motor magazine doesnt like cobras

[redcar]

it may be old news but i just got janurary MOTOR today and not suprisingly a Cobra didnt rate well against a Lamborghini a Porsche and an M3 well it didnt even rate well against a Megane,shocked I am but they did say that when parked in country towns people only wanted to look at the GT and the Maloo . Poor old Cobra once again gets a media drubbing.

[exrtnz]

Originally Posted by redcar

it may be old news but i just got janurary MOTOR today and not suprisingly a Cobra didnt rate well against a Lamborghini a Porsche and an M3 well it didnt even rate well against a Megane,shocked I am but they did say that when parked in country towns people only wanted to look at the GT and the Maloo . Poor old Cobra once again gets a media drubbing.

Its the badge, if it had a holden badge they would still be raving about it, but they tend to like very little from the blue oval.

[Fev]

they loved the Ba's when they first came out, its just once the VE came out the latest from ford which pretty much still is about 7 years old(not much changed from BA-BF fpv's, same with the base models wasnt up to scratch. although im sure we all dissagree.

[fou_bleu]

Exactly the reason I don't buy MOTOR or Wheels anymore! They are a bunch of biased... Anyway, you can get decent reviews for free online!

[|||]

a ford falcon didnt compare well against quality european cars? wow!

[Dave_au]

Its an old car (2002, or it could be argued 1997) compared to the new competition from VE and the like - what do you expect them to say?

Give them 12 months and they will be singing the praises of the new Falcon against the Commodore.

[tapeworm]

Do these magazines have anything to say about the Epica, Viva, Barina etc? If their not giving them a pasting I'd say their Holden biased big time. If ford did the same thing, boy would they cop it sweet, and they'd really harp on the moving coffin thing too, imho.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Sad part is they do one review one month, then another 3 months later on the same car and come to different conclusions, thats what shits me about wheels and motor. Plus their track times are garbish.

[andrewts]

Originally Posted by |||

a ford falcon didnt compare well against quality european cars? wow!

Exactly. A cheap V8 taxi vs Exotic European Sports Car. Hrm..

[Disciple]

The Cobra is just a model to help Ford/FPV move some old stock before Orion. It got given a small power upgrade. The review won't be any different when the car is obviously well aged compared to VE, and when compared to Euro cars (which is a stupid comparison IMO) it surely won't fare well.

[Dave_au]

Originally Posted by Disciple

The Cobra is just a model to help Ford/FPV move some old stock before Orion. It got given a small power upgrade. The review won't be any different when the car is obviously well aged compared to VE, and when compared to Euro cars (which is a stupid comparison IMO) it surely won't fare well.

You hit the nail on the head. Cobra is more about moving stock than about any sort of evolution of the GT range.

[Dave_au]

Originally Posted by tapeworm

Do these magazines have anything to say about the Epica, Viva, Barina etc?

Motor claims to be a performance car magazine, so they won't review Epica, Viva, Barina etc.

Wheels however does, and usually results in awarding the comparison to either a VW, Renault, Mazda or a Toyota.

[DEVL-XR]

Originally Posted by Disciple

The Cobra is just a model to help Ford/FPV move some old stock before Orion. It got given a small power upgrade. The review won't be any different when the car is obviously well aged compared to VE, and when compared to Euro cars (which is a stupid comparison IMO) it surely won't fare well.

Which is the exact same way Ford got rid of the left over XC coupe shells.

We've all known Motor magazine are a bunch of biased Holden bogans for years now. In one of their articles on the new Cobra they keep going on about all the so called 'tacky' things, Cobra logos sewn on the seats is now a 'tacky' item. :

[Deadman]

All these posts about the Mag being biased or it's because it's a Ford and Motor don't like Ford???

That's garbage. The only people that say that don't like hearing that their brand of car doesn't win every comparison. I can point out tones of comparisons where Ford smashed Holden over the years in both Wheels and Motor magazines.

People bought the Cobra for the badge. They can't expect to make it all it "could have and should have been" when they're working on what is essentially an old platform. It was a quick grab for cash and it worked - but it's not the messiah. I am not surprised it didn't do well.

Really, Ford are desperate for Orion and aren't going to be winning a lot of comparisons these days with the Falcon and Territory desperate for a decent update. I suppose when these magazines start talking about how good the Mondeo is, or if they give Orion a really good wrap when it comes out, the attitude will reverse and it will be the guys on LS1 saying the mags are biased...

