Ford Are a Bunch of Pussies.

So, I had just gotten my newest issue (May '09) of Motor Trend in the mail today. They finally get a good, descriptive road test of the Hyundai Genesis 3.8 coupe. Not surprisingly, they found it great fun to drive, and a very capable player in its segment. Surprisingly however the auto-trans-equipped car is faster than the standard shifter, due to the auto actually having more aggressive gearing, and it runs on regular gas, whereas everyone else (Namely 370Z, RX8, 135i, Mustang GT) have to run on premium. They did have a few disappointments: jittery ride at times, “numb”, "gluey feel" steering, and a "rubbery shifter", but overall they loved the car.

But a few pages ahead of the road test, EIC Angus MacKenzie lets us in on a disappointing turn of events. Hyundai was all up for a comparo test against the 2010 Mustang GT, offering cars, colors, and locations; whatever was needed.

However, Ford was a little less enthusiastic:

"...But when we called Ford to ask for a Mustang GT, telling the Dearborn PR folks—as per our usual policy of full and fair disclosure—that we wanted to test it against Korea’s first-ever rear-drive coupe, their response was: ‘Uh…we’ll get back to you.’
We played phone tag the next couple of weeks. This was a story worth chasing…
…But Ford didn’t want us—or you—to find out. ‘If the Mustang wins,’ said a PR flack at one point during the torturous back-and-forth negotiations, ‘it’s still the king. If the Genesis wins, we’ve only made a hero out of a Korean upstart.’”

They eventually agreed not to do a direct, back-to-back comparison test. MacKenzie then later went on to say:

“But there was something else about all this that bothered me. In the same string of e-mail exchanges, Ford promised—promised—a Mustang GT would be made available for a comparison test against the new Camaro.
Wait. So it’s okay to pit the Mustang against an American car, but not a ‘Korean upstart’? This seemed much the same thinking that helped get Detroit in such a mess in the first place, when it refused to take those funny little Japanese imports seriously. Haven’t these guys learned anything?”

Now from all this you’d think that Ford was unsure of themselves (the PR guys obviously are), and that the Mustang just may be an inferior product to the new Genesis. Okay. So, as promised, there was a short, 1-page story on the Mustang that followed the story on the Genesis written by Ron Kiino that described the Mustang as opposed to the Genesis, but never really directly compared them or ranked them against each other. And here’s a big shock to the Ford PR guys, the headline’s subtitle reads “Armed with the reworked 2010 Mustang GT, Ford is still fearful of Hyundai’s new Genesis Coupe. After driving them both, we’re left wondering why.”

Yeah, that’s right, they liked the Mustang better than the Genesis. (Oddly enough, they also directly compared the Genesis against the 370Z, which Nissan obviously allowed, and they liked the Z better as well.)

They lauded the Mustang for its styling and performance…

“You sit down in the Mustang, as if nestled in a claw-foot tub, looking out over the raised dash at the relatively long, flat hood. With its higher beltline and broader shoulders, the Mustang imparts a sense of musclecar mass, a stark contrast to the Hyundai, whose sharply raked hood and character line, both of which slope aggressively toward the front, convey the feel of a sleek sport-compact.
Unsurprisingly, the Genesis Coupe comes across as a tad sharper, but the numbers contradict those senses. Not only is the new Mustang more agile than the Genesis—0.95 g on the skidpad (versus 0.90) and 25.5 seconds at 0.70 g in the figure eight (versus 26.2 at 0.67)—it’s also superior in 60-0 braking (108 feet versus 111) and at the drag strip, posting 0-to-60 and quarter-mile times at least a half-second quicker.”

And also preferred its interior…

“Plus, with the remodeled interior, the Mustang needn’t fret that the Genesis is boasting a more lavish crib.”

And just plain liked it better over all:

“Brawnier in feel and performance than the Hyundai, this 2010 is the most refined and capable Mustang GT we’ve ever sampled”

“The Mustang simply offers more speed, more agility, more fun. Yet, it’s more mature and refined. The Genesis is the car you take to the prom; the Mustang is the one you take to the reunion.”

“‘I’ve never said this about a Mustang before, but I’d own one of these GTs—worlds more flavorful than the Genesis Coupe.’ Notes editor at large Arthur St. Antoine.”

