2023/2024 Ford Mustang

  • Thread starter CodeRedR51
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Just lightened it up a bit. That's one seriously dull front end.

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@GranTurNismo No. No you're not.

@R1600Turbo If the replacement is good enough it won't matter. Most Mustangs are autos anyway, a decent DCT or paddle auto will sway most manual takers (And the save-the-manuals crowd can back off- I've had a manual transmission car in my life almost constantly since I started driving in 1988, commute 140 kms a day with mine, and I know for a fact most of you daily a FWD slushbox/CVT CUV).

The last generation just got too big and way too heavy, and it looks like that trend has not been reversed. Will wait and see but this is not looking good. If I wanted something the size of a Challenger with handling to match I'd buy a Challenger. The other thing that happened, it went from a fairly practical and surprisingly rugged car that you could daily all year to even the base models not really being that effective as a year rounder in more Northerly climes and I'm thinking they'll probably keep listening to people who'd never buy one anyway and dial it up further.
 
@R1600Turbo If the replacement is good enough it won't matter. Most Mustangs are autos anyway, a decent DCT or paddle auto will sway most manual takers (And the save-the-manuals crowd can back off- I've had a manual transmission car in my life almost constantly since I started driving in 1988, commute 140 kms a day with mine, and I know for a fact most of you daily a FWD slushbox/CVT CUV).
You are clearly not the audience that a manual transmission is marketed to. ;) Most manual diehards are not going to sway towards a DCT. It's not about speed.
 
Wow, I don't remember that at all :lol:. Several pages in and apparently I never posted in the thread. Later on, I do recall preferring the facelift and wondering why they didn't put it on the GT350 and GT500.

But putting this Olmec face into context, I do like this better than the current one I suppose. Matter of fact, this is about to be every pedestrian at car shows this year:

Legends-of-the-Hidden-Temple.jpg
 
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Is this the first time we've all been unhappy about a new Mustang?



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I think this looks pretty good, honestly. The main grille could be smaller, but that can be said about almost any new car lately. I don’t hate this like I first did with the 2018 facelift. And it’s light years ahead of the Camaro’s fascia.
 
Is this the first time we've all been unhappy about a new Mustang?



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why does it look different than the black one that's leaked before ?

I think this looks okay, it's just the grille is a bit too large.
 
why does it look different than the black one that's leaked before ?

I think this looks okay, it's just the grille is a bit too large.
Most likely because the black version represents a base model and the silver one is possibly a GT, or a higher trim like a Mach 1.
 
That horizontal above the grille just looks like its screaming out to be covered in chrome. It's so out of kilter with a sports car front.
 
VXR
That horizontal above the grille just looks like its screaming out to be covered in chrome. It's so out of kilter with a sports car front.
It looks like it has an insert which is interchangable, and can be opened for big-power engines like the GT500. I have a feeling they're going push the muscle car idea which I personally don't like. I've always seen the Mustang as a sportier, more refined alternative to the Murican muscle cars and it's been like that pretty much its entire history. I think it should remain as America's affordable sports car rather than just another muscle car. Because let's face it...I don't think anybody is going to do muscle cars better than Dodge. Let them have that.
 
as well as two powertrains to choose from, including a familiar 5.0L naturally-aspirated V8 engine.

I know this isn't an official tweet, but 'two new powertrains' rather than just 'engines' sounds like they're dropping the V6 and 4cyl for either a hybrid or just a full electric, probably borrowed from the Mach E.
 
Also I feel like Ford would be most likely to turn the 4-cylinder into a hybrid. In fact they could probably just use an even smaller version like the 2.0 instead of the 2.3. The vast majority of 4-cylinder Mustangs are either daily drivers or rental cars and the Maverick shows that there is a huge market for inexpensive hybrid dailies.

An EV Mustang will surely come but this doesn't appear to be it. If Ford is smart they'll keep the V8 GT in production as-is for as long as legally possible to keep the enthusiast market cornered which they pretty much already do. Make the quota on all the other cars, leave the Mustang a Mustang.
 
They’re racing V8s. Next year will be big for the first Factory GT3 Mustang. Plus, the new GT4 car. I think a hybrid four would be clever. That was the original Mustang’s MO, the secretary’s car. Plenty of Mustangs on the road down here and that option would make it more attractive post-pandemic. We’ll see.
 
I'm not sure it makes sense to do a pure BEV Mustang Mustang, when they have established Mustang as a subrand that already has a BEV in it.. The Mustang Mach E (not to mention all the other BEVs out there) looks the way it does because of packaging constraints - which is to say that if they did make a proper BEV Mustang, it wouldn't look like a Mustang anyways. I imagine Ford will build a V8 Mustang for as long as possible, and that platform will be engineered for primarily ICE propulsion (though I can easily see a 3 or 4 cylinder hybrid Mustang).

Until there is some breakthrough in battery tech, EV propulsion still isn't really suitable for a sports car, IMO, unless you are talking about just huge acceleration figures. The batteries are simply too big and heavy. It works for big, tall, and long cars because it allows you to lay the batteries in the floor and maintain an aerodynamic but still practical shape. Squeeze the "plan" area without reducing the battery size and you either end up with an un-aerodynamic shape (tall and wide) or the batteries become more of a center of gravity issue. I've done the math, even with really good aero, an EV MX5 even close to the weight of the ICE car just wouldn't have the range to be worthwhile. A Mustang would be better theoretically (it's longer and more of a GT car) but you're not going to be getting good range in a 2-door Mustang that weighs under 4500lbs, especially not if the car looks anything like a traditional Mustang (long, prominent nose, short deck).

