shorty911

Whats better about the new stang then rx8 and whats worse whats overall better

so far

stang 300lp torque more hp faster

rx8 looks better smooth better interior if its leather

NickG

Not sure about the new Mustang, but unless Ford USA has lifted its game substantially I can't imagine how this car could ever appeal to an RX-8 devotee. We've had the US Mustang here in Australia for a few years now. Away from the parochial US press, competing on even terms with imported product from around the world and our domestically engineered Fords and GM Holdens, the Mustang is a sick joke. Decent engine and lovely exhaust note aside, it's crudely engineered, appallingly badly finished from low rent junk materials ( especially the interior), and looks like a plastic kit car designed by some pubescent boy while he was off wagging school.

Seriously it's a mystery to all of us outside the States why the US car industry, with the incredible resources at its disposal, is so consistently and utterly incapable of manufacturing internationally competitive product. Fortunately several of their offshore subsidiaries do much better in this regard, otherwise GM, Ford and Chrysler would be nowheresville on the global scene.

MTLbroker

I had the previous generation Mustang GT convertible. True, the power was great. But, laying down patches of rubber loses its thrill after awhile. And drag races at the stoplights are not only dangerous, but childish as well. I bought the car just after the design change, so at first, the design seemed new and fresh - that lasted about 2 years. Towards the end, I just didn't feel like the car was me. It was too boy-racer. Plus, in just 3 short years, there were so many cars like mine that it didn't seem exclusive anymore. I suspect that the new Mustang will suffer the same fate. When the local Avis starts advertising summer weekend rentals of Mustang convertibles, you'll know it's time for a change.

Red Devil

In my opinion, America hasn't produced "internationally competitive product" because they have a large population base that will purchase their cars no matter what. Why put money into R&D when you know there is no competition? This all has been slowly changing, however, as they are now getting leveled by companies like Toyota.

To me, the best example of this is the Corvette. It was like a truck until the C5 came out. Then all the sudden they had a legitimate sports car that was comparable to a 911 in performance and driving sophisitcation. The only reason this happened is because the Good Old Boy network is literally aging/dying off so they had no choice. Most my age, 24, I think could care less who builds the car, just as long as it delivers what we want. The Vette has gone from being nothing special, to the C6 which has near the same power to weight ratio as a 911 Turbo. Competition is a great thing.

murix

I see the difference in power.

Mustang is a cheap fix for power. Definite step up from previous generations, but they still built for the lowest possible cost for the most possible power. It is the market they are targeting. If you want everything else, go for the 8.

Let the flames begin.

Shamblerock

There is no comparison. The mustang is a cheap excuse for a sports car with toms of cheap plastic everywhere and a shifter, dash and seats similar to that of an Escort. What is it, 5 scoops all bolted on and not one is functional? Check under the rear bumper and you will see they use actual styrofoam painted black. The car is absolutley junk except for their power train which seems to be decent. That car could come with 500 hp and $10K less than the RX 8 and I wouldn't touch it. My freind bought the convertable GT kept it for 2 months and sold it because it was so cheaply built and the parts used were weak, especially in the interior. Also the handling in the rain is about as deadly as it gets, meaning your death if you push it a little too hard, you lose control easily and can not recover.

My freind eventually bought the last Camaro SS and tell me its leaps and bounds better than the Mustang. Furthermore, he thinks and feels that the RX-8 is substantially a better car than the Camaro in every regard except stright line power. He's likely going to trade that in now that he has driven my RX-8 a few times. The design of the 8 is timeless. Mark my works; the 8 has set a new standard in engineering and design for cars at this level for the next several years. It will always look hot. Guaranteed. Sort of like a porsche design is timeless.

grapes

shorty911- i'm sure the Mustang is a nice car and as for all the other American cars mentioned in this thread, i sure they are equally nice vehicles. The point is that this an RX-8 forum and comparing an RX-8 to a Mustang is like comparing a Porsche 911 to a HEMI truck, there is no comparison, completely diffferent animals.

rev-2-9k

they both have 4 wheels, a steering wheel, a battery

AbusiveWombat

Mustang pros:
- faster
- better gas mileage
- will have a better aftermarket (hell, they already have super charger kits for the new 4.6)

RX8 pros:
- nicer fit and finish
- rotary (if you like being different)
- handling

IMO, I think the Mustang has meaner look and I really like some of the new tuner concepts: Rouch, Steeda, GTR. I can't wait to see the real mustang...the Cobra. If there will be any Mustang that captures my interest, it will be the Cobra. There's a little "boy racer" in me that loves the idea of 400 ft-lbs of tire shreading power...and if the Cobra handles as good as the last then it could be pretty tempting.

