2009 Ford Mustang Spotted!!

[RichardJensen]

Looks like the 'Stang will get a reworked nose that incorporates many of the cues found in the Giugiaro concept show car from Los Angeles!

 

:happy feet:

 

Mustang Spy Shots!!

 

There will be no thread hijacking permitted.

 

Posts that hijack the thread will be summarily deleted.

 

Are we perfectly clear on this, or do I need to use smaller words?

[pcsario]

http://a904.g.akamai.net/7/904/506/v0011/w...angIllus_01.jpg

 

Seems pretty close as well. That pic came before the Giugiaro concept BTW.

 

"BTW, I'm confused... will this Mustang only have a 2 year run or what's the deal with this and the next gen?"

 

to be honest, I was just thinking that - but the rumors of an all new one in 2011 have been quite consistent ... anything is possible I guess. .

Igor

Maybe the Mustang in that BP pic is the reskin, and the Giugiaro Mustang is the design for the next-gen.

Edited January 18, 2007 by pcsario

[DCK]

I don't believe it is the right move to simply give it a reworked nose after 4 years. Many companies (including Ford) give vehicle refreshes after 3 years that include a reworked nose or what ever else they wanted to change. I believe the right strategy would be to wait a year and do a complete sheemetal change for the 2010 model year which would be go better against the new competition from GM and Dodge. If it simply gets a reworked nose then the model will run for atleast another 3 years and 7 year product cycles are not competitive when the major players have been doing 5 for a while.

 

Though it could simply be a mule like what happened with the focus where only the front was covered having many believe it was simply another new nose but then most of the sheetmetal was changed. So I hope for that, also a sleeker roofline would work well.

[ZanatWork]

I hope the rear end gets a differnt tratment, as the concept's leaves me cold. It's too Italian, if you will...losing some of the American qualities.

 

The nose is fine by me, as it's lower and meaner-looking, which will help it survivie scrutiny from the Camaro-loving-people.

[ZanatWork]

That nose doesn't match the current bodywork, which is why I believe it's a "cooling sytem" mule.

[RichardJensen]

This launch may be spring/summer next year, not fall, and certainly not calendar year 2009.

 

You don't do cooling tests 2 years before you launch the product. In fact, road-going prototypes usually start showing up about a year and a half before the vehicle goes on sale.

 

I would expect more sheetmetal changes than just the front, but retention of 'hardpoints' (as with the Focus and Escape).

 

I also wouldn't worry too much about the Camaro and Challenger. Ford knows this market as well as they know the fullsize pickup market.

[Blueblood]

I've been hoping for some kind of changes to the rear, to make it look more like the original concept, I guess we'll have to wait awhile to see when the real mules hit the streets.

 

And for the record, when I talk about Ford not changing anything other than a nose as we see diguised in these spy photos, I'm refering to styling only. I hope there's more to this thing, the Hurricane engines aren't supposed to come online until 2010 at the earliest says the latest rumor. We'll see, hopefully somebody here knows.

 

Is this post ok Richard? Or will I be censored for stating my opinion?

[LSFan00]

I am probably the only reader here who doesn't find this very interesting, but I have a couple of questions;

 

Will it include the 3.5 as the base motor?

 

Will it have an IRS?

 

Anything surprising in the engine/powertrain department?

 

I see GM is now getting ready to replace the Northstar family of motors (dropping $300 million to re-tool the plant). 3V is a nice Modular V8, is there a 2-3 year plan to replace it? I like the Northstar, but the only reasonably affordable way to get it has lately been a front-wheel drive Buick, with less than stellar handling properties.

[pcsario]

There should be a 3.5 GT.

 

Strike that, there BETTER be a 3.5 GT.

 

GM is rumored to be planning two V6's for the Camaro. One for the base model (weak) and one for those who don't want the V8, but won't settle for something inferior, exterior and interior wise.

[LSFan00]

What is this 3.5 GT language? Does that mean they keep a base 3.0, and the 3.5 is the mid-level option?

[pcsario]

It means GM is thinking of doing something better and far more practical than Ford's "Barbie GT" package.

 

Whatever allows Ford to milk the most profit out of suckers buying the base model will be used, I guess.

[96 Pony]

God I hope they don't screw up the reworked Mustang like they did with the '99-'03's. Just MHO.

