Ford really needs to prove it "gets it" right about now, and here's one small piece of proof that it does: Equip a 2010 Mustang with the rear-camera option, go find someplace empty. Stop. Put the car in reverse and the big, console-mounted screen will give you a view from the rear bumper. Turn off traction control, bring all eight cylinders to bear, light up the tires and revel in 10 seconds of your own personal burnout video. And what a burnout it can do.

Granted, this feature will be enjoyed by about .18 percent of Mustang buyers, but the fact that Ford engineers snuck this one through, a little digital soul, speaks to a newly expressive and more genuine approach to building cars. You can't force anyone to buy your car, and as mean quality and reliability rise across all automakers, vehicle purchase is often as emotional a decision as economic.

Mustang ownership is about the experience, and Ford has done much to create a great one in the new model: handsome lines, better driving dynamics and an interior that's not torn from 1986. And Mustang, it's good to report, still translates as value (unless, of course, "Shelby" is part of the model name); the V8-equipped GT starts at $27,995, making it still the least-expensive 300-plus hp vehicle on the market.

Ford brought us to sunny Los Angeles to sample the new 'Stang, a venue appropriate both for many boulevards to cruise down and surrounding canyons to tear through. And tear we did. We can't tell you what the stereo sounds like or how well the A/C works, because the windows were always down and the V8 providing all the music we needed. It helps that the cold-air intake is routed such that a percentage of the engine's induction growl is transmitted into the cabin. Nice touch.

The new Mustang of course comes with a 4.0-liter V6 as well. There, we mentioned it. The 4.6-liter V8 is essentially the same slightly tweaked version that powered the popular Bullitt model, and features 315 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. This specific output isn't all that impressive, but the Mustang will run, without hiccup, on 80-something-octane **** water pumped out of a barrel in the bowels of Mexico. Fork over for high-test and you'll get an extra kick in the pants from 1K-3K rpm.

There are other V8s that, frankly, do everything better. But it doesn't much matter -- for the price, the 4.6-liter is a sweet piece of iron, extremely tractable and willing. And Euro and Japanese finery be damned, this small block produces a siren song of combustion so sweet you'll find your foot deep into the throttle often and without remorse.

Ford has been applying some of what it learns kicking *** on the racetrack (like the European FIA's GT series, where the FR500C has won the GT4 championship two years running against Porsche Caymans and Aston Vantages) to making the Mustang work better on the street. A technological old hag with a makeover is still an old hag, however, and solid axles are happier on a smooth track than they are on the street.

The new Mustang doesn't just benefit from the Bullitt's powertrain, but also gets what is essentially its suspension. Ford has had 45 years to work on making the solid rear axle work, and while it doesn't do wonders for ride, on smooth roads (all we got to drive on), the three-link arrangement effectively harnessed the V8's hefty grunt. The standard limited-slip differential does a heroic job of flinging the 3,550-pound beast out of tight corners.

There is a "Track Pack" available for $1,400. The word "value" cannot be expressed more completely. The Pack includes performance front and rear brake pads, revised shocks and dampers, 255/40-17 Pirelli PZero RFT maximum performance summer tires, a unique stability-control program, a 3:73 rear-end with carbon-fiber discs in the limited-slip for extended high-temperature use and shock tops, rear lower control arms and antiroll bars from the GT500. Just the tires are $287 each from Tire Rack, plus shipping.

The Track Pack transforms the car. Challenge it laterally and the new GT is Bullitt good: fun, quick and a bit imprecise. The new GT with Track Pack will travel an equivalent stretch of road significantly faster. Much, of course, has to do with the PZero's heroic grip, but there's no discounting the vast improvement in turn-in, midcorner stability and total composure. Where the GT gets a bit confused handling simultaneous elevation and directional changes, the Track Pack-equipped car dives in. Ford left the stock GT springs in place, and as a result, ride doesn't suffer and the car handles midcorner bumps well. On both cars, a lingering foot on the brake at corner entry much helps place the car's heavy nose where you want it. Unfortunately, the Track Pack doesn't address our only nagging dynamic complaint: steering feel that's disappointingly numb.

What doesn't disappoint at all is the new Mustang's styling. The first (and second and third) time you see the new Mustang, you think "Wow, this really is a good-looking car" rather than the previous "Wow, this is a good-looking Mustang."

Unlike other "retro" competitors, the Mustang's shape employs just enough early cues to spark nostalgia without becoming lost in it. Sculpted rear haunches, a powerdome hood and sequential tail lamps present on a Mustang for the first time since 1969, are all welcome updates. The new shape is slipperier too, with a 7% reduction in drag on the V8 model while creating 23 percent less front end lift at speed. Understeer be gone! If you have an extra $1,095, you'd do well to select the optional 19-inch wheels that are slightly reminiscent of Halibrands (option code 64X); they look fantastic.

No one has ever bought a Mustang because they fell in love with the interior; starting with the 2010 model, they might, at least, have a friend-crush on it. Ford says they moved away from the "linear expressions" of previous Mustang interiors, by which they mean eschewing the hard plastic tackle boxes glued in formation that previously passed as an interior.

Interior surfaces are, gasp, soft to the touch, and feel decently expensive. Some panels don't just look like aluminum, they actually are. You can customize the various interior LED lighting scenarios about a bazillion different ways, and the full array of Sync, navigation, thumping stereo systems, etc. are available. The seats are comfortable if you fully extend the lumbar support, but Ford knows their customers, and their customer's average girths are girdle worthy; our 32-inch waist wasn't very firmly coddled when the going got twisty.

So did Ford get it right? We say they did. It's been a while since there's been a Mustang that tugs at the heart strings of Americans young and old, male and female, motorsport-fixated and secretarial (it's about volume sales too, people) as much as this one. And few cars beg for a road trip like a pony car - stay tuned for some kind of mile-unraveling adventure.

What doesn't disappoint at all is the new Mustang's styling. The first (and second and third) time you see the new Mustang, you think "Wow, this really is a good-looking car" rather than the previous "Wow, this is a good-looking Mustang."