Wow, dat's a lot of Mustangs! I'm sure you've enjoyed them all.

 

It's amazing how far the industry has come since the bleak days of the mid to late 1970's. I'm sure a lot of guys back then thought that performance cars were dead forever. My father-in-law still talks about the time he test drove a brand new Corvette in the late seventies and it was slower than his early seventies Ford pickup that had a camper on it! The price of cars has increased by faster than the rate of inflation but we're definitely getting our money's worth.

 

The powerband is so smooth it lacks a "hit". It just progressively gets quicker as the rpm rises and then the rpm limiter feels like it cuts you off about 1,000 rpm to soon. Its deceptive just how quick it is.

 

I remember riding in a friend's 60's or 70's Chevelle with a 396 V8, 2 speed automatic & a 4 barrel carb. With that 2 speed transmission, it wasn't much to brag about below 40 mph but, after that I loved how that car made me feel like I was pulling heavy G's against the seat. It was a semi sense of false feeling because at the time I had a 67 Mustang with a 351 Windsor, 3 speed automatic & 2 barrel carb and at 0-60 I could beat him every time. After that he ran away from me. Point is, I didn't have that feeling in my car or in my 2008 Mustang either. It's just a different feel of power. I'd put money on it that my 2008 Mustang would outrun that old Chevelle.

 

I agree. I've always liked black, but the lower plastic trim on the side and back (aka "diaper") integrates better with the car in black than with other colors, IMO.

 

Thanks! I get a lot more looks on my 2011 Black than I did with my 2010 Torch Red. I was at the Sonic Drive-in this evening on my way home to get a soda and, wow, it was like flies on honey. It definitely gets the looks ...the 5.0 badge doesn't hurt either

 

Good stuff. Makes me want to watch Smokey and the Bandit! LOL. Actually, the Trans Am was my other favorite car and, yes, I even have some pics of me as a 17/18 year old wearing a Trans Am t-shirt! I also owned a 1972 Pontiac LeMans back in the day and it had really good bottom-end torque. That was back when the GM divisions all had their own engine designs and the Pontiac 350 (vs the Chevy 350) had a longer stroke, smaller bore which may have had something to do with its torque at lower RPM's. Sounded great, too. Handled like the Queen Mary, however. The Trans Am really went downhill with that turbo 4.9/301 V8 in '79? or '80? ...what a dog. A far cry from 400/6.6 of the 77's and 78's (the best-looking year models). Those cars were among the hottest-looking and driving rides around at the time.

 

Yeah ...Old School ...LOL

 

I with you on all the dumb stuff I've done as a kid. I grew up out in the country and could do some things that would be more difficult and dangerous to do in a large city. My town was so small that one time I did a really good burnout in my '71 Mustang Mach 1 while (unknown to me) the town policeman observed. Rather than write me a ticket, he called my dad and asked him to give me a father-son talk about driving responsibly. That had way more positive impact on me than any traffic fine ever could.

As for the new Mustangs, not only are they an awesome car, but for me, my 2011 Mustang GT is ALSO my fountain of youth. Because of the power, V8 sound, styling, retro look, and all the other things we liked about cars back in the day, I feel like a teenager again every time I get behind the wheel of it. It's so easy to forget I'm almost 50 (next January) ...it's a great feeling, let me tell ya.

For the young kids today, I know they will remember their 2011 Mustangs when they are in their 40's and 50's and I'll bet Ford will have something for them, too.

 

Beauty is subjective and is in the eye of the beholder, simple as that. Can't please everybody. Count me in the camp that loves the back end and gives kudo's to Ford for trying something new and modern instead of just chopping the back end off flat and calling it a day like they've typically done.

 

Agreed. The 05-09's look dated to me already. So boring and blocky.

 

late GTO was possibly the best GM car ever...but inadequate styling didnt lure enough buyers for it to survive. The 11 5.0 is by far the best mustang ever, but I cant say Id put it higher than in the top four models looks wise- its nice, but (opinion) I still like the 05 better, and for sure liked the 69 MUCH better than either- but 'car wise' the 69 kinda sucked by comparison - but man do they look perfect.

I just wish we had the refinement of today with the old looks- and the old 450+ ft/lb off idle would sure be more fun in daily driving, even if slower at the track. Actually I hate to admit it, but *think* a ecoboosted V6 could be more fun for a daily driver than todays V8s...think the 3.7 puts out like 380 ft/lb from 1500 to redline- although it will sound like a V6 likely...I'l stick with a better sounding V8, but know the days a coming when the 6s will be king and likely the highest performance ever for a while.

I really like the looks of the 05- the back end (except for the corner backups) I like a lot, I dont like the quarter glass at all(SHR louvers look infinitely better), I think the hood is way to undefined (Shaker/fang hood fixed that), and I think the headlights are just a tad 'turned down' looking at the outside- but all in all I realy dont dislike anything enough to see it as unattractive...

I really like the 10- except for the rear end, which is the only thing about that car I'd say is a deal breaker for me...I think the hood is a bit 'unconventional' for a mustang(reminds me of a chevelle cowl hood in a way) but looks better than a flat one, the headlights outer edge I like because they turned it up a tad, but I think they went a touch too far- I dont care for the flat-topped fogs, just because I think it looks like they copied that idea from the challenger(but I love the look on the challenger) the 'hips' needed to come back(thank you Ford), but I think a bolder/more 69-ish proportion could improve on it...I still wish theyd lose the quarter glass, and go with the little 69 fastback windows...I didnt think the blind spot in my 69 was that bad at all...but all in all, the 10 looks like a proper mustang to me(except from the rear) and interior/economy/performance/handling/everything-else-wise, its definitely the best ever...but so was the GTO- I hope ford keeps their nose to the grindstone on the next rendition, which I'm sure will be even better than the incredible car of today- but I pray it dont look like anything but a mustang.
It might get 80 MPG and run 10's, but if it looks like a taurus/honda/whatever, it will suffer the fate of the GTO- a Mustang NEEDS to look like a mustang from a few blocks away, day or night, oncoming or following...all can add is if it looks more modern/less traditional mustang-like in 2014, I wont be getting in line for one of those either- but thats OK, I'm sure countless folks will love it, so it will do OK no matter what my opinion is of it- but I HOPE that I'll be as excited about its styling as the 05- the 05 wasnt 'perfect' to me either, but way close enough - enough that I had to get one(or two, or three...) I hope to get that excited again about a new Ford body- but it wont be this year