"Why get a four-seater when there are perfectly good two-seat convertibles out there? That’s correct: so you can put people in the back seats."
Yep. Especially small people. My boys are young enough to love riding with the top down even if there is a hurricane in their faces at 35 mph. Two-seaters were off the menu in the shopping process that led to my convertible purchase.
On this Mustang, maybe it marks me as a boring old fart, but I literally cannot see a single way in which I would like this car better than a dead-standard GT vert. And the latter is available with three pedals.
The real reason: 'See honey, it has a back seat for the kids.'
Only a few of us can pull off the two seater and mommy-mobile combo as a two vehicle fleet. Elite tier is motorcycle and mommy-mobile, but I've no personal experience with that.
That said, I can't say I'd want to ride in the back of a vert at anything over parade speeds. Except in Dallas. Faster in Dallas.
For now, we're a three-car family: small city car (Bolt), family bus (Highlander), and toy car. The wife thinks that's too many cars but in the end it's up to her whether she wants to consolidate the two practical cars into one. She'll have to juggle her love of parking the tiny car with her wish to drive something that conveys status among her peer group. I have a reservation in for a Volvo EX90, and she can decide whether to pull the trigger on it.
The reasons you mention here are why I did not just settle for a V6 Challenger, but actively seeked out one out. The springs are soft, similar to the Grand Marquis that preceded it, but not being body on frame with a solid axle made for a more controlled body roll on top of the absorption. The ride was already pretty quiet when it came with Michelins, replacing those with Continentals made it really quiet. The tires are 18 inches rather than 20, for extra squooshiness and cutting hundreds off of tire and brake costs. The trunk is similar to the panther cars, with a 70's style long decklid, although the basement is taken up by a spare and the battery. The back seat is tight for a 6 footer, and comfortable for a 5'9"er, and folds down. Last but not least, the V8 sounds like a fart while the V6 sounds so good, when the salesman fired it up for the test drive my hind brain pushed everything else in this list to the back and made the decision for me. Wonderful burble with lots of lifter tick at initial turn over, settling down to silent. Light 2-3K RPM pulls are a pleasure, and with the old 5 speed transmission, if you step on the step on the gas pedal gradually, you can drag that gear out as long as you want, and 0-60 in 6.1 seconds rather than 5.4 is an indictment of the V8 rather than a limitation of the V6.
I still miss my V6 Challenger. The vehicle that replaced it has charms of its own, but I am not looking forward to road trips the way I did in that big coupe.
It is the perfect car. The only improvement you could make is a 4 door version. No, not the Charger, I want the same sheet metal but with an awkward back door like the '74 Monaco.
"the delay between request and fulfilment is enough to make a FedEx Ground driver sit up and take notice."
I LOL'd at that one. As someone who by happenstance met the founder of FedEx while working at Whole Foods, and came to admire the people and process which catapulted that company to where it is today after reading the book he wrote about the whole endeavor, I always felt especially disappointed when FedEx would inevitably and invariably lose critical shipments for me after I made the jump from "job" to "career".
I'm pretty sure a load of parts wound up at a Burger King once.
The transformation of Whole Foods was swift. I remember they had the most extravagant signage, samples, diverse buffees, especially breakfast, even live bands sometimes. I remember one the few high school peers who could get a job bragging about his pay, I forgot but in the teens back when $8 was the norm. He was proud of his Hyundai Sonata V6.
When I worked there in the early 2000s we implemented a minimum $10/hr wage (I hired in at less but by then was making more anyways). By the time I graduated I was a supervisor making mid to high teens, can't quite recall how much but it was good money for a recent high school grad on the east coast. Stayed on in college as a seasonal employee, we'd come visit family for a week or two every summer and winter and I'd help out during the holiday rush. The fact that they'd keep me in their systems so I could work 2-3 nonconsecutive weeks a year, at my old pay rate and position, was really something.
I loved working for that company, and better yet I FELT good working for them, because they were forward-thinking and seemed to genuinely care about people and the planet without tipping over into the weird wokeness of our current times.
Certainly can't speak for it now, but CEO John Mackey seems like his same old self, and so far Amazon seems to be allowing them plenty of autonomy.
It isn't your imagination. But Fedex ground has been the worst. The final miles in many places isn't under FedEx (the express part) control. It is a hodgepodge of independent contractors who control the routes with varying degrees of poor service.
I’ve not seen that from UPS so far. FedEx was always an airline with a trucking component. UPS a trucking fleet with an air component. My set of Chapman Mfg screwdriver bits was very promptly delivered by the humble USPS. Thanks for the tip on them, they are very nice.
Santa brought the family a Champan too. It was a matter of like two days via first class mail. Same with a recent book purchase from a vendor on Abe books. Estimated delivery 30 December (oh no!) got here on Tuesday and the mailman put in on the front stoop instead of in the box.
