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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.
Then you explain the reason behind Ford's decision for downsizing the Mustang during the 74-78 model years and then continue on with the Fox generation which remained in production for 14 years... Despite your dislike for the Fox body generation, they performed well in the sales department and remained popular until the very end when Ford finally made the decision to retire the Fox body platform after its 14-year production run with the introduction of the SN-95 Mustang for the 94 model year which btw: was an update of the Fox platform known as Fox-4...
As for Ford making progress with the SN-95 generation, other than for the new body style, along with the updated Fox-4 chassis, the powertrain remained pretty much the same as the outgoing 5.0L pushrod from the "93" SVT Fox body Cobra... It wasn't until the arrival of the new edge SN-95 beginning in "99" that Ford actually made real progress with the introduction of the 4.6L 2v overhead cam design engine... Following the arrival of the new edge SN-95 models in "99" desirability for the older 94-98 SN-95 models began to decline significantly...
No offense, but personally I didn't find the SN-95 models as appealing enough to give up trading in my "93" Fox body Cobra... It wasn't until the arrival of the S197 generation in 2005 that I finally made the decision for trading in my "93" SVT Cobra... The reason was for the first time since the first generation 65-70 Mustangs, I was instantly so blown away by the retro styling of the S197 Mustang when I first saw images of its introduction as a concept car at the 2003 international auto show which immediately took me back to the first generation 65-70 models that I admired from my youth...
Needless to say, I didn't hesitate for even a single moment when the time finally arrived for trading in my "93" Fox body SVT Cobra... So did Ford hit it out of the park with the introduction of the S197 Mustang? Not only did they hit it out of the park, but they also nailed it, no doubt about it...
As for the S197 Mustang forcing Dodge to resurrect the Challenger following its 34-year extinction along with Chevrolet bringing the Crapmaro back from its 8-year hiatus, I'm fully well aware of the fact that both GM and Mopar owe all the credit towards the success of Ford's retro styling of the S197 Mustang, otherwise, nether Mopar and GM would have ever brought the Challenger and Camaro back from extinction, to begin with...
Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for the reasoning behind GM refusing to downsize the Crapmaro during the OPEC restriction period of the mid-1970s... What I do know is for me personally, the Camaro lost its appeal following the 1st generation 67-69 model years...
That being said, there's your reality for you in a nutshell!
Last edited by m05fastbackGT; 2/14/23 at 10:05 PM.
^^^ 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.
Originally Posted by 05stangkc
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!
"A bad salesman can't sell water in the desert but a good salesman can sell sand in the desert".
If in doubt go back to memory lane and revisit the Pinto, Escort, and Aerostar, all produced for 10 or more years, but non of them are part of Barrett-Jackson's favorites list, neither are the Mustang II or the Fox, and Ford doesn't seem to be too nostalgic about any of them either.
Regardless, a monkey can be dressed in white and it's still a monkey.
"A bad salesman can't sell water in the desert but a good salesman can sell sand in the desert".
If in doubt go back to memory lane and revisit the Pinto, Escort, and Aerostar, all produced for 10 or more years, but non of them are part of Barrett-Jackson's favorites list, neither are the Mustang II or the Fox, and Ford doesn't seem to be too nostalgic about any of them either.
Regardless, a monkey can be dressed in white and it's still a monkey.
For Me it's Sometimes it's the Memories You Had With the Car and Not Necessarily the Car itself. As a Ford Partsman for 35 Years I have encountered a Lot of Ford's to Say the Least. Some were Great and Some Were Not.
But Funny How You Mentioned Two Special Cars To Me. My Wife Got a New 80 Pinto for H/S Graduation and Had it when we Met. It Certainly was Not much of a Car but the Memories are Priceless.
Her Second New car She Purchased Shortly Before we Got Married Was a 88 1/2 Escort Gt. Which Actually was the Best Looking Escort They Made BTMO. But Again it was Not a Over The Top Car. But as Far as an Escort it was the Best. We Replaced it When it got to be A Hassle With Baby Seats. I can Still Picture and Have a Few Pictures of my Late Son Andrew Riding in the Back with His Baby Sunglasses on. To Say any Memories of My Son are Priceless would be an Understatement.
So Having Fond Memories of a Car which was Lackluster to Others Happens. Never Had an Aerostar & Never Liked Em! But if I had & Spent Time Taking the Kids to School & The Like Maybe I would Have a Kinder Outlook on Them.
I had (2) Pintos (the Exploding Sensation from Ford) one manual the other automatic so that my wife could drive it, at a time when we had a young child, not knowing I was putting their lives in danger because I didn't know any better but Ford did know and that was not only a shame it was criminal. I was fortunate not to have an Escort but several people I knew did and their experiences were less than pleasant. I got to drive a cargo Aerostar with a V6 and 5-spd for two years without any problems by contrast a brother-in-law and a friend had 2.3 w/ A/Ts passenger vans. Together they combined with dozens of visits to the service department which included the religious annual breakdowns of their A/Cs. My friend got rid of his before the warranty expired, my brother-in-law toughed it out for 10 years with 3 or 4 years without the extended maintenance warranty.
