From the Orlando Sentinel
9/30/04, 05:59 PM
#1
After all these years,
My C/T still sucks!
My C/T still sucks!
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Also, Isn't the picture with the article someone here's creation?
Ford revives pony-car panache
It's no accident if 2005's Mustang reminds you of the model's glory days.
By Steven Cole Smith | Sentinel Automotive Editor
Posted September 30, 2004
New from the ground up. (FORD)
Sep 30, 2004
Critics of the media, well-intentioned or not, love to talk about objectivity.
I like objectivity. Fully in favor of it. Practice it when possible. Sometimes it isn't, and probably the best we can do is bring these lapses to your attention. Which is what I'm doing. I'd like to stand back and ponder the 2005 Ford Mustang with the sort of objectivity I use to ponder the latest Kenny G recording, or the return of the McRib to McDonald's, or Donald Trump's investments, because I couldn't care less. Have nothing invested, emotionally or otherwise.
But I can't say that of the Mustang. In 1970, at age 16, I bought a new Ford Mustang Mach 1, working full-time hours at a part-time job seven days a week to pay for it. It cost $3,612, with no air conditioning and an AM radio. I'd like to attribute that to me being such an automotive purist, rather than too poor to afford air and FM, but who am I kidding?
When I look at the 2005 Ford Mustang, I see that 1970 Mustang Mach 1, and that makes it hard for me to be objective. Impossible, actually. Ford's design director, J Mays -- no period after the "J," which seems a bit affected for a guy from Pauls Valley, Okla. -- has gone to the well too often for some of the company's retro designs, such as the Thunderbird and Ford GT. But this one really works.
Mustang created the "pony car" segment of the market in 1964, a segment that subsequently included the Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird, Mercury Cougar, American Motors Javelin, Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda. Only the Mustang survives.
That would be a good excuse for Ford to coast, since the Mustang essentially has outlived its competition. But the company has pumped a lot of money into the 2005 model, and it shows.
This is, after all, the first totally new Mustang since 1979. That Mustang was built on the Fox platform, shared by such lowly models as the Ford Fairmont. Though updated substantially since, the 2004 Mustang could trace its roots back to that Fairmont, just as the 1974 Mustang II shared a platform with the Ford Pinto, and the 1964 Mustang was kissing cousin to the Ford Falcon.
The 2005 Mustang is created from whole cloth and steel. It was rumored that the Lincoln LS platform would be used for the car, but in the end, only the LS's front cross member remains. The rest of the Mustang is all-new.
That said, it's fairly conventional. It remains front-engine, rear-wheel drive, with either a V-6 or V-8 engine. It still uses a rigid rear axle instead of the independent rear suspension developed for the SVT Cobra Mustang in 1999, but the rear axle and suspension is so well engineered that you don't miss the independent rear, nor its extra weight or cost.
That V-6 engine is a 4.0-liter with 210 horsepower. Transmission choice is a five-speed manual or automatic. The V-8 is 4.6-liters as before, but with heads that have three valves per cylinder instead of two. Last year's standard V-8 had 260 horsepower, and this new one has 300. The V-8 gets either the same five-speed automatic transmission as the V-6 or a beefed-up five-speed manual. The V-6 is the base Mustang engine, and the V-8 goes in the Mustang GT. A higher-powered SVT Cobra model arrives in 2006.
The '05 Mustang comes only in the fastback body style; a convertible appears in the spring. Overall length is 188 inches, almost 5 inches longer than the current model. The wheelbase is 6 inches longer. All this translates into more interior room, though as always with a Mustang, the rear seat is best for kids or tolerant adults.
Even on the base model, the interior is handsome, seats comfortable. Standard features include air conditioning, power windows, locks and mirrors, and remote locking. A neat feature is color-configurable dashboard lighting, with 125 different color combinations. Front and rear brakes are discs, with antilock standard on the GT, optional on the base car. Side air bags are optional.
Both on the road and parked, the biggest surprise is how nice the base V-6 model is. The current V-6 Mustang drives and feels like a rental car, but the '05 model is handsome, well-appointed, and the V-6 performs and even sounds as if it's more powerful than it is. The base car's front seats are better than the optional seats in the most expensive 2004 Mustang.
The V-8-powered GT is that much better. The automatic transmission is fine, but the five-speed Tremec manual is the smoothest-shifting in any Mustang, ever. A six-speed would be nice, but that'll likely come with the SVT Cobra model, then migrate to the GT a year later.
