Ford Focus ST vs. Ford Fiesta ST

Today, we’ll wrap up the Ford EcoBoost Challenge coverage with the ST Performance Academy course.  When we left off, I had finished driving the Toyota Camry VS Ford Fusion, and the Chevy Silverado VS Ford F-150 challenges, skipping over the Ford Escape VS Honda CR-V altogether.  After that, I made my way over to the ST track and got in line for a quick driving lesson prior to getting on the track.  The ST track was designed for aggressive and fast driving, and would give drivers an opportunity to take out both the Ford Focus ST (a car I've already proclaimed my affinity for a few times on this blog) and the new Ford Fiesta ST (think of it as the Focus’ feisty little sibling).

The Fiesta ST and the Focus ST are both strictly manual transmission cars, so anybody not familiar with driving a stick shift was barred from participating.  Not that you needed to be great about shifting, because the course was designed so that once you got into second gear, you could just leave it there up until it was time to get back to the staging area.

The course instructors and operators were also very picky about who got and stayed behind the wheel of the fleet of ST’s.  The rule was that if you stalled it out more than twice, you were outta’ there.  That was in addition to the rule that if you hit a cone, they would strip you of your driving pass, and you were going home.  The ST track was a timed course, and we would do two laps in each car.  First would be a slow or at least non-competitive lap that would allow us to learn the course’s twists and turns, and the second would be pedal to the metal time.

While waiting for my turn to drive, I spotted a certain couple of train hobbyist/car enthusiast/wearers of dorky couture fellows, still decked out in their identical ugly car shirts getting into their respective STs up ahead.  The younger of the two went first and did ok in the Fiesta ST he had grabbed.  The elder gentleman with whom I had been discussing vintage British cars earlier in the day, got behind the wheel of an adorable little black Focus ST and off he went.  The guy in the black Focus was hot-rodding a bit too much and ended up losing control of his car and running over not just one, but five cones after flubbing the final hairpin turn in the course.  When he made it back to the staging area, the instructor marched over to him, got him out of the car, and took his driving pass lanyard from around his neck, then told him to leave.  These people were not joking about booting our butts out of there.  Even though he got kicked out, the guy with the ugly car shirt left with a big ol’ smile on his face, so at least he had fun plowing down those traffic cones.

When it was my turn to go, I was nervous.  I wanted to have a good time, but I absolutely did not want to hit a cone and get kicked out….  And I sure didn't want to hurt or damage the beautiful little STs they were going to let us play with.  First up was a ride in the very same black Focus that had been used to trounce those five traffic cones.  It was my first go-round at this course, and being in the same car that had just lost a previous driver his privileges, I was perhaps overly cautious, and turned in a track time of 36 seconds on my second lap.  It was fun, but I was holding back out of wariness.  To give some perspective, the instructor, who is a professional racer, got a track time of 29.011 seconds, and the guys who ended up on the leader board and taking part in a shootout challenge between the two of them both had times of 29.something, and they were both motocross racers who actually use the Canterbury grounds for racing on a regular basis.  I’m just an amateur, so I really couldn't compete with that, but I still had a blast.

When I was up to drive the Fiesta ST, I got my time down to 34.something seconds, still being very cone wary.  I think if I had a few more laps to practice, I could have shaved it down to at least 31 seconds, but I’ll never know.

So, I did pull down a better time with the Fiesta than with the Focus, but I think it was a matter of increasing familiarity with the course over the laps I accumulated. If I had driven the cars in the opposite order, the Focus would have scored an even faster time.  The Fiesta ST was the main reason I wanted to go to Canterbury that day, because I had never driven one before. I was wondering how well it stacked up against its awesome older sibling, the Focus ST.   Maybe you are too?

First, the Fiesta is clearly smaller.  You don’t even need to see specs to realize that.  It appears taller and narrower, and a bit shorter too.  It isn't actually taller though -its narrowness just seems to accentuate its height.  The Fiesta didn't feel as firmly planted on the pavement as the Focus.  The Focus was much more willing to let me toss it into a corner, whereas the Fiesta protested a little, especially around that last hairpin turn where the ugly car shirt guy had lost control.  The Focus bore the G-force and clung to the ground to get me through the corner, whereas the little Fiesta acted like it wanted to slide off the rails.  I felt a repeated lurching sensation from the front end of the Fiesta and heard a “wubbb-wubbb-wubb-wubb” sound as the front tires continually slipped and regained traction around the bend -the instructor on the course had warned us that the surface we’d be driving on that day was among the worst she had ever driven on in terms of traction and grip.    

Power-wise, here’s how the two stack up.  The Focus ST features a 2.0L EcoBoost engine paired with a 6 speed manual transmission for an output of 252 HP and 270 lb-ft of torque.  The Fiesta ST has a 1.6L EcoBoost engine  and a 6 speed manual for a haul of 197 HP and 202 lb-ft of torque.  Of course, the Focus weighs in at 3,223 lbs, whereas the Fiesta only has to move 2,720 lbs with its horseys.  This means, the Focus ST  has its own weight to bear of 12.78 pounds per horse, and the Fiesta ST carries 13.8 pounds per horsepower rating.   Both can be had with comfortably bolstered Recaro racing seats, and there’s no reason why buyers should not spring for those seats.  If you don’t plan on needing racing seats in your ST, then you probably ought to just be shopping for a regular Focus or Fiesta, if you ask me.

Like I said of the course driving, my experience was that the Focus had a better feel to it in terms of handling and grip.  Its wider stance gave it an advantage over the Fiesta when cornering.  In terms of dimensions, the Focus has the following: Length: 171.7”, width: 79.1“, and height of 58.4”.  The Fiesta, in contrast is 160.1” long (11.6” less in length), 67.8” wide (11.3” thinner) and is 57.2” tall (1.2” shorter).

MSRP on the Fiesta ST is, of course, lower than on a Focus ST.  The Fiesta ST starts at $21,400, whereas the Focus starts at $24,495. Of course, that’s before we add on stuff that we want, like those Recaros.  I went to the Ford website and spec’d out one of each car as I would want them for myself.  First, I built a Fiesta ST in a blaring shade of green called “Green Envy Metallic Tri-Coat”… In fact, here’s a picture of a Fiesta in that same color that was on display at the Challenge.

