Yesterday, Agent 009 posted an interesting story coming from our friends at Ford. Apparently the Ford Performance team thought that with the purchase of the all-new Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 it would make sense to offer a complementary track session down in Charlotte.
To me, this is a genius move. There's two reasons for this.
First, there's no question that the GT500 is going to be a gnarly beast to tame. We're talking about a massive amount of power — over 750 horsepower — being sent exclusively to the rear wheels. If you don't know what you're doing, you will wind up in a heap of trouble. Kudos to Ford for thinking of driver safety.
Second, this will turn on many buyers to exploring the limit of their vehicles at the track rather than on public streets. While I am sure a lot of GT500 buyers already are enthusiasts, some won't be or they haven't had experiences in a controlled environment. Not only does that mean more part sales for Ford but greater stickiness with Ford Performance vehicles. Let's face it: If you have a great time at the track it will become addictive.
Having said that, this makes me wonder: Should more automakers OFFER or even MANDATE (for safety) free track time with the purchase of certain high-performance automobiles?