Mustang Sales Are HOT HOT HOT!!

Apr 20, 2004 12 Replies

Been looking at a new Cobra or Mach 1...? Might want to make the transaction while you can. Read on...



----- By AMY WILSON | Automotive News



Ford Motor Co. expects to run out of current-model Mustangs before it begins assembling the redesigned 2005 Mustang in September.



Production of the 2004 Mustang will end May 10 at Ford's Rouge plant in Dearborn, Mich. Then Ford will shift Mustang production to Flat Rock, Mich., where it runs a joint-venture assembly plant with Mazda.



Since August, Ford has been building Mustangs on overtime to help it through the summer production drought. But demand for the old model has surpassed expectations: Mustang sales are up 16 percent this year.



"It's not going to make it," said Ford Division President Steve Lyons. "By July, they're going to be pretty scarce."



Buoyed by overtime production, Mustang stocks have been high through the winter. But the numbers are coming down fast. Ford had 58,200 Mustangs or a 96-day supply on April 1, down from a 127-day supply on March 1.



Sales for the rear-drive Mustang coupe and convertible typically are strongest in the spring and summer.



Convertibles account for 30 percent of production. After the current stock of convertibles sells out, buyers must wait until spring 2005 to get a drop-top version of the redesigned Mustang.



Ford offers a $3,000 cash rebate on the Mustang, but it might scale that back in May or June as inventories drop, Lyons said.



"There's no point when you're going to run out," he said. "You can't just back it off to zero. That doesn't work, but you might dial it differently."


95% of the buyers have no idea there is a whole new ground up Mustang on the way. Heck, don't something like 80% of them buy the V6?

-- Jim '88 LX 5.0 (now in car heaven) '89 LX 5.0 vert '99 GT 35th Anniversery Edition - Silver Mods to date - Relocated trunk release to drivers side, shortened throttle cable, PIAA Driving lights.

Same thing happened with the 1998 models when people saw the 1999 "New Edge" design and started vomiting over the new look. People started warming up to them shortly thereafter and the 1996-98 cars started reappearing on the used car lots.

Same thing also happened with the 1995 models when folks heard that

1996 was bringing the four-point-sick to the table.

And the same thing happened with the 1993 models when folks saw the SN95 cars.

History repeats itself yet again. ;-)

** Same thing happened with the 1998 models when people saw the 1999 "New ** Edge" design and started vomiting over the new look. People started ** warming up to them shortly thereafter and the 1996-98 cars started ** reappearing on the used car lots. ** ** Same thing also happened with the 1995 models when folks heard that ** 1996 was bringing the four-point-sick to the table. ** ** And the same thing happened with the 1993 models when folks saw the ** SN95 cars. ** ** History repeats itself yet again. ;-)

At least this time around, the '05's look great and the new 3-valve V-8's are a big improvement. Ford has done their homework this time around, and I predict they will not be able to build them fast enough.

-JD

-------------------------------- Enlightenment for The Masses: http:/207.13.104.8/users/jdadams--------------------------------

I'm holding out for the turnover of 2003/04 Cobras that will surely hit the used car lots in 2005 and 06. Once that happens, I am going shopping. I can live without a new '05 GT if it means I get to tool around in a blown Cobra that some other sucker took the depreciation hit on. ;-)

I'll give you the fact that the 3v is more powerful, but the more I see the new car the less I like it. If I had the funds I'd be getting a new yellow MACh1, but I can't get the bank to let me stop paying my mortgage so the 95 will have to do. :(

I do think over all the car will be a huge seller, just not to me.

MadDAWG

Hey! That sucker is me! I'm planning on a new Cobra (latest rumor is spring '07) as long as it's still supercharged. I don't consider it depreciation, it's the cost for having a warrantee for the first three years.

