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The Mustang evolution for both its design and performance is fantastic without question but that continuous gauges/infotainment screen must be 30 inches wide. The designers might as well have included a keyboard and a mouse.
In addition, that monstrous screen eliminated the raised portion of the dash facing both the driver and front passenger which is a lost cue of the best looking Mustang interiors from the 60s and brought back on the 2005 MY (model year).
That screen is the oddest addition to a Mustng ever IMHO. I know that the younger generations have grown up with technology, but ****. New vehicles are basically rolling computers these days, but to me that screen seems to be more of a distraction than a usefull addition.
Supposedly, the new dash design was inspired by the old Fox generation...
That answers the question. I guess it makes a lot of sense (at least to a dummy designer) to come up with the bright idea of retro cues from a time when interiors look like vomit. The era of the Mustang II and the Fox generation are not exactly the glory days of the Mustang. Their interior were a carbon copy of the Yugo's.
I have to hand it to GM and Chevrolet, when it comes to the Corvette there have been changes done from gen to gen but they have been done with progression. From 1953 to the present any Vette from any year if it is well taken care of always look good, inside and out.
I do like the exterior of the car very much. That interior to me though is a deal killer. I'm so glad I bought my 2014 without the screens and 'modern' stuff. Dials and push buttons for the win!
... I do like the exterior of the car very much. That interior to me though is a deal killer. I'm so glad I bought my 2014 without the screens and 'modern' stuff. Dials and push buttons for the win!
I feel the same about my Bullitt. The exterior of the Dark Horse is flawless, possibly one of the best if not the best.
I do like the exterior of the car very much. That interior to me though is a deal killer. I'm so glad I bought my 2014 without the screens and 'modern' stuff. Dials and push buttons for the win!
I had Similar Thoughts But Chose a Kinder Response on the Shifter! What is also Funny is if you are not Logged on **** is Censored! Go Figure!
That answers the question. I guess it makes a lot of sense (at least to a dummy designer) to come up with the bright idea of retro cues from a time when interiors look like vomit. The era of the Mustang II and the Fox generation are not exactly the glory days of the Mustang. Their interior were a carbon copy of the Yugo's.
I have to hand it to GM and Chevrolet, when it comes to the Corvette there have been changes done from gen to gen but they have been done with progression. From 1953 to the present any Vette from any year if it is well taken care of always look good, inside and out.
Despite the eras of the Mustang II and Fox generations as not exactly the glory days of the Mustang... The OPEC restrictions during the early thru mid-1970s forced automakers to produce smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles to compete with the Japanese imports which were dominating the U.S. in sales... Say what you will about the Mustang II, but had Ford not produced the Mustang II back in the mid-1970s? Chances are the Mustang would not have survived... Therefore, IMHO, the Mustang II was the right car at the right time which more than likely saved the Mustang from possible extinction...
As for the Fox body generation is concerned, I agree they neither resembled nor even came close in comparison with the glory days of the Mustang, but the Fox generation was the longest tenure at 14 years... Their design was all-new/aerodynamic from the ground up and light years ahead of the previous Mustang II generation... They were very well-designed cars during their era, they were also very reliable, did really well in sales, and were popular till the very end... Needless to say, I had the privilege of being the caretaker of 3 Fox Body Mustangs including my last which was a "93" SVT Cobra...
That being said, I had absolutely no regrets during my experiences as a Fox Body Mustang owner
It matters little to me what circumstances brought about the Mustang II or the Fox. My comparison was about the dash nothing else. But let's go further and elaborate on the pause of the Mustang's glory days.
The Mustang has always been my favorite but once I saw the Mustang II I bought a 1976 TransAm with a 455 and 4-speed which I traded for a 1978 TransAm with a 6.6 T/A and 4-speed. The Mustang II was not on the same league or be compared in any category whatsoever. The TransAms were better all around.
Move the clock a couple years down, I decided to return to Ford. Got a 1980 Mercury Capri Turbo, gave up after the 4th turbo replacement, a complete disaster. So then came a 1982 Mustang GT, which in turned I traded it for a 1982 Camaro Z28 which like all performance cars was tuned down but still better looks, comfort, and more fun than the Mustang.
