#2015FordMustang

This is easy. We can skip the introduction. You know what this is, right?

Just in case, let’s be clear. This is a V6-engined, sixth-generation Ford Mustang. Newly released for the 2015 model year, all Mustangs have fled their truck-like ways in favour of an independent rear suspension. That’s just one of a number of factors that cause the new Mustang to feel more like a sports car than a traditional American muscle car, even in this basic form.

• USD Price As-Tested: $27,505

• Horsepower: 300 @ 6500 rpm

• Torque: 280 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm

• Observed Fuel Economy: 19 mpg

Much of the discussion surrounding the arrival of a new Mustang related to the availability of a mid-level four-cylinder EcoBoost engine, a turbocharged 2.3L with 310 horsepower and 320 lb-ft of torque which, when attached to a 6-speed automatic and drinking premium fuel, travels 21 miles per gallon in the city; 32 on the highway. This is not that car.

Ford reported in November 2014 the largest number of Mustangs sold in any November since 2006. With 8278 sold last month, year-over-year Mustang volume jumped 62%.

It was also the best month for the Mustang since May of this year, when monthly U.S. Mustang volume jumped beyond 9000 units for just the third time in 23 months.

Yet, “best since 2006,” doesn’t sound nearly as good to the Mustang fan base as, “nearly twice as popular as Camaro,” does it?

Ah, it’s the sad truth that the only way I’ll ever be on the cover of anything is if I’m wearing a helmet. So it is here, as I drag a loaner-helmet-wearing passenger around the Motown Mile.

So. What do you want to know about the Mustang?

Power and weight figures for the 2015 Ford Mustang have been released, and while the 5.0L Coyote V8 gets a nice bump in power, the V6 gets dialed back a bit, to help put some distance between it and the new Ecoboost 2.3L engine.

Click on the settings icon in the menu bar of the video above to watch it in 2D or your choice of 3D formats.

The second best part about the job of writing about cars is not getting to drive expensive cars for free or being flown to resorts with Jacuzzi tubs. No, the second best part about the gig is that I get to see and do some very cool car guy things. How many of you have watched film or video of a car being tested in a wind tunnel and thought to yourself, “that’s neat!”? Well, this week I got to observe the new 2015 Ford Mustang’s aerodynamic features demonstrated in one of those neat wind tunnels.

There’s been some speculation that after Ford’s big multi-continent reveal of the all-new 2015 Mustang that the new pony car will not be seen in public again till the New York Auto Show in the spring. As you can see from the photos taken today at Cobo Hall while the big Detroit show is being set up, the new Mustang be on display. Not just on display, Ford is making a big deal out of the new car and the nameplate’s 50th anniversary. A 1965 Mustang will be on display along with at least one concept car that was part of the original Mustang’s gestation and Ford has set up a Mustang memorabilia shop where attendees to the public part of the NAIAS will be able to buy personalized Mustang mementos. The most obvious sign that the ’15 Mustang will be on display was a 2015 Mustang convertible already on a turntable, under a sheet of protective plastic. An empty turntable nearby will probably hold the coupe.

Gordon Buehrig’s design of the Cord 810/812 was revolutionary for its day. One innovation was that it lacked running boards, something automobiles had featured almost since the dawn of the motoring age. I’m guessing that the origin of running boards has to do with the fact that in the early days car bodies were typically mounted right on top exposed frame rails, putting the body up high, and the running boards were used as step to get up into the interior. From a design standpoint, they also visually connected the front and rear fenders, creating one flowing line. What was stylish in 1913, though, wasn’t necessarily au courant in the mid 1930s. Also automotive design started getting more formally established in the 1930s, with GM and Ford both having in-house design staffs by the end of that decade. Based on the then young science of aerodynamics and the related streamlined aesthetic, new shapes started appearing on cars.

First off, I want to apologize to our readers for not getting these photos posted in a more timely manner. T’is the season and the Mustang reveal was not the only press event in Detroit today. That being said, the segment of the four continent six city reveal that took place in Dearborn was part new product reveal, part car show and part pep rally and a good time was had by all. In addition to the all new 2015 Mustang up on stage, the lobby of Ford’s conference center was filled with a number of significant customer owned historical Mustangs. Mark Fields, Ford’s COO, did the reveal in Dearborn, aided by soon-to-retire VP of styling J. Mays, and in general the crowd of Ford employees (the allotted tickets were grabbed up in 4 minutes I was told), executives, dealers, members of the media and a number of Mustang club members who drove in for the event had a positive reaction to the new ‘Stang.

I was hoping to get some photos of the new Mustang’s new independent rear suspension, but the car up on stage was a pushmobile. The few actual running prototypes were allotted to other cities in the multi-location event and the Mustang’s hometown got the “leftovers” as one member of the Mustang team told me.

Full gallery after the jump.

Checking out GoFurtherLive.com, the site Ford has set up to livestream video from their upcoming reveal of the all-new 2015 Mustang, it appears that the teaser video may include exterior and interior views of the new car, along with the possibility that the 50th anniversary version of Ford’s pony car will actually monitor the driver’s health.

The all new, next generation Ford Mustang will have its world premiere next Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013. Reflecting the fact that for the first time Ford will be selling the Mustang globally, including in right hand drive format, the car will be simultaneously debuted in six cities around the world, on four different continents. For the North American market, Ford will get top billing that day on the ABC television network’s popular “Good Morning America” show, broadcasting from New York City, at the same time that the new Mustang will be revealed at events in: Los Angeles, California; Sydney, