+1 on that... I'm tired of rehashing old names plates. Especially when they have nothing in common with the originals.. I'm looking at you 'HEMI'.

 

From what I have been hearing from reliable sources the 2011 5.0L stang will make 400hp on 87 octane fuel A good tune and 93 octane fuel and the car should make in the 440hp range. I do think that Ford should go with the IRS in the car but I don't think this will happen until the complete redesign in 2014.

Dave

 

The 2010 interior is a little deceptive. I had the chance to sit in one at the LA Auto show and shall we say...caress the materials.

The dash is soft material, but the doors, the interior pillars, and the rear panels are still the same hard plastic. The only major difference is the soft dash and the dash panels (which appear to be real metal, as opposed to plastic.

My feeling is, if you own a 2007-2008 with the premier trim (wrapped and stitched dash, door armrests, console lid, etc), and you install the GT500 emergency brake with the leather handle, there's not much difference between the interior quality of the two vehicles. Granted, the new ambient lighting appears to be unique, but I'd like to think this can be retrofitted eventually.

Keep in mind also, the top of the 2010 dash is bare. It's soft, but unless you touch it, it still appears from a distance to be the same hard plastic.

Also, if you go to the camaro5.com website and look at their photo archive, there's a long post where someone at the official unveiling of the Camaro in Indianapolis took a boatload of photos, most of them up close and personal. Without the soft lights and airbrushing, the Camaro's interior looks a lot more plasticky and cheap. It's not as bad as the inside of the Challenger, but I think Ford has Chevy beat in the interior department. Horsepower ain't everything.

 

What was your thoughts of the exterior seeing it in person? Is the rear better in person?

 

Well...

To me, the 2010 looks worse in person than in pictures, if that is possible.

The front end seems okay, except the grill and the horse are definitely angled towards the ground, which is not something which seems apparent in the photos.

The sides looked fine. No complaints there.

The rear has some real problems. The back end looked like it was almost hanging in the air. The tail lamps seemed a lot more "pushed up" (almost as if they were soaring towards the viewer) than what the photos show. What I really remember, however, is the sheer size of the trunk emblem. That thing looks like a friggin' dinner plate!

All in all, the 2010 seemed in person to be almost as if someone made a cartoonish representation of the 2005-2009

My wife had the best line. She saw it and exclaimed, "Why, it looks like the car Malibu Barbie would drive! Is it available in purple?" I think I heard the Ford exhibitors groan a little.

 

As far as I am concerned, all Ford need to do is drop a 400 hp 5.0L engine and a six-speed manual into the regular GT. No Boss 302 or any other fancy 'feature' car.

Ok, maybe change the 'GT' badge on the faux cap as Topnotch suggests to reflect the 5.0L fitted. But essentially, a GT spec car. That way the cost of buying the car will remain competitive.

I currently have a 4.6L GT and absolutely love it. I want to replace it with a 2010 shape car... but I will not replace it until that 5.0L becomes available. So if Ford want my money, they are going to have to spec the car as I describe... because otherwise, if it becomes some bloated SE... it will cost far more to buy than I want to pay. I would rather buy the car at a very competitive price and then modify it as I see fit. So I reckon $3k max on top of the current GT sticker price for a 5.0L / six speed GT.

Also, we all know how dealers like to mark up SE cars. If the 5.0L comes out as a Boss 302 SE, Ford are likely to see far less sales because of SE mark ups.

By putting this engine/tranny combination in the regular GT... dealers are likely not to mark them up by crazy amounts, and therefore they will remain affordable... and Ford will sell a lot more cars.. which is better for everybody.

Come on Ford... listen to us. We've told you what we want... now give it to us!!!!

Cheers
Dazza

 

I don't think its deceptive at all. The difference is not just in the materials used, but the design of how they are put together. The dash of the 05-09 is made in 5 parts, whereas the 2010 is one. You'll hear less squeaks and rattles after a year of ownership.

The real metals panels and the chrome rings around the a/c vents and gauges fit precisely together, like the chrome ring around an iPhone. It looks very high end.

The door panel itself may remain hard plastic ( surprisingly enough, for crash ) but the parts you rest upon, the armrest and door insert are soft. The rubbermaid garbage can around the speaker is also gone, replaced by a nice chrome ring which matches the a/c vents.

IMO the 07-08 Premier Trim is just leatherette wrapped around hard plastic. Ooh.

The console is also waaay better in the 2010 than the 05-09, it looks integrated with the dash like an old Mustang and also has a nice chrome ring around the shifter ( instead of the big honking silver plastic on in the 07-08 Premier Trim ) and also covered cupholders which look a lot more integrated than the plastic tumblers drilled into the 05-09 console. Plus the parking brake doesn't look like it just exited the console through a Georgia O'Keefe painting ( think about it. )

The nice thing about the 2010 is that all these come standard in your Mustang. You don't have to order the Premier Trim to get it. For 2010, the Premier Trim has this awesome Ferrari-aroma leather with the Bullit shift **** and the chrome pony on the door.

The difference is also the type of plastic- painted ABS is fine, but molded color polypropelene is cheap, flimsy, and scratches.Most other vehicles, unless they are really high end, have plastic doors and "hard trim"- a pillars, rear quarter trim. Even Audis do this. And I saw Audi, Honda, Toyota, and Infiniti crawling all over the 2010 Mustang interior measuring stuff at the LA show.

I measure engineering tolerances, and this one is tight. The design is also way better and will last longer.

Don't be fooled- the 2010 interior is light years ahead of the 2005-09.

Though I agree 100%- The Camaro and Challenger have lost the battle of interiors to Ford.

 

Once again, I must disagree.

The 2010 looks way better in person than in the photos. The body seems stretched around the wheels, especially in the flared fenders and the angled rear end. The shapes and curves in the tailamps and the trunklid remind me of a 67 fastback, but its not a direct copy like a Challenger. The rear badge is nice that it has some shape to it, again like a classic Mustang, instead of looking like a notched disc simply glued to the back of the car like an 05-09.

The front is the least changed, though I like the meaner, squintier eyes and the integrated turn signals. It no longer looks like Ford went to AutoZone and bought four round headlights and stuck em in the front of the car, which is the impression I got from the 05-09.

My wife had a good comment also- "it makes the old one look like it was cut out of cardboard and glued at the ends like a box". It looks more sculpted and more designed, instead of drawn by lines, like the 05-09. And then she said, "How soon can we get one of these?"

I guess to each his ( or her ) own, but to me, the 2010 is waay better in every way. To me, if you want to see a cartoon, look no further than a Camaro. Way overdone. Too fast and furious.