 

Besides I don't think they can afford to with the new Camaro and Challenger coming out at around the same time. So I suspect this picture is not close to what we will be seeing in the future and that it will be much closer to the Giugiaro concept which I likey. :shades: .

[Roadrunner]

What interests me is why those headlights are on the car -- could it be the grille will be larger than the G. concept? If so, then that doesn't work aesthetically, because it needs to be razor sharp with a mean, narrow grill.

[silvrsvt]

There should be a 3.5 GT.

 

Strike that, there BETTER be a 3.5 GT.

 

GM is rumored to be planning two V6's for the Camaro. One for the base model (weak) and one for those who don't want the V8, but won't settle for something inferior, exterior and interior wise.

 

 

Uh isnt that what the V6 Premium package or whatever they are calling it is? It has smaller fogs in the grill and some suspension bits and wheels/tires from the GT. Not to mention you can get all the interior bits minus the interior upgrade package (red leather seats etc)

 

When the 3.5L makes it to the Mustang...I'd expect a nice boost in GT HP numbers to keep it ahead..remember the 3.5 puts out 260-265HP and is lighter then the 4.6L

[silvrsvt]

I don't believe it is the right move to simply give it a reworked nose after 4 years. Many companies (including Ford) give vehicle refreshes after 3 years that include a reworked nose or what ever else they wanted to change. I believe the right strategy would be to wait a year and do a complete sheemetal change for the 2010 model year which would be go better against the new competition from GM and Dodge. If it simply gets a reworked nose then the model will run for atleast another 3 years and 7 year product cycles are not competitive when the major players have been doing 5 for a while.

 

Well from the rumors going around, the restyling was pushed back a year by Fields due to issues with it. A major redo of the Mustang in 2010/11 is good, but well it sucks for the Interceptor/MKR since they need to be out by then.

[Roadrunner]

There will be no thread hijacking permitted.

 

Posts that hijack the thread will be summarily deleted.

 

Are we perfectly clear on this, or do I need to use smaller words?

 

I don't see where the other thread was hijacked.

http://www.blueovalforums.com/forums/index...=9866&st=20

 

I would ask that you PM me with what you saw as hijacking, RJ, or respond herein.

[RichardJensen]

The debate rapidly shifted to include a wide ranging discussion of Ford facelifts past and present, vehicles Ford botched in the past, and was only tangentially related to the 2009 Mustang. The last post before the thread was closed was a discussion of the 2005 Focus 'facelift'.

 

This has become a commonplace on this forum, but I will no longer allow every single thread to turn into a referendum on how Ford Motor is run.

Edited January 18, 2007 by RichardJensen

[Blue II]

It means GM is thinking of doing something better and far more practical than Ford's "Barbie GT" package.

 

Whatever allows Ford to milk the most profit out of suckers buying the base model will be used, I guess.

 

What you said is a guess. Real world, expect GTTDI 3.5 and Boss 5.8.

[StevenCaylor]

Uh isnt that what the V6 Premium package or whatever they are calling it is? It has smaller fogs in the grill and some suspension bits and wheels/tires from the GT. Not to mention you can get all the interior bits minus the interior upgrade package (red leather seats etc)

 

When the 3.5L makes it to the Mustang...I'd expect a nice boost in GT HP numbers to keep it ahead..remember the 3.5 puts out 260-265HP and is lighter then the 4.6L

 

You're talking about the Pony Package. The main changes are the smaller fog lights, 17 inch wheels/tires and a rear sway bar. The Camaro/Firebird had the Y87 Performance package. That included dual exhaust, 3.42 gears with positraction and a +1 performance wheel/tire package. Before 4 wheel discs became standard on all Camaro/Firebirds, it also include rear discs. We've been bugging the folks at Team Mustang to include all this with the Pony Package.

[BORG]

The Mustang is a highly serviceable design, all it really needs is a face lift. The nose is probably its weakest point which was largely fixed by the Shelby GT500. The new one is not at all related to the Italian concept but is a very gradual evolution of the current design with the Shelby inspiring most of it. The Mustang also needs a refined interior which doesn't need a up-ended redesign. Ford cosmetic updates are a dicey prospect these days, there's no guarantee the result will be an improvement.