  I added the Recaro package for $1,995, which not only got me the racing seats, but also heated side mirrors (This is Minnesota, after all, and I’ll need those).  I then sprung for the 17” Rado Gray wheels with red painted brake calipers for an extra $375 -might as well have the little bugger look the way I want it to, you know.  I tossed in a navigation system with some other electronic goodies for $795, though I could manage just fine without it, too.  I added the officially licensed removable Thule roof rack for $485 (thank God it’s removable for when I don’t want it there) so that I can haul my kayak around when I want to, and ended up with a total MSRP of $25,940.… not bad, actually, when you consider I got the car exactly how I wanted it.

I was bummed that my Focus ST couldn't be spec’d out in green.  Still, I loved the little black one I drove, and even though I am opposed to owning another black car due to the increased likelihood of getting speeding tickets with one, I’d take a Focus in black.  So, I started out with a wicked looking Tuxedo Black Focus ST with an MSRP of $24,495.  I added a very expensive equipment group that gave me leather Recaro seats plus just about everything else for interior goodies including ambient lighting and Sony premium sound for the whopping price of $4,840, though there was a discount involved in the addition of that package, as I discovered later.  I added an engine block heater for $35 (Minnesota, ya’ know) and 18” Rado Gray Alloy wheels for $375 extra along with a $55 set of locking lug nuts to ensure nobody steals my fancy rims.  Then I chose a matte black set of racing stripes to contrast the glossy tuxedo black body for $495.  Grand total brought me to $29,805.  That’s getting up there for a little compact hatchback if you ask me, but considering what I’d get for the money -an absolutely sinister looking little monster capable of going from daily driving to the track in the blink of an eye- it’s worth it.  Anyway, there would probably be some added incentives that would knock that price down a bit.  I was a little bummed Ford didn't offer a removable Thule roof rack for the Focus like they had for the Fiesta, because there’s still the matter of my Kayak to be dealt with, but I’d still take the Focus ST over the Fiesta ST based on the driving experience I had at the ST course.  Both are fantastic little cars, but I prefer the feel of the Focus ST, and the room inside, too -after all, I do own a pack of very large Great Danes, and every now and then, I have to fit one or two in the car with me.

Really, you can’t go wrong with either car.  I give them both a thumbs up.

Ford's F-150 turbo truck VS Chevy's Silverado

For today’s post, we’re going back to the Ecoboost Challenge to make a bit more progress.  When we left off, I had finished the Fusion/Camry comparison.  I got in the queue for the truck comparison, skipping the compact crossovers all together because I had actually driven and compared the Honda CR-V and the Ford Escape that they had at the Ecoboost Challenge (as well as the Kia Sportage and the Buick Encore) as part of the Jean Knows Cars G7 group back in June of this year.  FYI, my ranking of these vehicles went like this: #1 Kia Sportage (though the interior plastics were kind of cheap, this thing was a blast to drive and looked great), #2 the Ford Escape (technically a superior vehicle to the Sportage, but not quite as powerful, nor as fun to drive, though definitely a better interior and more impressive overall -I just wasn’t feeling it the way I felt the Kia that day), #3 the Honda CR-V (a sturdy multi-tasker that’s good at everything it does, but not particularly phenomenal or thrilling in any aspect -a cut and dried case of a point-A to point-B appliance type of vehicle that gets its job done efficiently and well, but leaves drivers feeling under-whelmed.), and last, and certainly least in my estimation, #4 the Buick Encore (a gutless slug of a vehicle lacking in power and overdressed to compensate for its short comings, which were many -including miserable interior configurations, poor room, seats that looked more comfy than they were, and the overall feeling like I needed an AARP membership to qualify for driving the damn-slow thing).  

While waiting in line, I noticed two guys in front of me wearing identical shirts that were kind of beige with a pattern of old cars printed all over them.  It was kind of a dorky look, but I was intrigued and wanted to find out why grown men would go out in public like that, so I struck up a conversation.  I've included a picture of the back of the younger of the two men so you can get an idea about the shirt.

Turns out, these two guys are father and son.  The father was probably in his 60’s, and the son was in his 30’s.  As for their choice of couture, they each  claimed that one had no idea that the other was going to wear the car shirt that they both ended up spiffed-out in that day because they live in separate houses miles apart.  Okay, fine, though the father/son identical shirt owning aspect is still there even if they didn't plan to look like twins that day.  So, they were a little dorky, but who isn't?  They were really earnest and nice guys, and to add to the dork factor, they told me that they were model train hobbyists in addition to car enthusiasts.  That point is of interest because as I chatted with the father, we ended up on the topic of vintage British cars, and he had what, to me, sounded like a very good idea.  My MG (and pretty much any older British car with Lucas electrical systems) is notorious for finicky problems with wiring and shorts.  The older gentleman train hobbyist/elder wearer of the ugly car shirt said that in his train hobby, he uses a highly conductive model train rail oil to keep things running smoothly, and supposed that same material would work well to use with an older electrical system like the one I have in my MG.  Hmmmm, I thought, I shall have to try that next time I’m tinkering with my temperamental little British friend.   So, that was perhaps the best bit of info that I got out of those two aside from friendly idle chit chat.

Eventually I was up to go around the course in the trucks.  First was the Chevy Silverado, which, if I’m correct, was a LTZ trim level truck (I was not allowed time to poke around at the trucks; it was “get in and go“ time).  It was nicely appointed with leather interior, navigation, and 4x4.  Under the hood sits a 5.3L EcoTec V8 engine with 355 HP and 383 lb-ft of torque.  Its estimated MPG rating hits at 16/22 city/highway.  This engine is being used because it’s the closest in performance and fuel economy to the V6 that’s in the Ford.   I went to the Chevy web site to try my hand at building an identical truck, and I ended up with an MSRP of $45,105.

I've driven plenty of trucks in my time, because when I was in the car business, trucks were what I sold in the highest volume.  They also tend to be the vehicles that buyers will spend the most money on adding aftermarket goodies to.  One interesting thing I noticed was that my male truck buyers were way more concerned with accessorizing their vehicles than my female truck buyers, though I had substantially more male buyers than female.  Male truck buyers also showed themselves to spend more time and worry fretting about the appearance of their trucks.  One guy I dealt with was trading in his old F-150 for a newer one, but was so uptight about its appearance that he didn't even like people to touch his truck, even with just the tip of their finger.  He was all anxious and uneasy that there might be a couple dust or dirt particles on the surface of the paint, and by touching the truck, the pressure between one’s fingertips and those particles would essentially create a very micro-grit sand paper that would harm the luster of his clear coat.  The thing is, this guy’s F-150 was so pristine, I doubt there was a speck of dirt or dust anywhere in or on that rig.  I like to take care of my car, too, but I’m not so crazy about it that I forbid any human contact with the vehicle.