My mom's got more than 20 years at UPS. UPS hires temp workers and rents 3rd party vans for the holiday season. The vans are a hodgepodge of box E450's, Isuzu's, and European-American vans. None of them have the walkthrough design of a UPS truck, so getting stuff in and out is more time consuming. The workers themselves are the worst of the worst and will steal anything, both other worker's belongings and the packages. At any given time, something is being destroyed, ran over, crunched in a conveyer belt, or stolen. But, it is a temporary arrangement and normally UPS owns all their vehicles. That doesn't mean they are the only ones delivering your package. USPS specializes in last mile delivery, and often contracts with the two other services to move things across longer distances.
We received a package from someone in a UPS vest driving what looked like a personal sedan. I do hope this is a holiday thing and not a new business model. UPS has been great for us so far. I would hate to see them circle the drain as well.
SnapOn doesn't know (in their own words). They have requested a No Charge Order as replacement, and last week I was told I would be contacted when the No Charge Order is shipped. Not a peep so far.
FedEx is horrible! I had a couple computers show two days late apparently because the idiot driver didn’t feel like delivering the packages! I finally made my way over to their customer service area at the local hub to pick them up! This after having to go through their toll-free number twice, which of course connected to a Bangalore slum!
A friend and I were just discussing how much we liked the Coyote engine yesterday, I think you'd see it swapped into vintage cars more often if its outside dimensions weren't so large compared to a pushrod V8. In a world where the vast majority of the population venerates the GM LS engines (and I understand the their logic) it will instead be the Coyote and the Gen III Hemi I miss most.
Also, I'm told that if you want an 8k rpm V8, you can skip the Voodoo-powered GT350 and just tune the 5.0, the guy who runs the local dyno shop has been spinning his brother's 5.0 Mustang to 8500 rpm with great results, and he claims it sounds great doing so.
Billet oil pump gears (OPGs) are an absolute must if doing so. The rest of the caveats come from oiling. Once the gears are installed the car is pretty safe for straightline and 90% of its customers. I don’t think I’d trust it like a Voodoo if you’re spending extended time at 8500+ like a road race application.
4.6 and coyote bearings are not exactly the largest and most durable things. Also much of the oil pressure regulation is in the cam tolerances. You really should look into timing chain control esp on the older stuff. Valvesprings become another requirement / ECM spark management as well.
I know that’s slightly off tangent but the Coyote takes all the great parts of an older 4v and gives you the ability to really utilize 6800+ on factory parts. Still some parts are interchangeable internally like the rods. I believe we were twisting my buddy’s GEN1 to 7800 with a reflash and a couple bolt ons.
My iPhone must’ve cut out a sentence regarding capacity regarding the “caveats”, but having a higher volume pan is also a notable. The earlier stuff didn’t drain back as well and would suck the pan dry along with half ass windage trays.
Thank you for the reminder that I had really ought to get another Mustang before it's too late.
As much as I'd love a Viper... a family of three makes it hard to justify, especially when most of the joy of the thing (for me) will come from being able to use it to haul my family around on weekends and summer evenings.
I rented a convertible Mustang for a Keys trip a couple of years ago. It nearly put me off Mustangs. For some reason it felt more claustrophobic with the top down than with it up. Very strange.
I’m very glad I got my GT a couple of years ago. It’s a keeper. I thought the variable exhaust was a cheap gimmick, but I appreciate being able to quiet it down when appropriate. Of course, I might be the only guy in America with an ‘08 Harley that still sports it’s factory exhaust.
I rented the hairdresser's version from a Hertz rival and had a blast. I don't know that I could live with it. The coyotes sound great but no matter how slow the operator is trying to go they always scream "Give me a ticket!"
I did the same a half dozen years ago. Mustang with the eco-boost. Having spent a lot of time in turbo Dodges back in the day, I thought it was pretty good. Certainly seemed like a call back and something I could live with if I had to.
Gotta say though, if I was spending my own money for something in this class it would be a V6 Challenger. The V6 does well in my van and I like the extra room the larger platform provides.
Passed my mid-50s now and really regretting the fact that I can't buy a modern Olds 88. Would have loved it if Chevrolet had turned their now abandoned Impala platform into a two door Monte-Carlo or something equivalent.
I was also impressed by the pentastar in our van and couldn't have been any less impressed by the 5.7 in my Challenger. V6 wouldn't sound as good though.
Great series of books. I loved the original when I was a kid (there is a pretty good ABC After School version of it around, too). I bought the set, there are three now, for my son when he was little But I am pretty sure that at least one of my daughters read them, too.
in early '67 i ordered a 442 convertible just the way i wanted it. i felt for the rambler ambassador salesman who practically pleaded for me to make an offer on an ambassador convertible. i remembered this because their big deal was the configuration of the top mechanism to not take away rear shoulder room. i loved the 442 but i do remember my curiosity about that linkage and the car had wonderful front armchairs--not bucket seats.