Now for our best Fords. My wife and I have had (2) 1900s F-150s, (2) late editions Explorers, and a Taurus, all good vehicles with the exception of several recalls. The long list of new Mustangs includes my wife's '04 & '06 GT verts, my list includes '00 GT, '01 Bullitt, '03 Mach 1 with engine problem, '04 Cobra, (2) '07 GT500s with trans issues, '11 & '12 GT500s, and finally the '19 Bullitt my favorite of all and used '04 TBird which we had it for a year without any problems. Most of the time we have had 2 or 3 Fords at the same time. I also had a used '68 Mustang GT fastback and '82 GT same color as NC14GT's but with a black interior.
Needless to say I like Fords and have given Ford the benefit of doubt more than once, but I won't hesitate for one second to acknowledge and be critical of Ford for giving us a bunch of duds throughout the years.
Last edited by 1 COBRA; 2/15/23 at 05:59 AM.
Reason: typos
^^^ ..... and if I might add, one other Ford I tried. A brand new 1994 Ford Escort GT 5 speed that I bought for the many commutes to sporting events in the Tampa area when I lived in FL. A fun little peppy sports coupe that I thought I would enjoy. My first and only LEMON!!! If only the internet was available like today i could have known. So many TSBs by Ford it would make your head spin but I had no idea when I bought it. The Mazda 127 HP DOHC engines they put in those GT's were prone to immediate failure. After 3 engine re-builds (at different dealerships) we parted company within one year. Of course Ford had no problem selling these POS cars to the public. Ford was lucky I loved my Mustangs through the decades. Here was one of the rare times the GT was actually in my driveway.
Last edited by NC14GT; 2/15/23 at 08:32 AM.
Reason: Correction
It Boils Down Sometimes To Beauty is in the of The Beholder. As Far as Ford Producing Some Stinkers I dealt with That for 35 Years on a Day in Day Out Basis!
Somebody Out There is Going to Have a 2024, Say 15 Years From Now and Think Man those were the Good Old Days! My Dad Had One of Those! The Circle of Life Goes on Simba!
It Boils Down Sometimes To Beauty is in the of The Beholder. As Far as Ford Producing Some Stinkers I dealt with That for 35 Years on a Day in Day Out Basis!
Somebody Out There is Going to Have a 2024, Say 15 Years From Now and Think Man those were the Good Old Days! My Dad Had One of Those! The Circle of Life Goes on Simba!
KC
I don't have to wait 15 years to recognize that I am very lucky and fortunate that Ford produced the '19 Bullitt. To my taste it is the best all around, most complete, and balanced Mustang I've ever had, to the point I have not been tempted to get a GT350, a GT500, or even the '24 Dark Horse which outside the hideous screen will likely be a dandy. It took almost a lifetime to finally feel satisfied.
I felt all my previous Mustangs even though I enjoyed them were either short changed or had something missing.
Last edited by 1 COBRA; 2/15/23 at 09:56 AM.
Reason: another dumb typo
Perhaps your experiences with the Fox body Mustangs weren't positive ones, but that doesn't mean they were all as horrible as you experienced... Every car has its flaws, no matter what make or model, which is the reason the manufacturers provide factory warranties... Prior to purchasing my first S197 Mustang back in "05" I owned a "90" GT Fox body, followed by a "92" GT and my last was a "93" SVT Cobra... Out of the 3 Fox body Mustangs I owned, the only major component that required replacement was the smog pump on the "92" GT...
Other than that, I never experienced a single major issue with any of the 3 Fox body Mustangs I had owned...
Perhaps your experiences with the Fox body Mustangs weren't positive ones...
It wasn't negative, I didn't have any problems with it.
I lost out on a '68 Shelby GT350, I had just gotten rid of a Mercury Capri, got impatient, and settle for the '82 Mustang GT. Knowing myself I should have taken a step back and try to find what I had in mind. But at that time it was difficult because one had to rely on newspaper classified ads and options were limited since there were no PCs.
But at that time it was difficult because one had rely on newspaper classified ads and options were limited since there were no PCs.
That reminded me of going to the convenience store every week to get the new issue of Auto Trader when it came out. Black and white newspaper print, lol.
It wasn't negative, I didn't have any problems with it.
I lost out on a '68 Shelby GT350, I had just gotten rid of a Mercury Capri, got impatient, and settle for the '82 Mustang GT. Knowing myself I should have taken a step back and try to find what I had in mind. But at that time it was difficult because one had to rely on newspaper classified ads and options were limited since there were no PCs.
