and I thought that this was a GM-feature (Firebird/ Camaro had the solid axle too until they retired in 2002)

No wonder Mustangs are so cheap.

 

Mustang customers that drag-race HATE the Cobra IRS. There's plenty of Cobra buyers who actually swap back in the live axle! It's not just because of cost - the market demand for the live axle Mustang is driving it.

Regards,
Gordon

 

I read that the new mustang will initially be offered with a solid rear axle, but will be available in IRS down the road. I think it was in Jan. Motortrend.

 

Wow, that's much better. Of course my 1984 Celica Supra had a transaxle rear end and independent front and rear suspension.

 

I think there's been some influence of Mazda onto Ford. Have you looked at the dashboard vents in the new F-150 - they look a lot like the round vents on each corner of our 8's.

 

Guess it depends on your definition of "ford" versus "Mazda". Back in '86, I came within a gnat's eyelash of going to work as the North American head of PR for Mazda in Irvine, Ca. I would have been only the third Anglo in a (middle) management position. At the time, US Sales and Marketing was a separate entity called Mazda Motor Sales. Every other person in the building was from Japan, and all design was handled in Japan as well.

Today, if you go to SevenStock at that very same facility, you're tripping over Anglos every time you turn around, and there's a design center there that does major amounts of work on every car that Mazda brings to market. The third gen RX7 was 100% designed there according to Jack Yamaguchi's book. A year-and-a-half ago, the RX8's final packaging was being done there as well, since they showed us the test mule. And there are lots of Anglos now in top-level positions who are regarded by the Japanese cadre and by themselves too if you listen carefully, as Ford people beneath a thin Mazda veneer. There are also some dedicated rotary supporters in middle management there, who will say privately that Mazda is "too much Ford" now.

All that being said, it's hard to fault the product line, top to bottom. They're very good cars, designed with zoom-zoom as the central theme. And that's not a bad thing. This is my 25th year with a Mazda as my primary car, and my 19th with that car being a rotary. And my 8 is the best one yet.