I've owned a previous-gen (2013) GT stick shift vert since 2016, has a Borla axle-back but otherwise stock. I like it but have never loved it, and am not quite sure why. Sounds good, handles pretty well, pulls hard, transmission is a war crime...but I keep going out and buying supplemental "fun" cars that do everything worse but that I enjoy more.
If my life circumstances were different I’d happily drive a convertible coyote Mustang. Say, if I were living in Florida and working from home. Alas, driving 3 hours in February to the state Capital to meet with lobbyists and donors in a Mustang sounds like torture. And it probably makes a mediocre car for ski trips to Snowshoe. The A4 might be a more practical proposition, but it’s far less fun. Out of prudence and a desire to avoid the inevitable tickets I didn’t spend an extra $9000 for the S4. Oh well.
Those new mustangs are wonderful cars. I'd own a bright orange one if I made a little more money. My buddy has a performance pack model that runs like a raped ape and should be reliable for decades. I would like to point out that it doesn't have much for my ninja from a 40 roll to ease my pain that I don't own one.
IMO anything 2015ish+ SYNC will inevitably have random issues with the main A/V module crapping out or being flaky. And the 5.0s seem to have their fair share of timing chain/phaser issues past 100k. But nothing is safe. Chrysler Hemis seem to still have issues here and there, newer GMs are a major crapshoot as well. Basically, everything new sucks, pick your poison and enjoy it while its new.
I really hate the 2018+ facelifted front end on these. It gives the car a cheap FWD sport coupe vibe I can't quite put my finger on - it looks like it belongs on an Eclipse or something. And, holy crap, is that "Shelby" plastic trim piece between the taillights tacky looking. I thought this was a Shelby, not some Saleen nightmare.
And Axel Foley approves of your tail pipe fix.
For about five years, I had a 2016 coupe with the EcoBoost four, manual and the performance package (stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, shorter rear end, etc). I'd already briefly owned a previous-gen with the Coyote, so I'd already scratched the V8 itch and other than the sound I didn't really miss it. I really enjoyed that car as a fair-weather daily driver until the air conditioning started shitting the bed every summer. I likely wont own another new Mustang (the new one is hideous inside and out), so I need to find a way to cross convertible ownership off the bucket list.
I agree, and it's a problem common to ALL cars that get facelifted. The problem is that the original nose was designed along with the rest of the body, but the new nose wasn't, so it's not a good match. It's sort of like trying to repaint only one metallic body panel - it'll never look right.
GM used to do multiples at the same time which is why their facelifts in the Seventies and the Eighties were often so successful. See: 1975 to 1977 Cutlass
Blasphemy time! I actually like the urethane-bumper second-gen Camaros and Bandit-nose Trans Ams better that the early versions. So, sometimes it works, but generally doesn't.
Is that because you came of age during the urethane era? That was certainly the case for me; I thought the original ones were crummy old cars, which they were when I was car-conscious in 1976.
Interesting point. I've long suspected that my love of Hair Metal is in part based on the fact that I was born in 1976, and it was the musical style in fashion during my formative years when my opinions were taking shape. I'm sure there's some of that to the later second- and all third-gen F-bodies as well. Though, I definitely like the high-nose '72 455 TAs as well, and nobody will ever convince me a hatchback is an aspirational vehicle.
I'd say you picked a perfect car to illustrate my point. The W212 is a boxy, angular vehicle and its original front end is a holistic part of that design aesthetic. The facelift, especially the headlights, is too soft and organic to fit the rest of the body.
I had 2018 GT for a long while (well for me at least, a guy who tends to get a new car every year or so out of boredom and a fatalistic view towards money), and boy do I miss that car more than any other.
As a daily driver they are pretty not great, which is why my mind wanders away from them and why I sold my last one for some other stuff. Gas mileage sucks, the interior space is ancient and of pretty poor quality, the seats aren’t the most supportive, the stereo is REALLY bad, and the ride is best described as fair to middling.
However.
However even with the much-maligned MT82, the Gen III Coyote paired with a stick is a divine driving experience that is impossible to get bored with.
My mind wanders all over for what Im getting next, now that my anodyne Volvo S60 has gotten a bit too stale for me. I’ve already owned three mustangs so it feels silly to go back for a fourth. But, the next gen looks hideous in photos, and the Camaro and challenger are as good as dead already. The romantic inside me tickles at the notion of getting “the last of something.” Why not? Why not do one last V8, six speed tour of duty?
I should have been clear, I’ve not had any issues at all with the transmission, it’s just notchy when shifting. And the Getrags are made in China. I think the Tremecs in the GT350 and Mach 1 are made in Mexico.
I haven’t kept up with the Mach 1, but I believe you get all the performance pack items, plus the premium interior options, plus the Tremec, plus some things unavailable on the GT, such as a diff cooler.
I have a ‘20 GT with the performance pack and the premium interior. MSRP was a hair under 52k. The 350GT was around 65 if I remember.