(It should also be noted that St. Antoine’s column in this same issue was about his short list of his top five favorite attainable new cars, and the Mustang GT Premium made that list…)

But don’t think for a second that MT was kissing Blue Oval ass just to allay their fears, and reassure them that the Mustang is indeed the better car. In both the “not-a-comparison” article, and the sum-up article at the end in which the Genesis’, the Mustang’s and the Z’s paper stats were shown, they did plenty of well-deserved trash talking, scathing and scorning:

“In an interview with Automotive News, in which he addressed Ford’s Economic woes, CEO Alan Mulally said, ‘Now we have in the pipeline what arguably everybody believes is the best product lineup we’ve ever had at Ford.’
Memo to Ford’s PR department: LISTEN TO YOUR BOSS.”

“Hey, Ford PR folk, have you driven one of these lately?”

“Conditions aside (see, Ford, it’s not that difficult), were we left to pick just one of these rear-drive rockets, we’d opt for the Mustang.”

“Although Ford was afraid the Genesis Coupe would make the Mustang look like a chump, the Hyundai has instead turned the Blue Oval’s ponycar into a champ. For being a scaredy cat, Ford now looks like the chump. Funny how things work out.”

Unfortunately, It doesn't look like they've posted any of the stories at Motortrend.com, but you're welcome to look.

I'm not reading all this bullshit.

I read it all... interesting. Sure sounded like they were kissing Ford's ass there at the end to me.

I got my free MT today and laughed at that.

I mean, come on, who is cross shopping these two? Anyone?

All the grown up ricer fucks are gonna spend Mommy and Daddy's money on the Genesis Coupe, and all the dumb blondes and older guys who remember what a real V8 RWD coupe USED to be are buying Mustangs.

I'd read the article on the site, so I'm pretty sure it's up there. The sports coupe shootouts have been disappointing because in most of them as in the one above, they've not been comparing cars directly. I've seen others where they had a Mustang and a Challenger together, then tested a Camaro separately. Testing cars on different days with different sets of drivers in different locations is not a fair comparison. In the above article, while the Mustang certainly had some advantages, there were some pretty close handling and braking numbers that might have turned out differently for both cars with identical track and weather conditions with the same testers.

To read an article where they practically said Ford didn't want us to do a fair direct comparison and we said okay because we need their free test cars and ad dollars is very shady.

I just read a small tidbit in Automobile and they compare the Genesis to the Infiniti G37. They say absolutely nothing about the Mustang or Camaro.

They do however give several pros and cons of the Genesis. Basically they made it out as if you want a Tiburon replacement, get the 4-cyl. If you want a true track car that has balls, get the V6 model.

1300ZUK wrote:I'm not reading all this bullshit.

Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realize that reading strained your brain so. Here, let me dumb it down for you with pretty pictures instead.

Hyundai Genesis=

Ford=

Genesis < Mustang

Motor Trend=

Motor Trend-> <-Ford

Is that a little better for your small brain to comprehend?

Dick.

Turbojett wrote:

1300ZUK wrote:I'm not reading all this bullshit.

Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realize that reading strained your brain so. Here, let me dumb it down for you with pretty pictures instead.

Hyundai Genesis=

Ford=

Genesis < Mustang

Motor Trend=

Motor Trend-> <-Ford

Is that a little better for your small brain to comprehend?

Dick.

thank you

aww...you took all the fun out of it...

lol @ ford and MT sucks. they should have just rented a fucking mustang from hertz.

Aristotle wrote:lol @ ford and MT sucks. they should have just rented a fucking mustang from hertz.

I think I'm done with cars dude. I just can't care about them anymore.

i still like them, but i don't really read the blogs or magazines that much. if i had a bunch of cash to waste, i'd probably be back into them, but i can't really be caught up worrying about shit that will never impact my life.

Aristotle wrote:i still like them, but i don't really read the blogs or magazines that much. if i had a bunch of cash to waste, i'd probably be back into them, but i can't really be caught up worrying about shit that will never impact my life.

Yeah. That's probably more where I'm at. I have my civic. It's a good car. Not going to be buying anything else for a while.

Aristotle wrote:i still like them, but i don't really read the blogs or magazines that much. if i had a bunch of cash to waste, i'd probably be back into them, but i can't really be caught up worrying about shit that will never impact my life.

That's why I read Automobile, they keep track of everything, but don't get all crazy with test drives. The did one complete issue on econo cars and all the supercar freaks crybabied to them.

I still subscribe to Motor Trend, not so much into R&T anymore. I still love cars and still find myself wanting to draw, but then I start on a drawing and never finish. I have God knows how many Camaros, GTRs, Corvettes, Astons, you name it, that never got finished. That's depressing.
I guess I just don't have enough drama in my life, or enough stress for me to have an outlet anymore, and that was all what really made me draw. That plus i think everybody I show my stuff to are becoming desensitized to it. They still like them, but it's like "Oh, another drawing?".