SPIED: 2009 Mustang testing

[Danish]

Dude, when will you learn that the Nethead here is always right?

[TheIntrepid]

Yes, the current Mustang is very nice... but I agree with their redesign based on the Guigiaro one because of the upcoming Camaro.

[Nethead]

TheIntrepid:? IntrepiDude!? The Nethead here supports the Giugiaro styling--not because some Mustang imitators are coming out (They did that once before, didn't they?? Where are those imitators today?)--but because that car is even closer to the fab Mustangs of yesteryear than even the current S197--from the A-pillars back, mind you...Plus some rotundawonder tidbits like a single piece of glass that constitutes the windshield, the roof, and the rear window (a rare bit of bling that the Nethead here actually likes)!? I love the full fastback roof and the recessed taillight panel a la the '67s and '68s.? The six individual taillight lenses extending onto the tops of the fenders are a bit overdone, for sure, but better than one large taillight on each side!? The color ain't bad, either!? The fluted glass C-pillar windows are too showbiz--gimme the standard C-pillar windows of the current S197, as well as everything forward of the A-pillars and I'll buy one!

[93JC]

nickdrinkwater: NickDude, none of them look like Mustangs should look!? The first one's a whale that would have made a decent Torino, but it is the worst Mustang that ever lived!? Utter shit!? The other two are drab enough to have made decent Falcons, or even Chevy Novas...

What's this crap about "like Mustangs should look"? The '71-'73 and '79-'93 Mustangs look like Mustangs: they are Mustangs.

The '71-'73 was bigger than its predecessor, yes. Faster though, too. Especially the BOSS 351, which could lay waste to any other Mustang until more recent times.

The '79-'93 was a return to what Mustang originally was: an everyman's compact coup?. Sure, they weren't as gaudy as older BOSSes and Mustang II King Cobras, but if all you have to sell your car on is tastelessly excessive looks you don't really have much of a car at all...

[nickdrinkwater]

Mustangs 'should look' stylish.

The second picture looks like a Ford Escort type car.  It doesn't look fast, exciting or cool.  I guess you can't classify exactly how something should look, but that's not how I would want my Mustang to look.  It defeats the point of the Mustang IMHO.

[Nethead]

93JC: JCDude, nickdrinkwater here's quote tells it more eloquently than I:
"Mustangs 'should look' stylish.? The second picture looks like a Ford Escort type car.? It doesn't look fast, exciting or cool.? I guess you can't classify exactly how something should look, but that's not how I would want my Mustang to look.? It defeats the point of the Mustang IMHO."

If the looks didn't matter, Ford coulda just trashed the Mustang concept while it was still in the drawing room and stuck with Falcon Sprints.? Sprints had two doors and RWD V8s--that's a Mustang, right???
The '71--'73 Mustangs were oinkers fore and aft--hugest Mustangs ever built yet still on the same wheelbase as the lean and nimble '64s--'70s.? Overhang was greater than Dolly Parton's!!!
The other two were just too damned drab--not ugly, just drab.? Generic, two-door, RWD V8--the kind of car the Falcon was supposed to be (and was), but without a four-door option...
?
These are the true DNA Mustangs:
? The '65 fastbacks
? The '67 fastbacks
? The '69 fastbacks
? The '05 fastbacks

Line these four up along 17-Mile-Drive in Carmel, CA--especially in GT trim and white paint--and you have The Second Coming--that's Jesus over there having His smiling face photographed behind the wheel of the '05...awhile ago that was Him with the back-end of the '67 up on a floor jack checking to see if it had the 9" differential like some '67 models do.? As we were all piling back into our cars to go home, He was throwing some 18" 295s in the back of the '05 He bought and saying something about how this'll fix the problem with gettin' traction on gold cobblestones in the rain.
?

