Now that's funny Since I am sure you don't include yourself with the rest of us posers, could you please remind me of just why you bought such an inferior product?

The Boss Hog

 

To think that "most everyone" are like you is the ultimate attribution error. Even the V8 guys are in the minority when it comes to the amount of people who purchase a Mustang.

Most Mustang owners have price as a main factor in their decision on buying the car in the first place, and also which model they choose. That could be the cost of the car, the options they get, the insurance rate they pay or the price of gas.

My math was to simply show the scale of the dollar amount Ford looks at when trying to save a certain amount per car built multiplied by a "projected" sales figure.

The math would work out *IF* sales would not go down, and every Stang of the projected 150,000 sold.

The Ford bean counters have voiced their opinion on this subject, and thus the SRA.

The Ford bean counters would say the answer is "not enough".

See, there are lots of "die-hards" hang out on web forums and talk performance, and that is a great niche, but they are not "everyone".

Stangnet is a "huge" Stang site with it bragging that they have over 78,000 users on their site right there when you go visit. Impressive job. Corral.net say they have over 58,000. Again, Impressive job. Let us pretend that between the 2 sites, that is 100,000 different people.

Ford has sold 8,000,000+ mustangs.

So, what do you think the other 7,900,000 Stang people think about their cars?

My money is on using it to get from Point A to Point B with little to no concern for maximum performance.



Just something to think about

 

Ford showcased their engineering talent on the new Ford GT. I suggest you trade in your inferior SLA Mustang on one. I'm sure you will be much happier with the GT's IRS and its associated car payments.


The Boss Hog
(And that's my opinion.) [/b][/quote]
Ford showcased their engineering talent in a super car, that doesn't impress me much. A host of manufacturers have similar cars, which all cost a ton of money. Hyundai could build a supercar to match Ford's GT if they threw enough money into the project. The new Mustang GT was an avenue for Ford to show they can produce performance cars and indirectly sedans to a mass market. Bill Ford even proclaimed this the year of the car. Again, it's not an opinion that an SLA is inferior, its a fact. Ford chose to not include it because of cost, simple as that. Any serious race car uses very advanced IRS suspensions. I don't see Ferrari running a SLA in their F1 car.

 

Hah! I say the simplistic ruggedness of the mustang's suspension system is a breath of fresh air in a world gone mad with the masochisitc drive for ever more increasingly complex devices despite the minimal gain the increased complexity provides.

Nobody appreciates the the beauty of K.I.S.S anymore

 

And I don't see John Force running an IRS in his Funny Car.

The Boss Hog

 

And I don't see John Force running an IRS in his Funny Car.

The Boss Hog [/b][/quote]
John Force is a self proclaimed redneck and doesnt know any better .

 

John Force is a self proclaimed redneck and doesnt know any better .[/b][/quote]
. . . . ok, you got me on that one

The Boss Hog

 

hello every one! i am pretty new to the forrum and just wanted to put my $.02 worth in ,to start with i bought a 05 gt and think it is the best car i personally have evered owned and wanted to congradulate everyone on buying the best looking car to come off a production line in 35 years , second i dont think any one can disspute the facts that the irs is superior on the road course ,and the sra is superior on the drag strip ,the point is that ford had to chose between one or the other ,the road course guys or gals may not like the decision but the straight line guys do ,the fact is more people modding the mustang look for hp,tq and straight line perfomance , look at the past posts and see how many discuss straight line performance drag racing and how many discuss racing on the raod course ,it is evedent !i have a close relative that is a tool and die engineer for FoMoCo.and it is not feasable to have an option such as drastic suspension differences ,tooling a mass production line for such an option would cost an astronomical amount of money that would make the option cost so much more that no one would buy it and therefore could not pay for itself ,so that is why they had to choose one or the other ,its not like throwing in a different spring size or a different engine it is a major change and would almost require two different lines ,not feasable!!no one can argue that they done a tremendous job on the on the 3 link ,it realy does work for the money !and btw ford not only owns mazda they make most of them too the rx8 ,lincoln ls ,thunerbird ,and 500 all have the same platform witch is where the new mustang came from !and the new mustang is beeing made at a mazda plant because of the plants modern technology and higher quallity controll ! imo ,they done one heck of a job just look at the salea!!!!! every time i take the car out i have people rubernecking too take a peek ,yes even the import ,dc ,and gm owners ,and the pontiac owners "RUN AND HIDE", i cannot tell you how many people how pulled in the parking lot behind me just to take a picture of the 05 mustang and not the inferrior sra! the key here is we all love the mustangs old and new ,let us not bash our herritage , but give it the love and praise it deserves!!

