seeing how dodge and chevy have brought out variants of their previous cars with a more modern look, but still keeping the overall affect of a "retro" car, do you think that the mustang during its next re-design will go with a totally modern look or bring back the past with a "modern retro" version? i guess it would depend on what year they would base their design off of. yes the sn197's look retro, they have a look all their own i believe but still having the "mustang" cues from the past.
what do you all think? good, bad, indifferent???

if this has been covered before in another thread, sorry, you can bump me....

 

To me the 2005 and 2010 Mustangs, using Styling Cues from the past Doesn't make them Retro, It Makes them A Mustang! Ford has 45 Years of Heritage to draw from, so Why Not Take Advantage of it? You can Clearly Tell they are Mustangs, but you can't park one next to an Older Model and say it's a copy.

To Me what makes a car Retro is when it has Been Out of Production for a number of years, such as the Thunderbird, Camaro, Challenger, or VW Beetle, and the Manufacturer brings out an all new model that Clearly looks like a Past Model. The Mustang has NEVER Gone Out of Production!

I do give GM credit for the 2010 Camaro. It Does Look More Modern while Drawing Heavily from the 67-70 Camaro, but where they Border on Being Retro is they Specifically Targeted only One Body Style. Now the Beetle on the other hand only had One Body style, and I think VW did and Excellent Job with the New Beetle. Completely Modern, but you still know it's a Beetle.

The Mustang on the other hand drew inspiration from several model years. 64-73 for the 05-09's and In My Opinion, an even better blend of those Genes, plus some more modern touches on the 2010+.

 

I forget who sais this, but - The S197 is not Retro - it's what a Mustang SHOULD look like.

Also, there's plenty of pics of the 2010, everyone should be making up their own mind whether or not it fits their personal opinion of retro. In my opinion, the 2010 is not retro, is an evolution of the S197.

 

I Don't Know for Sure if you're quoting me 05GT-O.C.D. but I know I said that when the S-197's came out in 2005, right here in these very forums! I actually said it standing in the showroom of the Ford Dealer in Daytona Florida when I First Saw the Red Concept Convertible on display, way back in November of 2004. I took one look and said, "Now That's A Mustang!"

 

While Mustang will retain distinctive elements of its stylistic DNA, I think they will be devleoped in a more modern, interpretive way than, say, the '05-'09, which more closely hewed to an updated '64-'66 body style. "Retro," or whatever you wish to call it, styling can be a very tricky line to balance. On the one hand, you don't want to imply simply living on past glories like Al Bundy recalling some long ago high school football victory. I might call that "repro" styling and the Stang does suffer a little of this in my opinion (cheesy fake scoops, way overused Bullitt wheels).

While the Mustang should be a firmly rooted car, it should exist clearly in the here and now, in design, engineering and style, and not simply as some dated nostalgia piece. Of course, finding that fine line between being recognizably a Mustang of today without falling into a "been there, seen that" tiredness is what'll keep the designers and product planners up at night.

Porsche is one company that does this well with their 911s and especially, interestingly, more so with their newer Boxster and Cayman. While the look and feel are distincly Porsche, the underlying designs and engineering are fully modern. Aston Martin is another company that does this well too. Mini is another example though the latest version is starting to look a touch cartoonish in the interior.

That all said, I might expect the next clean sheet Stang -- as opposed to the '10 refresh which is necessarily limited by its existing structure -- to be a more modern interpretation of the Mustang DNA. It will probably, of some necessity, be smaller, lighter and sleeker to improve its impact on CAFE and buyer's gas budgets. I would expect straight line performance similar to today's models but a much greater emphasis on vehicle dynamics, balance and overall driving fun (as opposed to just big performance numbers). But it will still be a Mustang, still be RWD and offer excellent V8 performance options (if at a smaller percentage of models sold -- look for either a turbo 4 and/or TT V6 performance options).

 

You could consider the 1994-2004 Mustang retro as well. It had many retro cues as well.

 

I've said that on MANY occasions

 

Coming of off the 99-04 design the 2005-2009 Mustang IS retro (in a modern sort of way ). . . not that there is anything wrong with that.

 

Someone either had it in their sig or C/T.

 

Absolutely. For 45 years, the Mustang has slowly evolved while keeping its original identity. Before the S197, there had been a slow and consistent "update" to the body lines. By 2004, we have a Mustang that has come a long way from its 60's predecessors in terms of sharp, angular body lines while keeping the classic vertical bar taillights and pony in the grill. Enter the S197, which brings us back to the styling of the 60's. You could argue that the S197 is a retro design in that it is a huge leap "backwards" from the SN95, however the truth is that it is simply the same formula we're used to, but mirrored to the 60's styling. To say that we will be seeing more retro designs post 2010 is a big possibility, especially the 50th year anniversary is coming up; I feel like they'll keep to the formula especially for the 50th anniversary redesign, but after that, it'll be back to the plan they've stuck with for 45 years modernizing and evolving the Mustang while keeping true to its heritage.

 

This is Not True. Ford Completely Abandoned the Mustang Heritage in 1979 with the introduction of the Fox Body Mustang. Gone Were the Tri Bar Tail Lights, Signature Grill Shape, C Scoop, and Even The MUSTANG Pony, Replaced by a Corporate Blue Oval.