 

My vote is to move the lights out of the grille, but that clearly isn't happening.

Edited January 19, 2007 by BORG

[bec5150]

The debate rapidly shifted to include a wide ranging discussion of Ford facelifts past and present, vehicles Ford botched in the past, and was only tangentially related to the 2009 Mustang. The last post before the thread was closed was a discussion of the 2005 Focus 'facelift'.

 

This has become a commonplace on this forum, but I will no longer allow every single thread to turn into a referendum on how Ford Motor is run.

So much for the ole "penalty box/unedited forum" approach. I bet real money if people were being all POSITIVE during these hijacks you would have no issue. Moderation is fine. Biased moderation is NOT...but it's your party, you do what you want.

[Watchdevil]

I think the minor facelift will be fine for now until an all-new Mustang shows up in a few years. Ford also knows to keep the Mustang interesting it will need to freshen it up after four model years.

 

The facelift will address the tall nose I found fault with. I like the new sculpted hood lines. The rest of the exterior has always been fine with me. They can redetail the taillamps if they want to. They definitely need to redo the rubbermaid interior. It needs softer materials on the dash surfaces, a more flowing detailed design for the console, a new automatic shift lever that feels good to touch and manuver, nicer door panel styling and better quality and appearance base seat trim.

[RichardJensen]

So much for the ole "penalty box/unedited forum" approach.

Whatever. If you like reading the same parties debating the same tired subjects on different days of the week, on different threads, you've got a heckuva lot more patience than I've got.

 

Frankly, I'm not sick of the criticism, I'm sick of seeing EVERY THREAD ON THIS FORUM turn into the same old battle over what Ford's done in the last 5 years, and speculation about what will happen in the next five. I aim to stop it, and if you don't like it, start your own forum.

 

And, BTW, I'm not "Editing", I'm pruning.

[pcsario]

Lets be fair, betcha you've repeated things others have said before you arrived. :P

 

Focus - Ford fucked up in 2005, of course people are equally as disgusted in 2008. Others are close to calling it COTY already.

500 -.Aka "WAIT" (Wait until more people see it / Wait for word of mouth to get around / Wait for next month (x12) / Wait for the refresh / Wait for... )

BOF vans - Europe is crap, the BOF vans are reliable, can take a beating blah blah blah (aka "Transit can't cuz I say so")

Ford R&D - America is perfect, we don't need yuropean crap / ROFL... long discussion ensues / HEY HOW ABOUT US AUSTRALIAN FOLKS?

Mercury - Needs to be killed / No it doesn't / Mercury is as important as BMW in the marketplace / No it's not, rebadges are fine

PAG - KILL PAG!11!111 / Uh no / YEAH KILL IT & LINCOLN WILL BE SAVED!!111 / Sorry, no

UAW - Fuck management / Fuck the UAW / The UAW is innocent / Not quite (they killed my dog) / 1.5k per car / IT'S ALL MANAGEMENTS FAULT!!!11

Panthers - Get ready for a 10 page rant about the "good ol' days" and how Ford should sell a 1000+ HP RWD car for 16k.

Engines - Eternally unpowered / "WAIT WAIT WAIT" (4ever)

Ford discussion - Side A: "This sucks" / Side B: "OMG YOU'RE TEH NEGATIVE!11"

The Competition - Side B: "This sucks" / Side A: "OMG YOU'RE TEH NEGATIVE!11" / CR-V on fire pic

 

It wouldn't be BON without the endless bitching and opposing viewpoints.

 

Things will be like that until 2009-2012, everyone will always have their 2 cents in every subject and I think in the end, there's so many topics of interest you can talk about. There will be more Mustang pics in the future, what are we supposed to do then but have more of the same? The only solution is the one you took. Stop posting and let others reprise your role. (ie: Mercury then-now-always) No one benefits from doing that. Maybe an OT forum would be a good addition?

 

Anyway, carry on.

Edited January 19, 2007 by pcsario

[jpd80]

I like the front clip, it seems a natural progression from the 2006. Possibly a secondary consideration if you're trying to develop derivatives, that profile to the B pillar would convert into a nice looking sedan and pick up.

 

Says to me Ford are thinking more about the future and arguing less about the problems.

Edited January 19, 2007 by jpd80