AmericanMustang

Actually I like the "hips", but it's sorta reminiscent of the older Challenger - "Cuda's

future9er24

them hips look goodlyish

Boomer

Hips SHOULD remind you of old stangs ... considering they were ON them

Sharp

Not bad, maybe move the hip back a little so it comes up just where the window ends. I think you on to something though.

AmericanMustang's is a little more subtle, I think that might help too. It looks real good on the fastback styling of the new Mustang.

m05fastbackGT

Don't get me wrong ?? I'am all for hips Boomer because yes ? they do remind you of the old Stangs.. However the old Stangs did not have the high waisted beltlines as the current S-197 and although 1.5 inches may not seem much of an increase ?? but in my opinion, the current beltline visually sits too high as is ? And I believe the only way hips are going to look right and really remind you of the old Stangs ? is if the current high waisted beltline becomes lowered a bit..

Boomer

Thought I read somewhere about the guy who went to the focus group and saw the prototype, that the beltline looked a bit lower, making the hip look fine, and that the hood looked taller (beefier) because of it.

m05fastbackGT

Let's just hope that he's right about that prototype

Boomer

I've heard from multiple sources that its pretty great looking..but no actual details... sorry...

Stangette

I could see the "Hips" being a likely Change. The Tooling Upgrades required by the Factory can be offset by numerous means and also by the first 8 months of Production.

The idea of the Re-Styling in 2012 being much like a European, Curvy version (as depicted my many Magazines' Opinions) seems highly unlikely, given the fact that the current Styling is so well received.

official_style

well if it looks like that, then i will be selling my 05 to my dad, and going with the new GTO!

V10

It is much cheaper to do a "partial" beltline change.
A complete beltline change involves the height of the dash and windshield, which is VERY expensive to do.

A "partial" or "fake" beltline change could be done by altering the doors & side windows to allow that portion of the beltline to slope down where the hips are created.

It has already been stated that the greenhouse is not changing, mening the windshield and probably the rear window remain the same keeping the same dash & package tray height.

I am not shooting from the hip on this, I used to work in the machine tool business. The customers I worked with were Ford, GM & Chrysler. I know what's involved, and the cost, of tooling a vehicle.

V10

?????

Where did you get this information from?

The cost of tooling is amortized over many years and hundreds of thousands of vehicles. Tooling is not "paid for" in the first 8 months of production. Please tell us those "numerous means"..."The Tooling Upgrades required by the Factory can be offset."

The days of paying for the tooling cost for new sheet metal every year went away 30 years ago.

rhumb

I agree with V10 in that the '09 refresh will be just that, a refresh that basically retains the basic understructure, which is much more expensive to change. In other words, expect something along the scale of the '99 refresh, if that much, where the basic structure and greenhouse are retained and the various outside body panels/parts are changed.

Inside will probably get redone with better materials and surfaces and a few more gadgets (IPOD compatibility, GPS option).

Motors will get at least a power upgrade in the 4.6 and quite possibly some version of the 5.4 to better compete with the Camaro and Challenger.

Brakes will hopefully be uprated a touch too.

Suspension will likely just be a rehash of the current setup with an outside possibility of a Control Blade type IRS (option), again to match up with the competitors, now that the Stang really will have some very direct competitors.

Stangette

Based on a comment from a Factory Worker in Late '05. They must consider if they can recoup at leat a notable portion of their investment in a relatively short time; due to the Competition and the Cost matters they are currently facing. The ins and out of the process, i don't know. I also assume ( based on profit numbers and financial reports ) that Ford will not make such a change or take the risk in the current day Economy without considering strongly wheather or not they can make money on it. Right now, in their effort towards securing a place in the CUV Market and re-styling of the future F-150, as well as upcoming new models for 08, they do have their hands full.

m05fastbackGT

I'm sure that you guys are far more knowledgeable than I'am, especially that some of you are in the field ? so who am I to say otherwise in fact, I'd be a fool if I even tried to disagree..Therefore if you say that engineering costs would be affected by changing the entire beltline ?? then you must be right..All I was trying to point out is from a visual standpoint ? in my personal opinion, by adding hips to an already high waisted beltline just won't look right let alone very appealing but if somehow the quarter panel, quarter window areas and doors could be lowered a bit without changing the entire waistline ? then perhaps that could work as an alternative ?? but if I'm not mistaken ? won't the front fenders have to be lowered in order to match the rest of the car as well ?

Stangette

I agree with the need to prevent the "heavy" look by addition of the hips to the current model.

If you look at the preceeding picture with the hips, the rear quarter panel and the part that encompasses the quarter window, running along the length above the door, through to the lower front windshield; it is all one piece.

If the designers are careful how they engineer this piece and keep it aligned at the current adjacent seams to the body, then the one panel might only need plate modification. Lightening up the side view of the car in a manner similar to that of the GT500 might also produce a more "streamilined" look to the car. In the Shipbuilding Trade, we call these "Developable Surfaces", whereby the steel body "skin" can be shaped to any manner consistent with the strength and location of the steel on the Unit. Not to say Auto design is done in exactly the same manner, but steelwork across industries does have some similarities. Shaping steel does have it's own unique set of challenges, no matter where it is being placed.

Yes, i imagine if they were to lower the rear quarter, it would require a lowering of the corresponding components and in my experiance, with large ships and offsore units, lowering height on a curved surface by even an inch can be quite noticeable. In speaking of human visual perception, through my GIA Gemological certification, yes, i have many educations - lol - the human eye can notice change in as small an increment as a (mm) at arms reach.

fordboy97f150

welll...i like the convertible i did!!! lol! but to make things look right i did have to lower the rear, straightin' the bottom line of the car and move the window post, and a few little thnigs so it looked OK at least, not perfect by far, im sure sombody else can take what ive done and make it a lot better, but still im sure im not the only one here gettin itchy waiting to see the next generation, have a nice day folks