If you like that quality and ride of the 500, you'll love the '05 Mustang!

 

What's all this about "honda quality"?? every honda i've ever ridden in have been pieces of crap, the last being a 2003 accord. i don't understand what the hype about japanese quality is, all i've ever bought has been ford and i have never had a quality issue. today's car's interiors are primarily plastic, and american plastic is all as good as asian plastic. "honda-quality"?? i want my 05 stang to be FORD quality.

 

Well said!

 

As much as I hate to sound like a fanboi, I couldn't agree more.

 

Primarily in the details, but all good design is in the details. Things like how smoothly each control, button, ****, etc. work; tight gaps and all pieces firmly affixed; excellent ergonomics and control weighting, etc.

And sure, most car's interiors are pretty much all plastic, but again, there's a vast difference in the quality of the plastics used, both in terms of their design, surface finish, sturdiness, etc., again, areas where Honda has excelled in general (if not in every instance). Look at the Rubbermaid interiors on all too many GM products to see a sad display of how badly a plastic interior can be done and at recent Audi/VW products to see how well, even at affordable prices (Golf/Jetta).

That said, Ford is now taking all these subtle details very seriously with the new Stang, which should be a huge advance over the lacksadaisical (sp-?) interior of the current car. Another example where competition improves the breed.

At least Ford isn't making lame excuses -- "Honda interiors ain't all that..." -- and are actually (finally) doing the hard work to improve their product to meet and hopefully surpass the stiff competition -- hats of to them! And if the vastly improved F-150, 500 and Freestyle interiors are any indication, more good things are to come from the blue oval.

 

No i dont think they are real aluminum

[/b][/quote]
Trust me the Interior Upgrade Packages, Say it wioth me, A-L-U-M-I-N-U-M Trim is REAL ALUMINUM! It is Cool to the touch and the Chrome Rings for the A/C vents are Real Chromed Metal as Well, not Chrome plated Plastic, they even fog up with moisture when they're Cold. I have sat in an 05 Mustang 3 times now, and the quality of this car looks to be near Infinity G 35 Coupe Quality to me, it's at least 100% better than anything Ford has put out previously.

 

I am not worried at all Fords quality is way up from previous years

 

after my experance with my 02 SVT Focus and all the problems I'm having with it, I'll wait a year or two before getting a Mustang, so they can work out all the bugs on it...plus I can't afford it right now

 

First three hondas were great, no complaints. The RSX ( Number 4 ) has been terrible. 1/4 aint bad, but it's enough for me...Never again. RSX For Sale.

Jd power ratings for 2004 models:

RSX 2/5 mechanical quality
Mustang 5/5 mechanical quality
RSX 3/5 overall quality
Mustang 4/5 overall quality

That's quite an accomplishment for a platform that is as old as the current Mustang vs. the latest and greatest from the far east.

God this wait is killing me....I want my !

 

I hear the quality should be better than that michael keaton movie, Gung Ho.

 

I, for one, am concerned about the quality given some of the posts I've been about engine issues and the like (on BlueOvalNews, which of course I take with a grain of salt the size of Texas). However, I have laid down a $500 refundable deposit on a Blue GT which is supposed to hit the production line on October 4th. I'm truly hoping that when it comes in that I'm blown away by the power, handling AND quality. As with all negative AND positive comments about a car I take them in stride and reserve the final judgment for myself. Hopefully folks here in Sarasota FL will see me driving in my new GT before Thanksgiving!!!

 

stop being concerned about the quality.. ford is trying to renew their status as a automaker and this is their flagship car.. if the mustang starts failing apart they would be the biggest embarassment ever.. im more concerned about the quality of parts that you might consider modifying your stang with

 

OMG, close this horrible thread. Everyone spent so much time typing and for what!?- someone who is obviously not car savvy.

Is it logical in the least that a new, 2005 model car is a lemon just sitting on a lot?????? Listen to Grantsdale's early post, as this really is a troll who gets us all typing for NO GOOD REASON.

 

It might behove you to "educate" yourself on my position by reading a number of my other posts.