Opec restrictions might have forced Ford to produce smaller cars but apparently didn't affect GM, did it?
As for the OPEC restrictions not affecting GM goes, the Camaro and Firebird/TransAm models were never oversized behemoths when compared to the 71-73 Mustangs, to begin with... Therefore, Ford had very little choice but to downsize the Mustang in order to become more fuel efficient during the OPEC restriction period, otherwise, the Mustang would not have survived....Lee Iacocca and Ford knew full well the Mustang under the direction of Bunkie Knudsen and Larry Shinoda, both formally of GM had to return the Mustang back to its original Pony Car size by undoing what Knudsen and Shinoda had done with the 71-73 models, as demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles began to dominate the market in sales... If you actually think for one moment the Mustang would have survived if the design of the 71-73 models would have remained unchanged beyond the "73" model years, I think not... The bottom line, both Knudsen, and Shinoda ruined the Mustang by going way too far in transforming the Mustang from its original Pony Car roots into an oversized, gas-guzzling behemoth...
At any rate, I had clearly stated in the previous post that I fully acknowledged that both the Mustang II and Fox body Mustang had very little in common with the glory days of the original 1st generation 65-70 models, nor was I attempting to claim otherwise...
But I do understand the reasoning behind Ford's decision to downsize the Mustang during the OPEC restriction period of the early-mid 1970s... But make no mistake, the first generation 65-70 Mustang has always been and will always be my favorite Mustang, followed by the 2005-14 S197 generation...
Last edited by m05fastbackGT; 2/13/23 at 08:18 PM.
Reason: Spelling Error
... the Camaro and Firebird/TransAm models were never oversized behemoths when compared to the 71-73 Mustangs...
Really?
The '76 TransAm and '76 Camaro were (196.8) and (195.4) inches long respectively compared to the 'oversized' '71-'73 Mustang Sportsroof which included the Mach 1s and Boss 351 models at (189.5) inches long. The Mustang II became a Secretary's Edition, its direct competition being the likes of the Pontiac Sunbird other GM's sisters' versions.
Ford made progress with SN95 generation and hit it out of the park with the 2005 and has never looked back forcing Chevrolet and Dodge to bring back their bread and butter (Camaro, Challenger, and Charger) after all their 'retro' mocking and ridicule of Ford, they had to eat their words just like Ford's apologists for their support of a mediocre era. In the early 2000s many Mustang owners received a written request from Ford to fill and return a survey on our suggestions of drivetrains, suspension, features, options, ect, for the next Mustang generation. Not that I can claim any credit for how the new '05 Mustang came out but some of my wishes and a lot more were granted with a bunch special editions and improvements. The rest is history and reality.
^^^ Always loved Mustangs no matter what. Was I disappointed in 1974? Yes, but it wasn't too long when things improved. My first ever 'new' car was the 1982 GT. My car never had an issue while many of my work buddies bought the poor running 1982 Trans Ams that sat in the dealership shops more than they were on the road. Best decision of my young life. I even loved the 1977 Cobra back in the day. I wish I could have bought one, but no $$$.
My '82 GT and the Starman Cobra shown below.
^^^ Always loved Mustangs no matter what. Was I disappointed in 1974? Yes, but it wasn't too long when things improved. My first ever 'new' car was the 1982 GT. My car never had an issue while many of my work buddies bought the poor running 1982 Trans Ams that sat in the dealership shops more than they were on the road. Best decision of my young life. I even loved the 1977 Cobra back in the day. I wish I could have bought one, but no $$$.
My '82 GT and the Starman Cobra shown below.
A 78 Cobra II with an Engine Comparable to The 85 5.0L 4BBL 5 Speed would Have Been Just the Ticket! Too Bad The Engine Technology was Not There Yet! That would Have Been a Nice Machine! Now Farrah in the Passenger Seat would Have Made it Complete! 78 Was The Year I Started Driving. Had an 85 Mustang Gt & Capri R/S Back in the Day! Loved Em!