MRGTX

I think you have pretty much covered it but it's worth noting that a solid rear axle is lighter, stronger and cheaper...will have a longer service life in some cases.

Also, a good solid rear axle set up is better than a so-so IRS. See the SN95 Cobra for an example of a not so great IRS that a lot of people do end up swapping for the solid axle...

Otherwise, I think you're right on.

Rog13GTCS

I am still having fun with and I am still in love with my 13. I really like what I've seen inside and out with the 15, but no reason to sell or trade yet. I will definitely check out a 15 when my local dealer gets one in and I might even test drive it. In 4 or 5 years, and a couple iterations with tweaking the new platform, who knows...

96lasersnake

I have owned a 12 boss, 13 boss, 13 manual gt and now an auto 13. If the car is what all the articles are saying I would give my 13 up in a second. Don't get me wrong I like my car, but it is not the best put together car in the world. Had a ton of trans/clutch issues with the bosses, solid axle (good for racing) but is a terrible ride, had the ticking issues with the 5.0 in the gt and the interior is pretty cheap (although better than previous mustangs). I hope the new one has worked out issues with motor/trans. The new one looks to be a great mix of new tech and keeping the mustang heritage alive. I love little dumb stuff on cars and am so glad the new one has memory seats, heated/cooled seats, IRS, launch control, engine start button/ w keyless entry, not to mention the forged parts from boss. I will be trying to get one 5-6 months after release to see if there is any major bugs with them.

BlueFirePony

I love mine 13 mustang but wish I have all the interior and suspension of the new one. The exterior of the 15 is not a factor to like the car . Infact I dont like the exterior .

Juice

I too have a 13 track pack, which I ordered exactly the way I wanted it. I also have a 13 Fusion titanium. I hate to break it to the naysayers...but the 14 and 15 grills are closer then the fusion and 15 grill shape. When I saw the 15 spy shots...my initial reaction was "That's why they changed the 13 nose....to make the transition easier. The new headlights look cool, and I'll bet the aero is better on the new car, which will pay dividends on the highway (and the track).
My least favorite angle is the back of the car. As far as I'm concerned the tail lights on the 13 -14 models are the best ever on any year Mustang.

SO, will I trade. Not now. My GHIG GT is only a year old. I've upgraded it with a new shift, FRPP Tune, SVE Drifts and I love the color. The biggest disappointment in the new car is the colors... nothing excites me there. I want to see some road tests, driving experiences and see the car up close. If the performance is a major step up, maybe I'll pull the trigger on a 2016.

96lasersnake

You know everyone kept saying that before the release, but I don't see a fusion at all. It looks more high end, like aston martin or Bentley than a fusion. It is really hard to design a new car that doesn't resemble another car that is already made. I think they did an awesome job of making it look new but still tying in the mustang heritage. Its hard to argue that the rear of the car looks so much better wider. Saw some pics on car and driver next to a 13 gt and it reminded me of seeing a stock c6 vette sitting next to a C6 z06 with the big rear fenders.

2011 Kona Blue

It may not have colossal sales success but it will sell and continue on and live. I think its price will have a lot to do with the huge sales success. If this new world class mustang has a base price over 35k for the 5.0 then I can see that hampering sales.

Also, depends on what type of rebates Ford will put on it. Everybody talks about this new world class advanced Mustang but how much is that going to cost the consumer. The mustang has always been the affordable pony car and world class may equal much higher price. Maybe or maybe not.

If people want world class performance in their Mustang then hopefully those same people won't complain should it cost base mid 30's.

fdesalvo

Dude, you said it all. I was in the same exact place. The 370Z was going to be the ticket for me, too. I just woke up and realized I've always had fast jap two seaters. I just came out of a 2007 S2K and knew I needed to step up into a V8 with a stick. After hearing about the progress with the rear suspension and 5.0, I was sold and intentionally bought the last of the retro GTs - the 14.

I have zero regrets and still love my car, but I'm no fool; I know what a reworked independent suspension will do for this car - and people are forgetting the fact that the S550 has a revised front suspension, too.

In addition to the awesome selection of interior materials - "...what looks like metal is metal" - the new GT will have significantly improved NVH by losing the log, increasing the actual driving pleasure.