[SVT666]

Line these four up along 17-Mile-Drive in Carmel, CA--especially in GT trim and white paint--and you have The Second Coming--that's Jesus over there having His smiling face photographed behind the wheel of the '05...awhile ago that was Him with the back-end of the '67 up on a floor jack checking to see if it had the 9" differential like some '67 models do.? As we were all piling back into our cars to go home, He was throwing some 18" 295s in the back of the '05 He bought and saying something about how this'll fix the problem with gettin' traction on gold cobblestones in the rain.
?

Hilarious.?

I have to say that even though the 87-93 Mustangs were not my favourite, they were pretty cool looking cars in LX 5.0L trim.




...and the 1994-98 model was pretty nice too (I like them anyway)




...I didn't like the 1999-2004 models much, but the Mach 1 and Cobra models weren't bad.

[ChrisV]

While my favorite Mustangs are still teh '70 models, having owned 3 '70 fastbacks over the years, I've also got a soft spot for what can be done with the extremely cheap yet versatile Mustang IIs, like this one:



They were also conceived, in '71, as a way to get back to the original idea of the Mustang, an inexpensive sport coupe based on unassuming mechanicals. And even though in stock form, they weren't much, ALL Mustangs benefit from a huge aftermarket, and these are no exception. And they CAN look good, as I hope the car above shows.

[SVT666]

I always thought the Mustang II was kinda goofy looking, but they are very light and very fast if modded.  It's a great starting point if you don't mind the styling.

[ChrisV]

In stock form, I don't like the proportioning. But I found a couple things that would change that were I to build one up. Like moving the front suspension forward 4". Instant engine setback and much better front fender proportions. Like this convert I photoshopped a few years back:



Front wheels moved 4" forward, front and rear wheelwells moved 2" upwards, lowered, bumpers shortened, grille redone. That's what I would change to make it less ill proportioned. I happen to like the looks other than that.

[MX793]

I kind of have a soft spot for the looks of the Mustang II.  At least for the fastbacks.  I don't particularly care for the '71-'73 models and have never really liked the Fox body at the aesthetic level.  I've always thought the Fox body looked like a Tempo or a Cavalier.

[SVT666]

In stock form, I don't like the proportioning. But I found a couple things that would change that were I to build one up. Like moving the front suspension forward 4". Instant engine setback and much better front fender proportions. Like this convert I photoshopped a few years back:



Front wheels moved 4" forward, front and rear wheelwells moved 2" upwards, lowered, bumpers shortened, grille redone. That's what I would change to make it less ill proportioned. I happen to like the looks other than that.

I actually really like that.

[Raza]

I really dig the Mach 1s of the last generation, and the Cobra was once on my list of potentials.  I still think they look better than the current one, but whenever I do see the current Mustang from the right angle, I get all woozy and want one.

[SVT666]

I really dig the Mach 1s of the last generation, and the Cobra was once on my list of potentials.? I still think they look better than the current one, but whenever I do see the current Mustang from the right angle, I get all woozy and want one.

Sorry, the new edge Stangs don't hold a candle to the new cars.

[Nethead]

ChrisV:  Where were you when Ford really needed your skills and abilities when designing the '74-'78 Mustangs--and in the process making them too cutesy--whereas your photochop is very badass?  Out testing tires, no doubt...
Now, since you have done a damned fine job of removing the top from that Mustang hardtop, please apply your exemplary skills to removing the clothing from that model and this photochop will have an all new dimension that the mere photo could never possibly achieve!  Rock on, ChrisDude!

[SVT666]

ChrisV:? Where were you when Ford really needed your skills and abilities when designing the '74-'78 Mustangs--and in the process making them too cutesy--whereas your photochop is very badass?? Out testing tires, no doubt...
Now, since you have done a damned fine job of removing the top from that Mustang hardtop, please apply your exemplary skills to removing the clothing from that model and this photochop will have an all new dimension that the mere photo could never possibly achieve!? Rock on, ChrisDude!

Except maybe use a model that would be younger then 60 years old if we saw her today.

[Nethead]

"Except maybe use a model that would be younger then 60 years old if we saw her today."
I don't want ChrisV to use his exemplary skills to age her image--I want him to use his exemplary skills to undress her image...

[ChrisV]

Sorry, can't do that here at work...