SHOWOFF

Mustangs are like ********, everyone has one.

AbusiveWombat

The RX8 is on a similar path with over 27k sold in the US

RX8_FAN

(
And they all stink)

SHOWOFF

Not hardly.

The Mustang will reach final production #'s on average of 150,000 per year. So that is one RX-8 for every 6 mustangs.

Mustangs are also used as rental cars, RX-8's are not.

I work at a Ford dealer, I see how much of a POS the Mustang is on a daily basis. I can't stand the car. Everything about it looks sad or depressed. There is nothing athletic about it. The rear tires are too narrow, they wen't from a low profile 245/45/17 to a god aweful 235/55/17 on their performance car the Mustang GT. The inside of the car makes me want to puke, if I wanted a 70 Mustang I'd buy a '70 Mustang. Cheap plastics and phony aluminum trim all over with visible glue in between the seams of aluminum. Rattles galore over bumps. The suspension has a loud thumping sound over any uneven surface. Crazy amounts of wheel gap, the rear tires still appear to be sunk inward toward the center of the car like it did on the '94-'97 models.

One good pont is the V-6 is a great powerplant with plenty of power on tap, mated with a smooth shifting 5 speed auto. And that is where the good part stops.

I was involved in several focus groups last year involving improvement that Ford could make to the products to help them sell more. My response to the engineer was this.

"Every time you introduce some retro-styled car such as the T-Bird or the Mustang, or you have to call on a name from the past such as Montego, 500, Futura etc. it just tells me along with everyone else that everyone in your overpaid design department is out of new ideas"

Shamblerock

ShOWOFF: I never worked at a car dealership and am hardly mechanically inclined, and I am really pleased to see your summary ("A Ford Insider") of the mustang is exactly like mine a few posts below.

You know what your talking about. For sure.

Of all car that I have ever known over the past 40 years, the Mustang consistently has proven to be the biggest sucker attracting car there is for what you pay>think you are getting>actually get. This is one of Ford's most profitable cars because they screw you over and skimp on everything outside of the powerplant. Just go back in history and see the law suits they faced when mustangs would literally blow up when hit from behind. WHY: the gas tank was covered simply by a cheap removable carpet so in essence the gas tank was inside the car = small tap in the back> explosion in the cabin. SMART REAL SMART.

Do I need to remind everyone of the the rust buckets ford made for years? Buy the car on Sept 1 and it is rusting on feb 1. !!!!!!

Do you think that all of a sudden they will change their ways? THINK AGAIN. 40 YEARS OF HISTORY CAN'T BE WRONG.

Another example: the Ford Escape and its faulty engines.

Another example: The Windstar had so many problems they fired the entire design team. The reputation is so bad that on the replacement van the "Freestar"
they have knock CAN$7,000 off a CAN$28,000 basic version and they still don't sell.

But no, the mustang is different! RIGHT!!!!!!!!!

Honest to God, if I knew that Ford even had the slightest say on how the RX-8 was to be designed or what parts/technolgies should be used or shared parts with other Ford products, I wouldn't have bought it. Luckily for me (and Mazda) the RX-8 and the Miata are exclusively in Mazda's hands and control. The rest of the lineup is not.

Ford just don't give a ****. They only want your money. DON'T BUY A FORD. YOU WILL REGRET IT.!!!!

kevinus99

to add something that has been overlooked, the price. the cheapest RX8 is about 5-6 grand more than the cheapest 05 stang, this is a pro for the 8, simply because this will help keep it out of the hands of ricers

Rxdriftingaction

hahaha.. omg.. I am laughing my *** off..hahahahahha.....
by the way man.... I have a friend he bought a cobra lately. and it's in a awesomely low price. and he told me.. cobra is about to selling 25k. I mean 2-hand. so.. U might can consider about it. that is way better then the new mustang. I don't like the styling of the new mustang anyway... Good luck
:p .....

