DeNile'

Right now, I feel my car is one of the hottest vehicles on the road!!! People love it, and most think it cost more than it did. My question is do you all think the new Mustang will end the RX-8's reign at the top! I'm sure the Mustang wont have a better interior, american cars always suck! Heres, some links, the real thing will be much cheaper lookin im sure, but its still a nice vehicle.

05 mustang



05 Mustang 2

khoney

That car does absolutely nothing for me...

mikeb

looks nice
but I dont like american cars in general
not enough rice

Literatii

The profile is OK. But I'd never buy anything with rear lights like that. It's ridiculous.

Oh, wait... the steering wheel is ridiculous too.

RXhusker

Lets wait to see the production car not the concept (everybody remember the RX-Evolve interior, etc.). I saw that concept car at the Detroit Auto show last Jan -- it looked pretty good in person but I am very doubtful that the actual production car will look much like it (details) once Ford's cost cutters get hold of determining the actual production materials.

Besides that it only has two seats -- so it must get the thumbs down from me.

rx8ntexas

it's OK but i'd never choose it over the 8...I bet there will a heck of alot more of them on the street than there are Rx-8's since i'm sure it will be priced cheaper...So I think the 8 will still be one of the more unique cars on the road. Also it is kinda weird to see a modern exterior design but with a 1960's interrior..

Texas 8

I don't like it one bit. I hope the production model goes through some serious changes....

FamilyGuy

I'm sure the Mustang will sell more, unless it's truly awful. Right or wrong, the Mustang has a huge following among the 'buy American' enthusiast crowd.

But I doubt it will take any glory from the RX8.
1. There's at least a 95% chance that the Mustang will have poorer handling characteristics because Ford will cut costs on production and it's much harder to give a front engine V6 or V8 vehicle a 50/50 weight distribution.
2. The current Mustangs cost in the teens for the V6, low to mid 20s for the V8, and low 30s for the Cobra. Ford may increase the price for the new model, too. So if you want a Mustang that can beat the RX8 in a straight line, you probably won't be able to get it for cheaper than an RX8. If it is cheaper, it won't be much cheaper.
3. The RX8 will get more attention because it will be less common on the road than the new Mustang. Rarity increases value. (Of course, if it is too rare Mazda will stop making them and we don't want that.)
3. The RX8 is the best looking car on the road you can buy for under $100,000. The new Mustang looks decent, but it is still way out of the RX8's league. My boss has a G35, and his boss has an RX8. The 8 gets attention all of the time, and people always ask about it. Nobody cares about the G35.

Captain_Ron

You know, a car looks a lot worse with 16 inch rims, rather then 20s like that concept has.

All concepts look good. But the production version won't look nearly as good.


G35 > RX8

The G35 has style to spare. + 280hp

RobDickinson

Forgive me for asking, but how do you get 400bhp out of a supercharged 5.4ltr engine and call that sporty?

FamilyGuy

Which engine are you talking about? The 4.6 liter DOHC supercharged V8 in the Mustang Cobra is 390 horsepower.

The 4.6 liter Northstar V8 in the Cadillac XLR is 320 horsepower, I believe. The 4.5 liter V8 in the BMW 545 and Nissan M45 are around 330 horsepower. Compared to those numbers, the Cobra's engine looks reasonable to me.

The G35 is fast, no question. Put into gear, push gas pedal, and take off faster than 98% of the vehicles on the road.

But more style than the RX8? Of course that is a subjective measurement, but I disagree. The G35 interior is classy and comfortable. The car looks great. The RX8 interior is flashy and unusual. The car looks awesome.

DeNile'

Thanks guys, yeah I hope mazda makes only enough to keep them in production, I've had mine for weak and havent seen any others on the road, and plus the Chicks Dig IT!!!!!!!!!!1

revhappy

Agreed. However, 50/50 weight distribution does not ensure that in itself.
The current Mustang GT will beat the RX8 in a drag race and its cheaper.

How many Mustangs are going to be produced? 30,000 RX8s produced a year in the US is going to make the car far from rare.

Please stop the delusion!!! S2000, Lotus Elise, Z06, Viper, 911 Turbo, Z4, Boxer, NSX are all in that price range my friend.

DeNile'

Please stop the delusion!!! S2000, Lotus Elise, Z06, Viper, 911 Turbo, Z4, Boxer, NSX are all in that price range my friend.

S2000 never turned my head, that car is like a boxy lookin Miata, It sucks! Lotus Elise would turn heads just because its a lotus, the lines aren't better than the 8 and the interior definately isn't. The viper's interior sucks as well, but it will turn heads. And I hate the way the Z4 looks too, long @$$ hood. So that leaves the 911, Boxter, and NSX, I give you those.