Back to the Silverado, though.  It was a nice truck, but seemed ungainly.  It felt heavy, lumbering, and barge-like.  I took it out on the course, finding that it tended to toss its weight around with a considerable lack of grace or agility, which is, I suppose, about what one might expect from a truck.  Acceleration was so-so, and cornering felt like a chore.  Looks wise, the Chevy appears larger than the F-150, though they’re roughly the same size.  So, I had that as my standard, and next up would be the Ford F-150.

*the F-150 being driven by the two guys who wore the same shirt.

The F-150 had that same, gorgeous, shimmering black paint that I liked so well on the Fusion I wrote of previously.  To my sense of aesthetics, the F-150 was a better looking truck.  This one appeared to feature the Lariat trim package, and a visit to Ford’s web site to build an identical F-150 with leather, navigation, 4x4, and the chrome appearance package that this F-150 was wearing (a $1,495 premium over the normal cost of the truck), ended up with a final MSRP of $47,245.  So, the F-150 is clocking in at $2,140 more than the Silverado.  Subtract that chrome package, though, and we’re down to a $645 difference between the F-150 and the Silverado.  The F-150 has a 3.5L Ecoboost (twin-turbo) engine that generates 365 HP and 420 lb-ft of torque while getting 16/22 mpg city/hwy.  So, same gas mileage as Chevy’s V8, but with 10 more horsepower and 37 more lb-ft of torque.  Is that enough to make up for the roughly $700 premium over the cost of the Silverado if we’re not including Ford’s chrome appearance package in the comparison?

I’d say so.  In fact, let’s keep that chrome package in our cost estimate, because all the stuff the F-150 has going for it still justifies the additional cost and then some.  This was one comparison where it wasn’t anywhere near being a close race.  The F-150’s interior was gorgeous compared to the Silverado’s.  How to best put this to drive the point home….  The finishes, materials, surfaces, layout, ergonomics, and tactile aspects of the F-150’s interior space so outshone the Silverado’s that it was like the difference between walking into a quickly constructed McMansion (the Silverado interior) and walking into a bonafide and beautifully yet functionally adorned Arts and Crafts Style home with its original woodwork in tact (the F-150 interior).  The McMansion pales in comparison and its beauty comes off as plastic and artificial.

 *the Chevy Silverado's interior

 * The Ford F-150's interior

*the Ford F-150's interior, again.

We can call the exterior appearance a toss-up because that’s very subjective, though I favor the F-150’s looks.  Here are some more pictures of an F-150 that was sitting out for display.

The handling of the F-150 felt so much more nimble and quick compared to the Silverado, and the acceleration and power was immediate and forceful.  Hands down, the F-150 beat the pants off the Silverado in each and every way.  I've sold plenty of trucks, but never considered myself a truck person.  Driving that F-150 though, I suddenly had a desire to have one.  I have no definite need for a pickup truck, but I’m sure I could find plenty of stuff to use it for.  In short, the F-150 outpaces the Silverado by so far, the comparison didn't even seem close to fair in spite of the similar power specs.    

    *here's an F-150 that's been upfitted with a bunch of Sony audio equipment and has a little trailer with some Sony Televisions installed as well as more stereo equipment.

Killer Bees, Cadillacs, and the Batmobitsi!

I’ve skipped a couple days of blogging about cars, and to make up for it, I’m bringing two cars to the table today.  We’ll get back to the Ecoboost challenge stuff that I started in the last post later.  For today, I’ll take you on a harrowing adventure filled with danger, killer bees, auto theft, and a vigilante superhero.  Now that I’ve built it up like that, I’m pretty sure you’ll be rather let down by the reality of the matter, but here we go anyway.  

Our first car is one I spotted yesterday, and here’s how I came to spot it.  I decided to help out my sister and mow down a bunch of overgrowth at her old house as she preps it for sale, having now moved on to a bigger, better house.  The area I was mowing is technically the neighbor’s property, but it abuts to the area behind my sister’s garage, and I figured that it would make her house more marketable if potential buyers didn’t have to look at that big, overgrown mess, and also, if those same house shoppers weren’t tipped off that the neighbor can be a bit of a slob when it comes to upkeep of their property.  In their defense, it’s a hard area to mow, because the ground is mounded up all uneven and funny, and it’s a very steep hill up to the top where it smoothes out to the area between the garages.

So, my sister has a D R mower, which is like a lawnmower that consists of a giant weed whacker thing on the front that you wheel around.  Apparently, one can also buy stump grinding attachments for it, but that’s not really important here.  The point is that this mower has about 8 long, durable, plastic whiskers that spin around at high speeds and buzz off just about anything in their path.

I started up the machine and was making great progress mowing down some very tall and thick growth vegetation.  All was going fast and great until I felt a sharp pain on my rear end, I thought maybe I’d come in contact with some thorny plant and dismissed it, but then I felt another one on my lower leg, then another on my back, one on my thigh, and another on my belly followed quickly by one on my left ankle.  I looked down and saw a yellow jacket bee on my sock.  It was at that point, I shut down the mower and turned around to face the mounded up, hilly area I’d just finished mowing over and saw a buzzing wall of very angry bees pouring forth from the very ground I’d just buzzed with the mower.  An expletive or two was muttered before I felt yet another sting by my knee and I decided that I needed to make a run for it.  Problem was, I was cornered in the area between the garages, and the only way out was the way I came in thanks to the neighbor’s fence blocking the other route.  I’d have to run through the bee swarm.  I did, and no doubt, I looked like a crazy person, flailing my arms and sprinting down the alley to get away from the bees.  I managed to lose them pretty quickly, but had to go back to get the mower, which I’d abandoned in the area that was blockaded by the swarm of bees that now buzzed furiously around their mounded up underground nest that I had apparently mowed over.   Thank God I’m not allergic to bee stings, but they sure did, and still do hurt.

