Next gen Mustang getting more modern look

[SVT666]

Retro is over. Go modern. I applaud Ford for this. No young people are going to buy a Mustang that looks like it should come with an 8-track player in the dash. Ford is absolutely RIGHT with this.

But for the love of God, SIZE IT DOWN! I'd actually consider buying one of these if it wasn't a goddamn land yacht with a big engine.

[sportyaccordy]

Retro is over. Go modern. I applaud Ford for this. No young people are going to buy a Mustang that looks like it should come with an 8-track player in the dash. Ford is absolutely RIGHT with this.

But for the love of God, SIZE IT DOWN! I'd actually consider buying one of these if it wasn't a goddamn land yacht with a big engine.

No car can ever be too big. If you suggest otherwise you deserve to be ridiculed....

No but seriously, there is no reason the Mustang should be so big. Def needs to shrink down and go modern next go round. They can make it look aggressive w/o going retro. Actually they don't even have to make it look aggressive. I wouldn't exactly call the Foxbodies aggressive.

[ChrisV]

The current Mustang is barely bigger than the original. It's a bit heavier, but that's because it's more refined, stronger and stiffer. It goes faster, gets better fuel mileage, is safer and pollutes less, while having almost identical physical footprint to the originals.

The 1969 BOSS 302 was the same size, weighs almost the same, yet in every measurable way except investment optential performs worse. That's why the Mustang is sized the way it is.

I find my Mustang to be sized perfectly, and I have no problem driving it every day.

[LonghornTX]

The current Mustang is barely bigger than the original. It's a bit heavier, but that's because it's more refined, stronger and stiffer. It goes faster, gets better fuel mileage, is safer and pollutes less, while having almost identical physical footprint to the originals.

The 1969 BOSS 302 was the same size, weighs almost the same, yet in every measurable way except investment optential performs worse. That's why the Mustang is sized the way it is.

I find my Mustang to be sized perfectly, and I have no problem driving it every day.

+1

[sportyaccordy]

The current Mustang is barely bigger than the original. It's a bit heavier, but that's because it's more refined, stronger and stiffer. It goes faster, gets better fuel mileage, is safer and pollutes less, while having almost identical physical footprint to the originals.

The 1969 BOSS 302 was the same size, weighs almost the same, yet in every measurable way except investment optential performs worse. That's why the Mustang is sized the way it is.

I find my Mustang to be sized perfectly, and I have no problem driving it every day.

Foxbodies were much smaller. The Vanilla Ice Mustang was shorter by damn near a foot. The M3 is shorter by about 8 inches w/a big V8 and more interior room. The Mustang is a good car but it def needs a modern update. Its packaging is retro in a bad way.

[MX793]

Foxbodies were much smaller. The Vanilla Ice Mustang was shorter by damn near a foot. The M3 is shorter by about 8 inches w/a big V8 and more interior room. The Mustang is a good car but it def needs a modern update. Its packaging is retro in a bad way.

Foxbodies were also flimsy, poorly-built pieces of junk.  And the new ones have slightly more passenger volume plus >50% more trunk space than the old Fox coupes.

[GoCougs]

Retro is over. Go modern. I applaud Ford for this. No young people are going to buy a Mustang that looks like it should come with an 8-track player in the dash. Ford is absolutely RIGHT with this.

But for the love of God, SIZE IT DOWN! I'd actually consider buying one of these if it wasn't a goddamn land yacht with a big engine.

Problem with "retro" is stagnation; the Mustang is now in its 8th model year. The Camaro is "retro" and selling as well or better (and selling better than the Mustang) 3 years after introduction.

Competition for younger buyers is FAR greater than it was in 2005 (when the current Mustang debuted). Remember, in recent times the Mustang has had some of its worst sales in its history despite being by far and away the best Mustang ever and overall a great car.

IMO sales will more or less be the same (75,000/year) no matter what Ford does. The heyday of 150,000+/year is likely long gone.

But land yacht? I'm not really seeing it, relatively to the two recent cars I own(ed), and they're anything but land yachts:

Mustang: 188"
Infiniti G37 sedan: 187"
7th gen Honda Accord sedan: 189"

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Foxbodies were also flimsy, poorly-built pieces of junk.  And the new ones have slightly more passenger volume plus >50% more trunk space than the old Fox coupes.

