Purple Hayz

I was under the impression that Rover was purchased by British Venture capitalists, "the Phoenix Group" from BMW. When did Ford buy Rover? (unless we are talking about a different Rover Group?

Article from BBC Online

John Towers, the head of the Phoenix consortium which is taking over Rover, has arrived at the firm's biggest plant, Longbridge in Birmingham, to a hero's welcome.


Phoenix has signed a contract with BMW to buy Rover Cars for a nominal sum of £10.

The deal follows almost two months of frenetic negotiations involving Phoenix, BMW, the original bidders Alchemy Partners and the UK Government.

"It's a very satisfactory outcome for us. It's an emotional day," said Mr Towers.[/b][/quote]
Right you are

MG Rover was indeed purchased by the Phoenix Consortium. It was only Land Rover that Ford bought in 2000. For details, click here. In any event, I believe Ford has been losing money with LR ever since. If only they could have secured the rights to Mini during the deal with BMW.... :bang:

FamilyFun

I own a PT Cruiser and love the retro design, but PT sales are down every year. They're trying to stem the losses with the convertible, GT, and a future panel truck, but they're facing a basic issue with retro designs: how do you create a follow up design? This is what will make the SSR, T-Bird and even the GTO a one time offerings. And all of these are not selling (an SSR has sat at the local Chevy dealer for 10 weeks, at or below MSRP).

The Mustang is somewhat unique in that people want it to look like older models, but will allow a limited update to the design. The 05-07 Mustangs will sell well, but then the presure will be on to move away from the retro look.

Wombert

btw... anybody seen the new MG ZT 260? sweeet...
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...ar.mv&num=1787
http://www.rsportscars.com/eng/cars/mg_zt.asp

GTJOHN

FamilyFun, I don't know when people will get sick of the Retro look? But, the Classic Car business is huge! People love classic cars, and they like restoring them as well. So, it makes me think "Retro" will be around for awhile.

My question to you is, if Ford decided not to go Retro with the 2005 Mustang, what would it look like? Would there be such a demand and excitement for it? I think not! Other then a Retro look, the Mustang would start to look like every other RiceBurner on the road or start to look like a Probe, Cougar, Firebird or Vette.
I am sick of cars looking like Space Ships!!

rm2000

What fascinates me is what will the next Mustang look like? Will it follow the retro(ish) lines or will it go back to the more sports car looks of the SN95s?

FamilyFun

First, let me say that I love the 05 design, and will be replacing my PT Cruiser with a GT Convertible. The 05 is what I’ve been waiting for since 1978, when I finally had the cash for a new car and the pathetic II was the only game in town (a 105hp V-8?!!).

The PT is a fantastic car, but I won’t be getting a new PT because it will either be too similar to the existing PT (been there, done that) or it’ll be too different, thus losing the appeal of the original.

This is what Ford will face in 07-08 when it’s time to freshen the obviously retro design of the 05. If they just go with an evolutionary design, they risk not being able to sustain the sales levels of the 05. At first retro is cool and new, but at a certain point, retro becomes old-looking. But, if they really go for a modern look, they’ll lose the core audience.

There best bet is to follow the Corvette; which is instantly recognized as vette, but keeps freshening the design with new elements.

For now, though, I’m counting the days til that 05 is mine.

Amy V6

You're buyin'... I B Poo'

I think auto makers need to calm it down a little with the whole "retro" theme. Sure.. a lot of them look cool... but how are they selling, plus they put all these mark-ups on them.

I think the 05 is going to be a great sucess for Ford

Purple Hayz

First, let me say that I love the 05 design, and will be replacing my PT Cruiser with a GT Convertible. The 05 is what I’ve been waiting for since 1978, when I finally had the cash for a new car and the pathetic II was the only game in town (a 105hp V-8?!!).

The PT is a fantastic car, but I won’t be getting a new PT because it will either be too similar to the existing PT (been there, done that) or it’ll be too different, thus losing the appeal of the original.

This is what Ford will face in 07-08 when it’s time to freshen the obviously retro design of the 05. If they just go with an evolutionary design, they risk not being able to sustain the sales levels of the 05. At first retro is cool and new, but at a certain point, retro becomes old-looking. But, if they really go for a modern look, they’ll lose the core audience.

There best bet is to follow the Corvette; which is instantly recognized as vette, but keeps freshening the design with new elements.

For now, though, I’m counting the days til that 05 is mine.[/b][/quote]
A reasonable (if not troubling) point. Though I too am in love with the 05 (and have a Redfire GT on order to prove it ) I can't help but wonder what sort of market Ford will be looking at 4 years from now, and what of sort of direction they will take with the next re-design. If the legs fall out and sales plummet, Ford will have some serious decision making to do.

GTJohn notes several recent retro-fabulous success stories, but I would call into question the staying power of each one. The SSR isn't exactly flying off the lots. The T-bird went from car of the year to unsellable in all of 18 months, and both the bug and the PT have fallen flat in the sales dept.

That said, I'm sure the Stang will be hit. For many of us, this is our chance to get behind the wheel of a shiny new '68 fastback, replete with modern mechanicals and superior build quality. The 64K question is how LONG the retro look will stay fresh. SN95 was pretty stable, if not breathtaking...

But where oh where does Ford go from here

Anyone else feel like Ford may have punted? Sure they've bought some time, but what is logical destination of the course they've set, the all new 2009 Mustang II 2 :shock:

jgsmuzzy

Phew, glad I'm not going mad

BTW, great web site , I will use that in the future (I am sure that it will come in useful! :geek: )

Galaxie

No worries, this Mustang will be a strong seller throughout its entire run.

The 94-04 could also be considered a throwback to the older Mustangs, considering the trademark styling cues were missing for almost 20 years. It sold well throuout its entire run.

Dan

Remember, when the car was released Ford said not to expect any significant redesigns and that the car would remain virtually unchanged for the entire run. Maybe optimistic thinking but I have a feeling we won't see much tweaking over the years. That's what the SE's are probably for....to freshen up the the lineup.

Shea

Did you mean poor, or did you say sh*t and the filter changed it to poo?

Anyhoo, I'd trade a dinner for a nice tour of the area around the new plant...I haven't been out there yet.

I don't know why you guys are second-guessing what Ford has done with the 05. The fox-bodies sold well for 14 years with relatively minor styling changes from year to year.

Those who would buy muscle cars really care more about performance than design, although I'm glad to see that with the 05 we'll hopefully be getting both.

Of course, we do have to please the V6 stinkas who want to look like they are driving a fast car. :scratch:

My roommate just bought a 2000 V6 vert, and when I came out and looked at it, it has two oversized cans coming out from under the bumper. So, I'm thinking, "What the eff? Why does this thing have dual exhaust?" I thought that maybe someone just put a splitter on it by the gas tank, so I lay down underneath it, and it actually does have dual exhaust the whole way back. Weirdness!!!

I personally think that someone just wanted everyone to think he had a V8.