But in the halcyon days of November, 2020, mine went out the door for a little under 43, while the GT350 was getting full MSRP.
They are tricky cars to buy used, cause a lot of them get beat on.
Man, I bought my 2018 brand new off the lot in 2019 for TEN THOUSAND under sticker with absolutely zero negotiation on my end. I sold it 18 months later for a hair more than what I paid for it originally. That same car in the condition I sold it would now cost at least $35k or more.
Price is a big factor here; as appealing as it is, the real Mach - as opposed to the egg-shaped electric abomination - is bloody expensive!
Of 500 new listings on Cars.com right now, just 70 come in under $60k, and none of them undercut $55 g's.
That's tough to justify when they are still sporadically minting SS 1LEs (all listed under $53,915 on the same site currently), and you can find new ZL1s under $70,000.
You're right, but I'll take a crack at it: if what the Camaro does better on-track means more to you than what the Mustang does on the street, buy a race car and a street car, because you'll end up with both eventually!
Also true. But, of the two, the Camaro is the one you could maybe afford to supplement with another car in most tax brackets. If you want the best on-street pony, shouldn't you be shopping Challengers?
For something designed as a boulevard cruiser that handling is bizarre. Also, having a hood like that should require something underneath to justify it's presence. A tall manifold, a couple of turbos...something. This is exactly the opposite of the sleeper...which is the point, of course. It's just eminently not me.
Special editions of performance-oriented vehicles should have engine parts coming through the hood or fenders - shaker scoops or side exhausts, to drive home the point that this is a special car.
Also, certain exterior parts like spoilers, ground effects or wheels should only be available on the hi-po versions. Because if you pony up for the nice version, why should it look like the base car? Or more to the point, why should the base car get to look like the premium edition?
You don't want a repeat of the New Edge Mustang's badge-only GT or third-gen Camaro RS appearances, do you?
Meh, I'm a fan of the Q approach. Besides, the bling should at least be functional. Are the hood vents on this car even open? They look to be too far forward to assist in radiator cooling and far too small to reduce front end lift.
Maybe I should've been more specific. The New Edge Mustang is one of those cars where all the various versions are nearly identical, and at times you have to squint to tell a GT from a V6 at a distance.
Except for the Saleens, Mach 1 and Terminator, of course.
More people need to see the light that convertible mustangs are the best mustangs. People get all ‘herp derp racecar” over a platform that NEEDS damn near a full cage to be worth a shit chassis wise - S197+ non withstanding.
I suppose I am biased however in my choice of obnoxious summer daily driver shitbox.
The 10spd is the new standard. It’s ridiculously good especially with a power adder. So much that you STILL can’t get a good manual box outside of a GT350 or a Mach1. The MT82 is awesome for the deep gearing but is absurdly fragile. It’s derived from a box truck transmission and the actual ratings are comically low - but given it’s rated for an 8k lb vehicle they survive in a mustang.
I should probably spend the $100 and at least see how I like the vert. Only other S550 driven was a GT350 and it was seriously lacking in the tq department.
I’d buy a mustang if I wasn’t pretentious. If Lincoln or Aston Martin would rebadge one and charge 2x, I’m in.
If you want a "Lincoln Mustang", there's always the '56 Continental Mk II. In profile, the original Mustang was a scaled down Conti.
The Mark VII was a barely disguised Fox Mustang with air suspension and a continental kit.
Mark VIIIs were dope
Until the air springs let go and you're riding the bump stops like a five-dollar whore.
"Why get a four-seater when there are perfectly good two-seat convertibles out there? That’s correct: so you can put people in the back seats."
Yep. Especially small people. My boys are young enough to love riding with the top down even if there is a hurricane in their faces at 35 mph. Two-seaters were off the menu in the shopping process that led to my convertible purchase.
On this Mustang, maybe it marks me as a boring old fart, but I literally cannot see a single way in which I would like this car better than a dead-standard GT vert. And the latter is available with three pedals.
Biggest advantage of a 2 door is nobody wants you to drive to the bar. My truck is a 2 door no ac model. I'm not the dd till winter
The real reason: 'See honey, it has a back seat for the kids.'
Only a few of us can pull off the two seater and mommy-mobile combo as a two vehicle fleet. Elite tier is motorcycle and mommy-mobile, but I've no personal experience with that.
That said, I can't say I'd want to ride in the back of a vert at anything over parade speeds. Except in Dallas. Faster in Dallas.
For now, we're a three-car family: small city car (Bolt), family bus (Highlander), and toy car. The wife thinks that's too many cars but in the end it's up to her whether she wants to consolidate the two practical cars into one. She'll have to juggle her love of parking the tiny car with her wish to drive something that conveys status among her peer group. I have a reservation in for a Volvo EX90, and she can decide whether to pull the trigger on it.
