Blue Notch

I'm sure it can! But that's just because my engine sucks!

rhumb

Yeah, this poor, ungainly car, pains my eyes to even glance at it ... http://www.roadandtrack.com/assets/i...0518464690.jpg

metroplex

To each his own I suppose. I don't like hatchbacks period. Hatchbacks are apparently a big thing in Europe. The hatch just reminds me too much of the early 80s Escorts here in the US

MrMojo1953

Seeing as how Ford has given us the fastback version of the S197,
why not a coupe version the way they did with the first 5 or 6 years of Mustangs?

DynamicmustangGT

Those hatchs might have looked good in the 80's but now they arent very good looking maybe if you were to say they packed a punch compared to the newer styles....Oh wait didnt mean to make you offened with our 4.6's

DynamicmustangGT

Besides they weren't really 5.0's anyway they were 4.9's

06GTwJUICE

the new mustangs kinda remind me of the fastback in a way... but i think some sort of T-top mustang would be cool... but for gods sake, no sun roofs.

and i agree, hatchbacks are for hondas

m05fastbackGT

The current S-197 is a fastback just as the original was back in 65-66...However I believe some may be confused over the difference between the fastback, sportsroof and hatchback. Therefore I'm going to break each down by model year..65-66=2+2 fastback..67-68=full fastback/sloping trunk..69-73=full fastback/sportsroof..74-78=Mustang II hatchback...79-93=Fox hatchback..94-04=SN-95 coupe...current S-197 Stang=2+2 fastback.. Anyway I hope this doesn't offend anyone but IMHO the Mustang just didn't look like a true pony/muscle car as a hatchback..As for extending the current greenhouse into a full fastback/sportsroof ? I've debated with myself over this time and time again and IMHO, both the rear glass and roofline would look way too flat/high in other words ? the car would look very similar to the 71-73 Mustang only 2 inches shorter in length..

m05fastbackGT

I totally agree in fact my favorite Mustang of all time ? is the 67-68 fastback, however I don't think the current S-197 would look right as a full fastback/sportsroof IMO both the roofline and trunk would have very little slope to it if at all..In other words, similar to that of the 71-73 Mustang's sportsroof which to me looked way too flat and way too high which I also believe is another reason as to why it won't happen in 2010 but as you mentioned ? perhaps in the next model/change a 67esque fastback may return..

RedDragon777

i wish ford would make a hard top convertable like the pontiac and Benz's, I think it would would be cool to have a coupe one minute then a convertable the next

TillmanSpeed

I think that we need to remember that the fox hatchbacks don't look like a european mini cooper. Nor do they look like a japanese CRX.

The GT Hatchback does have a muscle look to it for the fox years. The mean body kit, and a great stance.

The fastback is the nicest looking to date (s197 and 65-66) or 2+2 fastback as Rocky mentioned.

However, I have to admit the FULL fast back, like the Kenny Brown mustangs looks crazy! If they streamlined the ugly trunk spoiler on those things it would be great. Looks awesome from the side, but NOTHING NICE from the back!

That's the ideal car. GT500 front fascia as standard equiptment. Do the rear quarter window away and go with the 69-70 looking fast back with louvers, and a ducktail spoiler that doesn't look like poop from the back.

Ford's next big project is rumored to be a pushrod motor. A modern-day 302 would seal the deal. I'd put a down payment right now, even if they gave me a realease date of 2015.

CR
Tillman Speed

m05fastbackGT

Chris, speaking of the Kenny Brown CSR-69 concept, do you have any real pic's of it from the side ? I have several of the earlier pic's when it was first introduced but since Kenny Brown became ill over a year ago ? there's been hardly any info let alone any recent photos of what the car looks like up close..All I know is from the rear ? It looks almost like one of those Honda CRX's from the late 80's early 90's as far as I'm concerned ? the entire rear end just looks way too horizontal and flat and could also pass for a 71-73 Mustang only smaller...