I can understand why the bees would be upset with me, disrupting their rather substantial colony with the super weed whacker mower thing.  Still, I’ve never come into contact with any kind of wildlife that seemed so incredibly vindictive.  I mean, those bees had it in for me, and really, it was an honest mistake on my part.  I was standing at a safe distance, kind of hiding behind my sister’s minivan, which I had borrowed to bring the mower to the house, waiting for the fury to die down so I could get the mower back when a nice guy named Antonio wandered down the ally, and I warned him to make a wide arc around that area due to the bees.  He was fascinated, and told me that I ought to toss some gasoline on the primary area where the bees were gathering, because that would drive them away long enough to get my mower.  I told him I’d rather not be responsible for a grass fire in addition to inciting a killer bee riot.  He insisted that this is how one handles yellow jackets, because he had done it before.  Well, I’d never dealt with a colony of yellow jacket bees before, so I finally yielded to his supposed expertise and tried it out with a cup of the gas I’d brought for the mower.

As it turns out, tossing a cup or two of gasoline on a colony of angry bees works…. to make them even more upset than they already are.  Suddenly, they’re buzzing around faster than before, and more and more bees are emerging from the ground where I flung the gas.  Antonio and I both hid behind the minivan and tried to come up with a better plan.  I opened my sister’s garage and found an old plastic shower curtain that had Darth Vader on it (I assume this is something my brother in law found somewhere, because he collects Star Wars stuff, though I’m not sure why it was in their garage).  I didn’t really care if the shower curtain was part of some collection.  I needed it.

Initially, the plan was to drape myself in the curtain, run through the bee swarm, grab the mower, and high tail it out of there by running back through the swarm, shielded by the plastic Darth Vader shower curtain.  Antonio was still in disbelief that his brilliant “dowse the bees with gas, that’ll make it better” plan had failed, and I was donning the shower curtain when suddenly, I had this vision of the bees buzzing up under the curtain with me, essentially ensuring multiple bee stings, and I scrapped the plan.

A little more scheming took place, during which time Antonio suggested I give the gasoline another try.  I shot that down immediately, and before long, we had a new plan.  I tossed the shower curtain over the ground where the bees were buzzing around by underground nest while Antonio sprinted over the curtain and the bees beneath it to grab the mower and run back down the hill, pulling it behind him.  I then grabbed a corner of the Darth Vader shower curtain and ran around the alleyway, waving it around to shake the bees from it.  I’m sure I looked completely ridiculous.  Antonio helped me load the mower back into the minivan, and then, my somewhat ill-advised killer bee-fighting partner left as mysteriously as he’d arrived, sauntering off to a nearby house, and I drove back toward my sister’s new place defeated by a bunch of insects with anger management issues.

It was on my way back to the new house where I spotted another damsel in distress.  This stripped out, and most certainly, stolen 1982 Cadillac Coupe Deville.

This is such a shame, and really, if angry bees are going to attack folks, why couldn’t they target car thieves?  The person or people who stole this Cadillac and stripped it are far more deserving of bee stings than I or Antonio, if you ask me.

Just look at this!  They took the driver’s seat and the passenger side door!

They also took the engine, which used to be a 4.1L V8 with 125HP and 190 lb ft of torque (I know it wasn’t the V6 because the thieves left the owner’s manual and paperwork, including some documents about the engine, in the car.

The thieves also took the license plates, the door sill plates, and the VIN plate off the car.  When I called it in on the non-emergency line, I couldn’t give the operator any info to verify that it was a stolen vehicle other than to comment on the condition of the vehicle and its abandonment on a street where I’d never seen the car before.  A couple hours later, it was gone, having been towed off to the impound lot, where, if they ever identify the vehicle and who its owner is, I’m sure it will be a complete loss for the person who rightfully should have this car.

So, from killer bees to a stolen car all in the span of about an hour?  It was a rough day, and I was hurting from those bee stings.  While Antonio was great help, you know who I really could have used some help from?  Batman!

Yep, I said Batman.  I know he was in town just a couple days ago….  After all, I spotted his car in the Haaf ramp earlier in the week.  Seems like the economy has been kinda rough on old Bruce Wayne.  His new ride is a far cry from the decked out, armored up weapons on wheels he usually has at his disposal.  The new-used, scaled down Batmobile is a 2003 or so Mitsubishi Lancer OZ Rally edition.  Check out that personalized plate -so much for secret identities, eh Mr. Wayne?  Oh how the mighty have fallen!

Still, I betcha Batman could have handled those bees.  Heck, his new bat mobile even looks like a bee, kind of.  Even without the car, Batman could have made short work of the bees.  He probably has a can of Raid on his bat belt.  

I’d be willing to bet, also, that Batman would not have stood for some low-life, scumbag car thieves going around stealing old Coupe Devilles and stripping them out.  Say that the car thieves had just jacked that Cadillac and were driving it away from the scene, would Batman be able to catch up with them in his batty little yellow Mitsi?  Let’s see how they stack up against each other.

So, we know that the 1982 Cadillac is rear wheel drive, and has -or used to have- a 125 HP V8 engine.  In comparison, the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer OZ Rally edition has a 2.0L inline 4 cylinder with 120 HP and front wheel drive.  That means the Cadillac has 5 more horsepower…. But before we give the win to the bad guys in the stolen caddy, keep in mind that the Mitsi only weighs 2,701 lbs, whereas the Cadillac’s 125 HP has to propel 3,783 lbs of car around.  That’s over 1,000 lbs more than the Mitsi, and more than kills off any gain from those extra 5 HP.

Oh, but who looks better cruising around?  Well, the Cadillac has it’s retro, slightly sleazy, pimp-like charms, and being a Cadillac, comes equipped with all kinds of crap that was considered fancy back in 1982.  The Mitsi features the OZ rally package, which is primarily an appearance package featuring some interior trim, white faced gauges, some special alloy wheels and a body kit.  There might be some minor adjustments to the suspension for a sportier feel, but otherwise, it’s pretty ho-hum….

Except that Batman has outfitted his Lancer with racing seats, and of course, the Batman logos.   It would appear, though, that Batman must have backed into something at some point and had to do a repair to the Batmobitsi’s passenger side rear quarter.  Money’s tight in Gotham City, and it looks like Batman hasn’t been able to swing a new paint job yet to cover that primer.  In the meantime, the Joker has gone and left some graffiti on the car.  Batman, you’ve gotta get on top of that issue.  You can’t have the Joker messing with your car like that!  I’d say it’s a toss up between the two vehicles in terms of who looks better, the crime fighter, or the criminals.

