I TOTALLY agree with you on that. She can drive!!! Plus she's HOT too!!!

 

I seriously doubt that it will be a '08 redesign. '09 or '10 would be my guess (and it's just a guess), as a body style seems to run 4-5 year range before a change is in order.

 

Like over half the other cars on the road.......

Has anyone driven an SN95 lately and seen just how much better they made the interiors in the S197s?......

JEEBUS.......

 

The S-197 GT is awesome as-is. The only thing that would make it better:

1). MORE POWER
2). Homelink visor option (separate from mirror)
3). Integrated rear window antenna
4). Optional HID headlamp and foglamps
5). Bigger battery capacity

 

People have fussed about the interior of this car from day one. Personally, I love it. It's the nicest interior of any car that I've ever owned. Sure beats my past vehicles, Jeep Wranglers, Ford Rangers, Taurus, T-birds and Tempos.
The other car I have is an Acura, and the Mustang has a more luxurious interior than that too.
(but yeah, it's a 91 Integra)

 

I agree, I have a small rattle here or there but that's mainly only when my Borlas are singing. Otherwise, I like the interior a lot.

 

You guys are getting WAY ahead of yourselves

I don't see anything HUGE done till the redesign.

Even brad mentioned that the Bullitt will be more like a GT/CS...which is a dissapointment.
It will have more hp.. but probably not by much

 

Let me just give you guys a little insight which should stop you from all this needless guessing. While on business @ Flatrock in the summer I was showing{bragging} a picture of my stang to one of the top Quality guys.
He had made a comment to me which gave a real warm feeling inside.
He said.. I quote. " If you think you liked the design of the 2005 Mustang...wait until you see the car for model year 2009...it will blow your socks off"

 

Well, that probably says more about the ancient SN95 interiors than any specific strength of the S197 interiors. To be sure, the S197s are a huge improvement over the SN95s, how could they not be. But the real test is how the S197 interior -- design, ergonomics, content, materials, build quality -- compare to other contemporary cars in its price class. In that measure, the S197 is pretty good, but hardly A-list. Many might excuse that in lieu of the other attributes of the Stang like V8 performance, while others see that as, well, an excuse rather than reason for an interior that doesn't compare well to, say, a $16K VW or Mini.

I think for Ford to do truly well in today's exceedingly competitive market where consumers are much more demanding than they used to be, Ford needs to exhibit excellence across the board at all price points. Sadly, they haven't and the dismal results are painfully clear for all to see in Ford's current dire fiscal condition.

 

The only glimpse I know of that was available was "The way forward" presentation made by Ford at Cobo Hall yesterday. This is for employees and retirees by invite only. No phones, no cameras, etc. What's funny is that they make you sign a disclaimer not to tell anyone, but there's mention of Detroit Free Press media attending.

There was the '08 Bullitt and an '09 Mustang "reskin" at the presentation, whatever that means.

 

I'll take an interior just like it is now over an overpriced Mini or VW piece of junk. Put the money in the engine, not a flowerholder and a faux flower.

 

From what I have read prior to the super secret squirrel display was the redesign was planned for the 2010 MY ad the 2008?-2009? MY was supposed to be a re-skin. I wish the manufacturers would reveal more about their future product lines. As a consumer, I want to be informed about my buying decisions. Whether or not your product sells well is not really dependent on how much your competitors know, especially in the auto industry. Operational excellence and manufacturing quality is more important and telling your potential customers that the 2009 Mustang will get a 400 hp 5.4L quad-cam V8 isn't going to affect build quality or operational excellence.

 

[quote=rhumb;789555]Well, that probably says more about the ancient SN95 interiors than any specific strength of the S197 interiors. To be sure, the S197s are a huge improvement over the SN95s, how could they not be. But the real test is how the S197 interior -- design, ergonomics, content, materials, build quality -- compare to other contemporary cars in its price class. In that measure, the S197 is pretty good, but hardly A-list. Many might excuse that in lieu of the other attributes of the Stang like V8 performance, while others see that as, well, an excuse rather than reason for an interior that doesn't compare well to, say, a $16K VW or Mini.
[quote]

At the recent Miami Auto show, I sat in the Charger, the 350Z, the Infinity G35, the Mazda RX8, the Saturn Sky, the Chrysler 300.... and was not overwhelmed at all by what I found in the interiors of those cars compared to my Mustang [the Infinity of course had the dash mounted pop up NAV system but that's a different ball of wax.]. As a matter of fact, I constantly laugh my A** off at the Charger commercial set at the Barrett Jackson auction where the guy says 'even the interior looks like it came straight from a custom shop!'.........



YEAH - WTF is that guy smoking.... the interior was so BLAH it wasn't even funny...... and hey, mostly hard plastics as was most of what I found....

Just yesterday I sat in my car while it warmed up before the drive home after work and took a long look around the interior..... just reaffirmed to me they did a great job.

 

I have to agree on the box light, and would it kill them to put one under the hood too!? It can only cost pennies to run a lense and bulb, geez.

 

More power is at the bottom of the list of what the Mustang needs.

What the Mustang really needs:
1. gas tanks that can be filled without shutting off or having to have the nozzle put in upside down.
2. Transmissions that go into gear without crunching or grinding or falling apart after a few thousand miles.
3. Decent size brakes
4. Rear ends that don't whine
5. Telescoping steering wheel
6. Better ride & handling
7. CD players that actually work
8. Respectable gas mileage
9. No more vibrations, squeeks & rattles
10. A more refined V6 (D35)

If I had the time I could get this list up to 100 or more items, but I do agree with your items #2 - #5.

 

#1 seems to be a problem with the filler neck design. Something's not right and no one is doing anything about it.

#2 - my TR-3650 seems to be working fine (so far).

#3 The GT's brakes are very good. I can modulate them easily and they stop the car quite nicely. The vented rear rotors are a nice touch.

#4 I haven't noticed any whining on mine, but I've read too many accounts of gear whine / clutch chatter to feel that they are flukes.

#5 I agree, the telescoping wheel on the Focus was pretty **** cool.

#6-8 ride/handling on the S197 is better than the Fox Stangs and better than my Vic! The gas mileage is also better than the Vic!

After fondling the GT a bit more, I'd like to add:

1). Thicker master cylinder reservoir cap gasket (to fix the **** brake fluid seepage). Obviously Ford is not using Six Sigma, DMAIC, or even logical problem solving cause/effect analysis.

ID the problem: brake fluid leaks out.
Possible fixes: thicker cap gasket.
Improve the condition: start using thicker cap gaskets
Monitor improvement; No more leaks? Good!

2). Better paint coverage. Would it kill Ford to have more paint in the spots that people normally don't see? Paint is used to seal off the metal from the environment to prevent rust. Just because Joe Sixpack doesn't see it doesn't mean it is OK to do. I like to angle my camera in weird spots to take pics people normally cannot see. It shocked me to see how MUCH of the GT (in "plain sight") was not painted at all!

 

 

Yeah, them VW interiors are SUCH junk!

 

I can't fathom why there's no grab handle above the passenger seat, or auto flip forward function for the passenger front seat, to ease access to the back seats.

Oh wait, yeah I can: It's called cost cutting, and it's a cancer at Ford of North America.

 

More <cough> cost <cough> cutting.