Now Before any of Any Fox Body Lovers Get All Up In Arms, I am in NO WAY knocking The Fox Body! They were Great Cars, for their time, but with the exception of a Longer Hood and Short Rear Deck, they had No Visual Link to Mustangs of the past.

Ford finally realized that they had lost the Mustang Heritage in 87, and their first attempt to get back to some kind of link to the Mustangs heritage was the Three Segments of Tail Lights on the 87 GT, all be it in a Highly Stylized way with those Louvered Look Segments.

Their next attempt at bringing back some heritage was the return of the Tri Bar and Pony Emblem on the dash of the 89's for the 25th anniversary, and putting it back in the Wheel Center Caps.

The First Real Attempt at Bring Mustang DNA was the introduction of the 94 Mustang. They really tried to pick up on that Design DNA. The Pony was back in the Grill, they incorporated a C Scoop, they even tried to resurrect the Tri Bar Tail Lights, again in a Highly Stylized way, incorporating them horizontally, which the Mustang faithful cried out about, and they fixed with a more classic Tri Bar Tail Light setup for 96.

By 99 The designers had rereally picked up the trick of incorporating those Iconic Elements of Mustang Heritage into an Existing Platform. Essentially the 94-04 Mustang was still heavily linked to the Fox Body Chassis, but majorly modified and improved.

So, by the time it came to design the 05 Mustang the Designers were Chomping at the Bit, no pun intended, to really have a chance to design an All New Mustang, and have their chance to Really Incorporate all of that Mustang DNA back into it.

 

....always thought of the newer mustangs 94-05 as natural progressions of a more modern design with obvious cues from the past etc.
But retro? IMO the only true retro stang was the 03-04 Mach 1 with some serious homage paid to the originals, shaker, stripes, seats etc.....that car was screaming retro.......it was an 8 track stereo away from being a time machine......
anyway, just my .02

 

I totally disagree, other than the shaker hood, stripes, seats ect...The 03-04 Mach 1, had nothing in common compared to the original 69-70 Mach 1. As the 03-04 models, did not resemble the body style of the original 69-70 cars in anyway.

As for the current 05-09's are concerned, there's no denying the fact about how strongly they resemble the original 65-70 Mustangs !

 

No reason for disagreement really, its a matter of perception: Retro only means styling cues taken from the past etc.
I guess technically every mustang would qualify as retro in some sense of the word.
I just think its a matter of adding up the "styling cues" used from past mustangs and put into any future Mustangs and my personal preference is the 03-04 Mach 1 for having more "styling cues" than others....IMO.
Hopefully the new 2010 will be retro and cutting edge at the same time.......its sure starting to look that way.

 

I like the analogy of the 911 (I'd add the 3 series to that list too) and I think that is the path that Ford should follow with the Mustang (and has followed, to a certain extent, since the beginning but certainly since 1994) Consistent improvement, constant evolution, but without diluting the original DNA.

I'd like to see the next redesign lose a few inches and a few pounds but as far as interior and exterior styling I don't feel there is any need to reinvent the wheel. What we have now looks and works great and is easily recognizable as a Mustang. +1 Ford.

One thing that makes me giddy with excitement...being 33 years old and having been a young teenager when Fox bodies ruled the streets (my older brother had an '88 LX 5.0 when I was 15), I can't wait to see a 2011 Mustang GT with the now classic 5.0 badge on the front fenders!!

 

My apologies, that's very true. I tend to block out all memories of the fox body era. I'm not knocking the fox body either, just not my taste...

But even when it lost its heritage styling cues, it still maintained the progression and evolution of the styling. A lot of the fox body can be seen in the SN95s.

 

hey guys, i wasnt trying to start a war here, but i just wanted some opinions on the whole "retro" thing that seems to be sweeping the car industry. all of you have very good points and i to feel the same way as the majority of you and that mustang has evolved. seeing the new callenger, you almost go back to the original but in a modern way. all the cues and particulars that goes in to being a mustang really makes it a car that is almost as unique as the corvette. you dont need a blue oval on the front, or a mustang for that to KNOW its a mustang because of the cues. the car speaks for itself. thanks so far to everyone who has enlightened me on thier views. i just wish i could go back when i was about 8 yrs old and tell my grandfather to not sell the mustangs he had. true story, i confirmed it with my grandmother, my grandfather had at one time 15 running mustangs at once, rangeing from 1965-66, coupe, convt. fastback, auto, stick. you name it he had it.! if i could only go back.... the 1966 that i have shown here is the only one left out of the stable that he had. ahhh what memories....

 

Blake, can you provide some examples ? Unless I've overlooked something, I don't see any of the Fox body cues, in the SN-95 models at all !

 

 

Just to let everyone know, this is a great debate on whats retro and styles taken throughout the years. The one thing we take from this is that a Mustang is a Mustang. Look at all the peeps that have different Mustangs. Its amazing to see all the mods and creativity that everyone does. Thats why the Mustang will live on. Each era of Mustang seems to fit different people. My brother loves the 4 eye fox body years, me 05+, others 94-99. Some say hell with the new, I'm sticking with the 60's. God bless the Ford Mustang.