cas2themoe

I have the November 2004 "Car and Driver" and it has some pretty useful information about the new Mustang. The V-6 and the V-8 are both talked about in the magazine. I can name a whole crap load of stuff that I don't like about the New Mustang. But the looks are not one of them, I actually like the looks, but only the GT version. Well heres my short list of things that make the new Mustang suck. 17inch wheels, 5 speed transmission, weight is about 3,500 lbs, solid rear axle which sucks a$$ so bad for a so called sports car and last but not least their saying in the magazine that's is only going to do 0-60mph in 5.4-7.5sec and the 1/4 mile in 14.0-15.5 sec. That really sucks for a V-8 Sports car with 300HP and 320lbs of Torque!

PoLaK

iTrader: (1)

didn't read the whole thread but if it hasn't been mentioned, They went in favor of the solid rear axle again ughhhhhhhhh get with the times you morons!

Yankeesfan

Actually cas2themoe, it's 0-60 in about 5.1 seconds for the automatic, and it should be about 4.8-4.9 for the manual transmition one. That's pretty good for 300 horses, just imagine what the next svt one will do, or even the shelby one with 400 horses.

Hopefully they still make the svt mustang even though the SVT Lightening was postponed for a few years. Lets just hope the same doesn't happen to the mustang.

2008-2009 is too far away for a new lightening, luckily my brother got one of the last ones though.

I don't plan on buying a mustang anyways, i like the way the rotary sounds. Maybe I'll purchase mazdaspeed rx8 when that comes out. I've been saving...

magixpuma

I drove my friends 2000 mustang, cuz he trusts me since i have a rex. So heres what i learned
i got it and it feals like it sorta sits lower then the 8 so i drop in and have to struggle getting my legs under hte steering wheel. once i do that,
I find out that there is no wide ways leg room and i crush my leg between the door and the steering wheel ouch.
an im like ok whatever lets just drive.

So i start it up and its got a cool sound so im like ill feather the clutch so i dont stall ibut first i have to find revers which is cuz the shifter is ******* bent and awkward so i get out and start driving and ithe clutch is so weird its like 3 inches taller than the otehr pedals when its all let out. and the gAS pedal is like 1 inch away fromt eh floor.
so my analaysis is RX8 PWNS mustang anytime just cuz its got tons more class


"cuz its got tons more class" lol

cas2themoe

"Yankees Fan" I'm getting the times from a magazine that actually tested the car. So I think their times would be more accurate then what u think the times are. Remember that this "05" Mustang is 300lbs heavier too. MSN stats on its charts that the 2004 Mach 1 Ford Mustang which has 310HP and 320lbs of torque did 0-60 in 5.66 sec so theres no way I would believe the "05" model will break that being heavier and having less HP.

EandGWZ

I thought of this thread today when I saw a Cobra on the way to NYC....don't you just hate it when the stangs bumber begins to "warp" , either poorly made or the owner used it as a ladder.

ALMOST8IT

I own an rx-8 and I have had the chance to sample several Mustang versions. It all comes down to what you like.

The RX-8 is lighter, smoother, has a refined feel and can actually fit four adults, even if the back seat is a bit tight.

The Mustang GT is heavier, feels much more powerful, has back seats only a child can really use and has a less refined feel.

Looks are going to be subjective, I like the 8 but the Mustang does have a kick-*** throughback look that is easy to like.

Aftermarket upgrades, the 8 has relatively few aftermarket upgrades compared to the Mustang.

What it really will come down to is which car looks better to you and how much you value raw power versus refinement. Which ever car you purchase, I am sure you'll fall in love with it.

Yankeesfan

Cas2themoe, I'm just stating what the issue of Motor Trend got when they tested the new mustang, 5.1 seconds for automatic. It's right on the cover of the magazine, too.

Audioslave8

Well, yesterday i went to check out the 05's and i must say the car looks great... up untill you open the door. The quality didn't even compare to the rx-8. The peices felt extremely flimsy and hallow. The speakers on the door had a plastic covering on them which will break very easily. The buttons felt cheap, the stearing wheel also didn't feel to good. Aside from the outside look i was very dissapointed. A side note, the dealers are crazy about this car, they act like its a $50,000 car.