Out of curiosity, I went around my car giving the body panels a soft tap with one knuckle to find out where the stongest and weekest points were. I was very suprised the passenger side rear quarter panel feels unusually thin and sounds very hollow, much more so than on the side with the fuel filler door.

Is this just my car, or does anyone else find the same thing?

 

Don't have mine yet to compare for you. But if you're checking because you're concerned about how your car will hold up in an accident, don't bother. Your cars structural integrity is mainly in your pillars and frame. This new stang is the stiffest one yet. There was a pic posted in a previous thread of one that hit a wall. The car held up well. Of course, we don't know how fast it was going, but if it lost control on a track we can only assume he was moving pretty well.

 

There's no question it's one strong car. I feel safer in my new Stang than I do in my Taurus (which was recently hit in the rear by someone who skidded on a wet road, and sustained no more damage than a scratched bumper cover).

I was focusing on the right rear quarter panel because I have a strange creeking sound coming from that area.

 

some moron backed into the front of my car the other day... long story short.... he was more than likely not even going 1mph, inspected the front of my car, and there is not even a scratch ... I was surprised....

 

Are you planning on mounting some sort of rack to the side or top of your car?

 

EWW NO RACK!! DONT DO ITTTTTTT

 

I would maybe take another car and start running into your body panels at different speeds to see their effect. Maybe start small at 15mph and then move up to 50 and 60 if the panels prove to be strong.


/end sarcasm

 

Or just pretend you are a saturn ad and start whacking golf ***** at it and letting buses hit you. Great adverstising. I wonder if subconciously Saturn owners feel as if people are "out to hit them." Although I must admit the TV ad with the cop car, ems, and fire truck following them around was pretty good marketing for On-Star.

Disclaimer: There were no Mustangs hurt in this production, and please don't start now!

 

Yes, I found the same thing to be true. Long story short, on Thanksgiving day my son was taking some dishes out to my moms car, he dropped a lid off a glass bowl, it hit the back passenger quarter panel up kinda high before it hit the ground. I had a "small" dent from this. I took it the very next day to Dent Doctor and paid $50 for the dent to be removed. The guy that took out the dent also commented that it seemed thin to him. I had no dents or dings in my previous car and did not want to start out with them in this car. I noticed it right away, and could not rest until it was repaired. Good news is, it popped right out but it cost me $50.

 

Thanks for that input, Donna. Glad to hear it worked out ok!

 

Ford seems to be on a diet when it comes to weight. The aluminum hood, trunk, engine block on the GT, and lighter body panels help contribute to a higher fuel economy rating. Apparently, they had to work hard to keep the fuel economy up on the Mustang GT to avoid the gas guzzler tax, which I hear is $1300 on the 05 GTO auto. One of the things I like about American cars over imports is the thicker panels. If you have an accident, they seem to show fewer effects of body work. The next time I look at an 05 Mustang, I'm going to check the rear quarters. This will be the first American built car I've seen that has any thin sheet metal.