Hi:

We all love Mustangs. No question about it. What do you guys think of the coming up Challenger and Camaro? Do you think the 05 Mustang will stack up well against these or do you think we'll have to wait for the new Mustang?
Would you hang out on a site that compares the 3 biggest Muscle cars ever made and and tailors to the needs of those Fans?

I'm a huge Ford Mustang fan but I also think some competition is going to make it more interesting and it's only going to push Ford to make the Mustang even better...

 

Stock... probably have to wait for the 2010...

The Camaro will not be an 08 though... bank on it

 

The 05 to current Mustangs will probably be underpowered compared to the Challenger and Camaro. However, I think that both of their cars will likely be heavier and more expensive which could help bridge that gap.

 

well the challenger and mustang are probably going to be faster.

but they are going to be a lot more expensive, and they probably wont make too much money on them, then the companies will retire the name once again.

it stinks i love the new challenger, but i know my mustang will be all around better, and still be around in another 20 years

 

Yep, Mustang rocks but hey, the more, the merrier.
Camaro is scheduled for Q1 of 2009 but things could change. Not sure about the Challenger.
I saw the Camaro concept at the Miami show and it is BIG. I think Galaxie is right about the weight.
I've not see the Challenger concept yet.

 

I don't think the Camaro will be as wide or compacted greenhouse
I think those were 2 things on the Camaro boards that will change a bit.

 

They're definetely gonna be more expensive.

One of the issues of MotorTrend had a story that GM and Chrysler are canceling base models because they can't built it withing $5,000 of Mustang.

 

I can see Chrysler not having a V6 in the Challenger...
but the Camaro will have a V6

 

MotorTrend said Camaro probably won't have V6. I don't think its true either.

 

GM could build the camaro in place of the defunct SSR and not do a six cyl base model.......it would be pretty pricey though........The Camaros were always more then the Mustangs in price and I think this will continue.

 

But not $5,000 more.

 

I don't think they could afford to do it properly without a V6 model

There will be a v6

 

But who's gonna pay $24,000 for base Camaro when for $1,000 more people can get V8 Mustang?

 

If Chevy uses the 6 spd. stick shift in their V-8 Camaros it won't be hard to get 30MPG on the hiway.But for insurance companies they will have to run a V-6,maybe.Some folks can't justify or afford V-8 insurance.

 

Did the GTO only have a V8??? YES...are they making money and selling?..NO. If they would have come out with a V6 then it may have survived. I think the Camaro will see the same fate. OF course there are more CAMARO fanatics out there that will buy the car just for the name, much like must of us Ford people would buy a mustang just to have one. I would bet that GM learns their leasson and puts out a V6 Camaro.

 

I'm sure the Camaro & Challenger will be more expensive than their Mustang counterpart(s), and if they don't run on 87 octane, there's a few more dollars at the pump too. More horsepower out of the box means higher insurance dollars too. My Mustang with it's price and 300 horses works fine for me, but if I was in the market for one of the new toys, it would probably be the Challenger.

 

I love the look of the new camaro concept. Cant wait until they come out. I remember reading about them wanting to get up to 30 mpg highway. They said they would incorporate some kind of technology where when you are cruising the engine uses 4 cylinders instead of 8.

 

The GTO failed because of it's poor exterior styling pure and simple. If that car had eye appeal, it would've succeeded. It certainly didn't lack for power, we know that. Their marketing and styling killed that car.

 

To address the original question, the S197 Mustang came out as a smash hit in a time when it had literally no competition. Some would say cars like the 350z and the WRX are competition for the Mustang, but I don't see it that way. Front drive cars or AWD cars really aren't competition for this car. The Camaro and the Challenger represent solid, real competition for the Mustang. The introduction of these cars will obviously raise the bar considerably for Ford. I don't think they'll take it lying down. If theres one thing I HOPE Ford has learned through the last 3 years, its that they can't just be complacent. To a large degree, complacency is what's gotten Ford into the situation they're in today. Had they been more proactive and realized sooner that a spike in gas prices would kill their profits, they could've been where they are now 10 months ago. The "way forward" plan would've been much further ahead.

The moral of the story is, Ford is watching the competition on this. They're watching Chevy and DCM to see what they do. I've said it numourous times, I don't believe Challenger and Camaro sales added together for a year will equil one year of Mustang sales. I stand by that prediction. I also feel that the market for those cars will saturate in 2 years or less. Then huge incentives will follow and eventual cancellation.

 

There is no bigger Mustang fan than I, however, comparing "it" to the Challenger and Camaro will do the Stang un-justice. It'll be fun to talk about it, but the Stang will lose. The only positive element will be its "affordability" in comparison. I'm sure that the Camaro will yield high surcharges similar to that of the Shelby(maybe 5-10K) for the first few years. The Challenger may be a little cheaper. The real match-ups will come later when the 09/10 Stangs are unleashed .