2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
America's most successful sports coupe is happy about a proper model maintenance. But Ford's corporate management currently has completely different concerns. A successfully revised Mustang quickly fades into the background.
From Stefan Grundhoff
Peter, the bearded owner of the mobile souvenir shop in the basement of the Los Angeles Auto Show, still can't believe it. The whole vibe here - amazing. I really can't believe it. And yet the Mustang is a real legend ??, he whines sadly to himself. There is little going on at the Los Angeles Auto Show, where the Mustang was to celebrate its public premiere; the otherwise more than car enthusiastic US people currently have completely different concerns. Hardly anyone is interested in the up-and-coming Los Angeles Auto Show this year. And manufacturers like Ford, Chrysler and GM would prefer to cover their own exhibition stands in silence. Somebody like the new Ford Mustang would certainly have wished it differently. Europeans and Asians drum;but Ford bakes small rolls according to the latest horror reports.
A stitch sharper
On the eve of the Los Angeles Auto Show, there was the world premiere of the new Ford Mustang in colorful Santa Monica. The 2010 model year, under which it will be offered from the beginning of next year, is not a completely new Mustang. But the changes that the design team around Doug Gaffka and George Saridakis have created are impressive.
The front is classic as before, but a stitch sharper, more snappy than before and the rear has already lost its opulent sluggishness through the more filigree LED lights. The more powerfully drawn bonnet with power dome makes the most successful US coupé of recent years look beefier and hungrier in the rearview mirror. In order to better distinguish between six and eight-cylinder models, some have the fog lights in the front apron (V6). As in the previous Pony package, the eight-cylinder additional lights are built into the radiator grille. As with all Ford models of the latest generation, the wheel arches were exhibited to make the rear-wheel drive even more beefy on the road. Successful coupes are built with such ingredients.
Mustang is our core model
The interior has won, even the materials could still be more elegant. Although there is now a centrally positioned navigation screen, more comfortable seats and modified operating modules, the interior of the 2010 model year does not look really valuable. In addition to the new chassis set-up, which included components from the Bullit and Shelby special series, the tires also grew. The V6 base model comes with 17-inch models as standard. The stronger versions roll on 18- and 19-inch wheels. The fact that the speedometer of the V6 base model ends at 200 km / h will surprise real sports coupé fans, as will the manual five-speed gearbox. In view of the difficult market situation, there is no reason for drivers of the previous Mustang to storm the Ford dealers overnight. After all, there are four airbags, ABS and ESP as standard.
“The Mustang is our core model,” said Ford's Executive Vice President Mark Fields, “for most customers, the Mustang is part of the family. That's why we listened carefully before the facelift. We don't want to lose customers, we want to win new ones. The 4.6-liter eight-cylinder with its 315 hp, introduced with the special Bullit model, now powers the V8 series model. The six-cylinder should have its genes in Europe, relying on efficient turbo technology in the medium term. Ford will not announce more details until the Detroit Motor Show in mid-January. Little is likely to change in terms of sales prices. Despite the cool 1960s styling and good driving performance, the Ford Mustang has been known for its very good value for money for years. Now it started for the coupe at around 18,000 US dollars; the cabriolet started at around 23.$ 500.
