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DradusContact

Active member
Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Messages
2,487
Hi all. I put a little intro post on last year but haven't followed it up. I bought a Thunder last year foe £400 but couldn't afford to get it insured as a 3rd card until late last year. Well, its up and running now. The my true surprise it passed its MOT on Monday with just a new tyre and a brake pipe. So, I got it up on a ramp too and again to my surprise, i found it's not in bad shape underneath. It's had some welding done at the back but not as bad as I feared. I need to pull my finger out now and get some jobs done on it.

How many are still here from the old days anyway?

Matty
 
Welcome back (properly) Matt.

Get some pictures up!! :eek:k:
 
I gladly would but my days of cushy library assistant job are over. Factory workin' man now so can't post from my mobile. What have you got now Dal?
 
This one for the daily grind: https://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=110&t=31629

And this one for fun: https://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=110&t=29745
 
Wow an RS. We've got a Grand C-Max aka the battle bus, i've got a crappy 57 plate fiesta and then of course the new Puma. Seems quiet on here?
 
Normally goes a bit quieter over the winter - normally livens up when show season starts.
 
It is a little quieter than it used to be, most noticeably in the lounge. A lot of the original members haven't had a puma for years, and they just don't visit the forum any more.
 
They're right at the lowest point now, see them on eBay for 150 quid. There's a lad in work who is 22 and he didn't even know what a puma was. I felt old
 
DradusContact said:
[post]367517[/post] They're right at the lowest point now, see them on eBay for 150 quid. There's a lad in work who is 22 and he didn't even know what a puma was. I felt old

There are techs at my local Ford dealer that have never worked on one and rarely see them!

I keep hoping for a resurgence of interest in the Puma. I remain bemused at to why the classic car publications still avoid it in favour of other cars of a similar age. I think the Puma has featured maybe once in Modern Classics... and that's it. Even the Ford magazines leave them alone - although they are happy to feature Fiesta's, etc from the end of the 1990s... and I know which is the better driver's car. It's a shame, as a bit of 'media spotlight' would certainly bring some new interest in the Forum/threads. Then again, didn't even one of the main Ford Fairs last year have a big focus on the RS as it was a 10-year anniversary, but 'forgot' the 20-year anniversary of the Puma at the same time?
 
MikeT66 said:
Then again, didn't even one of the main Ford Fairs last year have a big focus on the RS as it was a 10-year anniversary, but 'forgot' the 20-year anniversary of the Puma at the same time?

The organizers apologized to Cherie after the event. Fat lot of good that was.

MikeT66 said:
It's a shame, as a bit of 'media spotlight' would certainly bring some new interest in the Forum/threads.

Never know what might happen in the future to re-ignite the marque... :pose2:
 
I think Ford have really lost their bottle in the last decade. They have dropped any car that might be a risk, even the 3 door focus is gone. All the cars look more and more the same, cars like the original Kuga were really striking, and despite the new one being a nice looking motor, especially the ST Line, its got more and more boring in my humble opinion. Really the only stand-out models now are the Mustang and RS. And WTF is that KA+? Even the SportKa and StreetKa, which were pretty limp, were at least a bit different.

You hear rumours of a 'Fiesta RS' or a 'New Puma' or 'New Capri' but I can't see it happening.
 
DradusContact said:
[post]367523[/post]You hear rumours of a 'Fiesta RS' or a 'New Puma' or 'New Capri' but I can't see it happening.

giphy.gif
 
DradusContact said:
[post]367523[/post] I think Ford have really lost their bottle in the last decade. They have dropped any car that might be a risk, even the 3 door focus is gone. All the cars look more and more the same, cars like the original Kuga were really striking, and despite the new one being a nice looking motor, especially the ST Line, its got more and more boring in my humble opinion. Really the only stand-out models now are the Mustang and RS. And WTF is that KA+? Even the SportKa and StreetKa, which were pretty limp, were at least a bit different.

You hear rumours of a 'Fiesta RS' or a 'New Puma' or 'New Capri' but I can't see it happening.

Yes - the 'new Capri' has been on the cars for... 20 years? I don't really see much of a market for sports coupes now, in all honesty - it's all SUV-crossovers and do-it-all hatches these days. I think even a Puma-like model return would step massively on the toes of the Fiesta/Focus performance models, so can't see that either. Wasn't one of the reasons the Puma was canned originally because Ford wanted to push the SportKa and Focus?

I'm actually a massive fan of coupes, but can see why the market would be limited - I think even Toyota have struggled with the GT86 (although it's been hit a few times with the ugly stick - something unforgivable in a coupe whose main raison d'etre is style over function). Why put up with compromised seating/access when a five-door can offer similar performance without these issues. You just can't beat the visual aspects of a coupe though - Capri/Puma looked, and still look, fabulous. To me, anyway.

As for Ford losing their bottle, I think most manufacturers have. Look at anything from Mercedes/BMW/Audi/VW, etc, and apart from the top-end stuff it's all bland look-a-likes designed not to to offend or challenge in any way. But if you think Ford are bad, take a look at woeful and hopeless Vauxhall for genuinely tepid motoring-with-no-passion-or-aspiration products! Welcome to modern motoring, which is why I love my Puma - still looks unique. In fairness, I think Ford USA has done a better job of keeping some special cars - Mustang, GT, F-150 Raptor - all would find their way into my garage come my big future lottery win. The Mondeo is actaully not a bad car either, but the 'new' KA ( I liked the original), etc are horrid things.
 
As a little update to the thread, I found this whilst searching for some Puma parts...

[image]5920[/image]

Concept car from 2008 as a possible Puma replacement. Looks like it might have been interesting if Ford had pursued the idea. What a shame.
 

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