Yeah, I could have definitely used some assistance from Batman yesterday.  In a pinch, though, some guy who wanders up and introduces himself as Antonio will do.  

Ecoboost Challenge part 1

This past weekend, I drove out to Canturbury Park to participate in the Ford Ecoboost Challenge.  There were 3 different courses that I could take part in: a Hypermile challenge that involved a comparison between Ford’s Hybrid models and their competition, an Ecoboost challenge that was a comparison between Ford’s Ecoboost equipped cars and their competition, and the ST challenge.  I had limited time, so I skipped the Hypermile business.  I like getting good gas mileage, but I’m not the type to go out of my way to pinch an extra couple miles out of a gallon of gas if it means that I can’t drive the car as aggressively as I want.

Today, we’ll cover my first set of drive-abouts on the Ecoboost course.  For this one, I drove the Ford Fusion and its competitor, the Toyota Camry.  Before anybody was allowed to drive these cars, we had to go through a brief classroom session, where the instructor told us a number of things and went over the course we’d be driving.

The main points were if we decided to drive one car aggressively or moderately, then to be fair, we should drive its competitor the same way to get a true sense of how they stacked up -well duh.  Also, if we run over a cone on the course, go off course, or damage one of the cars, they would take our driving passes away and send us home.

I got in line and ended up taking out the Camry first.  The model they had available to us was loaded up with options like leather, navigation, sunroof, and V6 engine.  Before we get into the driving experience, let’s look at some Camry specs.

For starters, a base Toyota Camry starts out with an MSRP of $23,045.  Of course, I wasn’t driving a base model.  Mine was a Camry XLE, which comes standard with a 2.5L 4 cylinder engine and a base price of $25,665.  But that doesn’t really stack up just yet, either.  My Camry also had the upgrade to Toyota’s 3.5L V6 engine, which bumps its base price up to $31,275.  Add to that the premium sound and navigation, and that’s another $2,635 for a total MSRP of $33,910 for the Camry I was driving that day.

How much Camry do you get for $33,910?  268 HP and 248 lb-ft of torque worth, that’s how much.  That 3.5L V6 is paired with a 6 speed automatic transmission and propels the car via the front wheels.

Next up was the Fusion.  This one was also well optioned and even featured AWD.  Here are some Fusion specs and pricing info to consider.  The base price for a Fusion starts at $21,900, which puts it at $1,145 less than a base model Camry.  Of course, we’re talking top of the line models in this comparison, so scrap that figure and let’s look at what we’re actually dealing with here.  My Fusion that day was equipped with Ford’s Titanium trim level.  This meant that under its hood, the Fusion featured a 2.0L Ecoboost (turbo) inline 4 cylinder engine with 240 HP and 270 lb-ft of torque paired with a 6 speed auto.  That’s 28 HP less than the V6 Camry, but 22 lb-ft of torque more.  The Titanium package loads up a whole bunch of goodies, like leather interior, premium sound, and navigation, leaving very little that needs to be added to the vehicle.  The titanium package also ups the Fusion’s price to $30,500.  That’s $775 less than a Camry XLE that doesn’t come equipped with premium sound and navigation, and it’s $3,410 less than a Camry that does have comparable options.

With that extra bunch of money creating a gap between a Front wheel drive Fusion and a front wheel drive Camry, things needed to be evened up a bit.  So, the Fusion also came with a $2,000 option that isn’t even available on the Camry:  All Wheel Drive.  That means that the Fusion I drove that day had an MSRP of $32,795, leaving it $1,410 cheaper than the Camry.

So, how did the two stack up against each other?  The Camry handled just fine and had nice speed and acceleration.  I drove both cars rather aggressively on the course, though the Ecoboost comparison track wasn’t really set up for a lot of crazy stuff, so it wasn’t like anybody could really beat up on the cars out there. The Camry was pretty good -nothing spectacular, but not at all bad.   Just a nice, kinda peppy family sedan with somewhat ho-hum looks that will make it hard to spot in a crowded parking lot.

The Fusion handled great, as one would expect from a vehicle with all wheel drive.  That optional system is not just for tackling snowy or slippery roadways; it’s also a nice option to have if you’re going to get aggressive behind the wheel but would rather not fling yourself right off the edge of a cloverleaf interstate on-ramp when you’re pounding the pedal to the floor.  That said, I was disappointed with the performance of the Ecoboost engine.  Maybe it was just the car I drove.  After all, these vehicles at the Ecoboost Challenge have been touring the country all summer, getting pounded on by people just like me out to get a freebie track day and some thrills in a car that they don’t have to fix if they wear it out.

The biggest problem I had with the Fusion was a very significant turbo lag.  On the Ecoboost course, there is one section of straightaway where you can floor the gas pedal and get the car really flying before you have to brake into a hard right, and in this section, the Camry, with its V6 did admirably.  The Fusion did not.  I floored the Fusion, expecting a real blast off and got nothing for what seemed like an eternity, then finally, the single turbo decided it was wound up enough to kick in and do something, and by that time, I was nearing the end of the straightaway and needed to start braking for the turn.  It made me sad…. there’s just no other way to say it clearer.  I felt let down.  I had built up such great expectations of this turbo-charged engine because I remembered how much fun I had in the Ford Focus ST I test drove in a previous post on this blog that also features a 2.0L Ecoboost (albeit a high-output, tuned-up version of it that had no such lag at all), and I found myself pouting until I reached the slalom part of the course.  The Fusion with it’s all wheel drive handled the slalom beautifully, and I suppose that makes up for some of the let down, but I have to give the driving win to the Camry.  That turbo lag plaguing the Fusion is exactly the type of thing that would get me raging at my car, cursing it as I drive every time I stomp the pedal to get up to merging speed or just to fling it around for some fun and get met with a whole bunch of nothing while the turbo takes its time winding up.  Booo, hiss!

That said, taking into account winter driving in Minneapolis, with snow on the ground and ice under that, the AWD system would be a blessing.  And really, if I wanted to hot rod around, a family sedan is probably not what I’d choose to drive unless, of course, it was the Taurus SHO (featuring a twin-turbo 3.5L Ecoboost engine: I have featured a drive in an SHO in a previous post if you would like to know more)-they didn’t have any of those for us to play with that day, though I did spot a stunning dark green one in the parking lot when I left.