I hate that S2000 though!!!

get a 8 then talk!!

revhappy

No offense my friend, but a car with suicide doors and a "bulbous profile" are not going to win int he looks department over these more expensive dedicated sports car.

RX8-TX

IMHO, the 8 is halfway to being a much more radical looking design. It seems as if they backed-off and scrapped the last draft, and they went for a hybrid between radical (not Radical!) & conservative.

No matter what the 'looks,' Enzo's, Z4's, Elise's - those are radical designs following function. On the other hand, your Evo is an example of dedication to the performance department. Our 8's are an example of an all-around tourer -it might not shine on any particular dpt., but its above average on all of them (looks left aside...)

Eventhough, I think the Elise looks beautiful.:D

Omicron

I like Mustangs to some degree, and I like the exterior of this new one pretty well. But IMHO, they went way too far with the retro thing with the interior. Might pick one up in a few years and play with it. But you'll notice that even though I knew these were coming out, I still bought the RX-8. :D

revhappy

I agree, RX8-TX. The RX8 looks amzing from the front, but some of the other angles area bit off with the suicide doors, elongated wheelbase and roofline. That being said, I think a 2X2 version with 2 doors would have been a car that perhaps would have eclipsed the others mentioned here. Who knows, it may still come out in a couple of years?

DisneyDestroyer

Seen it up-front and in-person. It's pretty ugly, and the interior components are so badly combined (combination of 50's diner and 80's BMW - seriously) there's no was I could stand it for a full test drive, let alone years of ownership.

FamilyGuy

True. Handling is more than weight distribution.

Quote:

The current Mustang GT will beat the RX8 in a drag race and its cheaper.

I did say in my post that a faster Mustang will cost more, and if it is cheaper it won't be that much cheaper. Currently the base MSRP for a Mustang GT is $24,000 - not too much cheaper than the RX8's base MSRP of $26,000.

Quote:

How many Mustangs are going to be produced? 30,000 RX8s produced a year in the US is going to make the car far from rare.

The only link I could find was http://www.mustangworks.com/articles...res/2003Mach1/
but basically Ford sells over 120,000 Mustangs a year --> 4x as many as the RX8. Plus, of course, there are already millions of Mustangs on the road while the oldest RX8s in the US are not even six months old.

Quote:

Please stop the delusion!!! S2000, Lotus Elise, Z06, Viper, 911 Turbo, Z4, Boxer, NSX are all in that price range my friend.

Some of those cars look sweet, and a lot of them are tremendously fast and would blow the RX8 away, but I think it looks better than all of them.

revhappy

Its still cheaper. The Sport Package of the RX8 (basically the cheapest high performance package) adds a bit to that, right?

[B]

True, Mustangs are all over the place, but perhaps this one will be a bit different looking. Still, both cars will be common on the road.

Its tough to argue looks, but I like them all! :D

tbonerx7

I love Mustangs! Mostly 60's stangs. I'm pretty excited to see a new platform. I think it will be manufactured at a Mazda-Ford plant... so I wonder if it's 100% Ford! Wouldn't that be a kick in the pants!

The Mustang is one of the best selling cars in american history (icon). I don't think it would be fair comparing the two cars.

I'd imagine the V8 will be faster than the 8 in most categories but as usual, less refined... that's why it's a Muscle Car and not a Sports Car. A Mustang will always be a Muscle Car. They tried to make a Mustang into a sports car with the 2005 concept and people hated the fact it might have an independat rear suspension... so back to the live axle... like the one in my '81 RX-7... see Muscle car.

I make fun of my friend's Mustangs all the time. They make fun of my rotary, but we both appreciate their differences. That's why there's choice.

I'd love to read somewhere that a Mazda engineer designed the chasis of the Mustang (though I think it's off the Tbird/luxuray lines).

First Mazda had a hand in the Ford Fucus and Futura (?) ... imagine if they made the Mustang! That would be such a slap to american "ingenuity". I love it.

T

Genom

Just a quibble. Sports package adds nothing to performance. Non of the options for the 6 speed MT are performance enhancing in any way. They are all cosmetic packages.

cueball

I don't believe that is the reason they ditched the Idependant rear suspension. It was a cost cutting measure.

If IRS is so bad then whey did Ford put it on their top of the line SVT Cobra? Better handling, thats why.
When the new Mustang comes out, once again only the SVT Cobra will have IRS.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Mustang is a great car for what is designed to do. Cheap, fast, strait line fun and the new model will be no different.

khoney

In San Antonio, I couldn't swing my dick in a parking lot without hitting a Mustang. I'm glad to have a car that turns heads (even mine, after 4 moths of ownership).