MBK

imo tapshift is good to have just for kicks. 2lb torque more doesn't matter; the whole package has to be there, and i think that is what Ford is shooting for.

FordBlueHeart

Having driven corvettes, 300Ms, MKSs, Flex ecoboost, and numerous other cars with the tapshift, I found it to be a gimmick that lost its appeal after a day. That's ok, to each their own zabo. The DCT will change that. It can't be that expensive either, the new fiesta will have it. Not one that can handle that kind of torque but we will see.

3Mach1

Plus one million. Just say no to the one wheel peels. If, and thats a big word, Ford would offer the 3.7 Stang with the track pack it would be a hoot to drive and would put the Camaro fan boys on their heels. Can you just imagine? Im darn near as excited about this car as I am the GT. It would make an excellent daily driver. I wonder what kind of fuel mileage could be expected? These are exciting times for sure.

thomasstang09

I was thinking it would be higher than 275. The 4.0 has 245 ft lbs. Figured the 3.7 would be closer to 300

1trickpony

I think GM can find another 20 HP for the 3.6 DI. The 3.0L in the CTS is making 90 HP a liter so 324 HP doesn't sound crazy. The problem is it will be a 6800 rpm and TQ won't go up by much (276 lol!). GM can take the HP title back but the 3.7L should still walk the Camaro in a straight line. There's no getting around 3800 pounds.

1trickpony

75 lbs/ft of torque per liter is all you can expect from a NA engine so I'm not surprised by the TQ numbers. 275 is right in there.

1trickpony

I'm with you, "Dude they totally ignored the UFO to check out my Transformer stickers!" I know some Mustang fans have done this too. I guess I'm just frustrated by a lack of objectivity in some of the posts. I promise you if I said the 2011 Camaro weighed 3400 pounds and made 315 HP they'd be jumping up and down talking about high 13s in the quarter. I hope folks would call the game straight up home or away.

Zabo

Hence why I said we'd probably see a CVT before they threw in a proper DCT. It'll take some engineering brain wracking to see that come to fruition, but for now an Auto with tapshift should fit the bill for a majority of buyers.

Remember, like the Camaro, not all buyers of the Mustang are ZOMGPERFORMANCE oriented and worry about shaving 1/32nd of a second off their 1/4mile times. The business is to sell cars, and here.. the Mustang won the numbers war for '11.

Not to mention I agree that with weight and TC and all that carried over from the '10, this car would be a bad *** DD.

Boomer

CVT is dead at Ford as far as I can remember.

FordBlueHeart

Last time CVT was used by Ford was in the 2005 freestyle. Too many complaints about not feeling any shifts.

theedge67

CVT is used in the hybrids, the Fusion and Escape Hybrid models. My wife has an Escape Hybrid and I love that thing. I have no complaints about the CVT.

FordBlueHeart

My bad, you are correct. I should have prefaced it with non-hybrid vehicles. I drove the hybrid and the previously mentioned freestyle as well and it didn't bother me except when driving spiritedly it "felt like it was searchng for the next gear" sometimes. Just different.

rhumb

Good for Ford in that it seems to be shedding its "good enough" ethic for 'best in class" (I'll ignore the 370Z motor for a moment). Now if that would apply that ethos to the chassis and brakes.

As for DCT, I don't think they are necessarily too expensive, cheap VWs have had them for years now, nor necessarily too weak to handle a lot of torque (the Bugatti Veyron's seems to hold up fine to the 1,000 lb/ft or so that beast dishes out.

Klay

While I am happy Ford is stepping up its game for the base mustang, I think they would gain more sales by focusing more on the MPG side of the engine as opposed to the HP. For people who want more HP, they generally tend to go with the GT. People who just want a car that looks good go for the V6 model.

If the mustang beats the camaro by a little bit of HP and Torque but loses in the gas mileage category, they won't be gaining any sales away from the camaro. Now the GT is a different story, that car needs to focus more on HP but for the base, having the same or slightly less HP won't break the car if it gets better mileage than the Camaro.

1trickpony

I agree MPG is an important point especially with the base model. I think the 3.7L should match the Camaro 3.6L engine. City mileage is mostly curb weight and the Mustang should be at least 300 pounds lighter. Highway mileage should be close. I'd expect at least 28 and maybe 29 highway. the 3.5L is making 28 highway in a Taurus.

jsaylor

The problem is that sometimes what you have is just what you have. Outside of the 3.0L PIP Duratec V6 used in the Escape The 3.7L is really the only suitable existing engine for base Mustang duty until the larger Ecoboost four cylinders start showing up. And since the 3.0L doesn't actually best the larger 3.5L Duratec V6 in terms of fuel economy there is no good reason to consider that engine as a viable alternative.

Could Ford detune the 3.7L V6 in an effort to net better fuel economy? They could certainly try, but I doubt less power would yield a significant gain in fuel economy if it yielded any gain at all. Take the Taurus SHO for example. The Ecoboost V6 used in that car is running in a seriously detuned state compared to what that engine can actually produce, but rumors indicate that does absolutely nothing for fuel economy ratings or for real world fuel economy when you aren't deep into the powerband. In fact, the only reason we have the Taurus SHO as an example at all is because the driveline cannot handle the Ecoboost six when running at full steam so they had to detune it in order to save the driveline.

Clino

Kinda makes you wonder whether they might be considering the EcoBoost 4cyl in a year or two. That would leave a lot of different options for a lot of different buyers, but still preserve the performance image.

hi5.0

I'm sure the new V6 should get the same or better fuel economy compared to the ancient 4.0 V6, what with the vast difference and improvement in technology between the two engines. Also hoping the 6-speed transmission will help further in the MPG department. Being lighter than the Camaro already gives the Mustang the edge too.