     SHO from parking lot

Here’s where the Fusion absolutely beats the crap out of the Camry though: looks.  I know, I know -beauty is in the eye of the beholder and aesthetics are subjective and whatever else -but in this case, it’s just a plain and simple fact that the Fusion is a better looking car than the Camry -it is gorgeous.  It doesn’t hurt that the front end looks like it was cribbed from an Aston Martin, though you can tell that they spent most of the money up there, too, because the rear end of the car, mostly the tail light enclosures, just doesn’t seem to have that same wolf-whistle-inspiring aesthetic.

The Fusion I took out on the track was actually a similar shade of gray to the Camry, but the real looker that day was the black one.  It wasn’t just black, but black with a shimmering metallic element to it that made the car glisten every time the sun shone against it.  I know I’ve more or less sworn off black cars due to my self-proven theory that they attract more speeding tickets, but if I was going to buy a Fusion, I would definitely pick that color.  The paint is appropriately called “Dark Side”.  

There's more Ecoboost Challenge stuff to come on this blog, including a tale of the guy I was talking to in line who ended up having his driving pass confiscated and got ejected from the event.  I would highly recommend taking part in the Ecoboost Challenge when and if it comes to your neck of the woods.  It's free and it's fun, and you get to take some swag home with you when you leave.  Check out my haul.  I've got a Focus ST racer poster, my lanyard, my bracelet (I know, not exactly a treasure), a free set of Sony earbuds, a beverage koozie, a little Mustang, and my favorite: a pewter Goodyear Blimp keychain that has a tread depth gauge on the flip side of it.  The kind folks at Ford even provided free snacks, and you could snag yourself a free Rockstar energy drink at the same booth where you get the racer Focus poster.  Best of all, of course, is getting to drive a bunch of cars and having a blast doing it!

The Mitsubishi 3000GT: A Car To Kill For

For today’s post, we’re going to look at yet another hot car that ended up being an element in a crime.  Going back in time to just about one month before the events that transpired in our last post involving a murder and a Miata will bring us to the date of May 23, 1995.  I remember the car and this crime particularly well, because it started out in Des Moines, Iowa, and  at that time, I was a 16 year old kid living in a suburb of that city when this hit the news.

On that day in May of 1995, a business owner named Karen Logsdon dropped off her kid at school and was on her way to work when things went horribly wrong for her.  She was behind the wheel of a car that I believe I’ve made mention of briefly in other posts: a 1994 Mitsubishi 3000GT…. And really, that isn’t giving her proper credit for the vehicle she drove, because hers wasn’t just a base model, but a 3000GT VR-4, which was an impressive set of wheels then, and holds up pretty well now, even.  Karen Logsdon was a woman who clearly knew a thing or two about her cars, and she chose a really good one for herself.

I think it was in a post about the Alfa Romeo Spider that I made mention of a Dodge Stealth that had been sitting in the showroom at Stew Hanson’s Dodge City in downtown Des Moines when I happened by so many years ago.

Well, the Dodge Stealth is actually the same thing as a Mitsubishi 3000GT.  Aside from badges and some cosmetic details, and the whole captive import thing, it’s the same car when you get down to the nuts and bolts.

In fact, I stumbled across a Stealth some time ago in Austin, MN if I recall correctly, and  that’s what you’re seeing in the pictures that feature the red car here.  This one is priced at $5,995, and though outwardly, it’s in better shape than the Mitsubishi I’ve got for this post, it’s still pretty stripped down when it comes to features, and I don’t think it‘s priced well.

This is, however, a 1994 model Stealth, which I include here, because it’s the same model year as the 3000GT VR-4 that today’s story features.  

But of course, we’re talking Mitsubishi here, so we’ll dispense with the Stealth business after a photo or two, and move on to a car I found at a used car lot that has a similar outward appearance to the vehicle Karen Logsdon was driving on that fateful day.

The 3000GT I have pictures of is a 1998 model, so it’s actually 4 years too new to be a match to Karen’s car, but it is the same color as the one she drove, so you get a pretty close idea of what the car we’re talking about looked like.   The pictured 3000GT is one I spotted in a used car lot in Crystal, MN.  It pales in comparison to Karen’s VR-4, because it’s just an SL trim level.  Brand new in 1994, a 3000GT SL probably cost between $25,000-$30,000.  This one, in particular, can be had now for a price of $4,995 because it hasn't been very well cared for and has over 130,000 miles on its odometer.

Let’s take a moment to talk about Karen’s car in particular, because this is important to the story of her untimely demise.  You see, Karen had an awesome vehicle.  It was leased, but it was hers for the time being back in 1995, and it was a looker.  More than just looks though, Karen’s car had the goods to back up all that slick styling.

The Dodge Stealth had a production run from 1991-1996, but the Mitsubishi 3000GT (hereinafter referred to on and off as a “Mitsi 3000GT”, “3000GT”, or “Mitsi“) had a production run that spanned from 1990-2000.  For the purposes of this post, we’ll focus only on the Mitsi.  The 3000GT was a vehicle known as the GTO in Japan, but that name was one they didn’t dare to use in foreign markets, because GTO, meaning Gran Turismo Omologato (which is basically a way of saying that the car has enough balls to meet and qualify for some international racing standards) was the name of a famous Ferrari as well as a famous Pontiac abroad, thus the 3000GT name plate was used in exports instead.

In 1994, the Mitsubishi 3000GT came in the following trim levels:  the base model -which was nice looking, but nothing to brag about really - had a single overhead cam 3.0L V6 with 160HP and 184 lb-ft of torque.  Woe and shame on the buyer of this vehicle for not upgrading to the Dual overhead cam (DOHC) version, I say.

Next up the trim scale was the SL, which is what we have pictured in our photos today.  This was an improvement over the base model because it featured a DOHC version of that 3.0L V6 which bumped output to 222 HP and 204 lb-ft of torque.  Incidentally, a much more rare, yet available at the time convertible version of the 3000GT was also up for grabs, but we won’t go into that now (if you ever spot one in good shape for a decent price, though, jump on it).