The reasons you mention here are why I did not just settle for a V6 Challenger, but actively seeked out one out. The springs are soft, similar to the Grand Marquis that preceded it, but not being body on frame with a solid axle made for a more controlled body roll on top of the absorption. The ride was already pretty quiet when it came with Michelins, replacing those with Continentals made it really quiet. The tires are 18 inches rather than 20, for extra squooshiness and cutting hundreds off of tire and brake costs. The trunk is similar to the panther cars, with a 70's style long decklid, although the basement is taken up by a spare and the battery. The back seat is tight for a 6 footer, and comfortable for a 5'9"er, and folds down. Last but not least, the V8 sounds like a fart while the V6 sounds so good, when the salesman fired it up for the test drive my hind brain pushed everything else in this list to the back and made the decision for me. Wonderful burble with lots of lifter tick at initial turn over, settling down to silent. Light 2-3K RPM pulls are a pleasure, and with the old 5 speed transmission, if you step on the step on the gas pedal gradually, you can drag that gear out as long as you want, and 0-60 in 6.1 seconds rather than 5.4 is an indictment of the V8 rather than a limitation of the V6.
I still miss my V6 Challenger. The vehicle that replaced it has charms of its own, but I am not looking forward to road trips the way I did in that big coupe.
It is the perfect car. The only improvement you could make is a 4 door version. No, not the Charger, I want the same sheet metal but with an awkward back door like the '74 Monaco.
Better yet: suicide T Bird doors.
And swiveling chairs.
"the delay between request and fulfilment is enough to make a FedEx Ground driver sit up and take notice."
I LOL'd at that one. As someone who by happenstance met the founder of FedEx while working at Whole Foods, and came to admire the people and process which catapulted that company to where it is today after reading the book he wrote about the whole endeavor, I always felt especially disappointed when FedEx would inevitably and invariably lose critical shipments for me after I made the jump from "job" to "career".
I'm pretty sure a load of parts wound up at a Burger King once.
The transformation of Whole Foods was swift. I remember they had the most extravagant signage, samples, diverse buffees, especially breakfast, even live bands sometimes. I remember one the few high school peers who could get a job bragging about his pay, I forgot but in the teens back when $8 was the norm. He was proud of his Hyundai Sonata V6.
When I worked there in the early 2000s we implemented a minimum $10/hr wage (I hired in at less but by then was making more anyways). By the time I graduated I was a supervisor making mid to high teens, can't quite recall how much but it was good money for a recent high school grad on the east coast. Stayed on in college as a seasonal employee, we'd come visit family for a week or two every summer and winter and I'd help out during the holiday rush. The fact that they'd keep me in their systems so I could work 2-3 nonconsecutive weeks a year, at my old pay rate and position, was really something.
I loved working for that company, and better yet I FELT good working for them, because they were forward-thinking and seemed to genuinely care about people and the planet without tipping over into the weird wokeness of our current times.
Certainly can't speak for it now, but CEO John Mackey seems like his same old self, and so far Amazon seems to be allowing them plenty of autonomy.
Is it my imagination or has service at logistics companies like FedEx and UPS declined over the past three years?
It isn't your imagination. But Fedex ground has been the worst. The final miles in many places isn't under FedEx (the express part) control. It is a hodgepodge of independent contractors who control the routes with varying degrees of poor service.
UPS is doing that now as well which is why two very nice Tactile Turn pens are currently "in the wind" rather than at my house.
I’ve not seen that from UPS so far. FedEx was always an airline with a trucking component. UPS a trucking fleet with an air component. My set of Chapman Mfg screwdriver bits was very promptly delivered by the humble USPS. Thanks for the tip on them, they are very nice.
Santa brought the family a Champan too. It was a matter of like two days via first class mail. Same with a recent book purchase from a vendor on Abe books. Estimated delivery 30 December (oh no!) got here on Tuesday and the mailman put in on the front stoop instead of in the box.
There's apparently a Chapman employee or two on here so let's hope they see it.
My mom's got more than 20 years at UPS. UPS hires temp workers and rents 3rd party vans for the holiday season. The vans are a hodgepodge of box E450's, Isuzu's, and European-American vans. None of them have the walkthrough design of a UPS truck, so getting stuff in and out is more time consuming. The workers themselves are the worst of the worst and will steal anything, both other worker's belongings and the packages. At any given time, something is being destroyed, ran over, crunched in a conveyer belt, or stolen. But, it is a temporary arrangement and normally UPS owns all their vehicles. That doesn't mean they are the only ones delivering your package. USPS specializes in last mile delivery, and often contracts with the two other services to move things across longer distances.
We received a package from someone in a UPS vest driving what looked like a personal sedan. I do hope this is a holiday thing and not a new business model. UPS has been great for us so far. I would hate to see them circle the drain as well.
At least yours shipped!
They were shipped within a day or two and delivered a couple of days later. I’m in Pennsylvania. I’m very pleased with the transaction.
This was the little welcome kit, they had email out earlier stating mine was liable to be in the Dec 12-16 batch.