I wish Ford would do something really wild like design an automotive-grade combined cycle gas turbine (combined cycle meaning that the hot exhaust gasses from the turbine run a steam generator that adds to the total output) that can be fueled with C02 neutral fuel (turbines are a lot more flexible on fuel types) running a generator to maintain a small (<40kwh) battery pack and the prime mover is an electric motor. You could even have a feature like "super cruise" where under specific loads (such as steady state highway driving) you could directly couple the turbine to the drive wheels to improve efficiency. Some of those combined cycle turbines reach close to 70% effiency (a Prius engine sits around 36%) though I don't think you'd get that high scaled down for automotive use. Turbines are light and the packaging would be pretty straightforward. Somebody needs to do something cool like this.
 
but you're not going to be getting good range in a 2-door Mustang that weighs under 4500lbs, especially not if the car looks anything like a traditional Mustang (long, prominent nose, short deck).
I think you're missing the fact that the Model 3 is literally a benchmark for the packaging that an EV Mustang would adopt, except in sedan form which means it's got a taller and longer greenhouse than needed for a two-door coupe. The Model 3 is four inches shorter, six inch longer wheelbase, 2.5 inches skinnier, only 2.5 inches taller (!), and starts at 400 pounds over the Mustang's base weight of 3700. The Model 3 already has attractive rear-drive proportions and the platform could easily be adapted to a GT coupe weighing about 4100 pounds. Not great, not terrible, but not nearly as bad as you suggest.

Matter of fact, I think you could plonk a Mustang and still keep the Model 3's length and wheelbase just by manipulating the pillars and greenhouse.

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V6 was dropped a while ago for the Ecoboost 4cyl.
We never got the V6 version over here, so it being dropped passed under the radar.

Looking at the power figures, i don't know why a V6 version was even bothered with? The 4cyl was a touch more powerful. Surely no one would have missed it? Commuters and those renting them wouldn't care if it had a four or a six under the bonnet if they hadn't specifically wanted an eight in the first place. Maybe rental firms thought the six was likely to be more reliable or easier to maintain in the long run?
 
We never got the V6 version over here, so it being dropped passed under the radar.

Looking at the power figures, i don't know why a V6 version was even bothered with? The 4cyl was a touch more powerful. Surely no one would have missed it? Commuters and those renting them wouldn't care if it had a four or a six under the bonnet if they hadn't specifically wanted an eight in the first place. Maybe rental firms thought the six was likely to be more reliable or easier to maintain in the long run?
A six has been a staple of the Mustang basically forever, except for that 80s era when they actually did have a miserable four cylinder with miserable power. Miserable photo for a miserable car:

Front-3-Quarter.jpg


That 2.3 engine is basically the same one out of my dad's Ranger and I can tell you it ain't no fun. Besides this particular boat anchor, and until the Ecoboost series debuted, Ford never made a four cylinder worth talking about so the Mustang always got their slightly more powerful Taurus and Minivan V6. The Ecoboost 2.3 didn't debut in the Mustang until 2015.
 
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A six has been a staple of the Mustang basically forever, except for that 80s era when they actually did have a miserable four cylinder with miserable power.
Oh sure, i know its been a staple since the first generation. I just didn't think anyone was going to get so dewy eyed over it that they'd chose it over a turbo four, especially one that's statistically better all round.
 
@Eunos_Cosmo
We never got the V6 version over here, so it being dropped passed under the radar.

Looking at the power figures, i don't know why a V6 version was even bothered with? The 4cyl was a touch more powerful. Surely no one would have missed it? Commuters and those renting them wouldn't care if it had a four or a six under the bonnet if they hadn't specifically wanted an eight in the first place. Maybe rental firms thought the six was likely to be more reliable or easier to maintain in the long run?
The 3.7 was revvy and fun and made 300hp. The 4.0 it replaced was torquey and fun and made acceptable power for its time, 215 in a 3200 lb car wasn't too bad, especially with the performance package gearing and the manual. Both (especially the 3.7) were quite a lot lighter on the nose than the V8's, the 3.7 is quite a bit lighter than the 2.3 that replaced it, and with the V6 performance packages both were (and still are) quite enjoyable as a do-it-all daily driver, and for what you were getting, at reasonable money. The 2.3 is about as exciting as stale toast.

A co-worker had one with the Ford Performance tuner, he couldn't get away from an old 4.0 5 speed with 300,000 kms on the clock. The turbo would have easily walked the old beater in a straight up drag race but not corner to corner.
 
A six has been a staple of the Mustang basically forever, except for that 80s era when they actually did have a miserable four cylinder with miserable power. Miserable photo for a miserable car:

Front-3-Quarter.jpg


That 2.3 engine is basically the same one out of my dad's Ranger and I can tell you it ain't no fun. Besides this particular boat anchor, and until the Ecoboost series debuted, Ford never made a four cylinder worth talking about so the Mustang always got their slightly more powerful Taurus and Minivan V6. The Ecoboost 2.3 didn't debut in the Mustang until 2015.
cries in Mustang SVO, Merkur XR4ti, and Thunderbird TC tears
 
cries in Mustang SVO, Merkur XR4ti, and Thunderbird TC tears
Those were pretty good for their times, I thought. Never owned one but did drive a Turbo Coupe, rather liked it. The naturally aspirated 4 back then wasn't great but of course most engines back then were made of pure despair and longing. GM had a 4 in the F-Bodies in the early 80's that would stall out if you used the power windows while stopped.
 
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