Tico

excuse me for stating the obvious but if Ford had a good economy and #1, 2 or 3 product in each catagory there would be nothing to whine, stomp, or cry about union or no union. Lets just hope 2010 is a good year...

The best technical solution (supposedly RWD) does not always win. If (when) the LX platform dies there will be no RWD offering for Police duty. So I agree a Taurus police package that is competitive with Impala will win the market share by default. Enthusiast are just going to have to face the fact that RWD sedans are dead cars driving save for a few expensive luxury models. It's plain economics. Detroit needs to do what is right for the market. To build a RWD car solely for the fleet market is silly. If you think people really want RWD sedans for daily drivers go see the 300 / Charger sales numbers for last few months. RWD will be relegated to a niche market for the next decade at least. Enthusiasts just have to admit to the reality of the marketplace.

With the 50th anniversary only 5 model years away, surely someone in Dearborn must be working on the next generation Mustang. Anyone have any ideas on what direction Ford might be taking the Mustang next decade? Surely the current configuration can not soldier on more than 5 more years. What will the next generation look like? Smaller, Turbos? Hybrid power train option? New V8 in the works? Come on someone must have at least a rumor?!

Huh? You can't even buy an '09 Tercel in the USA or anywhere else that I can find for that matter?! If you mean Corolla the sport version "XRS" does 0-60 just under 8 sec according to most sources. The 2005 and newer V6 Mustang is good for around 7.0 sec even with Auto Trans according to most sources. So what the heck are you trolling about? As for the sky high MSRP, most transactions are way under MSRP for a Mustang especially in this economy. I am sure once the '09's are gone from the lot transaction prices of '10s will drop like a brick. If you can live with an '08 or '09 you can get a heck of a deal right now!

I agree it seems silly to drive a Mustang if you only take it to club events. If you don't enjoy the car anymore it is time to move on. We enjoy our '04 GT so much I put 4 snows on it and drive it through Wisconsin winters. Last year we had 100 inches of snow. My wife and I fight over who gets to take the Mustang to work on a given day. Also we drove our Mustang 800 miles to North East PA one summer with the kid in the back seat. We never had more fun on a road trip. Isn't this what Mustang is all about, small car, V8, RWD and hunderds of miles of open road in front of you? Last point, the reason for Mustangs sucess is: PRICE PRICE PRICE PRICE!!!! If you want a "modern" interior with 'lots of room' and a 'smooth suspension' then you should be looking at luxury cars. New Mustangs are driven by smiling moms and dads with young kdis in the back seat. 80s and 90s Mustangs are driven by 16 to 20 something year olds who are lucky enough to score one in the neighborhood at a good price. 60s and 70s mustangs are maybe driven by guys like you to club meets and then parked 360 days a year. But as for the late model Mustang: Yes it is the "poor man's sports car"! That is why they can sell 100K a year. Keep it that way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WELL SAID! I love my '04 GT and it's "crude" solid rear axle. If you want to and IRS and other components to the suspension and "upgrade" the engine to 400 HP the car will cost $40K. The attraction of the mustang is I know I can go down the dealership tomorrow and get an '09 GT coup for under $25K if I really make them work for the sale. (Don't believe me go try it.) What else can you buy for that price?!? Nothing! If you want an a "modern" mustang ford should either: A. Put IRS in the Cobra (didn't they do this in '99 to '04) or B. Make a Lincoln version of the car. The only reason this car dominates this niche market is price. Camaro for years had better handling and more power. But the Mustang was always cheaper. You have to question how many RWD 2 door coups can be sold in North American to begin with. If you jack the price too much then you will kill the car!

I agree, Camry is the new Oldsmobile!

Hogwash! I had a car seat in the back of a 2 door NEON and then moved it to the back of a Mustang GT coupe which I bought only becuase my wife wanted it. We had no issue with bending and stretching a little. Saved us a little warm up time at the gym.

50th Anniversary 2014 all electric Mustang Concept Car that does 0-50 in 4.9 sec?

That about sums it up....

Has anyone figured out what the cost will be to the taxpayers, in unemployment, lost taxes, health care for the uninsured, etc. if we let GM and probably Chrysler go bankrupt? Can Ford survive if GM and or Chrysler go under? Can anyone begin to quantify the cost? Is it really a lot bigger than the 25 or 50 billion they want now? Instead of opinions and rants how about some cold hard numbers?!?!?!?

BINGO! All of the people I work with drive VWs. Toyotas or Hondas. They would be hard pressed to consider a Big 3 car no matter what. It is an image thing. I think nothing short of a complete rebirth of the US auto industry under a new name and new leadership would lure them back. I think Harley Davidson is a good model for how the US auto industry might survive. But it would be much smaller (~ 20 % market share) and include only models that invoked a certain "America Legend" image such as Jeep, Mustang, Silverado, Caravan, Malibu, 2 or 3 good CUVs, some kind of Cadillac, and what else??? What actually sells (minus fleet sales)?!?!!? Make a list of the cars from each of the big 3 that would really be worth keeping if they all merged to one company. Only cars that actually sell should be in the list. How much smaller would this new company, called maybe American Motors, be than the big 3 are now? Maybe half the people and half the capacity? This is what would have to happen for the American Auto industry to profitable and competitive. I think the Union concessions that kick in during 2010 maybe enough if management can whittle down the list of models to only those that are truly viable and the union allows the industry to get rid of excess capactiy.