You're right, as the reason for trading in your "82" Fox body GT for the "82" Camaro was due to a lack of interior and ride quality... Anyhow, I can't really comment on the interior quality of the "82" Camaro, but beginning in 87/88 Ford redesigned the interiors including the dash, console, and door panels... In my honest opinion, those were major upgrade improvements when compared to the older 79-86 models...
As I mentioned previously, all 3 of my Fox bodies were manufactured from 90-93 which included the redesigned interior... Therefore, I'm not quite sure if you were referring to the quality of all Fox body interiors, or if you were referring specifically to the Fox body Mustangs you owned prior to the 87-88 model years... What I do know is what I liked more about the last generation 90-93 Fox body Mustang over the early 2005-09 S197 models, was the door panels were constructed from soft fabric materials as opposed to all hard plastic panels... Overall, the ride quality I experienced from the "93" SVT Cobra didn't seem uncomfortable, at least in my opinion anyhow
The Auto Trader was the car enthusiasts version of Playboy. I went through it page by page and saved all issues to compare and see which favorite cars were still available and which were new additions.
Speaking of car enthusiasts I'll share a short true story. I was driving one night with my wife and kids, passed a Porsche dealer, and decided to stop. The dealer was closed but there were a bunch of 911s parked on the open lot, I was daydreaming at night in Dreamland USA. It felt as if I was going to take one of those beauties home when my dream was crushed by some young SOB in a passing car who screamed out of the top of his lungs... KEEP DREAMING!!!
If I would have been able to get a hold of him I would have strangled him. But after I woke up from my trance I realized the SOB was right. It was only a dream.
The Auto Trader was the car enthusiasts version of Playboy. I went through it page by page and saved all issues to compare and see which favorite cars were still available and which were new additions.
Speaking of car enthusiasts I'll share a short true story. I was driving one night with my wife and kids, passed a Porsche dealer, and decided to stop. The dealer was closed but there were a bunch of 911s parked on the open lot, I was daydreaming at night in Dreamland USA. It felt as if I was going to take one of those beauties home when my dream was crushed by some young SOB in a passing car who screamed out of the top of his lungs... KEEP DREAMING!!!
If I would have been able to get a hold of him I would have strangled him. But after I woke up from my trance I realized the SOB was right. It was only a dream.
A true story (dream) I awoke absolutely believing that I had traded in my '89 GT for a '90 Corvette. I was so panicked that I literally got out of bed and went to the garage to double check! Thank goodness my Pony was still there!!!
The Auto Trader was the car enthusiasts version of Playboy. I went through it page by page and saved all issues to compare and see which favorite cars were still available and which were new additions.
Speaking of car enthusiasts I'll share a short true story. I was driving one night with my wife and kids, passed a Porsche dealer, and decided to stop. The dealer was closed but there were a bunch of 911s parked on the open lot, I was daydreaming at night in Dreamland USA. It felt as if I was going to take one of those beauties home when my dream was crushed by some young SOB in a passing car who screamed out of the top of his lungs... KEEP DREAMING!!!
If I would have been able to get a hold of him I would have strangled him. But after I woke up from my trance I realized the SOB was right. It was only a dream.
I actually lived that dream. I knew i was never going to be able to afford a new 911 but after test driving an air-cooled one once in FL I knew I had to have one some day. Life is too short not to experience the things you dream of unless unaffordable of course. I actually took a loan out and bought a 1995 911 Cabriolet from a well known Porsche dealer outside of Philly. For three years I rowed through that 6 speed machine and enjoyed every minute with no issues. I only had to buy tires. I had a 60,000 miles 'major' service coming up which was $1,600 back in the day and i was also reading about many owners having a/c issues with their 993 models, mostly due to age. Starting price for repairs for the a/c?? $5,000!!! At the point I was thinking I didn't want to add $6,600+ on to the cost of the car and decided to sell. I lived my dream but reality told me I could not keep up with the needs of such a machine. I lost money naturally when I sold it but the cost per month was like a lease on a regular car. I would not trade the experience for anything. This was back about 20 years ago and the proceeds from the 911 went to my 2007 GT/CS. Back to the real world after a taste of the high life.
Here is the 911 at the dealer, then us on the Tail of the Dragon. Engine and interior. The color was called Aventurine Green with a cashmere interior.
2/14/23, 05:10 PM
Ford was lucky I loved my Mustangs through the decades. Here was one of the rare times the GT was actually in my driveway.
As Far as Ford Producing Some Stinkers I dealt with That for 35 Years on a Day in Day Out Basis! 
A true story (dream) I awoke absolutely believing that I had traded in my '89 GT for a '90 Corvette. I was so panicked that I literally got out of bed and went to the garage to double check! Thank goodness my Pony was still there!!! 