Lots of folks are hung up on the perceived loss of the muscle car image, but I'm telling you - it only takes one drive in a balanced and powerful car to change your perception. I welcome the Mustang's entrance into the sports car arena, although a bit more of a diet wouldn't hurt hehe.

FromZto5

That's flawed logic. Because you'd do the same thing to a 2015, 16, 17, 18, 20, 90, 3015, and so on.... If you decide to mod, you will mod, and the loss in value would apply to any car any year.

Agree.

I had a 370z before my 12, hence my username . I got rid of it to get in true American muscle ...



Given all that, I think I've preached my story in other threads: 2015 is decent looking for a new mainstream car. But I don't think it screams mustang. Thus, I much much much prefer the 11-12. Just personal preference.

det97

The tech in the 15 will make our cars look ancient. Two words "Burnout Button" To compare I can get my 11 vert V6 auto to burn out with snow tires on a warm day.

kcoTiger

A competent driver will not benefit at all from an IRS on city streets/highways. Only the very, very best drivers will benefit from it on a reasonably paved road course. The most incompetent of drivers will benefit from it, as they have no idea how to drive a vehicle yet. The IRS to 99% of drivers is akin to the new auto-parallel-park "feature" with which some cars are now being equipped. Yes, I'd love to have an IRS in my Shelby, but I can easily augment my suspension to hug the road around turns well enough to stick to anyone's tail and do the passing on the straightaways on track days. Street driving, IRS is virtually useless--providing you're not behaving like an *** behind the wheel.

kcoTiger

I like the look of the '15 and I think it will be an advancement in most areas. I would buy one of them given certain conditions--but those conditions haven't been met. I won't be trading in or selling my Shelby, for any car.

fdesalvo

Thank you. People are taught that SRA is a bad word and most haven't even pushed the car to the point where the differences between the two would make themselves apparent. I come from the handling first, power second world - couple of 300+hp MR2s, S2000...etc and I was won over by the 14's handling (well, not stock, but I saw the potential).

I think Moustang's heart is in the right place, but he doesn't really understand how the later Mustang's rear suspension works. My former Sr Manager and friend gets an SVT every 10 years. He currently has a 94 and 04 which have been set up properly and regularly whip prepped Porsches and others around big and little Willow. His SRAs aren't holding him back and he is several chassis revisions behind where we are. And guess what - Miatas still whip everyone else's butts around the twisties and it's just a fact.

In the real world, the only benefit a IRS will give you is a quieter ride at an equivalent performance level. There will be no UCA/LCAs, PBs, etc to transmit noise into the cabin. Now, I would take IRS over SRA any day of the week, but as it stands, the 10-14s are fun an very capable cars.

I'm going to enjoy mine for 4-5 years, then will pick up a new one later. Every time I turn the key, my ears and body are treated to the rumble of the V8. Every time I stab the gas, I am pulled back into my seat and I wonder how the car is maintaining a straight line and is failing to get lift! The Coyote Mustang will ALWAYS scratch the muscle/sports car itch if set up right - and it only takes a few hundred dollars. The stock GT was just behind the same MY M3 under track conditions and that speaks volumes; M3s are beasts. This new S550 will def be a game changer in EU where the M3s live. At the end of the day a better driver than I can wring better numbers out of a stock GT than I can in my prepped GT TP, so what's at stake now other than my ego?

Five Oh Brian

I just bought my '14 a couple months ago, and did so only after looking over as many renderings of the '15 as I could and gathering intel from the people I know within Ford. Now that the S550 has been officially revealed, I still feel that my decision was sound based on what I want in my car.

I'm a drag racer, so I value the solid axle in the '14. I've owned IRS cars, even V8 powered IRS cars, and while they are nice in the corners, that's not my focus. For drag racing, the solid axle is the better way to put the power down.

I really like the infotainment in the '14. My car has the factory electronics package with navigation. I do NOT like the MyFord Touch interface in the '15. We've had it since '11 in other Ford vehicles. Working in a Ford dealership and dealing with the frequent issues of MyFord Touch has turned me off to wanting it in my car. '14 is the last year for the "good" nav.

