05fordgt

Yeah, and trust me, on a T-Bird, SST's inception, it was HORRID!!! It still shifted for you, even in manual mode! The newest iteration is fabulous!!! It will let you bounce off the rev limiter all day long, and NOT SHIFT until you flick the stick on a Fusion or paddle on a Taurus. Only will it shift if your going too slow, and then it will downshift.

I have to say, they may be keeping the Select Shift for the GT only, since they didn't mention it yet on the V6. Its too big of a feature to not mention in the press release.

FordBlueHeart

I forgot about the CX-9! Are you sure they are the same?

eci

Complexity for complexity's sake is what is dumb. A key always works.

Five Oh Brian

Yes, the 3.7L Duratec was in the Mazda CX-9, as well as the Lincoln MKS, before the announcement for the 2011 Mustang V6. Ford owned a majority stake in Mazda for quite some time and traded platforms and drivetrains frequently.

FordBlueHeart

So do roll up windows and a key in the door, but for a daily driver, I can't imagine not having keyless entry and power windows. The thought of walking up to my vehicle, tugging on my door handle and getting it started without having to wrestle a key out of my pocket with groceries or whatever in hand, makes the choice simple for me. Paint the picture baby!

metroplex

The shiftable automatics aren't new, and OEMs like Mazda/Subaru have had decent ones for the automatics where it revmatched all of your downshifts.

Unfortunately, the shiftable automatics like the ones in the Taurus/Fusion/Mazda are still automatics. They use a torque converter which has its own problems. The dual-clutch manual gearboxes and automated manuals are a bit better IMHO. There's always some delay with the automatics, and you carry around 14 qt of hot ATF that has to be cooled down with a large and heavy auxiliary cooler.

Dixie_Flatline

And I still laughed at my friend when the battery in the keyfob on his Highlander's keyless entry went out and he complained about having to actually use the key to unlock the door and start the car.

FordBlueHeart

I was aware of all the sharing Brian. Just wasn't sure if the 3.7 was the same or mazda specific like the di turbo motor.
I've only been out of the car business for about a year now and I'm starting to forget things I knew. Oh well, garbage in, garbage out.

Overboost

Yes, the Speed3 has torque steer, I avoided that by going with AWD instead. I also get all my power in 1st-3rd no problem, especially with launch control and flat foot shifting. Aside from that, the chassis is amazing and very capable with minimal work.

Well, I don't actually own one yet, but when I bought my Speed6, I wanted a '08 Bullitt, but the dealers wouldn't budge on the price. The MS6 was $20K out the door and had enough potential to keep me interested, so I pulled the trigger. AWD, 6-speed manual, and boost makes it a phenominal daily driver.

Ford is definitely a late game player in the DI market. Like you said, the VAG engines have been doing it for years, and seem to have it set up for the smaller motors and run great all day.\

My parents just bought a 2010 Fustion SEL V6 with the SST, and it's a great little package. 240hp makes that car move, and it's on par with the Sport IMO. No need to throw a bigger motor in there quite yet.

My g/f has a 2009 Mazda6 with the adv. key. If you walk up and push the button, it locks the car. If you grab the handle, the drivers door opens. If you grab the pass. door handle, all the doors unlock.

Honestly, I'm more concerned with how the key is packaged. I like how they've integrated the fob right into the key itself, so you don't have a bigger package in your pocket to carry around. If they could only set up remote start provisions in there should the owner want it and avoid the secondary fob, they'd really have me impressed.

steve-o

Then why did you buy the car in the first place?

eci

Hm, because I wanted it? I didn't buy it because I thought it was perfect.

metroplex

The 2.3L DOHC I4 used in the Mazdaspeed3 was also used in Ford vehicles for awhile.
Basically Ford just has to port over all of the goodies from Mazda, and they'd be on the same level as everyone else.

Captain Spadaro

I know that the SelectShift in the SHO matches revs on down shifts. Would it be possible that this feature might see another application soon?

coffeejolts

I had the select shift feature in my Mazda6 (six speed auto). I didn't like it. The shifts always happened a second or so after my input. It would not hold second gear when moving slowly. There were many instances where I wanted to hold second gear- like in stop and go traffic, but the car would always shift back into first. The quirks became so annoying that I eventually stopped using it. My advice to anyone who wants to choose their own gear is to buy the manual and save the money.

jsaylor

Actually, simple peak hp and torque numbers tell us that the 3.7L possesses quite the power band. If you compare the Mustang's V6 to several of Ford's major competitors V6 mills, where the peak output numbers are found says a lot......

Ford 3.7L V6: 305hp @ 6500rpm; 280lb-ft/tq @ 4250 rpm (Mustang)

GM 3.6L V6: 304hp @ 6,400rpm; 273lb-ft/tq @ 5,200 rpm (Camaro)

Hyundai 3.8L V6: 306hp @ 6300rpm; 266lb-ft/tq @ 4700 rpm (Genesis Coupe)

Nissan 3.7L V6: 332hp @ 7000rpm; 270lb-ft/tq @ 5200rpm (370Z)

The Ford makes more peak torque than any of the other engines listed above with the Camaro coming closest, although the difference between the Camaro and Mustang isn't huge. More impressive, the Mustangs torque peak occurs nearly 1000rpm lower than the in the Camaro, which is not insignificant. That might not be so surprising but for the fact that, with the exception of the Nissan, peak hp is more or less a wash here. And here again we find that the rpm where this occurs tells us something, the Ford produces that peak hp just a tick higher than in either the GM or Hyundai which says that the Ford pulls just as well if not better throughout the entire power band than both the Hyundai and GM despite the superior low end torque the Ford produces. I would argue that this is impressive because low end torque has often been gained at the sacrifice of peak power in years past, all else being equal.

Sounds like very good head and intake design and a well thought out vvt setup to me....and an impressive overall power band.

TopCat501

Yep, you remember correctly.

In fact they drove it out onto the road and left it there creating lots of congestion with lots of honking going on, LOL.
When he came out, Hammond was dazed & confused as to how his car got there. Pretty funny stuff.

I've even heard Challenger guys talk about driving off from their home with the keys still in the house as the key was close enough to the garage to activate the push button start.
Sheesh, they need to make those things only have a range of like 15ft or something.

Overboost

The 2.3 MZR and the 2.3 DISI Turbo aren't as close as you think. The 2.3 N/A motors were identical, yes, same as the 2.5s now.

karman

My Ranger has the 2.3 Mazda engine.
Nobody that rides in it believes it is a 4 until I lift the hood.
The fun part is blowing away the non-turbo ricers with ease.
The look on their faces is priceless when they see a delivery truck blowing their doors off.

Dave07997S

Thanks for the info J..

HizliBullet

i'll be getting the 2012