brucelinc

LOL....Apparently, they have subscribed to the "big ugly-assed grill" syndrome that is plaguing the industry at the moment. Lincoln has an uncanny knack for making a fairly expensive vehicle look no more upscale than a low priced vehicle. It would also be nice if they could decide on some specific styling cues and be consistent with them as new models are introduced. Other upscale makes do a good job of that. Lincoln has been all over the place with grills, C-pillars, rear end treatments, etc.

I would have preferred to trade so I could save some money on sales tax. However, the BMW dealers really low-balled me on trade-in value. I advertised the car on Autotrader and other sites and every dealer in the Minneapolis area contacted me. I didn't get a single contact from an individual, though. I sold the car to the Lincoln dealer from whom I originally purchased it. They paid me $6000 more than the BMW dealer offered on trade. That more than made up for any tax savings.

I sold my Continental this week. Not that many people care about sedans anymore but the Conti was a very good one. If I were to write an exit interview after 5 years of ownership, I would say it met most of my expectations and exceeded a few. The 30 way massaging seats were excellent and the car was just extremely user friendly. The seats and ergonomics deserve an "A." While not exceptional, it would get a solid "B" in ride comfort, quietness and handling. Performance with the 3.0 would be more like a "B+" but was let down by the transmission calibration. I had corrected that with a tune but after returning to stock for the sale, it reminded me how acceleration was cut so drastically between shifts. As I have said many times, the Continental styling was conservatively bland and really doesn't make much of a statement. That was fine with me at all but it would not appeal to those looking to impress the neighbors. There are still some sedan buyers out there. A nice low mileage used Continental makes a very good buy in today's market....especially for those loyal to Ford products.

I have been seriously considering a BMW M550i to replace my Continental. They both have a 117 inch wheelbase and the BMW is just a bit shorter overall. The M550i has a 523 HP twin turbo V8 so it is quite a bit more potent than the Conti. I test drove one but it was not equipped as I would want. I was surprised and impressed with the ride comfort and quietness. It was a bit better than the Conti in those areas. The powerteam is also very impressive...refined, ultra smooth and quite potent. The seats are not quite as supportive or comfortable as those in the Lincoln and the rear seat is not as roomy. Material quality and fit/finish was very good....at least equal to the Lincoln and maybe a bit better in some areas. The instrument cluster is no more configurable than the Lincoln and that was a bit disappointing. It is OK but not exceptional....not nearly as good as a Mustang, for example. The 12 inch center screen is nice, though. If I could order one with the features I want and that are normally available, I would be very tempted. Unfortunately, with the chip shortage, some key items are not available. That is a deal breaker for now.

EPA rating for the 5.0 with the 10 speed is 24 MPG highway. Real world highway mileage is much better than that unless you are driving predominantly uphill or in 7th gear constantly. The 4 cylinder might beat it's highway number, too. I have no experience with those. The 15 MPG city number for the 5.0 sounds about right. I am a bit skeptical of the 21 MPG city rating for the 4 cylinder but, again, I have no experience with one.

I don't know what sort of driving you do but highway mileage for the 5.0 Mustang is actually quite good. However, if you are really considering Mustang GT, I would think fuel economy would be far down on the list of things you are looking for.

Although we may have electric performance vehicles in our future, I would hate to give up on this glorious sound.

I made this video a couple of year or so ago when my car was near new. I wanted to document the sound after a cold start so I would have a baseline in case it ever developed knocking, ticking or other unusual noises. So far, it hasn't changed. Other than much more exhaust noise, I am not sure the engine is any louder than my 3.0 Twin Turbo Lincoln.

Why the snarky-assed response? If you think my post was designed to "move" you, you are quite mistaken. Your original post asked for help regarding exhaust mods. I suggested a Steeda H-pipe and thought sound clips might be of help. I guess I should just let you continue thinking your Mach 1 has some exotic exhaust system. Lol.

Doogie, after you install the H-pipe, your car will sound like this at wide open throttle: (be careful what you wish for...lol)

When I got the 2018 with all of the convenience options, I seriously considered selling my Continental. I found the Mustang to be very comfortable, refined, surprisingly free of road and wind noise and quite capable of being a good daily driver/road trip car for 2 people. My wife didn't like the idea so we kept the Conti. I then started making a few mods to the Mustang: Upgraded axles, upgraded rear suspension, stickier tires, and tune. Finally, last year, I added a Roush/Ford Performance supercharger. The end result is a car that still has all of the original benefits but has acceleration competitive with stock Hellcats, ZL1s, and GT500s......for less money than any of those would have cost.

While there are things I like about the Challenger, it is easy to see why the Mustang is number 1 in sales. The current S550 does many things very well and has few shortcomings. It can be configured in many ways, has a long options and accessory list and has fantastic aftermarket support. Of all the cars I have owned, my 2018 GT may be the one of which I am most proud.

I suspect the Mustang is among the most modded vehicles. Many of us like to personalize our Mustangs. The aftermarket support is huge. Ford even seems to encourage personalization with a comprehensive accessories catalog.

Deleting the resonator in favor of an H-pipe does provide a deeper and more "muscle car" sound. If you have the active exhaust, the quiet mode is very pleasant around town or in the neighborhood where you do not necessarily want to bring attention to yourself. Track mode at WOT sounds much like a NASCAR race car. Steeda makes a great H-pipe and the price is right. Some muffler shops can make one, too, but probably at a higher price than buying one from Steeda. This is just a start up in Normal mode:

I am not aware of any exhaust system differences between the Mach 1 and other GTs. I have a 2018 with active exhaust. I did replace the resonator with an H-pipe. I would be surprised if aftermarket exhaust components for 2018-2021 Mustangs wouldn't fit a Mach 1.