Not Going Into 1st, 3rd, & 5th & Parking Brake Seized??

 I have a 2017 Focus RS which since COVID has basically just sat in the driveway with the exception of some errand runs. I work from home now so no more commuting.

4th of July weekend I went to take it out and a few blocks down the street it started acting weird wouldn't go into 1st at stop signs, then starting in 2nd it wouldn't go into 3rd so I'd have to jump to 4th. So I stopped in a parking lot and was trying to figure out what was up. Decided I should just take it back home and it felt like the brakes were dragging. The parking brake was "floppy" like the parking brake wouldn't release.

So took it to the dealer and they confirmed the parking brake was seized and had to be replaced. But they could not repeat or find a reason for a shifting issue.

I pick it up after closing and drive it home, but of course before I get home it starts having issues going into 1st, 3rd, and 5th again. I assume it's an issue with the synchros but no idea why the hell that happened at the same time as the parking brake seizing??

I guess I'll try a performance shop next, somewhere that will listen to me.

Ontario's New Stunting Laws

Quietly on July 1st 2021 some new laws came into effect to crack down harder on street racers.  They claim street racing increased significantly in 2020 and this is the response.

Street racing has always been illegal and has always had harder punishments than even drunk driving.  So racers have always known what they were doing has harsh consequences and it hasn't stopped them.  But instead of racing these new laws are wording it as "stunting," and this term has some broad definitions.  For instance the following things are seen outside of a street racing daily on the roads on Ontario.

- Driving in a way that prevents a vehicle from passing.

- Intentionally cutting off another vehicle.

- Intentionally driving too close to another vehicle.

And these have NOTHING to do with street racing.

- Driving a motor vehicle while the driver is not sitting in the driver's seat.

- Driving a motor vehicle with a person in the trunk of the motor vehicle.  (Watch out mobsters)

So people not racing could easily be charged with stunting depending on the mood of the officer and what they feel they saw the driver doing.  One motorcyclist mentioned that just briefly standing on the bike to stretch his legs could be called stunting.  Rushing through traffic to get to an offramp you don't want to miss could be called stunting.

I've been pretty vocal that I'm "pro racing," although not pro STUPID racing.  Street racers need to take it out on a deserted road.  If you crash and get hurt/die out in the middle of nowhere, well you knew the risks.  But weaving through traffic or on busy streets or highways is stupid racing.  Hammering it as you leave a car show is stupid racing.  Screaming down a residential street is stupid racing.  When I was a teen I had a cop pull me over after I smoked my tires.  He said, "I don't care if you do this outside of town.  Go out of town and smoke them till the tires fall off." That pretty much sums it up.  Go where you're endangering nobody but yourselves.

Street racing is a symptom of a problem that nobody wants to do anything about.  Racers are gonna race. That's not going to change no matter how many punishments they throw at it.  But they could race safely and legally if cities were willing to have tracks for people to compete.  However most cities stick their tracks WAY out in the boonies hours away, or they have none at all complaining about the noise levels.  If you aren't going to have accessible tracks, people are gonna race at the stop light.  I realize it wouldn't stop them all, but it gives a driver something to say when challenged rather than wussing out.  "Let's go to the track."   When I lived in Madison Wisconsin I tried to rally to get a local track setup and was shut down.  I was told they didn't want the noise in the city limits.  But racers are gonna race.  If there's not track, it's gonna be on the street.

Anyway fellow racers look out.  If you're gonna mess with the cops you better be able to outrun them.  Here are the new laws in Ontario.

New Stunt Driving Laws

Effective July 1st 2021, the Ministry of Transportation will be implementing several amendments to the Highway Traffic Act with respect to stunt driving and street racing in Ontario. Specifically, drivers charged with stunt driving will now face a 14-day motor vehicle impoundment (currently seven days). Further, drivers found to be speeding in excess of 40 km/h or more on roads with a speed limit of less than 80 km/h can now be charged with stunt driving.