-------------------

Unfortunately, that sucker probably also beat the living daylights out of the car. That's the problem with buying performance cars used... previous owners of such vehicles race and severely beat on the car in most cases. I'd rather eat the depreciation and get a good vehicle as opposed to saving a few bucks (still will cost decent bucks anyway) just to get a car that some kid smoked the tires at redline every single day, maybe never changed the oil, maybe raced it at the track every weekend, etc. I see people severely abusing newer cars all the time... everytime I see that, I think that some poor sucker might wind up buying that car used, never knowing how much it was abused. Yes, buying brand new is expensive, but you get what you pay for... as always.

I under that with the other cars; however, the previous designs never had the overwhelmingly positive reaction the '05 model has received. And deserving so. The new shape is beautiful, it has a new and much stiffer chassis, and then there's the gain of 40 horsepower over previous GT. And with all this sweetness in the pipeline, the current car is selling at a break-neck pace.

Meanwhile in the Chevy camp, the new C6 Vette has had very mixed reviews for its styling, and sales of the current model (C5) have fallen, as they say in GM land, "like a rock."

Don't ya think that's kinda strange?

Patrick '93 Cobra '83 LTD

Actually SVT is claiming '06 and there are several engine variants on the table at the moment. Nothing firm was nailed down when they showed our local SVTOA chapter officers the goodies a month ago.

Let's just say that all cameras and cell phones were collected before they let anyone in the room. ;-)

If you buy it off of a lot, there's no way of knowing. That's why I prefer to buy from individuals. I know of two that are owned by folks in their late 40's and mid 50's who just wanted a new Cobra and only bring them out of the garage on sunny days and for church on Sunday.

Both of them are going to be up for sale when the new cars come out, per the owners.

Those are the cars you want to buy. ;-)

Ya know, until this past weekend I would have agreed with you 100% but then I went to the 40th and heard the reactions from other Mustang fans and got to see the cars with my own eyes. Those two things showed me that there are actually some fairly mixed emotions about the new car out there and yet the dissentors are being fairly quiet about it. THAT is what I find strange.

Quite a few people in the crowd remarked on the fact that the new Stang is just a pig, dimensionally speaking. It's got a big ass on it and the beltline is just way tall -- especially if viewed on a car painted white. I would not own a white '05+ Mustang. It looks like a billboard.

The interior struck me as being very cheesy. The door panels with the gargantuan exposed 6.5" (or larger?) speakers looked like s*it. The aluminum trim on the dash brought too much bling to the table. The automatic shifter looked like a toy and the 5-speed shifter wasn't much better.

The seats looked really nice. The steering wheel looked like crap.

All said, I am going to have to wait and see what the cars really look like in their various colors and forms out on the road before I can convince myself that I like them. Right now my response is a lukewarm "Meh" when anyone asks. ;-)

Oh, and the Saleen and Roush concepts that I have seen? They look just freaking WEIRD on the retro body style. I hope the Cobra fares better, but the local SVTOA chapter officers who have seen some conceptual drawings said it looks like the damn car is smiling at you. Think new body with the 03/04 front end grafted on and sort of stretched a little. Big thumbs down.

The C6 has become Chevy's technology test bed. They've pretty much ruined the Corvette, in my opinion. I do actually like the exposed headlights on the car but understand that the Corvette faithful are having conniption fits over it.

Yeah and no. Those Corvette guys are as serious about their cars as we are about our Mustangs. They scream bloody murder whenever the General starts monkeying with the family recipe. I can't half blame them.

Ever hung out with Vette guys? Not the old farts who buy them as a form of automotive Viagra, mind you. I'm talking about the younger owners who actually take their cars out and flog the snot out of them at the track and road courses.

Cool bunch of folks, generally speaking. Very much the same as most Mustang owners -- just a little misguided in their preference of performance cars. ;-)

Works for me, I'm just going by the wording in the "Power Lease" info that got sent out to dealers. If my driving habits remain the same as the last few years, the GT only had 23,000 or so miles in three years, the Cobra should be a nice trade in when the time comes. Although I paid sticker for the Cobra, rebates started 2 weeks later, I got every penny I asked for the GT on the trade. (like new trade value rounded up)

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