Well, after 17 days enroute from DE to CA, the dealer finally got their demo. As promised, I took off from work and drove as fast as my 10yr old SL would with 165k miles on it would go. Made it to the dealer and took a Red/black interior/chrome rims for a drive. Unfortunately it was raining and cold so had to keep the top up and couldn't take turns to fast for fear of spinning.
I have to say that I think I'm going to have alot of fun in this car. I pretty much had the same complaints that everyone else has (crappy cup holders, storage put in the wierdest places, couldn't get the glove box shut with the owners manual in it)... so I'll spare you the reading.
I did hear what I think was the clunk in the lower gears. It wasn't as loud as I expected it to be from reading the forums but it was noticeable but didn't seem bad. none of the negatives listed above really bother me, its a 24k roadster so I expected as much. The only thing that I thought it lacked was power. I grew up on classic mustangs with 400+ hp and this is my first 4 cyl. sporty car so I keep trying to tell myself to not expect anything like that outta the sky but old habits die hard. After a mile or two of getting used to the clutch and feel of the car, I nailed it.. it does have a bit of pep but I didn't feel anything near the "sink in your seat" feeling that many describe feeling. I had it pegged up thru 3rd gear before I thought I might be scaring my salesperson so backed off. it was fairly quick but I am sure now that I'll be putting money in aftermarket.
I did have a chance to take a few turns at speed and it handled a million times better than any classic 'stang I've driven but your talking 30+ years difference in technology so I would hope so and not only that, you can't really compare the 2 types of cars as each was built with a totally different purpose on life.
Overall... loved it!!! you probably can't tell from my remarks but I worked a 14 hr day on about 4 hours of sleep so I'm probably not as clear as I could be.
Anyone waiting in the Santa Rosa area.... get down there and drive it!!! tons of fun. I bumped the odometer up to about 36 miles.. hehe
I took a real good look at the brackets in the trunk... only thing I can figure is support of the clamshell. I did read that the sol's calmshell could shift to the side after slamming the trunk shut from one side or the other instead of from the middle..... I wonder if the brackets were put there to prevent that??
what else... hmmm. ah... sounds wimpy as anything when revving at a standstill but put in gear and it sounds pretty good from the inside... didn't get a chance to hear it drive away from the outside. deep growl thru the gears. I had the sales person rev the engine at a standstill and I recorded it with my Cell phone.... was so quiet, not even worth posting. I will try to get a sound byte of it zipping past me for those interested.
Anyone want anypics of something specific? Its only about 10 mins away from me so I can stop by and take pics if needed.
more anxious than ever now!
I have to say that I think I'm going to have alot of fun in this car. I pretty much had the same complaints that everyone else has (crappy cup holders, storage put in the wierdest places, couldn't get the glove box shut with the owners manual in it)... so I'll spare you the reading.
I did hear what I think was the clunk in the lower gears. It wasn't as loud as I expected it to be from reading the forums but it was noticeable but didn't seem bad. none of the negatives listed above really bother me, its a 24k roadster so I expected as much. The only thing that I thought it lacked was power. I grew up on classic mustangs with 400+ hp and this is my first 4 cyl. sporty car so I keep trying to tell myself to not expect anything like that outta the sky but old habits die hard. After a mile or two of getting used to the clutch and feel of the car, I nailed it.. it does have a bit of pep but I didn't feel anything near the "sink in your seat" feeling that many describe feeling. I had it pegged up thru 3rd gear before I thought I might be scaring my salesperson so backed off. it was fairly quick but I am sure now that I'll be putting money in aftermarket.
I did have a chance to take a few turns at speed and it handled a million times better than any classic 'stang I've driven but your talking 30+ years difference in technology so I would hope so and not only that, you can't really compare the 2 types of cars as each was built with a totally different purpose on life.
Overall... loved it!!! you probably can't tell from my remarks but I worked a 14 hr day on about 4 hours of sleep so I'm probably not as clear as I could be.
Anyone waiting in the Santa Rosa area.... get down there and drive it!!! tons of fun. I bumped the odometer up to about 36 miles.. hehe
I took a real good look at the brackets in the trunk... only thing I can figure is support of the clamshell. I did read that the sol's calmshell could shift to the side after slamming the trunk shut from one side or the other instead of from the middle..... I wonder if the brackets were put there to prevent that??
what else... hmmm. ah... sounds wimpy as anything when revving at a standstill but put in gear and it sounds pretty good from the inside... didn't get a chance to hear it drive away from the outside. deep growl thru the gears. I had the sales person rev the engine at a standstill and I recorded it with my Cell phone.... was so quiet, not even worth posting. I will try to get a sound byte of it zipping past me for those interested.
Anyone want anypics of something specific? Its only about 10 mins away from me so I can stop by and take pics if needed.
more anxious than ever now!