The Fox Body Stang easily the worse car I've ever owned. I still have a sour taste in my mouth for Fords because of that car........

[LonghornTX]

Problem with "retro" is stagnation; the Mustang is now in its 8th model year. The Camaro is "retro" and selling as well or better (and selling better than the Mustang) 3 years after introduction.

Competition for younger buyers is FAR greater than it was in 2005 (when the current Mustang debuted). Remember, in recent times the Mustang has had some of its worst sales in its history despite being by far and away the best Mustang ever and overall a great car.

IMO sales will more or less be the same (75,000/year) no matter what Ford does. The heyday of 150,000+/year is likely long gone.

But land yacht? I'm not really seeing it, relatively to the two recent cars I own(ed), and they're anything but land yachts:

Mustang: 188"
Infiniti G37 sedan: 187"
7th gen Honda Accord sedan: 189"

There was pent-up demand for Camaro, which I think is part of the reason for its recent success. A lot of people also really liked the styling and it was also featured pretty prominently in recent movies/media. The true test of your theory will be in May and beyond, when the restyled, but still retro, 2013 model is available for mass consumption.

[LonghornTX]

Foxbodies were also flimsy, poorly-built pieces of junk.  And the new ones have slightly more passenger volume plus >50% more trunk space than the old Fox coupes.

I wouldn't call them poorly built at all, but like all cars from that era, they were much less stiff than their counterparts today.

[LonghornTX]

The Fox Body Stang easily the worse car I've ever owned. I still have a sour taste in my mouth for Fords because of that car........

Which one did you own? That makes a big difference when talking about Fox bodies. But, evidently many people disagree with you, considering their value in the used market. I love mine. It is simple, relatively light, and with subframe connectors (~$300 installed), plenty stiff. It also sounds great, is easy to drive fast, and gets positive comments and thumbs up on a weekly basis.

[GoCougs]

There was pent-up demand for Camaro, which I think is part of the reason for its recent success. A lot of people also really liked the styling and it was also featured pretty prominently in recent movies/media. The true test of your theory will be in May and beyond, when the restyled, but still retro, 2013 model is available for mass consumption.

The "pent up demand" was met by fall of '09 and since April of 2009 the Camaro has outsold the Mustang.

The MY2013 Mustang will still be the S197 (i.e., unchanged). The all-new Mustang is set for MY2014.

[GoCougs]

FWIW I always like the Fox body Mustang; much more than the current year Camaro. Would have absolutely loved a late gen LX 5.0.

[sportyaccordy]

Foxbodies were also flimsy, poorly-built pieces of junk.  And the new ones have slightly more passenger volume plus >50% more trunk space than the old Fox coupes.

I am not suggesting they completely emulate the Fox bodies. Just pointing out that Mustangs have not always been bigger than Camrys

[LonghornTX]

The "pent up demand" was met by fall of '09 and since April of 2009 the Camaro has outsold the Mustang.

The MY2013 Mustang will still be the S197 (i.e., unchanged). The all-new Mustang is set for MY2014.

I am quite aware of Mustang models, so the clarification is unnecessary. BTW, it is clearly debatable that Camaro is not still operating its sales performance off of pent-up demand, given the fact that Mustang is a subjectively better car in most respects (across all models).

[Northlands]

Current Mustang is only a hair wider than a Camry. I think it's still roughly an inch or two shorter.

I'm still wondering why people want to scale down muscle cars? People still buy them at their current sizes. If anything, maybe there's an opportunity for a sporty car that's a bit smaller to sell between the Focus and the Mustang.

[LonghornTX]

Current Mustang is only a hair wider than a Camry. I think it's still roughly an inch or two shorter.

I'm still wondering why people want to scale down muscle cars? People still buy them at their current sizes. If anything, maybe there's an opportunity for a sporty car that's a bit smaller to sell between the Focus and the Mustang.

Sounds like a Probe GT haha

[LonghornTX]

Sounds like a Probe GT haha

Which were actually pretty fun to drive in their later years, FWIW

[GoCougs]

I am quite aware of Mustang models, so the clarification is unnecessary. BTW, it is clearly debatable that Camaro is not still operating its sales performance off of pent-up demand, given the fact that Mustang is a subjectively better car in most respects (across all models).

