And so it begins...
#61
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Don't get me wrong, I like a fast accelerating car as much as the next guy, but that is but one narrow slice of any car's overall performance element and I'd rather that the Mustang be able to comport itself with some contemporary-level of competence in the other 359 degrees of the compass beyond dead ahead and a creamy smooth road.
Of course, now that the Stang ain't the only pony car game in town, will Ford be able to get away with being so complacent regarding ride, handling and braking? The inevitable comparison tests will be revealing and give some substantive date to all our IRS/wimpy brakes rantings and ravings.
Last edited by rhumb; 9/3/08 at 06:29 PM.
#62
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We all want a better product. As I have stated before, I doubt we see IRS until the new RWD platform. But,"handling" has never been the selling point of this car or "Muscle cars" in general. There is a reason the Detroit 3 places V8's in these cars. There is a reason classic muscle cars like the Shelby's & Hemi's sell for $150k-$500k or more at Barrett-Jackson. Don't underestimate straight line acceleration. 0-60 & Quarter mile times do mean a lot in this genre!
Indeed, the Mustang was in many ways conceived as almost a sort of anti-muscle car when it originally came out, a sort of synthesis of European sport coupe qualities of modest size, exciting yet tasteful styling and a well balanced performance envelope that included not only good acceleration but good handling relative to the lumbering muscle car leviathan of the day. The mere presence of a V8 under the hood need not doom a car to cloddish handling and ice boat braking capability.
For the whole first generation, the only motors you could get were rather small (for the day) short-stroke, peaky 289s (after the original, even smaller 260). It was only during the 2nd gen Stang that it started adopting big-block motors in some models at the cost of balance and handling. Even through later generations, though, the original and iconic "Pony Car" DNA asserted itself in Boss 302s, SVOs, SVTs and other more balanced iterations. And many of those classic Mustangs commanding steep prices from pining baby boomers are indeed 289 GTs, Shelby 350s and Boss 302s, not only the big block drag queens.
To narrowly relegate the Stang as only worthy of being a unidimensional, oafish muscle car is to ignore its very conceptualization and a huge part of its heritage, a part of its DNA and heritage I would like to see revived rather than dismissed.
#63
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I wouldn't have a problem if it was less sensational, the way the bulk of the articles read, it really comes across as if GM has paid out major bucks to make sure the right words made it into print, and I'm not saying GM didn't do a good job on the F5, its going to be a really nice car.
But when the general consensus starts coming to a similar conclusion, maybe the problem is the Ford does need to do a VERY good job with the '10 because it ain't the only game in town now and can't get away with the scrimping they could and did in '05 when they was little to no real direct competition.
#64
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Perhaps the problem isn't the messenger, the various car rags, but the message, that the Mustang is being outclassed by its newer competitors. It's always the temptation to shoot the messengers when they bear news one would rather not hear -- "they're being paid off by Company X, they're just a bunch of quiche-eating Euro snobs, blah, blah, blah...."
But when the general consensus starts coming to a similar conclusion, maybe the problem is the Ford does need to do a VERY good job with the '10 because it ain't the only game in town now and can't get away with the scrimping they could and did in '05 when they was little to no real direct competition.
But when the general consensus starts coming to a similar conclusion, maybe the problem is the Ford does need to do a VERY good job with the '10 because it ain't the only game in town now and can't get away with the scrimping they could and did in '05 when they was little to no real direct competition.
I suspect while it will be good, the F5 will not be the holy grail of performance they are touting it to be this very second.
#65
huge slice for me brother; torque, HP, looks and SOUND... i ain't going to be taking this car 45MPH right turn out of my office and i don't care about that bit a hop i get on a bumpy road; i love it
#66
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