Styling. I think the front of the '10-'12's was the best ever from Team Mustang! That's the only thing I miss from my '11 GT. The '13-'14 front end has a better looking back end than the '10-'12, though. I like the big round head/fog lights as they look traditional and appropriate in a Mustang. The '15 front end does not look like a Mustang. It is more "corporate Ford" styling that really reminds me of any other Ford sedan. The rear 1/4 view of the '15 looks good. The new taillights are cool, but then, so are the taillights in the '14. I do not like the panel between the taillights of the '15, though, as it is much too big. The '15 rear looks much better when painted body color. The '15's we've seen with black plastic across the back above the diffuser look horrible.

Interior. I absolutely hate the interior of the '15. Way too busy, too many *****, switches, etc. MyFord Touch was supposed to get rid of the clutter by eliminating most of the hard switches. Unfortunately, MyFord Touch fails so frequently, that you need the hard switches as a back up for when MyFord Touch fails. The '10-'14 interior is much classier looking, IMO.

Performance? We have yet to get final power, weight, and performance #'s on the '15. At 200 lbs lighter and with roughly 20 hp more, the '15 5.0L will be a few tenths quicker at the drag strip. However, my '14 already runs 12.0's in the 1/4 mile with very minor mods (tune & converter) and should be running mid 11's by springtime with the next minor bolt on that I'm planning (LT headers and better tuning). Any quicker than 11.50 in the 1/4 mile requires a roll cage that I refuse to do, so I don't need the '15 to hit my performance goal.

Pricing: 15's will be introduced with a higher price; there's no way to cover the added content without a commensurate bump in price. Rebates will be minimal, if any, for most of the '15 model year, while '14's will have huge rebates from Ford to clear them out. Many dealers will hold out for bigger markups on the '15's initially, as well. So, the dealers will discount '14's more, Ford will rebate the '14's more, and the '15's will have a bump in price on top of that. Wouldn't surprise me if a '15 will cost $5000 to $8000 more than a comparably equipped '14 when these factors are accounted for.

I recognize that a lot of people will love the '15 and sales should be plentiful. I also know that a lot of people will scramble to get a '14 before they're all gone, though. I order all of the new cars for the dealership I work for and I'm going to order as many '14's as I can for the balance of production.

All in all, I think the '15 Mustang GT is a great looking car. It just isn't a great looking Mustang, IMO. I love my '14 more and more every time I look at a '15.

JCStang

Brian, any idea if rebates will go up on the 14's?

kylerohde

I should be surprised how many people are still trying to argue that a SRA is the right choice for this car, knowing that less than 5% of them (probably more like 1%) ever truly get drag raced hard, regularly. That's the ONLY place where it is better. Yes, it can work on a road course and yes, it can be ok on the street. There's a reason Mustang is the last car in America with an SRA and the last ones prior were the Panther cars. If an SRA was better, I'd expect the new BMW M4 coming out this week to have one. Guessing it'll have a fantastic IRS setup though, like every other modern street performance and race car. Sorry SRA guys. That's reality.

2011 Kona Blue

BMW's are known for cornering so IRS is great. This is a mustang, it not meant to be a corning beast. Its design was to be a straight line pony, muscle car like vehicle. If you want a great handling car to corner on a dime go purchase a Corvette, Mazda Miata , BMW , 370Z. Lol. JK.

I just hope the Mustang stays affordable priced for us average blue color folks.

laserred38

The stuff you say becomes dumber and dumber by the day.

Five Oh Brian

No idea. It all comes down to supply and demand. If the '14's stop selling, then rebates will go up. If '14's keep selling just fine, then Ford will hold the line on rebates. If sales get better for any reason, then rebates may go down. The current rebates run through January 2nd, so it'll be interesting to see what rebates do on January 3rd.

Five Oh Brian

You should spend some time on some of the enthusiast Mustang websites. Most forum members here don't seem like the racing type (drag racing or otherwise). Quite a few Mustang owners drag race. Our two local tracks (Pacific Raceways & Bremerton Raceway) are full of Mustangs on drag days. Not so much on open track days for road racing or autocrossing. I would venture to guess that for every one Mustang being road raced, there are ten or more hitting the drag strip.