Maybe if people stopped worrying about ideology and started doing what works and what is right we would not be in this mess. Why does the pendulum have to swing from free market chaos to big goverment solcalism and then 8 or 12 years from now back to free market chaos again? Let go of your precious ideology and go donw the middle people. Common sense is what is missing in Washington becuase we are too worried about following ideology be it left or right!

I already switched to Ford back when Daimler bought Chrysler. What is happening now just proves I was ahead of my time back then. :shades:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/09/news/compa...sion=2008100911 Says Sales in North America may not return to 2006 levels until 2013. So all manufacturer's will have to downsize there business here to reflect smaller sales levels for the next few years. I think GM and Ford can only survive the next decade by getting smaller and fast. Otherwise I hope to get a really good deal on a 2012 Camaro or Mustang right before they get sold to Tata or Chery or whoever...

It just me or are all makes of cars starting to look the same? All have the same basic shape in each segment. I guess areodynamics and fuel economy have something to do with it. But to me they are all boring!

To the average import owner, it doesn't look any different than the '05 - '09 Mustangs. Only people who actually buy Fords will even notice any difference. Kinda disappointing....

This happened in '93 also. New care in 93 but the new mod engine didn't come until 94 or 95 right?

I have to believe the idea of lowering US safety standards to European levels is a non starter. Right or wrong I don't see it happening. So I don' know what the solution is. What does Toyota do? I saw plenty of Toyotas on the Road when I was in Scandinavia. Are they different from US Toyotas?

Aren't we all tired of the IRS or no IRS debate? Why not offer IRS on all models ABOVE the GT? Bring back the MACH1 or similar, give it a bump in HP and IRS for those who want to pay the $$$. Of course the Cobra should also have IRS. As for the base GT keep it CHEAP and FAST. Yes the Camaro this and the Camaro that. Well then go buy the Camaro. Better hurry, I dobut it will be availabe more that 5 model years before it is canceled again! The success of Mustang boils down to this: RWD V8 two door at a great price. Blow that and we may all be looking at a 2012 version of the Ford Probe!

Camaro and Firebird were bigger and badder than Mustang in the late 90s and up to 2002. That is why they sold more cars and went on to dominate during most of this decade..... oh wait! Putting up better numbers at the track does not always translate into sales success. Price, quality, styling and image seem to matter more. A less expensive, better quality, better looking Mustang GT that is a little slower will outsell a Z28 anytime.

OK the upcoming 2010 refresh has been beaten to death. We all pretty much know what is coming. The real question is how long it last? What about the next BIG redesign? When is it coming? 2012? Too soon I think 2014 or 2015?. Maybe. Does someone have inside rumors to share? Will Ford shrink the car as so many have argued? Is this even possible on the current platform? Will an all new platform be necessary? (How many years will that take?!) What are Fords options? Will a V8 still be standard on a GT? Will styling go more modern again? Will it look like the 80s or early 90s Mustangs OR will it look totally 2015? Unless Ford is sitting on their hands hoping for lower gas prices or planning to cancel the car all together by 2015 there must be designs on the drawing board in Dearborn! Someone has to know something. Come on give us anything. A crumb please! It would be nice to see something all new for the 50th in 2014 but I am sure Ford will miss this date just as they did for the 40th. Somebody throw us a bone please! A little something to chew on...

Ditto. My 40th anniversary will likely be ready to hand down to my kids by then.

People don't mean literally drag out the dies and start building a 1985 mustang again any more than the 2005 is the same car as the late 60s mustang! What they mean is use the fox body or I think the early 90s Mustang as "inspiration" for what the next major incarnation of the mustang should be. No don't base it on the Focus, but maybe more the size of the Fusion would be good. Can people point the virtues of the smaller mustangs of days gone by without everyone jumping on them and trying to compare 25 year old technology with todays cars? It is possible to make a smaller V8 coup in the 21st century. Someone just has to do it. Why can't the 2016 Mustang be about the Size of a 1993 Mustang and have a SMALL high tech V8 in it? It can be done. I agree and that big retro designs died this year. Too bad Chevy and dodge are about 4 years late to the party. Now Mustang should again take the lead by getting smaller next time it is redesigned. It can and should and I bet WILL be done. Someone wanna photo shop a Fusion into a Mustang just for fun. I am not saying use the fusion platform so save it. Just the car should be about fusion size. Remove two doors, lengthen the hood, make it RWD with a small 350 HP V8.

Aside from the pony in the corral on the grill and air vents on the side, now does the 04 look like a 64? Someboday wanna post pics? I have an 04. It does not remind me of the 64 which I have ridden in.