 

No one is denying this is a great looking car. The looks (inside and out) are the best thing going for it, not that the V8 hurts of course. I think Ford simply knew they could get away with the cost-cutting measure of a live axle, because *most* Americans simply don't care about cornering speeds and driver feedback. It's bang per buck here, plain and simple. The Mustang is a muscle car, and the muscle car crowd measure a cars greatness in 0-60 times and horse power. An IRS wouldn't have hurt these figures at all, but it wouldn't have helped them either, so therefore in Ford's eyes it wasn't worth the extra cost. However, I think they were being short-sighted, because with a decently set up IRS they'd have had a worldwide smash hit on their hands, not just a national one.

Personally, I was very disappointed in how the car handled BUT... I liked everything else about it so much that I'm looking into what can be done aftermarket to sharpen it up, and I may still buy one. The weird thing is, if I'd test driven any other car and it handled this badly I would've said "no way!", but there's something about the Mustang that keeps pulling me back towards it! *This* is what Ford are selling, that 'gotta have it' syndrome. D amn you Ford!

 

I presently own a '99 mustang and '03 svt focus. What Jack Frost says is true. In day to day driving, the solid axle in the '99 is inferior to the independent suspension in the focus. (no brainer) The '05 axle set up is better, but obvoiously still inferior to an independent rear for daily driving. I have tried, and at 42 years of age, I cannot bring myself to drive the mustang every day. (Even though I love it--I've owned 6, including an '01 Cobra). The focus is just a better all around driver--great ride/handling compromise, good mileage, room for the kids, better ergonomics, adequate power, etc.

Having said that, after driving the new mustang, I happily went to my favorite dealer and ordered what I wanted. The new car's refinement is decades ahead of even the '04 car. The focus is a great car, but I have to get rid of it and the '99 to get the new one. That decision took about as long as it takes to shift from 1st to 2nd. Every car is a compromise. I think ford has done a great job of improving the new car and keeping it affordable. Just my $.02.

If the modest improvement in daily drivability (because, after all, that is what most of us use our cars for most of the time) you will get from going to an independent rear is something you have to have, there will be options for you. I understand your dissappointment, because the car could have been incrementaly better. So tailor it to you--that is the great thing about mustangs. I'm just glad the new car is here, and that ford delivered on what they promised. We've (mustang fanatics) been waiting a long time.

 

Ok now, please be honest. Did you really expect the Mustang to handle anywhere near as good as your Lotus? I have no idea what year/level of Lotus Elise you have but considering your IRS Lotus is about 1800 lb. with ~ 40/60 weight distribution and the SRA Mustang is 3500 lb. with 53/47 weight distribution . . . Not even close!
The fact that you are still considering the Mustang says Ford did something right

The Boss Hog
(And welcome to the dark side . . . . . )

 

Ok now, please be honest. Did you really expect the Mustang to handle anywhere near as good as your Lotus? I have no idea what year/level of Lotus Elise you have but considering your IRS Lotus is about 1800 lb. with ~ 40/60 weight distribution and the SRA Mustang is 3500 lb. with 53/47 weight distribution . . . Not even close!
The fact that you are still considering the Mustang says Ford did something right

The Boss Hog
(And welcome to the dark side . . . . . ) [/b][/quote]
I've haven't contributed to this argument since it's a non-issue for me, but I do find it interesting that there are people in this thread that say "It was a big mistake to have the SRA" and "IRS was the way it should have been designed" and "people are passing on them because of the SRA" and then they turn around and say "but I ordered one anyway". Like you said Boss Hog, it sounds like Ford did something right.

 

I can't believe this topic is still alive. I have the 3rd post on the first page & haven't checked back since day one.

Not going to read all the posts, but if it hasn't been mentioned in this thread the latest Autoweek basically said the new GTO is a pig even with the IRS. The Stang kicked it in the slalom.

Long live the solid axle.

