A new magazine is on the stands with the Mustang on the cover...MPH - Maximum Performance and Horsepower. (Link to MPH Magazine - warning for you purists...there are ladies in this magazine dressed provocatively but nothing worse than Sports Illustrated!!)

They were a bit down on the Mustang and Ford (no empirical testing though)...they put down the Stang because it isn't running an independent suspension, it's too retro, and some features of the interior are plasticky. Let's not start another IRS debate...I'm just sharing the info...I'm an 05 fan and this doesn't cause me to lose any sleep.

A quote that sets the tone...

"So when Ford decided to reinvent the Mustang for its ninth iteration (or tenth, depending on how you count), it can't be blamed for resisting the urge to turn the 2005 GT into a hyper-modern supercoupe. Mustang guys like their Mustangs cheap, powerful, and cool looking, and that's just what Ford has delivered. This Mustang is empirically better than the previous generation in every way, and its body contours boast a powerful amalgam of '60's styling themes.

But this '05 Mustang not only looks retro, it actually is retro. Underneath all the new-car hype, the Mustang renounces technology more vehemently than the Amish. Ford talks about this car's all-new running gear, but the Mustang still has a solid rear axle, a front strut suspension, and a five-speed manual transmission."

Later..."...It simply feels like a very fast, very big American two-door sedan. The GT is no longer a car for bad kids. It's a car for the older, fatter, balder, mainstream adults those kids have turned into."

...end of quotes...

Read the whole thing for yourself, form your own opinion. I guess I must be a grown up "bad kid" though I haven't caught up to the fatter/balder part just yet. Personally I disagree with a lot of it...I can't think of a meaner "bad boy" car out there right now than the Mustang short of the Viper but then we're getting into pricing again...the Stang is still the lowest priced 300-hp shot in the arm you're gonna get and I'll take the sound of a big bad American V8 breathing through dual exhausts anytime.

NOTE: Check out the inset item on the next to the last page..."PR Flack, Speak! Ford Responds to Our Story"...evidently Ford was able to review the article before publication and provided a response to it that they published with the article.

After all that they also had a short blurb on the Shelby GR-1 and a 4 page spread on Steve McQueen and Bullitt.

I've got scans of the article both high res and reduced res for serving on the forum but there are still several over 200K. Can I send a ZIP to one of the MODS and get these up?

I love this part :banana: :banana: :banana:

Newpony05...just to be clear...the part you quoted in your post is my commentary not from the article. I've editted the post to make sure it is clear what is quoted from the article. Thanks!!!

:( . . . . Mrs. Boss Hog must have told them about me . . . .

The Boss Hog
( . . . . . . . . . . . . :-D :-D :-D )

Just picked up the issue of MPH this morning on the way to work......will be reading it first chance I get.

I didn't like the bashing of the car in this mag so, I didn't buy it. They did have some nice pics of the Screaming Yellow GT though. I did pick up the new Motor Trend though.

Looks like some hip hop bs magazine fro ricer boyz who love to wear their hats backwards and baggy pants .. ... "50 cent ..his cars ... his flesh wounds". What the heck does that have to do with cars??

SNK...it's an interesting mix of stuff. I didn't say I loved the magazine but I know everyone wants to read everything they can.

FYI, other stuff in the mag...

- Spy photos of the 2006 BMW 3 Series
- Article on 50 cent (don't get me started... :angry: ...tired of seeing gangstas glorified)
- Car news including a blurb on the Shelby GR-1
- Driving techniques article
- Article on ugliest but best cars
- Chrysler ME 412 (thats the V12 monster car)
- Players Run rally (like the Cannonball)
- Pikes Peak hill climb
- Rearview: 1995-1996 Chevrolet Impala SSs
- An article on Steve McQueen and Bullitt...

These guys are all over the place...not flattering on the Mustang but everyone knows there will be a range of differing opinions...I take it just like a movie review...under advisement...no review is without some form of bias...

I don't understand how a 5-speed is necessarily "retro." Performance-wise, having a 6-speed pretty much just allows you to go faster once you've maxed out 5th gear. The rest of the gears are almost identical to this Mustang's 5-speed.

Is the 6-speed going to eventually become retro, and then 7- and 8-speeds? I mean, how many gears do we need? I bet Shimano is looking into developing an awesome 18-speed for future Civics. :jester:

I believe that new BMW M5 have 7 speeds :eek:

:-D

Now if it was a 3 or 4-speed car then I would say retro :-D

yea, 3-4 speed is retro

5 speed is normal

It never ceases to amaze me how people with piss and moan about this car because it doesn't have as many forward gears as a semi, doesn't top out at 230MPH, can't carry 14 pasengers, doesn't have a hyperdrive-powered thermonuclear suspension, and doesn't re-stir your coffee if the creamer separates.

It's a Mustang! It's fun at a price point. Can you buy more capable cars with snazzier interior appointments and more exotic underpinnings? Sure you can.

At this price, quality level and tradition/heritage? Uh, wait a minute. . .

uh, no.

Detractors are warmly invited to pound sand.

and just the title of the review
One Trick Pony
should give you a hint for who this is geared towars.
import hugging, domestic hating, 4 banger drivers.
just the fact that they put down a 5 speed is cause enough to stop reading that trash.
and oh yea, the ladies :shame: for perv's

LOL :-D

I need to get me one of those thermonuclear suspensions methinks!

I hear that the Mr. Fusion powered Mustang Back to the Future Edition will be offered... :-D :-D

Very useful when you need to go up hills :-D

I don't believe I'd say that.

The 6th gear in a 6-MT is usually smaller than the 5th gear in a 5-MT, yes-- but not as low as you'd expect, in comparison to a hypthetical 6-speed that is just a 5-speed with a 6th one tacked-on. Case in point-- the Tremec T56-M12 in the 2004 Pontiac GTO vs. the Tremec 3650 in the 2005 Mustang GT.

Because the 6th gear is lower, but not *that* much lower than the 5th gear in the 5-speed, the gear ratios in the 6-speed are closer together. Depending on how you drive, you might find this to be advantageous in terms of acceleration...

And on the cover they say "the world's cheapest 300hp car" I'm glad I didn't pick up this mag... I hate hippocrits :shame:

Otherwise, it looked like a cool slick...

Oh, I get it. You have to be old, fat, and bald to drive a Mustang. I guess that means that you have to be an Eminem look alike to drive a Civic. Stupid ..

I hate stereotypes.