The New 2013 Mustangs Have Arrived!

Hard to complain about any of the changes. Shows Team Mustang is fully dialed in!

The GT

formatting link
Boss 302

formatting link
GT500

formatting link
Patrick

Reply to
patrick.mckenzie84
Loading thread data ...

Nice. If only someone would buy me one. I'll even take a v6. One of the random pictures had a rear view with squarish exhaust tips... Yuck! I think it was a Shelby. They just didn't look right to me.

Reply to
twk

Love the optional Recaro seats! And standard HID. Overall, awesome job, Ford!

How can't you love the new Boss 302? Seems this will be the last year though. Bring on a new Boss 351!

I think they're round. But whatever. 200+ mph, and the now the most powerful production car in the world, and it's a Mustang... incredible!

And wasn't that long ago, Ford was ALWAYS two steps behind GM performance. Now Ford dominates, except in sales. Weird!

Patrick

Reply to
patrick.mckenzie84

Sorry Mr. Shelby! The square tips were on an SMS machine.

I hope he doesn't read this news group.

Reply to
twk

It will be interesting to see how much of a sales spike the across-the- board Shelby nose will result in. We were both of the opinion that Camaro has been kicking Mustang's butt in sales largely to Ford's insistence on downgraded cosmetics on V6 packages, while Chevy blessed the their six will all of the styling panache of the show car hit and movie star. (IMHO, the base Camaro is actually better looking than the SS, with its nose slit and large jowls breaking up an otherwise clean design.)

Meanwhile Ford had always reserved their most stylish presentation for the Shelby, giving us obvious Good, Better, Best options...until now. I had been waiting for the right 2011 to go on the used market...but it's 2013 or bust for me now. I hope others agree & Ford's decision is rewarded with a Camaro-whipping sales boost.

Unfortunately the 2013 will likely be a one-year wonder as I have a bad feeling the 50th Anniversary 2014 is going to look like a Taurus Coupe. Surely the 50th Anniversary Mustang will proudly display the "new face of Ford"--a dominant trapezoid grille, thin back-swept headlights, and secondary bumper skirt grille that subtly blends with the shape of the main grille (see '12 Focus, '13 Taurus, & Evos Concept, and dare I say '12 Fiesta.)

Telling was the statement at the LA Car Show by Mustang chief designer Darrell Behmer, =93This latest Mustang design is very respectful of its heritage while continuing to look forward with a more powerful and modern look.=94 The '05 was unabashedly retro styled, but now Ford is simply being "respectful" of heritage, but "looking forward" to a "more modern look." Say goodbye to heritage. Get your 2013's while they are hot!

Reply to
Jeff

I don't know, Jeff. I'm optimistic about the upcoming look. And here's why. For about the last 10 years, Team Mustang has proven again and again, how dialed in they are with what we enthusiasts want. Cases in point: The Bullitt cars, the '03-'04 Mach 1s, the Terminators, the '05 redesign, the GT500s, the new 5.0 motor and the Boss 302s. It's been just hit after hit. Frankly each year I keep wondering how much better can it get? And I just don't see them, as talented as they are, suddenly falling down on a project as big as the

50th anniversary. I just don't see it happening.

Patrick

Reply to
patrick.mckenzie84

I'm glad you're optimistic Patrick. Surely I can be a bit of a pessimist. I'm just a child of the 70's who wished he were born in another era, wistfully dreaming about those gorgeous and bad ass cars of the 60's. I literally cried the day I first saw the then alien 1979 Fox body "Mustang" (as much as the 5.0 did for Mustang history, I still feel compelled to use quotes because a real Mustang would never, NEVER have quad headlamps and/or a hatchback, nor share a chassis with grandma's Ford Grenada.)

For me the '94 was a low-slung, long-hooded, short decked breath of fresh air, but the knockout 2005 retro style was an absolute godsend. This time it was tears of joy as I witnessed all the crystal clear homages to the glorious original Mustangs of the 60's. The nose screamed '67 Mustang; rear quarter windows looked to have come right out of a '66 Shelby GT350; and a rear end just like a '70 which so many other cars would get a good look at. Its long hood, short deck, A & B pillar & fastback rakes, even the "hockey-stick", all in near- perfect proportions to the 1st generation Mustangs that started it all.