I'm just antsy to see how the copper looks!
They could be in Quebec, the way my SnapOn screwdriver has been since Nov. 25th...
Twenty days! How did it get there in the first place!
SnapOn doesn't know (in their own words). They have requested a No Charge Order as replacement, and last week I was told I would be contacted when the No Charge Order is shipped. Not a peep so far.
Not your imagination. Service everywhere has declined over the last 3 years
FedEx is horrible! I had a couple computers show two days late apparently because the idiot driver didn’t feel like delivering the packages! I finally made my way over to their customer service area at the local hub to pick them up! This after having to go through their toll-free number twice, which of course connected to a Bangalore slum!
Show me a company where service HASN'T declined this century.
I got one! But I am too chicken to post it on here.
Let it rip, ashley madison was on JB's race car already.
This is true: for much of my SCCA career I've claimed the dual sponsorship of Ashley Madison and Nathan's Hot Dogs!
A friend and I were just discussing how much we liked the Coyote engine yesterday, I think you'd see it swapped into vintage cars more often if its outside dimensions weren't so large compared to a pushrod V8. In a world where the vast majority of the population venerates the GM LS engines (and I understand the their logic) it will instead be the Coyote and the Gen III Hemi I miss most.
Also, I'm told that if you want an 8k rpm V8, you can skip the Voodoo-powered GT350 and just tune the 5.0, the guy who runs the local dyno shop has been spinning his brother's 5.0 Mustang to 8500 rpm with great results, and he claims it sounds great doing so.
The Godzilla 7.3 is actually smaller!
Billet oil pump gears (OPGs) are an absolute must if doing so. The rest of the caveats come from oiling. Once the gears are installed the car is pretty safe for straightline and 90% of its customers. I don’t think I’d trust it like a Voodoo if you’re spending extended time at 8500+ like a road race application.
4.6 and coyote bearings are not exactly the largest and most durable things. Also much of the oil pressure regulation is in the cam tolerances. You really should look into timing chain control esp on the older stuff. Valvesprings become another requirement / ECM spark management as well.
I know that’s slightly off tangent but the Coyote takes all the great parts of an older 4v and gives you the ability to really utilize 6800+ on factory parts. Still some parts are interchangeable internally like the rods. I believe we were twisting my buddy’s GEN1 to 7800 with a reflash and a couple bolt ons.
My iPhone must’ve cut out a sentence regarding capacity regarding the “caveats”, but having a higher volume pan is also a notable. The earlier stuff didn’t drain back as well and would suck the pan dry along with half ass windage trays.
Thank you for the reminder that I had really ought to get another Mustang before it's too late.
As much as I'd love a Viper... a family of three makes it hard to justify, especially when most of the joy of the thing (for me) will come from being able to use it to haul my family around on weekends and summer evenings.
Vipers are best enjoyed for yourself. The practicality differences and utilitarian qualities are incomparable. You should totally buy one.
Especially if you can drive one well, cause then all you're doing is scaring your passenger.
I rented a convertible Mustang for a Keys trip a couple of years ago. It nearly put me off Mustangs. For some reason it felt more claustrophobic with the top down than with it up. Very strange.
I’m very glad I got my GT a couple of years ago. It’s a keeper. I thought the variable exhaust was a cheap gimmick, but I appreciate being able to quiet it down when appropriate. Of course, I might be the only guy in America with an ‘08 Harley that still sports it’s factory exhaust.
Thanks, Jack.
I rented the hairdresser's version from a Hertz rival and had a blast. I don't know that I could live with it. The coyotes sound great but no matter how slow the operator is trying to go they always scream "Give me a ticket!"
I did the same a half dozen years ago. Mustang with the eco-boost. Having spent a lot of time in turbo Dodges back in the day, I thought it was pretty good. Certainly seemed like a call back and something I could live with if I had to.
Gotta say though, if I was spending my own money for something in this class it would be a V6 Challenger. The V6 does well in my van and I like the extra room the larger platform provides.
Passed my mid-50s now and really regretting the fact that I can't buy a modern Olds 88. Would have loved it if Chevrolet had turned their now abandoned Impala platform into a two door Monte-Carlo or something equivalent.
I was very impressed by a v6 charger I had as a rental car earlier this year. It's head and shoulders better than its competitors.
I was also impressed by the pentastar in our van and couldn't have been any less impressed by the 5.7 in my Challenger. V6 wouldn't sound as good though.
I just make the cool engine noises with my mouth.
It just now occurred to me that I cannot recall seeing The Mouse and the Motorcycle mentioned here.
Great series of books. I loved the original when I was a kid (there is a pretty good ABC After School version of it around, too). I bought the set, there are three now, for my son when he was little But I am pretty sure that at least one of my daughters read them, too.
in early '67 i ordered a 442 convertible just the way i wanted it. i felt for the rambler ambassador salesman who practically pleaded for me to make an offer on an ambassador convertible. i remembered this because their big deal was the configuration of the top mechanism to not take away rear shoulder room. i loved the 442 but i do remember my curiosity about that linkage and the car had wonderful front armchairs--not bucket seats.