On the road, the Mustang -- in either model -- finds a very happy medium between a smooth ride and crisp handling. The GT feels as though it corners as well as the last SVT Cobra, and that's impressive. Given what the Mustang is, this is about as well as this package can be executed for the money.
And as for the money: The V-6 starts at $19,410 for the base car, with the "Premium" model starting at $19,995, including shipping. The Premium gets leather upholstery, a six-disc CD changer, different wheels and a power driver's seat.
The GT starts at $24,995, and the Premium is $26,330. Get every option, and you're at $30,115. Ford says that the GT is the least expensive 300-horsepower car, but at that, it's still very well-equipped.
I think so, anyway, but I've already said my objectivity is in question. You decide, after the Mustang goes on sale within the next few weeks.
Sentinel Automotive Editor Steven Cole Smith can be reached at scsmith@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5699.
Ford revives pony-car panache
It's no accident if 2005's Mustang reminds you of the model's glory days.
By Steven Cole Smith | Sentinel Automotive Editor
Posted September 30, 2004
New from the ground up. (FORD)
Sep 30, 2004
Critics of the media, well-intentioned or not, love to talk about objectivity.
I like objectivity. Fully in favor of it. Practice it when possible. Sometimes it isn't, and probably the best we can do is bring these lapses to your attention. Which is what I'm doing. I'd like to stand back and ponder the 2005 Ford Mustang with the sort of objectivity I use to ponder the latest Kenny G recording, or the return of the McRib to McDonald's, or Donald Trump's investments, because I couldn't care less. Have nothing invested, emotionally or otherwise.
But I can't say that of the Mustang. In 1970, at age 16, I bought a new Ford Mustang Mach 1, working full-time hours at a part-time job seven days a week to pay for it. It cost $3,612, with no air conditioning and an AM radio. I'd like to attribute that to me being such an automotive purist, rather than too poor to afford air and FM, but who am I kidding?
When I look at the 2005 Ford Mustang, I see that 1970 Mustang Mach 1, and that makes it hard for me to be objective. Impossible, actually. Ford's design director, J Mays -- no period after the "J," which seems a bit affected for a guy from Pauls Valley, Okla. -- has gone to the well too often for some of the company's retro designs, such as the Thunderbird and Ford GT. But this one really works.
Mustang created the "pony car" segment of the market in 1964, a segment that subsequently included the Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird, Mercury Cougar, American Motors Javelin, Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda. Only the Mustang survives.
That would be a good excuse for Ford to coast, since the Mustang essentially has outlived its competition. But the company has pumped a lot of money into the 2005 model, and it shows.
This is, after all, the first totally new Mustang since 1979. That Mustang was built on the Fox platform, shared by such lowly models as the Ford Fairmont. Though updated substantially since, the 2004 Mustang could trace its roots back to that Fairmont, just as the 1974 Mustang II shared a platform with the Ford Pinto, and the 1964 Mustang was kissing cousin to the Ford Falcon.
The 2005 Mustang is created from whole cloth and steel. It was rumored that the Lincoln LS platform would be used for the car, but in the end, only the LS's front cross member remains. The rest of the Mustang is all-new.
That said, it's fairly conventional. It remains front-engine, rear-wheel drive, with either a V-6 or V-8 engine. It still uses a rigid rear axle instead of the independent rear suspension developed for the SVT Cobra Mustang in 1999, but the rear axle and suspension is so well engineered that you don't miss the independent rear, nor its extra weight or cost.
That V-6 engine is a 4.0-liter with 210 horsepower. Transmission choice is a five-speed manual or automatic. The V-8 is 4.6-liters as before, but with heads that have three valves per cylinder instead of two. Last year's standard V-8 had 260 horsepower, and this new one has 300. The V-8 gets either the same five-speed automatic transmission as the V-6 or a beefed-up five-speed manual. The V-6 is the base Mustang engine, and the V-8 goes in the Mustang GT. A higher-powered SVT Cobra model arrives in 2006.
The '05 Mustang comes only in the fastback body style; a convertible appears in the spring. Overall length is 188 inches, almost 5 inches longer than the current model. The wheelbase is 6 inches longer. All this translates into more interior room, though as always with a Mustang, the rear seat is best for kids or tolerant adults.