Anyway, these trim levels were kid stuff compared to what was next up the ladder of performance for the Mitsi.  Karen had the good sense to select a 1994 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 as her whip.  That meant that she had a DOHC, twin turbo, intercooled 3.0L V6 with an output of 320HP and 315 lb ft of torque along with an all wheel drive system that had a 45/55% torque split front to back, a 6 speed manual transmission, four wheel steering, four wheel anti-lock brakes with four-piston front calipers, vented rotors all around, a 0-60 time of 5.2 seconds, and a top speed of 160 MPH.  That’s decent by today’s standards, and fantastic by standards of 17 years ago!

So, we have firmly established that Karen Logsdon had one hell of a cool car back in 1995.…  Unfortunately, that fact ended up being part of the motive for why she was murdered.  When we left off with Karen, she was on her way to the business she ran with her parents after dropping off her kid at school -what an awesome entrance that kid must have made to school each day, stepping out the door of a gleaming white Mitsi 3000GT onto the school yard, eh?  Anyway, somewhere between that school and her work place, Karen had the misfortune of crossing paths with a sleazy little scum bag named Anousone Soukharith (hereinafter referred to as “Anousone“, “Soukharith”, “scumbag“, “that little weasel”, or “Dipshit”, depending on my mood).  I feel bad using his last name here, because it’s a surname he shares in common with a nice guy I knew in high school who was sweet enough to let me talk him into pretending I was with him as his date long enough to get through the door of after-prom party that was only meant for juniors and seniors and their dates back when I was a freshman or sophomore in high school (freshman, I think, but I might be mistaken about that).  I think we danced together a couple times once in the door, but we had different friends, so that was about it between us.  Anyway, if there’s any family relation between them, I certainly wouldn’t hold it against the Soukharith I knew, who was a really sweet, considerate, and fun-loving guy.

Back to the Soukharith I’m not so fond of….  Anousone Soukharith was a 19 year old loser in 1995.  He didn’t have much going for him, but he apparently knew a thing or two about cars, because he had just enough sense to know that the Mitsi 3000GT was a hot, hot ride at the time.  Aside from that one thing, nothing else I know about him points to any more appropriate term to describe him other than a complete and utter moron as far as I’m concerned.  That alone would have been bad enough, and even reason to pity him, except for the fact that Soukharith was a moron with a .45 caliber handgun, and a plan to use it.

Somewhere along the line, Anousone carjacked Karen Logsdon as she was making her way to work in her gorgeous car.  Rather than just boot her out and drive away, the little weasel kidnapped her and forced her to make a series of calls from her cellular phone to her family.  Her relatives could tell something was wrong because she was crying over the phone as she told them she would be running late and that she was driving to Ames, Iowa for something or other instead of heading directly to work.  These family members called the police, who used NCIC, the national law enforcement database (National Crime Information Center) to put out an alert on her vehicle and its plate number.

Beyond the bonehead move of carjacking somebody, and past the even dumber move of kidnapping that somebody after the carjacking, Anousone made yet another stupid decision.  He forced Karen to drive him to Nebraska.  You may be thinking, what’s so bad about that?  I mean, maybe he was a Husker fan or something, right?  Here’s why it’s beyond stupid.  It was in Nebraska that Soukharith forced Karen Logsdon to pull off the road, ordered her out of the car at gunpoint and into a wooded area near a state park, and shot her in the back, leaving her lifeless body in the ditch.  But here’s why it was not only cowardly, but also incomprehensibly stupid on his part -Iowa is a state where there is no death penalty.  By crossing state lines, first and foremost, Soukharith turned his carjacking and kidnapping into a potential federal case, and secondly, drove right into a state that DID have the death penalty.

There is no question that Karen Logsdon died in Nebraska, in Sarpy County, near the Eugene Mahoney State park off I-80 (a route I drove many a time to go to and from Graduate school in Lincoln Nebraska several years later).  Under Nebraska law, first degree murder is punishable by death, and you’d better believe that Soukharith’s deeds qualified.

I’ll never understand why Soukharith didn't just let Karen go.  Sure, she’d be out one heck of a car, but compared to losing her life and the impact it would have on the people who loved her, I’m sure she would have been able to move on.  Even if he didn't just boot her out at the scene of the carjacking, he could have made her drive to any number of remote locations and just ordered her out of the vehicle before peeling off toward home.  Utah, was his ultimate destination, in this case -word has it he was planning on showing off the Mitsi to his old high school buddies and presenting it as his own car in an attempt to impress them..  You know what would have been impressive?  If the little weasel had managed to EARN the money to BUY HIS OWN 3000GT instead of carjacking one!  Sorry to use my angry capitalization tone in my writing with you, my kind readers, but what he did pisses me off more than a font 100 times this size, in bold print with highlights and a hyperlink could express.

Lets zoom ahead a few hours to 6:30 PM that same day of May 23, 1995.  Soukharith made it all the way into Wyoming in Karen’s car while she lay dead in the ditch.  It was at this point, an eagle eyed Wyoming state trooper noticed the flashy, white Mitsi with out-of-state plates.  This trooper was no dummy.  He saw the young kid behind the wheel of what was at the time, a $32,000-$35,000 car (that figure is not adjusted for inflation, so, you know, that was a lot of money back then) and he said to himself, “Hey, something is not quite right about this”.  After all, how many 19 year old guys to you know who can get financing for a brand new car like that, let alone buy it out of pocket?

The trooper eased up behind Karen’s Mitsi and ran the plate.  Immediately, the alert that the Des Moines Police had issued popped up and the trooper initiated a traffic stop along the interstate to check the welfare of the 40-something female who was a supposed to be driving the car.  Soukharith claimed he had just bought the car with a $2,000 check from his check book.  This story must have sent the trooper’s bullshit detector soaring off the charts.  After all, I sure don’t know of anybody willing to sell a car that’s worth around $30,000 for 1/15th of that amount, do you?  Hell, even today, 18 years later, a stripped down SL -a lesser Mitsi 3000GT, has a used asking price of around $5,000!

This is what puzzles me though.  Why didn’t Dipshit make a break for it?  After all, he could have easily outrun and out-maneuvered a 1994 police issue Crown Victoria (I‘m assuming that‘s what the trooper had), provided he wasn’t a completely shitty driver (though Soukharith did not have a valid license at the time, so that could have been the case)..  Look at the specs if you don’t believe me.

