,000 by the end of that half year. Also, the Stang has and extremely succesful Trans Am racing history. If you don't know, Trans Am racing is road racing, and has nothing to do with straight line racing. Needless to say, I would go with a Ford any day.

You uhhhh.... Do KNOW the history behind the Nissan Z Car don't you?


The name Datsun 240Z ring any bells? Try finding a decent 240Z for cheap these days. You simply won't because the following is simply huge.

Though much like the Mustang the Z got worse with age. The 260Z was nowhere near as good as the 240, the 280ZX was crap, the Z31 300ZX was the lowest of lows and then it got better with the 1989 Z32 300ZX and we now have the pretty damn good 350Z.

The Mustang went from good to bad to worse to good again in the same way that the Z did.

A little history lesson for you.

[Rod&Custom]

Definitely the Z nameplate has a history, because even I have heard of it, and I am all for the American end of vehicles. I am just saying that I don't think that anything could ever match the excitement that Ford made when the Mustang was introduced in '64. I doubt that it will ever be matched. Also, I hate the arguement of "muscle cars can't turn", and Mustangs are classified in with that. The pony cars, Mustang, Camaro, and Firebird, were good at road racing, and Mustang and Camaro went on to rule the Trans Am Racing series. Firebird didn't compete in that series, even though there top model was the Trans Am Firebird. This was due to the 400 ci small block, and the TA series only accepted motors that were 5.0l and under. Sorry, just wanted to prove that Mustangs don't just drag race, and actually helped bring road racing to the forefront. Sorry for the rant.

[kman10587]

Rod&Custom: It's all good, and I completely agree with you, I hate it when people assume that muscle cars can only drag race. And you're right, I doubt the Z will ever match the "hype" of the Mustang when it first came out. That said, it still has a very large following, plenty of aftermarket support, an almost instantly recognizable name, and impressive bang-for-buck. I have always considered the Z to be Japan's Mustang: a cheap and fast RWD coupe that really iconifies that country's sports car scene.

[DinanM3_S2]

Originally Posted by Turtle1217

I watched the first race of Trans Am last week where the mustangs finished 1, 2 behind a couple of porches i believe. No arguing with the handling of the stang in the twisties, although those porches did look pretty mean too.

porch?

[SuperHighOutput]

IMO the Focus is the best small car on the market.

[MexSiR]

Originally Posted by DinanM3_S2

porch?

Thats some fucked up humor.

Lol.

[Jimster]

Originally Posted by SuperHighOutput

IMO the Focus is the best small car on the market.

not really any more. It once was, but even the new one is left behind by the new Opel Astra and Mk V Volkswagen Golf. The car handles brilliantly, but any engine short of the one in the ST170 lacks fizz.

[SuperHighOutput]

Originally Posted by Jimster

not really any more. It once was, but even the new one is left behind by the new Opel Astra and Mk V Volkswagen Golf. The car handles brilliantly, but any engine short of the one in the ST170 lacks fizz.

Let me rephrase my statement, the Focus is the best small car on the market in the US. The 2.3 Duratec is a good little motor.

[mason_RsX]

I would say the the best small car on the market would be the Mazda3, which is closely related to the focus. IMO it looks better inside and out, the Mazda designed 161hp 2.3L is better than the Duratec (I believe its mazda designed, not 100%) and its a nice step up on the amazingly fun to drive Protege