Ford will not win every comparison, and they definately won't win ones they don't deserve to just because there will be a few badge try hards having a cry over it. :

Magazine reviews aren't always the best, granted. But people can't pick and choose when they like them, they either like them, or don't. To many choose whether they like it or not depending on the outcome of the review. That being said - the latest Cobra was definately not anything that special.

[DEVL-XR]

Still stand by what I said, very rarely have I seen an article where Ford has won a comparison. It's not just Ford/Holden comparisons, its Holden over almost anything in their minds.

[flappist]

Yes MOTOR are terribly biased against Ford, well except for when BA got car of the year and F6 won lots and XR6T won lots and GT won lots and wiped the floor with HSV. And of course when they denounced holden for "warming up" the test vehicles. And there was the constant power steering failures and oil eating epsiodes they paid out on over and over again.

What don't you remember those?

The COBRA is a pretty wrapping on an old design that hasn't really changed much in five years. It is slower that all of its competition (HSV, FPV F6, 300SRT etc) and is the swan song for the current era.

The only people who DO actually love it are the one eyed blue blooded FORD V8 zealots. To everyone else they are V8 falcons with a blue and white paint job.
I wonder how many of these were deriding the one eyed HOLDEN zealots in 2003 when they constantly babbled how the 260kw Clubsport was better than the GT even though it got thrashed on every occaision?...........

[ClevlndStemer]

Ha you guys crack me up sometimes.
I read the comparison in Motor and thought it was fair.
What is so special about the Cobra, honestly all it is a marketing exercise by FPV, wack on some tacky looking stripes, make some minor changes to the engine and really thats it. Motor isn't biased and neither is wheels, how about people realise that Ford do not produce the best cars in the world (far from it), how about people realise that the VE is a better car then the BF. Get over yourselves, open your eyes and realise there are some bloody decent cars out there without the blue oval badge on the front.

[T3ts50]

Originally Posted by BradensEBxr6

Still stand by what I said, very rarely have I seen an article where Ford has won a comparison. It's not just Ford/Holden comparisons, its Holden over almost anything in their minds.

Try reading some older issues with comparos of BAs and VYs. Even last years PCOTY Typhoon finished ahead of GTS. Just wait til Orion is out when Ford will start winning comparos again.

[fou_bleu]

ok, now that you guys have rammed your point down our throats, how the hell is a god damn FWD 4cyl. Megane a better car to punt around a track than a RWD V8 Falcon? Seem to have lost me...

[StealthAu]

What is the new Cobra anyway? From what I have read, it seems to just be a GT with some fancy stripes and a slightly improved tune.

[GTP290]

When the bf series 2 come out i think it was wheels who bragged how much better it was than the holden, as far as he ve better thasn the bf? why is it better? just cause its a better looking car?

[Dave_au]

Originally Posted by BradensEBxr6

Cobra logos sewn on the seats is now a 'tacky' item. :

Well when you think about it.... it's just a badge. And lets face it - the Cobra spec isnt really so phenominal that it requires badging to differentiate it from other GTs. Ford's underlying motive is a marketing gimic. It is still a good car though.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by fordman6

ok, now that you guys have rammed your point down our throats, how the hell is a god damn FWD 4cyl. Megane a better car to punt around a track than a RWD V8 Falcon? Seem to have lost me...

In a few years when you are old enough to get a driver's licence and actually drive cars you might find that it is actually a bit different to playstation and xbox.

[irlewy86]

Originally Posted by Dave_au

Well when you think about it.... it's just a badge. And lets face it - the Cobra spec isnt really so phenominal that it requires badging to differentiate it from other GTs. Ford's underlying motive is a marketing gimic. It is still a good car though.

How quickly did it sell out?

Whats Fords main focus in making cars.... selling them, everybody jumps on here and is quick to bag Ford marketing for being useless gimps yet I see one of the greatest marketing coups of the year. Buyers queing for an aged model that is losing touch with its competition.

2 thumbs up for FPV marketing for what they achieved, the journalists and critics can bag them till the cows come home, but I haven't heard of a disappointed Cobra owner

[plext]

Thus we arrive at the inevitable squabbling and personal insults phase, along with the demise of the thread.