TillmanSpeed

D*mnit Rocky,

Now I have to clean my keyboard of vomit!!

See how ridiculously rough that looks from the back. It doesn't flow at all. It looks like a rough start on what COULD be a sick mustang. They have to do alot of blending on that 1/4 panel.

Like you said, it looks like some ugly honda from the back. You need a small valley between the spoiler and louvers. You can just have it go straight up the rear window like back to the future. The old ones had a small dip there.

However, you can see where they were going with this car

I haven't heard anything about it lately, either. I hope that Ford takes ahold of it and does it only much nicer. GT500 front end factory would seal the deal, like I said.

I will dig around for some side pictures, I know there has to be some!

CR
Tillman Speed

TillmanSpeed

rhumb

Quote:

Originally Posted by metroplex

To each his own I suppose. I don't like hatchbacks period. Hatchbacks are apparently a big thing in Europe. The hatch just reminds me too much of the early 80s Escorts here in the US

So even if a hatchback version of an '09 Mustang were to have precisely the same shape and form as a fastback, you'd still knock it out of some emotional spite against European cars or, even odder, some weird, reflexive association with an '80's Escort? I mean, an '83 Escort also had four wheels, as do all Honda Civics I'm aware of, so should we be advocating tri-cycle Stangs lest they get confused with your neighbor kid's CRX beater?

I really just don't get it, this severe emotional scarring that 20-year-old econo cars have wrought upon otherwise clear-thinking Mustang mavens. Perhaps some couch time is in order to delve into the Freudian issues involved here.

Objectively, it can't be the styling or function itself as some of the most powerful, most muscular and most beautiful performance cars in the world are hatchbacks ( Viper coupe, Aston Martin DB8, Vette Z06). How one can look at a Z06 hot off the track and have “'84 Ford Escort” automatically pop into mind, well, some deep counseling is in order here.

To me, as a current owner of a hatchback, a hatchback Stang is simply a win/win proposition -- greatly increasing the utility and practicality of the Stang without detracting from either its styling or performance one iota.

I suppose if some want to indulge their bizarre vehicular associations ("I saw a gorgeous AM DB8 screaming down a mountain pass and could only wonder why someone would want pay over 100-big for an old Civic clone..."), then, well, perhaps that's theraputic or something, but I'll assess such things on their own objective and subjective merits.

TillmanSpeed

Don't you hate it when you drive your Z06 around town and kids are screaming "nice escort, loser!". Happens to me all the time... stupid vettes.

Anyway, as far as the hatch goes... you're right... it's a much more comfortable car, and doesn't sacrifice any power or handling. All I ever hear is "those cars flex, blah blah blah". I have customers running 9 second hatchbacks with no flex problems with a few simple weld on braces. Flex, now?

metroplex

I think the point is that the hatchback cars you mention are designed in such a way that they don't look like the typical hatchbacks. However if I were to own a Z06/Aston/whatever with a hatchback, it would still remind me of an Escort whenever I would open the hatch because it's just a personal thing. Also you don't hear GM advertising their Corvette as a hatchback either ("Hey check out the new 2007 Corvette Z06 HATCHBACK. It's got an AWESOME HATCHBACK.") It's understood by the market audience and that's that.

Personally, I prefer a standard trunk and fixed rear windshield. If I want cargo room, I have my super duty cargo van that can carry a refrigerator, matress, stove, washing machine, and a dryer all in one load without using a trailer.The Stang is purely a fun car so the 0.3 cubic feet you get with a hatch back doesn't add up to much for my application. I would buy a C6 Corvette LT3/3LT if I had the cash because I have no use for 2 extra seats and a trunk.

Phorty

My Cobra's good looks are timeless...

metroplex

The 79-93 Fox Stangs remind me of the Fiesta/Escort, but with different headlamps.

TillmanSpeed

That reminds me of about every car from 1979-1989.