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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
VA VA VA Vroom!
Drooling under the influence
of a driver's dreamAt least three of the six Hawaii Ford dealers will be receiving an allocation of at least one new 2005 GT. It is the pulse-quickening, eye-bugging, way-cool, 5.4 liter, V8, 500-horsepower muscle car that is the centerpiece of the automaker's centennial celebration.
The company bought 60 seconds of Super Bowl time to debut its GT commercial titled "The One." During its filming on a race track, the car hit 140 mph and outran a helicopter. The driver never shifted above fourth gear. Two versions of the commercial, as well as the "making of," can be viewed at www.fordvehicles.com/fordgt .
Mike McKenna's Windward Ford will be rewarded with a GT to sell, as the dealership won a company President's Award.
COURTESY PHOTO The others don't know who they are yet, and Ford Division Public Affairs spokesman Miles Johnson couldn't say.
"I can't identify them. The letters haven't gone out informing them yet."
Ford will build an average of 1,500 GTs a year, beginning in April or May, he said. It has about 3,800 dealers in the country, which clearly means not all dealerships will be awarded the racing-inspired, rarefied ride.
"The President's Award-winning dealers will be receiving at least one GT," Johnson said. The next tier of dealers will be awarded an allocation based on overall vehicle sales in their region.
The three soon-to-be-letter-receiving Hawaii dealers Johnson referenced were on that list.
"If they are one of the top-grossing dealers saleswise, that's a reward."
The next tier of dealer allocations will be based on a lottery, he said.
So will Mike McKenna be seen tooling around Kailua once the wheels arrive?
"We'll probably take it around the block, but we've all agreed we're not going to drive that car (very far)," McKenna said, preferring to leave that privilege to the buyer.
Ford calls its GT "The pace car for an entire company." It is available in Screaming Yellow, Mark IV Red, metallic Midnight Blue, metallic Quick Silver, Mark II Black and Centennial White with or without racing stripes.
It has a base price of $139,995, between the $110,000 Porsche 911 GT3 and the $200,000 Ferrari Challenge Stradale, whose aft sections the Ford GT assaulted in a toe-to-toe test published in the January Car and Driver magazine. The story is archived at caranddriver.com.
Oh, there was also the famed, Ferrari-fanny-kicking 1-2-3 finish at Le Mans in 1966. The original Ford GT40 series was responsible for that and other wins that lasted through 1969.
The new GT debuted at the North American International Auto Show in January 2002 as a concept car. Its addition to the production schedule was announced mere weeks later.
Taking another cue from the past, Ford debuted the Shelby Cobra concept at the 2004 show last month. Just in case you'd stopped drooling, it is designed with a 6.4 liter, 605 horsepower V10 engine.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com
