April 12, 2014 - FAST Championship @ SPC

[AScoda]

Who would have ever thought that Ford would have it's own category for anything autocross related?

[Loren]

Could easily have just split MUSTANGS into their own category. It seems a little weird, but I'm glad to see it.

[Jamie]

You're losing.

Current standings:
Mazda - 21
Ford - 17
Asian - 15
Euro - 12
US - 7

Does Bill Flowers' Jag X-Type count as a Euro or a Ford?

[Loren]

I had to think about it... but it's Euro.

[Solar]

Would that be "thee" Bill Flowers ? Haven't seen him in quite a while.

[Native]

^^^ And in a Jaguar, no less....

[Jamie]

^^^ And in a fancy, 4WD Ford Contour, no less....

Fixed that for you.

[WAFlowers]

Would that be "thee" Bill Flowers ? Haven't seen him in quite a while.

Yep! The one and only.

And rollin' in style!

[WAFlowers]

^^^ And in a fancy, 4WD Ford Contour, no less....

Fixed that for you.

That's a fancy, 4WD Ford Mondeo I'll have you know; the better sibling of the Contour. But you're forgiven for not knowing the difference because Ford killed the Contour and never brought the Mondeo to North America.

And, I have to say, the AWD is brilliant! I thought my very old Subaru Legacy GT2.5 was good (that's the car I started autocrossing a long time ago) but this blows it away. Plus the reworked cam profile and head to increase torque at the bottom end is sweet. So good I just had to find out what it would be like at an autoX!

The one gotcha is have an auto 5-speed; there were very few manuals sold. The transmission has 3 modes: conservative full-auto, aggressive sport mode (push a button and it holds shift points almost to just above peak HP, just below red line), and hooligan mode where you manually shift. Jaguar, apparently, is known for automatics that welcome manual shifting.

And, of course, the traction yaw/lateral DSC control can be disabled, although it might be interesting to do one run with it on, because Jaguar!

[WAFlowers]

So how good is a Jag X-Type in the slalom? Check it out!
http://youtu.be/kwUnhx6SGGE

[Jamie]

That's a fancy, 4WD Ford Mondeo I'll have you know; the better sibling of the Contour. But you're forgiven for not knowing the difference because Ford killed the Contour and never brought the Mondeo to North America.

Having driven Mondeos and Contours, and owned a [Mercury] Mystique for a couple of years, no forgiveness needed...it's all how you say potato. Basically the same car. I really liked them; until Sam's Audi, I always said our V-6, 5-speed Mystique was the best long-distance driver we'd ever owned. If it hadn't been broken all the time, we'd have kept it far longer.

[WAFlowers]

Having driven Mondeos and Contours, and owned a [Mercury] Mystique for a couple of years, no forgiveness needed...it's all how you say potato. Basically the same car. I really liked them; until Sam's Audi, I always said our V-6, 5-speed Mystique was the best long-distance driver we'd ever owned. If it hadn't been broken all the time, we'd have kept it far longer.

Back in the day tried a Contour SVT and really wanted to buy one.

The Jag will get to stretch it's legs this summer on a road trip to Canada. I think we will feel the same as you felt about your Mystique.

[Solar]

Good to see you're back Bill !

So how good is a Jag X-Type in the slalom? Check it out!
http://youtu.be/kwUnhx6SGGE

I watched the video, and I will have to admit, you look a hell of a lot younger in that video than I remember.

[WAFlowers]

Good to see you're back Bill !

Thanks, but I don't think I'm going to bring the Jag out on a regular basis. And my only other vehicle is a Ford F350 diesel dually!

I watched the video, and I will have to admit, you look a hell of a lot younger in that video than I remember.

[ExecutiveHydra]

Could easily have just split MUSTANGS into their own category. It seems a little weird, but I'm glad to see it.

Because #Mustang!

[Loren]

Because #Mustang!

But you're still losing.

Mazdas are up to around 23 entries. Fords still holding at 17. Better find some more Mustangs or something!

We gained another Chevy... maybe somebody will call for backup and bring one of the dark horse groups up from behind at the last minute?

[Loren]

BTW...what is this talk of me leading S2 class? You are smoking me in points.

I decided to drop out of S2 and play in M1 for a while just to make things interesting. With the number of events left, if you or Joe can manage to dominate the remaining events, you can catch me. Since you're missing this event, Joe might have a shot at first place.

[Solar]

BTW...what is this talk of me leading S2 class? You are smoking me in points.

I decided to drop out of S2 and play in M1 for a while just to make things interesting. With the number of events left, if you or Joe can manage to dominate the remaining events, you can catch me. Since you're missing this event, Joe might have a shot at first place.

Don't believe a word Loren says. He was in the MO class at the Classic last week, thinking he had no problem winning the class, and it didn't happen because he hit a "cone". Don't let him get in your head, Loren can be beat, just don't let him "drive mad".

[Loren]

Oh, right. M0. Yeah. Something like that.

[Shifterracer]

Another Camaro added to the early morning run group