An Internet friend from the UK posted a picture of someone who had a Shelby GT500 over there - the last generation. 700 hp or so, fuel that is $8 - I’d say he really wanted that car and was willing deal with the weaknesses you described driving one over there.

V6 Mustangs are the SAE measurement but they use the metric system in Europe which is based on the Fiesta ST.

The only problem with the NC’s was that the hardtop was no quieter than the regular droptop. The Hardtops on NA/NB/NC do reduce wind noise significantly, but in turn amplify the road noise exponentially.

With the regular car the road noise sort of dissipates through the soft top. With a hardtop it bounces back into…

Yeah I would have to agree that it’s getting a bit pricey. A nice used S2000 for 2/3 the price is a pretty compelling alternative. I have owned (and loved) a couple Mazda’s and also agree that the build quality is somewhat wanting.

The geartrain is an updated version of the NC’s power hardtop.
That one was bulletproof, so its safe to assume the new will be as well.

I have lived in SG for ~15 months, and I’m looking forward to returning to the US. I miss my freedoms... I hate the idea that the media is controlled by the government, and hate the idea of the restrictions put on people here. Living here as a foreigner means I don’t have to deal with a lot of it, but I would hate the…

Newspapers, blogs, television etc. are not allowed to report something like ‘A white man killed a black man’ or ‘A Muslim killed a Christian.’ All they are allowed to say is ‘a man killed another man’.

Now that’s how a civilized society works.

There’s also the very rare Rapid Cabriolet.

now he’s looking for his last car—ever

Before the Sierra pickup, there was the Cortina pickup (started with the Mark III)

You’re essentially getting a brand new, hand-built car and a piece of American motoring heritage at the same time with one of these.

In the early ‘60's Shelby was starting with AC Ace’s, which were available to him quite cheaply. Plus I expect the cost of the skilled artisans needed to build these to the standards now expected is a lot higher than the talented hot rodders Shelby was able to recruit cheaply when the SoCal area was teeming with them.

Nah. Do a dangerous thing often enough and it WILL kill you.

The average person doesn’t know how to do that. The geo-locking is to help filter out most people, probably as per some agreements they have that don’t give them international rights.

I am not saying that the driving aids, electronic nannies, HUD, rules etc. has no contribution to safety. They may or may not contribute; AFAIK in general, what’s widely accepted and implemented is proven to have significant safety benefits.

Yup.

I suppose the biggest hurdle to coachbuilt cars making a comeback is that most cars today don’t have a separate frame. Make a new body, you basically have to make a whole new car.

I think beardy pony tail bloke is on to something: there are lots o’ young ones trying to grab attention with a car, which inevitably leads to shouty and crass attention grabbers like special edition lambos or chrome wrapped bugattis.

is that like “cream of mushroom?”