Ah for the days when the customer was permitted to choose the options!
And I bet customer could choose between more than just shades-of-black and white paint.
I've owned a previous-gen (2013) GT stick shift vert since 2016, has a Borla axle-back but otherwise stock. I like it but have never loved it, and am not quite sure why. Sounds good, handles pretty well, pulls hard, transmission is a war crime...but I keep going out and buying supplemental "fun" cars that do everything worse but that I enjoy more.
If my life circumstances were different I’d happily drive a convertible coyote Mustang. Say, if I were living in Florida and working from home. Alas, driving 3 hours in February to the state Capital to meet with lobbyists and donors in a Mustang sounds like torture. And it probably makes a mediocre car for ski trips to Snowshoe. The A4 might be a more practical proposition, but it’s far less fun. Out of prudence and a desire to avoid the inevitable tickets I didn’t spend an extra $9000 for the S4. Oh well.
Those new mustangs are wonderful cars. I'd own a bright orange one if I made a little more money. My buddy has a performance pack model that runs like a raped ape and should be reliable for decades. I would like to point out that it doesn't have much for my ninja from a 40 roll to ease my pain that I don't own one.
"and should be reliable for decades"
IMO anything 2015ish+ SYNC will inevitably have random issues with the main A/V module crapping out or being flaky. And the 5.0s seem to have their fair share of timing chain/phaser issues past 100k. But nothing is safe. Chrysler Hemis seem to still have issues here and there, newer GMs are a major crapshoot as well. Basically, everything new sucks, pick your poison and enjoy it while its new.
I really hate the 2018+ facelifted front end on these. It gives the car a cheap FWD sport coupe vibe I can't quite put my finger on - it looks like it belongs on an Eclipse or something. And, holy crap, is that "Shelby" plastic trim piece between the taillights tacky looking. I thought this was a Shelby, not some Saleen nightmare.
And Axel Foley approves of your tail pipe fix.
For about five years, I had a 2016 coupe with the EcoBoost four, manual and the performance package (stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, shorter rear end, etc). I'd already briefly owned a previous-gen with the Coyote, so I'd already scratched the V8 itch and other than the sound I didn't really miss it. I really enjoyed that car as a fair-weather daily driver until the air conditioning started shitting the bed every summer. I likely wont own another new Mustang (the new one is hideous inside and out), so I need to find a way to cross convertible ownership off the bucket list.
I agree, and it's a problem common to ALL cars that get facelifted. The problem is that the original nose was designed along with the rest of the body, but the new nose wasn't, so it's not a good match. It's sort of like trying to repaint only one metallic body panel - it'll never look right.
GM used to do multiples at the same time which is why their facelifts in the Seventies and the Eighties were often so successful. See: 1975 to 1977 Cutlass
Blasphemy time! I actually like the urethane-bumper second-gen Camaros and Bandit-nose Trans Ams better that the early versions. So, sometimes it works, but generally doesn't.
Is that because you came of age during the urethane era? That was certainly the case for me; I thought the original ones were crummy old cars, which they were when I was car-conscious in 1976.
Interesting point. I've long suspected that my love of Hair Metal is in part based on the fact that I was born in 1976, and it was the musical style in fashion during my formative years when my opinions were taking shape. I'm sure there's some of that to the later second- and all third-gen F-bodies as well. Though, I definitely like the high-nose '72 455 TAs as well, and nobody will ever convince me a hatchback is an aspirational vehicle.
This is why neo retro Bronco is a miss for me.
It should look like the bricks of my youth!
I *know* that is why I like e30s, e21s and e24s with the chrome diving board bumpers.
Counterpoint: W212 E-Class.
I'd say you picked a perfect car to illustrate my point. The W212 is a boxy, angular vehicle and its original front end is a holistic part of that design aesthetic. The facelift, especially the headlights, is too soft and organic to fit the rest of the body.
This is a tough one because the pre-facelift car has so much more character, particularly in the fenders, but I'm not sure it all works together.
I'm pretty sure. Might you be able to get Sajeev to comment?
He's a reader here so...
the facelift w212 (especially the wagon imo) took a very sharp looking car and turned it into a jellybean blob, even in the 63 amg wagon
at least with the w213 they kinda rectified it
I had 2018 GT for a long while (well for me at least, a guy who tends to get a new car every year or so out of boredom and a fatalistic view towards money), and boy do I miss that car more than any other.
As a daily driver they are pretty not great, which is why my mind wanders away from them and why I sold my last one for some other stuff. Gas mileage sucks, the interior space is ancient and of pretty poor quality, the seats aren’t the most supportive, the stereo is REALLY bad, and the ride is best described as fair to middling.
However.
However even with the much-maligned MT82, the Gen III Coyote paired with a stick is a divine driving experience that is impossible to get bored with.
