I hope this has finally been built with this in mind.

I’ve been in the 370z and its probably got the best interior in its class if you get a touring model. I still have yet to see a cloth one in person (it doesn’t have the same materials though).

Yes, but the real question regarding the 370Z is have they fixed the interior layout from the 350Z? Is there any place to put a map, gloves, etc. that is usable and reachable when needed? Is it still a mish mosh of cubby holes that fit nothing and are nearly unusable?

………………..

That’s too bad if true. I was responsible for establishing and meeting the Sound Quality Targets for he 2006 Model Year Mustang GT. Then the car was tuned to have a strong Air Induction contribution – stronger than the SN95 which was a tailpipe dominant sounding vehicle.

Of note, if the tailpipe presence is high during idle and light throttle, low engine speeds it will in all likelyhood have too much presence at hwy crusing speeds and conditions. Not good. So a balance must be struck. I recall performing this operation on a turbo I4 SN95 Prototype, the Ford of Australia Falcon & Ghia, the Volvo XC90 and benchmarking various vehicles to determine how they created the Interior Sound under WOT conditions)

Whether or not the current balance is optimized I have no idea since I’m no longer in the employ of FoMoCo.

I do know that in 2007 or so the Mustang product line did receive some refinement in which the sound was toned down a bit. That would likely endear the car to a wider audience and I applaud that even if I personally would want it more aggressive. Either way the car still sounded great.

I’ll have to give ‘er a test ride to see what has been done.

While here, I read this review, and at first I was thinking…’ok, decent car. Ford’s trying hard to pull it out’. But I kind of got the feeling that this was a bit of a soft-ball review for RF. I mean, he didn’t love it, but he certainly didn’t flame it in the usual RF style.

Then I saw the fancy flash-like Ford Mustang 2010 banner ad across the top of the page today.

I remember a few years back when RF was so conflicted about the impartiality of the site, he actually seemed to be losing sleep over it. He basically refused to accept ads from car makers.

Then auto accessories creep into the ad rotation… no biggie, I thought. Got to pay the bills somehow (since TTAC subscriptions seemed to flop). But now, a well placed, expensive looking ad for the exact thing being reviewed…seems a bit anti-RF/anti-TTAC.

Now personally, I’m all for Ford recovering. I think they can. But whether RF soft-balled the ‘Stang review or not, I don’t know. I know I can’t help but wonder – and that small seed of doubt, to me, having been gone from the site for a while, seems to be a very large chink in the TTAC objectivity armor.

and yet it still wins comparos and at worst, comes a closely won 2nd place

one wonders why the Challenger keeps coming last

the problem i have with the ‘new’ mustang taking the australian ford falcon chassis is that it’s also gonna take the weight

the new one with the coyote alloy motor should do it under 3,500 pounds

I’ve been in the 370z and its probably got the best interior in its class if you get a touring model. I still have yet to see a cloth one in person (it doesn’t have the same materials though).

The 370z touring model, has suede lined inner doors, suede and leather seats, and a leather lined center console, with soft touch dash. Sadly the interior in it is nicer than a G37s if you really sit in them back to back (luckily a friend of mine has an 2008 g35 that i’ve sat in for extended period of time to compare with).

So I’m doubting the 2010 mustang’s is as good, then again the touring 370z starts at $35k and a mustang GT is a bit cheaper.

Mustang is about style.
Mustangs sell.
Ford profits.

From Ford’s perspective that adds up to a win. If they started with the technology in hopes of turning it into a proper sports car or something, costs would go way up and no way would they “win” according to everyone no matter how much neat stuff they crammed in. Are all the blog comments about, oh, say, the Nissan GT-R universally positive?

As for the sound part, I submit that prospective Mustang owners who care about how it sounds are perfectly willing to buy a cat-back system if the stock system isn’t good enough. There has to be a little hot rodder in you to appreciate a car like this, right?

The 3.5 V6 was designed for FWD transverse engine applications. It’s not as quick, cheap and easy as you might think to re-engineer for RWD.

Ford is rumored to have a RWD version available for the 2011 model year. Sources say it will be rated at approximately 400 hp and more than 400 pounds-feet of torque

http://fordnewsblog.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/another-report-coyote-v8-and-ecoboost-v6-engines-on-horizon-for-f-150-mustang-sunset-for-46l-and-54l-v-8s/

A straight six ‘Stang with an IRS would be the bee’s knees.

So it’s a three star car then?

I strikes me that perhaps the options list, specificly the Premium Interior Pack or the Track Pack might provide you with the tingle missing from your jingely jangelies?

If not that then perhaps the new engines due next year might do the trick.

$30k?

i can see why people don’t wanna pay premium prices for 315hp, 5spd and a live axle

The engine and shifter (and looks) were great, but I crossed this off my list after realizing just how lousy it corners.

The retro-tastic look is, or rather was the Mustangs ‘killer app’. But after 4+ years and several hundred thousand current generation stangs on the streets, the Mustang is now almost as invisble as a plain jane Accord.

Even with the current engines though the Mustang is selling well. When I have a customer ask me about the hp deficit compared to the Camaro I ask them one very important question, that is ‘how many hp do you need, are you going to be using this as a daily driver, going to the track, the dragstrip, etc?’ most people are just looking at a daily driver, and 315hp is more than enough for that. The 4.0 V6 is ballsy down low, but does quickly lose steam. I’m not sure if the 3.5 would feel much better, however, if Ford can offer the 4.6 2 valve as the base engine in the F150 and still sell the base truck for just over 20K, perhaps after the engine refreshes the 4.6 2 valve will appear as the base Mustang engine.

As far as being a jack of all trades goes, there is a certain beauty in that. Very few people want to pigeon-hole themselves into one very specific vehicle type. Offering a wide range of talents and benefits, even if certain narrow-focussed competitors do one or two specifics better, can attract a lot of buyers. The 2010 Mustang does easily have the best interior out of the Camaro/Challenger/Genesis Coupe bunch (never been in a 370Z so I can’t comment on that one) has handling that bests the Camaros even with a live axle, and at a lower price, even with the track pack, has great looks, a huge aftermarket, and the stability of a viable and solvent company behind it. In these days that can mean a lot.