By and large, I agree with most of what you're saying. Those points I don't agree with are merely sophistry, i.e. "Vanilla ice was one of the most popular rappers and musicians, ever. Do you think he was a better musician than Bach or the Beatles, or that public opinion is sometimes wrong? Cockroaches are more common than people, does that make them a higher life form? The National Socialists had popular support, did that make their position moral? Common sense isn't. Popular opinion is drivel. Maybe you want to be the proud bleating member of a flock, but I'll opt to think for myself." That's completely irrelevant to the dialogue. There are good quantitative reasons (NOT perception-fed, mind you) why domestic automakers have lost money while their Japanese counterparts increase profits. There are good QUANTITATIVE reasons why Japanese quality is held to be GENERALLY better than domestic. Of course, you have to look at individual vehicles. But "by-and-large" is the argument here.

Again, you can choose to ignore the facts, couching your argument in, "it's all the ramblings of populist culture." But your position doesn't hold water.

As to the links you provided, I've read all but one of those pieces, thank you.

Well, sadly, some are. I hear arguments on this board all the time that have no factual basis in reality, i.e.

"NAV systems are useless. They're only good for marine use and when you're in the woods."

"People who buy Japanese cars are all Ricers."

"I only buy American."

"My current generation Stang [SN-195] has an awesome interior. It doesn't seem cheap to me at all."

...and the lastest one I saw, and my favorite...

"What the heck is 'stability' control and why would you need it?"

Next...

 

Ford "looks" like they are doing everything possible to improve quality and restore faith in the name brand. IMO thats a good sign but we won't know if quality is improved until we see some production cars at the dealerships and spend a few minutes in them ourselves.

My experience with previous Mustangs is that certain cars came out of the factory in better shape than others. I could see if one or two cars slip through the crack somewhere but most of the previous cars had similar problems. The biggest thing I am hoping to see improvement in is the dash/cd controls. The previous years just don't line up properly in some cars while others look just fine.



OT: Just out of curiousity do you know if the transmission problem with the C6 extended to the 6-speed auto being delayed a year? The current rumor is that GM couldn't get it working correctly in time for launch?

 

The employees at AAI worked both on the Mazda 6 and the Mustang. They ran more Mazdas at first, then more Mustangs. Also, remember, new employees were not "really" new. They have been on the line and in the system at Ford for years and had a feel for everything anyway. I would highly doubt any of them had a problem catching on to building the Mustang. Many found the system and the techniques easier to work than the procedures followed at the plant they left behind. AAI did extensive training with these people. If anything, I would say a higher quality vehicle finished the line at AAI because they went through a fine tooth comb!! Besides, these workers are proud of this baby!!

 

I really dont know what everyone is so worked up about. i have 2 stangs 95 and 01 and no they arent lexus material but thats not why i bought the car. if i wanted to be boring and safe, i'll buy a bland gas saving fwd family car, if i wanted to be a snob that only cares about the material that touches their delicate skin , i'll buy a lexus or mercedes, but i like a car the for the way it drives and feels, and let me tell you, nothing beats the stang. well....there is the corvette.....ok nothing beats the stang in its price range......and it is THE MOST POPULAR SPORTS CAR IN the world.

by the way, keep these facts in mind:

1) japanese cars arent invincible like popular belief.
2) american quality is not nearly as poor as people think it is.
3) the media, promotes imports and bashes domestics....not just in cars....in everything.......its ridiculous...

 

I couldn't agree more G8trStang. When are people going to wake up and realize that American quality has come a LONG way in recent years? I don't understand why the media wants to bash their own country! It will only come back to bite them and all of us for that matter.

 

I don't understand why the media wants to bash their own country! [/b][/quote]
Because patriotism is an irrelevant substitute for quality.

Yeah, because those Japanese and Huns only care about their "delicate skin" after all. :scratch:

 

First of all, to dismiss me as a troll may have been a bit premature. Being employed in the automotive industry, I'm positive I have much more first hand knowledge of both the Mustang launch and the Five Hundred launch than 99% of the people here. The Five Hundred I sat in at the dealer was sent back to the factory in Chicago to have the quality concerns addressed. My only question is how it left the factory in the first place to be displayed at a Ford dealer. The situation has been corrected, but how many people saw the same lemon I did before that? As my profile shows, I own a '01 Lightning so I'm hardly a Ford basher. I think Ford is making huge strides in quality but after looking at that particular Five Hundred, I got flashbacks to the Nasser days. BTW, I have sat in numerous pre production '05 stangs and driven a V6 auto. The quality was top notch, but these were cars Ford did go over with a fine tooth comb. If the production versions are even close to what I have seen, Ford will have a winner. My original thread was geared for people that have already ordered their Mustang. I was wondering if they would accept a "less than perfect" Mustang just to have one.