Oh well, time marches on and it's been a great run with nostalgic looks. Plus I have to admit the EVOS concept is pretty sexy. The writing is on the wall that the '14 will draw a lot of inspiration from it...not necessarily a bad thing, sigh. I guess I should just be happy Ford isn't going to continue down the retro path into '70's.

Reply to
Jeff

I too am from that era. And I grew up just 50 miles north of the Motor City, Detroit Mi., an area with a following for 50's hot rods and 60's muscle cars that was/is stronger than many religions.

I too have a similar experience. A girl on my street bought a brand- new powder-blue '79. My brother and I looked it over and laughed at how ugly it was. Funny then how 8 years later I found myself special ordering an '87, 5-liter. 5-speed LX hatch, because I just HAD to have one.

I view/viewed it this way. The original Mustang was also based on a very humble foundation. As for the rest of the details, it was just evolution/survival of the breed.

And historically, you could say the 80's 5.0s were the '64 GTOs of the second generation of muscle cars.

I wasn't a fan. Too me they were over-styled and underpowered. I hated seeing the F-bodies so easily wrestle the performance crown away from the Mustang, after the Fox bodied cars had worked so hard to establish the Mustang as king.

I agree. I only wished Ford would have introduced the '05 a few years earlier, because it seemed right around the late 90s-early 2000s, there were a ton of boomers looking for a true retro Mustang. The '05's styling at that time, I think, would have been a HUGE sensation.

Truth be told, beside the early fastbacks, I wasn't much of a fan of Mustangs. I always thought the Camaro looked better. (Though when Hot Rod magazine featured a Camaro on every damn cover in the 70's, I couldn't stand to look at Camaros.) But my true love belonged to another breed: Mopars -- the '68-'70 Chargers, Demons, Darts, 'Cudas, Challengers, Roadrunners, Super Bees, they were the ones that got my heart pounding.

Yep, it'll be time for something new... time for the next generation to carry the torch and put their stamp on the breed. And I'm confident they'll do a good job, if we don't view their work with biased eyes.

Exactly!

And when you hear Team Ford say, they're not about to let Chevy, with the new ZL1, top the GT500, you can bet Ford also isn't about to screw up the 50th anniversary redesign.

Patrick

Reply to
patrick.mckenzie84

sorry but it looks stupid from all angles...........why do Ford always mess with a good original design ? .....

Reply to
jim stewart

the rear view is disgusting ........

Reply to
jim stewart

So they should still all be 64 1/2s?

Reply to
Shanghai

why not ? .....

Reply to
jim stewart

e

...

Then let me suggest you go buy one. You know they're re-stamping the old bodies again.

As for me, I don't mind showing my "disgusting" rear end to the competition.

Patrick

2011 unspoiled 5-liter, 6-speed GT
Reply to
patrick.mckenzie84

done that...had a '66 coupe for seven years ......the iconic shape ...end of story .......

Reply to
jim stewart

The past was great, but I say bring on the future. (I'm always as excited to see next year's model as I enjoy looking at the old ones.)

Patrick

Reply to
patrick.mckenzie84

I'm not .......

Reply to
jim stewart

in fact I don't even consider my '92 convertible to be a real mustang .........

Reply to
jim stewart

Eh. Different minds...

Personally, I have no interest in going backward. The older models had their time and I always enjoy seeing them at the Mustang shows, but I would never buy one. The new cars are just so much better in every regard, whether or not you can appreciate the cosmetics of the rear end.

As for your '92... Ford built that model for 15 straight years. The Fox Mustangs were The Mustangs for far longer than every other model, all of which had relatively short lifespans. Hell, the Mustang II enjoyed 5 seasons. The original Mustang.... what... slightly less?

I won't argue that the Mustang had a brilliant introduction, and the evolution over the next 9 years was impressive. But I will put a 2013 up against any model before it and expect it to come away the winner.

That said, I appreciate everyone who maintains and drives a classic Mustang. I see them at the shows and can't help but notice the pride and pleasure they take in their cars. They keep the legend alive.

Me... not interested.

dwight

Reply to
dwight

Same here. I like the old ones and respect them, but their era has long since passed. Bring on the new ones!

Patrick

Reply to
patrick.mckenzie84

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.