Stunt driving and street racing are dangerous and illegal.

Stunt Driving includes:

- Driving 40 kms per hour or more over the speed limit on roads with a speed limit less than 80 kms per hour

- Driving 50 kms per hour or more over the speed limit if the speed limit is 80 kms per hour or more

- Driving in a way that prevents other vehicles from passing

- Intentionally cutting off another vehicle

- Intentionally driving too close to another vehicle, pedestrian or fixed object

- Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to lift some or all of its tires from the surface of the highway

- Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to spin it or cause it to circle, without maintaining control over it

- Driving a motor vehicle while the driver is not sitting in the driver’s seat

- Driving a motor vehicle with a person in the trunk of the motor vehicle

Street Racing includes:

- Two or more motor vehicles driving in a way that indicates the drivers are competing

- Chasing another motor vehicle

- Changing lanes repeatedly at a high rate of speed and weaving through traffic

Drivers who are involved in stunt driving or street racing will be subject to:

- An immediate seven-day driver’s licence suspension

- An immediate 14-day vehicle impoundment at roadside (whether it is your vehicle or not)

- A minimum fine of $2,000 and a maximum fine of $10,000

- A jail term of up to six months

- A post-conviction licence suspension of up to two years for the first conviction, and up to 10 years for a second conviction within 10 years

- Six demerit points

HOLY CRAP! Been a Long Time!

 Howdy all.  I know it's been awhile since I posted.  I could get into all the reasons but lets face it, you really don't care.  So here's a little update.

- I don't really make YouTube vids anymore on the American Motoring page Mainly because there didn't seem to be much interest.

- I still own my 2017 Ford Focus RS and my 2014 Shelby GT500.  Although with the COVID crap I hardly drive them.  So they are both connected to trickle chargers keeping the batteries alive.

Talking about GT500s Jalopnik posted a nice little article about the end of the GT500 solid axle platform.  https://jalopnik.com/the-last-live-axle-shelby-gt500-is-gnarlier-than-any-ne-1846385609

So I'm still here.  I'm still interested in car.  Just been stuck at home like everyone else.

Walk Away Insurance?

Hello everyone.  Well shit went down at my job. I was doing great for 8 years but decided to try a new role which did not work out for me and I was let go.  I should have stayed where I was.  Well lesson learned I guess.

Losing my job leaves me with a 2014 GT500 draining my remaining finances. Since my career of choice tends to be rather unstable at times, so I bought the GT500 with this possibility in mind.  I purchased what they called "Walk Away Insurance." I'm rather upset to be losing my Shelby but now that I have a need for the policy I've looked into the details.

First you need to prove two things.  One is that you were let go.  So a you must provide your exit paperwork.  The second is to prove you were let go legitimately and therefore are eligible for unemployment.  I suppose this shows that you lost your job for work reasons rather than for streaking naked or something that wouldn't allow you to qualify for unemployment.  Basically that you didn't so something on purpose to lose your job or get out of your car loan.

What my particular policy does is make your car payments for 12 months without affecting your credit score.  So far I'm unclear if this needs paid back.  One would assume no since it's insurance.  If after 12 months you still do not have a job then they take the vehicle, also without affecting your credit score.

On the one hand I'm a little relieved because I may possibly be able to save it once I find new employment however I'm thinking I should perhaps just sell the car.  This gets rid of my payment and takes it off my car insurance lowering that as well.  Also if my next job is outside of Canada which it easily could be I can't take the car with me anyway.

If you are living in Ontario and are interested in a low miles GT500 please leave a message below this post.

Barrie Ford Update

Hey Gang,

It's been awhile since I posted.  Been going through some issues with my career and for a time I thought perhaps I'd have to do some cut backs which meant getting rid of the Shelby.  It's really been upsetting because I think I've finally been settling in with it.  I see the 2020 GT500 coming out and I don't have the drive to rush out and trade mine in.  I feel my GT500 is enough and if I want more it can easily be modded.  But the career stuff has calmed down so things seem fine now.

