New Mustang
 

Finally we have some real test numbers, unfortunately from motor trend. Anyway the car was an automatic and did 0-60 in the low fives and they said they thought a manual would be in the high 4's. It was slower than the current (mach 1) mustang in the 1/4 mile (13.4?) which shows a difference in gearing. The overall tone of the article seemed to be of dissapointment which surprised me. They seemed to feel that the car wasn't improved as much as it should have been. Its still a brute and although they made the steering slightly slower, the feel is much improved. I still find it amazing that they are getting that kind of performance out of a V8 thats tuned to run on 87 octane and still gets decent gas mileage. The exterior looks a lot worse to me today than it did 6 months ago. I still want to go over the car with a fine toothed comb in person but I'm really not that excited about it anymore. Thoughts?

I HATE the styling of the new Mustang. The retro thing is not working at all.

Motor Trend is wrong in saying the manual will be faster. It might be as fast as the automatic. The manual has shorter gearing in first, and taller gearing in second. It will be harder to launch and will not make up the difference.

That is a big engine, it should get 300 hp.

Just imagine if nissan added direct injection to the VQ35 here and tuned it up for the Z, 350 hp.

I like the styling. I don't have any plans to buy one, but maybe that will change once I can get behind the wheel. The major drawback of the Mustang for me has always been that everyone and their sister owns one. I like to at least be slightly different. But that isn't a fault of the car, but rather shows its popularity with the masses.

True. Where's that guy's avatar with Vanilla Ice driving around in his 5.0. That is the embodiement of a mustang driver.

How do you think gasoline direct injection is going to up the power to 350 hp? How did you come to that conclusion?

I love the styling of Mustangs, even the piss-ugly ones from the 70's. I thought Ford was going to surprise me with a more modern, powerful ponycar, but I'm kind of disappointed. Maybe they're saving their strength for the next Cobra. :)

The foxbody was the worse Mustang design.

Yeah I'm not too fond of that style either. Every time I see a 5.0, it reminds me of high school and how every boy racer owned one. They actually make good project cars.

I can't imagine that both Chevrolet and Ford did not use the opportunity to incorporate some groundbreaking design work into the latest generation of Corvette and Mustang. I had a Mustang before and was actually looking to buy the new model....... until I saw the design. Both car designs are derivative in nature and leave me disappointed. They are pandering to people who could not have afforded one in the past and are looking to relive their youth.

I credit Cadillac (of all brands) for going on a new styling tangent. Mercedes, BMW same thing. OK, the new gen 911 is an evolution, but when the Boxter was intoed, I saw a groundbreaking design. Even the TT or the 350Z.

Retro is OK a la Chrysler. But the Mustang and Vette are just derivative. Look at the demise of the T-Bird. That's where the new 'stang is headed. the only thing that will keep the new Vette alive is cutting edge performance.

imo that new mustang looks TOO much like a caricature of the original. and it's HUGE, looks fat. personally, (i know this sounds ridiculous), but i prefer the sn95 mustangs, especially the cobras

It's not ridiculous. The SN95's, in my opinion, were a big evolution in terms of Mustang body style. This new-retro design will only make the Mustang stand out in a crowd of otherwise pedestrian cars. It's not original, but I'm sure this new Mustang will sell.

I like the design, but I think Ford could've done much better.

Retro works well for many things, and in this case, for the Mustang as well.

I love it and although styling is such a subjective topic, I'm sure the masses will love it and will buy them by the boatload.

***EDIT***

I like it, but it's kind of ricey.

http://bradbarnett.net/mustangs/concept/gt-r/GT-R-3.jpg

http://bradbarnett.net/mustangs/concept/gt-r/GT-R-4.jpg

I think that looks so PHAT!

Its not sexy, but it is very old school "muscle" looking.

Okay, I'll admit this is pretty damn cool as well. It'll be hard for the next generation Mustang, the one after the DEW-based, to follow.

Since I didn't make a thread, nor want to, I think I'll just post this here. :)

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/images/2005Mustang.wmv

that video is alright, I have never seen a burnout in reverse :)

I like the GTR, although all race cars would look ricey on the street. Strip off that wing and paint the car black and it would be hot, especially with that side exhaust!

I dunno...I kinda like the '05. Rented an '04 GT convertible for a couple of weeks in Canada last August and had an absolute blast!

Personally, I wish they had stayed truer to the concept pictured below. I loved that car, the production model needs a few little cosmetic tweaks.

I see what you mean! Especially on the front end

You've got my feelings down perfectly. At first I loved it, but now that I've seen the production version pics a few times... I like it... better than the SN95, but the design still could have been better.

And yes Ford is holding out on improvements for... not necessarily the Cobra. Carroll Shelby is going to be doing a "farewell" car... yep that's right.. the return of the Shelby Mustang. The only question at Ford has been which will be the top model... the Corba or Shelby? On another note, yes the car is still a live axel... the market demanded it for those who like to drag race their cars (mentioned by Gordon as well in another thread). Ford's plans are for the tops Stang to be a M3 class competitor according one of the VP's (I forget which)... which definitely means IRS for this model. Seeing what Ford did with the Ford GT... I'd expect that this car will impress even the domestic car haters.

Agreed. If Ford had stuck closer to this original design... wow, what a sexy car!

Yep, I think the original concept looked a bit cleaner and classier.

I like it, thought the color just isnt my style. I'd rock that car if it were silver and had those GTR stickers on the side taken off. Im still deciding between that, the RX-8, and the 350Z for my next car sometime in 2005.

It looks alright. It's kindof growing on me.

edit: picture is of the race car prototype. Linkhere.

The concept's hood and tail lights are what I wish carried over to production. The concept's interior was a bit cheesy and only a 2 seater though. As far as the concepts go, I preferred the convertible. It was bad ass with the roll bar and all.

For all you haters...
I think the production version turned out good. I really like it. And say what you will about retro...everything comes back in style eventually. Most people like old school. If you look around, throwbacks are evrywhere. From sports jerseys to stainless kitchen appliances to modes of transportation. I love my 68 Stang, but if I can get a new car that has a similar look, with better perfomance, a seat that doesnt feel like a park bench, and disc brakes (not to mention ABS)...its a no brainer. Im only 27, and when Im 57 Ill probaly be buying a throwback RX8 to remeber my youth. :D