 

Man...I can't complain about the solid rear axle
Comes w/ 31 spline axles and 3.55's
Mine launches great unlike the newer cobras which are notorious for breaking axles.
I wouldn't complain about the solid axle unitl you break it...and that probably won't happen any time soon....but on the other hand...I know of stock 03 cobras that were breaking their axles w/ less than 3000 miles on them.....
-be glad you're not stuck w/ that weak rear end

 

Ok now, please be honest. Did you really expect the Mustang to handle anywhere near as good as your Lotus?[/b][/quote]
No, of course not. I even went so far as to drive a 350Z for the 2 days before my Mustang test drive, so that I had a fairer car to compare the Mustang to (see http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index....owtopic=12978). I was disappointed because all the reviews I'd read said the Mustang handled well, and was perhaps even too stiff , so I was shocked to feel how smooth and cushiony it felt.

I've driven other SRA cars, much older, cruder cars (1966 MGB GT for one) and they felt more involving and fun to drive than the 05 Mustang to me. I put that down to the Mustang's soft ride, not specifically the SRA. That's why I'm optimistic some stiffer shocks, etc. will sharpen things up and give me enough feedback to enjoy driving the car.

 

OK, I'm going to throw little more fuel on this fire. I found this article on AutoWeek.com:

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101561

 

For those who argue that the mustang is a good example of why Ford is losing market share, I would tend to think the Mustang is a how-to on how not to lose market share. The Flat Rock facility can only build 200,000 Mustangs a year, and even that is not going to be enough. And, in the smartest thing I have seen Ford do in a while they have zero intentions of upping capacity.

Why is this smart? Because, you never actually want to satisfy demand, this is what keeps a car popular over the long term. BMW knows this and has for years, apparently Ford does now as well.

However, in the future, when you want to use a car as an example of why a company is losing market share make certain that you dont use the hottest car in it's segment, and likely on the market, as your example.

As for the "new customers" argument, I think Ford is taking the smartest route for the time being. With vehicles like the new Mustang, the new F-150, the new 500, and the upcoming Fusion Ford is making cure that they stop losing the customers they have now and possibly get a few back. As for alternatives to the mustang, I see none that don't require a huge step up in price or the acceptance of a loss in power.

If I were Nissan I would be a whole lot more worried about the new Mustang than I think Ford should be about the 350Z. Yeah, yeah the Z car has IRS.....it also rides like a truck and gives up a lot of power to the pony even in the new 300hp Track version. (Torque counts here too)

The Mustang does everything that it should, and does all of those things well or exceptionally well. I cannot think of another coupe that I can say the same about. People focus on one area where they perceive a "lack" of tech and then cry bloody murder, but the Mustang is the only coupe I can think of without at least one truly major shortcoming. Well rounded and affordable is where it's at. Add in classic Mustang character and you cannot lose.

 

I'm one of them

 

TomServo92,January 9, 2005, 12:10 AM]OK, I'm going to throw little more fuel on this fire. I found this article on AutoWeek.com:

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101561

This is too funny! had to post the article



Ford plans to enhance new Mustang's ride; move to IRS not ruled out

LOS ANGELES -- Ford Motor Co. is planning upgrades to its new Mustang after just a few months on the market.

Ford product development chief Phil Martens wouldn't provide details of the changes. But he said the upgrades would improve ride and decrease noise, vibration and harshness.

"We're very aware of the shelf life of products," Martens said. "We've pulled it ahead."

He wouldn't detail the timing of any changes.

Barb Samardzich, Ford product development executive director overseeing the Mustang program, characterized the upgrades as the kind of continuous improvement that engineering teams tackle once a vehicle launch is out of the way.

Ford began selling the redesigned 2005 Mustang coupe in October. The 2005 Mustang convertible, which debuted at the Los Angeles auto show last week, goes on sale this spring.

Though he said he's pleased with the front and rear suspension on the redesigned Mustang, Martens also touted the value of independent rear suspension. The Mustang platform has a solid rear axle but was designed to accommodate an independent rear suspension module. Ford has typically used an independent rear suspension for the high-performance Mustang Cobra SVT.

He didn't rule out an eventual move to independent rear suspension for the Mustang platform.

Said Martens: "It is undecided."

 

Not happening with the GT IMO.