My mind wanders all over for what Im getting next, now that my anodyne Volvo S60 has gotten a bit too stale for me. I’ve already owned three mustangs so it feels silly to go back for a fourth. But, the next gen looks hideous in photos, and the Camaro and challenger are as good as dead already. The romantic inside me tickles at the notion of getting “the last of something.” Why not? Why not do one last V8, six speed tour of duty?
Do you know if the manual on the GT is still the crunchy type? I haven't been following the suit.
I can't speak for the 2024s, but yeah it's still the Getrag MT82 at least for the current gen.
I will say that in the ~40,000 miles I put on that transmission across two different cars, I never had a single problem with it.
I should have been clear, I’ve not had any issues at all with the transmission, it’s just notchy when shifting. And the Getrags are made in China. I think the Tremecs in the GT350 and Mach 1 are made in Mexico.
I have the Getrag. Its pretty crunchy.
That's why you buy a Mach 1!
Is it worth the $20k premium just for the Tremec though?
I haven’t kept up with the Mach 1, but I believe you get all the performance pack items, plus the premium interior options, plus the Tremec, plus some things unavailable on the GT, such as a diff cooler.
I have a ‘20 GT with the performance pack and the premium interior. MSRP was a hair under 52k. The 350GT was around 65 if I remember.
But in the halcyon days of November, 2020, mine went out the door for a little under 43, while the GT350 was getting full MSRP.
They are tricky cars to buy used, cause a lot of them get beat on.
Man, I bought my 2018 brand new off the lot in 2019 for TEN THOUSAND under sticker with absolutely zero negotiation on my end. I sold it 18 months later for a hair more than what I paid for it originally. That same car in the condition I sold it would now cost at least $35k or more.
It’s upsetting to say the least.
Same way its worth the premium for a divorce sometimes.. plus in this case you'll get money back when you sell!
Price is a big factor here; as appealing as it is, the real Mach - as opposed to the egg-shaped electric abomination - is bloody expensive!
Of 500 new listings on Cars.com right now, just 70 come in under $60k, and none of them undercut $55 g's.
That's tough to justify when they are still sporadically minting SS 1LEs (all listed under $53,915 on the same site currently), and you can find new ZL1s under $70,000.
You're right, but I'll take a crack at it: if what the Camaro does better on-track means more to you than what the Mustang does on the street, buy a race car and a street car, because you'll end up with both eventually!
Also true. But, of the two, the Camaro is the one you could maybe afford to supplement with another car in most tax brackets. If you want the best on-street pony, shouldn't you be shopping Challengers?
For something designed as a boulevard cruiser that handling is bizarre. Also, having a hood like that should require something underneath to justify it's presence. A tall manifold, a couple of turbos...something. This is exactly the opposite of the sleeper...which is the point, of course. It's just eminently not me.
Special editions of performance-oriented vehicles should have engine parts coming through the hood or fenders - shaker scoops or side exhausts, to drive home the point that this is a special car.
Also, certain exterior parts like spoilers, ground effects or wheels should only be available on the hi-po versions. Because if you pony up for the nice version, why should it look like the base car? Or more to the point, why should the base car get to look like the premium edition?
You don't want a repeat of the New Edge Mustang's badge-only GT or third-gen Camaro RS appearances, do you?
Meh, I'm a fan of the Q approach. Besides, the bling should at least be functional. Are the hood vents on this car even open? They look to be too far forward to assist in radiator cooling and far too small to reduce front end lift.
Right, I agree. Vents should function. My point is that I don't like it when the V8 and Turbo 4 cars look identical from a hundred feet.
Wait a minute. When was there a badge-only New Edge GT?
Maybe I should've been more specific. The New Edge Mustang is one of those cars where all the various versions are nearly identical, and at times you have to squint to tell a GT from a V6 at a distance.
Except for the Saleens, Mach 1 and Terminator, of course.
Oh yeah. And some of the GTs, like the anniversary cars, looked identical to the anniversary V6es.
In a just world, Dom DeLuise from "Blazing Saddles" would be screaming "WRONG!!!" at Ford for doing that.
Now I have Camptown Races in my head
More people need to see the light that convertible mustangs are the best mustangs. People get all ‘herp derp racecar” over a platform that NEEDS damn near a full cage to be worth a shit chassis wise - S197+ non withstanding.
I suppose I am biased however in my choice of obnoxious summer daily driver shitbox.
The 10spd is the new standard. It’s ridiculously good especially with a power adder. So much that you STILL can’t get a good manual box outside of a GT350 or a Mach1. The MT82 is awesome for the deep gearing but is absurdly fragile. It’s derived from a box truck transmission and the actual ratings are comically low - but given it’s rated for an 8k lb vehicle they survive in a mustang.
I should probably spend the $100 and at least see how I like the vert. Only other S550 driven was a GT350 and it was seriously lacking in the tq department.