Remember all the goodies we listed for the Mitsi 3000GT VR-4?  AWD, four wheel steering, 320 HP from the twin turbo V6, a curb weight of about 3,200 lbs, a 0-60 time of 5.2 seconds and a top speed of 160MPH?  Now, compare those to your standard Crown Victoria interceptor of the same era:  4.6LV8 with 210 HP, rear wheel drive, a curb weight of around 3,800 lbs (before the cops load it up with all their gear), a 0-60 time of around 8.5 seconds if they’re lucky, and a top speed of 130 MPH.  See the difference?  For those of you who don’t feel like doing any math today, I’ll gladly oblige here.  The Mitsi weighs at least 600 lbs less than the Crown Vic interceptor, it has 110 more horse power, it handles with the benefit of all wheel drive as well as four wheel turning, and it’s a damn sight more aerodynamic than a lumbering Crown Vic sedan.  In short, it is only by the grace of sheer stupidity that Soukharith didn't elude the trooper who caught onto the scent of something rotten and foul wafting from the space behind the wheel where Soukharith sat in the Mitsi.  Lets be honest here; Karen’s 3000GT VR-4 could have blown the doors off that Crown Vic back in 1995, Interceptor spec or no.  But, as cowards are wont to do, Anousone stayed put , apparently too dumb to run, and too afraid to go head to head with the trooper, hoping that by some twist of fate, nobody would catch on to the fact that he had just carjacked the vehicle he occupied and murdered its rightful driver to do so.  You know, good thing he didn't run, because it’s bad enough that Karen lost her life over his foolishness, it would have been even worse if the beautiful car she loved got wrecked in a high speed pursuit, too.

Moving on, the trooper was going to let Soukharith go with a $400 fine for not having a valid license.  Anousone did pay on the spot with cash (that he may well have taken from Karen for all we know).  However, the Des Moines police let the trooper’s dispatch know that if the female driver wasn’t with the vehicle when it was found, they considered it a stolen car.  It was at that point that the trooper held the driver, Soukharith, and signaled for backup.

While waiting in the back of the trooper’s cruiser for backup to arrive, Soukharith told the trooper that there was a .45 caliber gun stashed in the Mitsi.  When backup arrived, the 3000GT was searched, and the gun that Soukharith had used to murder Karen Logsdon was located in the console.

While in custody the following day, Soukharith told investigators where he had left Karen’s body, and she was discovered that same day.  Despite this, Soukharith tried to claim innocence (because it’s totally plausible that Karen carjacked herself and shot herself in the back only to die in a ditch, while the murder weapon ended up in her car in a totally different state, yeah right!).

On December 11, 1995, a jury found Anousone Soukharith guilty of first degree murder, kidnapping, robbery, and use of a weapon to commit a felony.  Karen’s family, or at least her mom, that is, did not advocate for the death penalty, saying she didn’t believe in it, which is lucky for Soukharith.  I consider myself quite liberal on most things, but when it comes to shitty people who do shitty things like cold blooded murder, especially over a damn car (even a really cool one like Karen‘s), I have little tolerance and would just as soon see them drop dead as warehouse, feed, clothe, and offer medical care to them - after all, it’s not like murderers bother to extend those things to their victims.  Anyway, Soukharith was sentenced to concurrent terms of life in prison for the murder charge and the kidnapping charge with a concurrent 20-40 years for the robbery charge, and a concurrent 10-20 year sentence for the weapon conviction.

Of course, Soukharith, being the selfish little weasel that he was, figured that wasn’t good enough.  He didn’t want to take any responsibility for his actions.  After all, that’s the type of thing that decent human being might do, and he couldn’t possibly be held to that kind of standard!  So, he tried to appeal.  The biggest argument in his appeal centered around the traffic stop.  Soukharith claimed that his 4th amendment rights had been violated by the NCIC check of the plates on the car that he CARJACKED AND MURDERED for.  What it comes down to is whether it’s a violation of the 4th amendment right when we’re dealing with only a brief detention of somebody or something for the purposes of completing a computerized warrant check. But really, in this case, there’s wasn’t even a detention, brief or otherwise during or before the check.  So, had the trooper pulled Soukharith over BEFORE running his plates and seeing that the car was flagged for a stop and check the welfare of its occupant, then yes, it would have been possible to consider this an unreasonable seizure.  However, the trooper didn’t activate his lights and pull Soukharith over, nor did he take into custody (or seize) Souharith or the Mitsi before knowing that the car was flagged and even moreso, that it was considered stolen.  Moreover, the mere act of running the plate for a check regardless of any reason is in and of itself not considered a seizure of any kind, much less an unreasonable seizure.  I don’t know about you all out there, but here in Minneapolis, we have a number of cameras throughout the city that read and run the plates on cars that happen by them, alerting police to any vehicles flagged as stolen or otherwise.  The mere running of plates is not unreasonable, it’s just a part of public safety that‘s necessary so long as shitty people continue to carjack, steal cars, commit crimes in cars, or use cars to get away after doing something they ought not to have done.

So, Soukharith’s appeal got shot down, and good thing, too.  1995 was a rough year for women in Iowa with nice cars, it seems.  Just like Jodi Huisentruit’s Miata, I don’t know whatever became of Karen Logsdon’s white 3000GT VR-4.  Because it was leased, there’s a good chance it went back to the dealership at the end of its term (or at least at the end of Soukharith’s trial, depending on which came last).  From there, Karen’s family would have had the option of buying it -though I’m not sure they would have, given the extremely high price that Karen ultimately paid for the car thanks to Soukharith’s selfish and stupid criminal actions.  The Mitsi could have cycled back to the dealership after its lease term and gone up for sale as a used car.  If that’s the case, I wonder if the person who bought it next has any idea what kind of dark history their beautiful Mitsi possesses.  After all, lives were ruined because somebody beheld that car’s beauty and refused to control himself in his efforts to make that beauty his own.  Karen’s life, for certain, the lives of her family, who suffered the loss of her, even Anousone Soukharith, horrible person that he became, ruined his life (or at least a good, long portion of it) and I’m sure his family has suffered, too, as a result of his callous actions.

I know I have a few peeps in the Des Moines area who are regular readers, and if you guys happen to know anything about whatever became of Karen Logsdon’s 3000GT, I’d like to hear about it, just to settle my own curiosity.  One thing I’ve always been fascinated by, and an aspect that has shown up in much of my sculptural work, as I believe I’ve mentioned before, is the notion of inanimate objects absorbing some trace of the lives and events that surrounded them.  I wouldn’t call it a haunting, but more of an echo of time, space, and being that resonates within and about a material thing or form.