Debatable three years later? Nah, the Camaro sells better than the Mustang today for the same reason it sold better in 2009; the market thinks it's the better car (I agree of course), especially interesting considering the Camaro is the bit more expensive car (~10% more).

[Northlands]

Sounds like a Probe GT haha

Pretty much. I'm trying to imagine something a little smaller than a Stang with either an eco-boost 3.5 in it or the 3.7 V6. Have the 2.7 eco-boost as an entry level motor.

[LonghornTX]

Debatable three years later? Nah, the Camaro sells better than the Mustang today for the same reason it sold better in 2009; the market thinks it's the better car (I agree of course), especially interesting considering the Camaro is the bit more expensive car (~10% more).

Ok, dude that doesn't even know the models very well (oh yea, they made more substantial styling changes to the Mustang in 2011 than they did for the 2013 model. WRONG!). Me thinks the marketplace has gone for so long without a Camaro, or a decent one at that, that it is making up for lost ground. That opinion is only further backed up the amount of comparisons that portray the Mustang as the better car (V6 or V8).

[GoCougs]

Ok, dude that doesn't even know the models very well (oh yea, they made more substantial styling changes to the Mustang in 2011 than they did for the 2013 model. WRONG!). Me thinks the marketplace has gone for so long without a Camaro, or a decent one at that, that it is making up for lost ground. That opinion is only further backed up the amount of comparisons that portray the Mustang as the better car (V6 or V8).

You Mustangists are so insecure it's mind boggling. Also, practical nullification of the "pent up demand" hypothesis is the people who bought Camaros in the '80s and '90s by and large ain't the same people buying the Camaro today. Outside the demographic obviousness the premise is ridiculous - "pent up demand" is still demand, and for three years straight the market (pent up) demands more Camaros even despite the price premium - and to me it's obvious why.

[MX793]

I am not suggesting they completely emulate the Fox bodies. Just pointing out that Mustangs have not always been bigger than Camrys

The current car isn't bigger than a late model Camry.  It's the same size as a Camry from 20 years ago.  And the Fox body was larger both in length and width than the Camries of its day (V10 and V20 generations of the 1980s).

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

You Mustangists are so insecure it's mind boggling.

[GoCougs]

I've never seen anything like it! Defense till the end.

[TurboDan]

I've never seen anything like it! Defense till the end.

I've seen it before. In this forum. And it had/has to do with a Yaris. 

[ChrisV]

At any rate, anyone calling the Mustang a land yacht has no clue what a land yacht actually is. Even my 7 series is not a land yacht, and it's pretty big, and huge compared to my Mustang. Land yachts are more like my old Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham or my old '65 Lincoln Continental.

And yes, my Mustang is smaller than a modern Accord sedan or Camry sedan. I've parked next to them here at work, and have a point of reference. Yes, it feels larger than my MINI or a Miata, but it doesn't feel huge to drive, unless your ONLY point of reference is a MINI or Miata... lol! For me, the Mustang is that just right middle ground between being too big to fit anywhere and too small to fit anything IN. Doesn't hurt that it looks good, too, especially now.

[565]

I hope the next mustang comes with the ecoboost v6, and awd.

[Raza]

I hope the next mustang comes with the ecoboost v6, and awd.

Automatic only, too!  And self park!

[Byteme]

The current car isn't bigger than a late model Camry.  It's the same size as a Camry from 20 years ago.  And the Fox body was larger both in length and width than the Camries of its day (V10 and V20 generations of the 1980s).

Looks like a 2008 Mustang and 2009 Camry are pretty close to the same size.

Mustang:   numbers are rounded and weight is an average of models

Year               Length                  Width             Wheelbase               Weight

65                    182                       68                   108                       2500
67                    184                       71                   108                       2600
73                    194                       74                   109                       3500
74                    175                       70                     96                       2700
79                    179                       69                    100                      2450
94                    182                                             101                       3100
02                    183                       73                   101                       3200
08                    188                       74                   107                       3400

92 Camry           187                       69                  103                        3000   
09 Camry           189                      72                    109                       3300