If you recall I had some issues with Barrie Ford in the past.  They are a SVT dealership where I bought my Focus RS.  I was totally happy with them until after a recall they returned my RS back to me a filthy mess.  Half a tank of gas, dirty, bird crap on it after they kept it for 6 days.  So I gave a bad review to Ford.  Then they contacted me not to apologize but to say I should revoke my complaint because it wasn't the service guy's fault and it looked bad on him.  So "F" them.  I now go to Shanahan Ford.

Yesterday I received a call from Barrie Ford.  They asked how the RS was and wanted to remind me that they have a "Friends & Family" bonus that if I refer a friend or family to them for a new car I'd get a $100 gift card! Wow, a whole $100!  Imagine that?

This dealership REALLY doesn't get it.  Consider this.  If I don't like them would a pathetic $100 gift card really motivate me to send a friend or family member to them?? No.  However if they just had good customer service and weren't such cocky assholes I would refer friends and family to them for free.  You want to share a good experience with others you care about.

I really don't understand this place.  They have a great facility that sells Ford's top vehicles but they have a huge chip on their shoulders and don't respect the cars after a sale.

Some people responded that I'm being a jerk.  However when I lived in Madison Wisconsin the Ford dealership Kayser Ford was amazing.  They would wash my car before returning it every time it went in for service.  If it was in more than a day the car would come back with a full tank of gas.  So I bought two Mustang GTs from them.  Maybe they spoiled me.  Barrie Ford said they don't do this.  But after spending a pile of cash on a performance car shouldn't we expect them to?

Being completely honest when I walked up to my RS and saw what a mess it was I shook my head but moved on with it.  It was disappointing but I was fine.  It was the phone call from Barrie Ford, not to apologize but to insist I change my review that pushed me over the edge.  That was when I was done with them.

Top Speed

Ford has released that the 2020 Shelby GT500 will be electronically limited to 180 mph.  So does that mean that my 2014 GT500 wins?? It goes to 200 mph.  :P

Am I Trading my 2014 Shelby for a 2020 Shelby GT500?

So the new 2020 Shelby GT500 has been announced and it’s coming with 700+ horsepower as we’ve all heard.  So many people have been asking me, “Chad, are you going to trade in your ’14 GT500 for the new hotness?” The answer is pretty easy.  No.  My 2014 GT500 taught me a lot about high speed, high horsepower cars. 

One is that cars are no fun if you can’t connect that power to the road.  Having a car that constanstantly smoke the tires sounds awesome until you realize that’s about all they can do.  My GT500 with its 662hp can roast a set of tires in multiple gears but it’s hard as hell to launch.  So when you’re lined up next to someone you really have to count on the supercharger to pull you out of the hole because you most likely aren’t going to win the launch.

So what if the 2020 GT500 has amazing launch control?  Then would I get one?  Still no.  My current GT500 is freakin’ fast .  It claims 0 – 60 in 3.5 sec, a quarter-mile in 11.7 seconds, and a top speed of 200 mph.  None of that can be experienced when I pull it out of the garage on a sunny day.  Mainly I just experience the excruciating frustration of sitting in bumper to bumper traffic with very few openings to actually enjoy what the car was built to do.  Certainly there could be track days I suppose but the closest drag strip is over two hours away and requires driving across Toronto.

My 2014 Shelby GT500 is a really cool car with incredible abilities that I never get a chance to use.  It mainly sits in the garage which is exactly what the 2020 GT500 would do if I bought it.  There was a time I really craved having the highest horsepower machine I could buy.  I was drooling for it, but then I got it and it was all a bit of a letdown.  On the other hand my 2017 Focus RS is an absolute blast and a car I can have a lot of fun with no matter where I’m driving it.

So I’ve kind of learned my lesson.  I’m sure the 2020 GT500 is going to be incredible, it certainly sounds incredible but I’m going to let it pass.  I’ll still be interested what others think of it though.