Even on the base model, the interior is handsome, seats comfortable. Standard features include air conditioning, power windows, locks and mirrors, and remote locking. A neat feature is color-configurable dashboard lighting, with 125 different color combinations. Front and rear brakes are discs, with antilock standard on the GT, optional on the base car. Side air bags are optional.
Both on the road and parked, the biggest surprise is how nice the base V-6 model is. The current V-6 Mustang drives and feels like a rental car, but the '05 model is handsome, well-appointed, and the V-6 performs and even sounds as if it's more powerful than it is. The base car's front seats are better than the optional seats in the most expensive 2004 Mustang.
The V-8-powered GT is that much better. The automatic transmission is fine, but the five-speed Tremec manual is the smoothest-shifting in any Mustang, ever. A six-speed would be nice, but that'll likely come with the SVT Cobra model, then migrate to the GT a year later.
On the road, the Mustang -- in either model -- finds a very happy medium between a smooth ride and crisp handling. The GT feels as though it corners as well as the last SVT Cobra, and that's impressive. Given what the Mustang is, this is about as well as this package can be executed for the money.
And as for the money: The V-6 starts at $19,410 for the base car, with the "Premium" model starting at $19,995, including shipping. The Premium gets leather upholstery, a six-disc CD changer, different wheels and a power driver's seat.
The GT starts at $24,995, and the Premium is $26,330. Get every option, and you're at $30,115. Ford says that the GT is the least expensive 300-horsepower car, but at that, it's still very well-equipped.
I think so, anyway, but I've already said my objectivity is in question. You decide, after the Mustang goes on sale within the next few weeks.
Sentinel Automotive Editor Steven Cole Smith can be reached at scsmith@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5699.
9/30/04, 06:33 PM
#2
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A great article highlighting all the great things we here at Brads site already know. Now the rest of Orlando and Central Florida also should know and demand will only continue to grow!
9/30/04, 06:35 PM
#3
Thank's for the post, a pretty darned good review.
There are 3 things in the article that stand out:
There are 3 things in the article that stand out:
It still uses a rigid rear axle instead of the independent rear suspension developed for the SVT Cobra Mustang in 1999, but the rear axle and suspension is so well engineered that you don't miss the independent rear, nor its extra weight or cost.
Both on the road and parked, the biggest surprise is how nice the base V-6 model is. The current V-6 Mustang drives and feels like a rental car, but the '05 model is handsome, well-appointed, and the V-6 performs and even sounds as if it's more powerful than it is. The base car's front seats are better than the optional seats in the most expensive 2004 Mustang.
Given what the Mustang is, this is about as well as this package can be executed for the money.
Both on the road and parked, the biggest surprise is how nice the base V-6 model is. The current V-6 Mustang drives and feels like a rental car, but the '05 model is handsome, well-appointed, and the V-6 performs and even sounds as if it's more powerful than it is. The base car's front seats are better than the optional seats in the most expensive 2004 Mustang.
Given what the Mustang is, this is about as well as this package can be executed for the money.
9/30/04, 09:23 PM
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Originally posted by V10@September 30, 2004, 6:38 PM
Thank's for the post, a pretty darned good review.
There are 3 things in the article that stand out:
Thank's for the post, a pretty darned good review.
There are 3 things in the article that stand out:
It still uses a rigid rear axle instead of the independent rear suspension developed for the SVT Cobra Mustang in 1999, but the rear axle and suspension is so well engineered that you don't miss the independent rear, nor its extra weight or cost.
Both on the road and parked, the biggest surprise is how nice the base V-6 model is. The current V-6 Mustang drives and feels like a rental car, but the '05 model is handsome, well-appointed, and the V-6 performs and even sounds as if it's more powerful than it is. The base car's front seats are better than the optional seats in the most expensive 2004 Mustang.
Given what the Mustang is, this is about as well as this package can be executed for the money.
Both on the road and parked, the biggest surprise is how nice the base V-6 model is. The current V-6 Mustang drives and feels like a rental car, but the '05 model is handsome, well-appointed, and the V-6 performs and even sounds as if it's more powerful than it is. The base car's front seats are better than the optional seats in the most expensive 2004 Mustang.
Given what the Mustang is, this is about as well as this package can be executed for the money.
9/30/04, 10:45 PM
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I like comments like this: "the five-speed Tremec manual is the smoothest-shifting in any Mustang, ever". Ummmm.... it's a Tremec 3650, which is the same tranny the 04 Mustang GT has... duh...
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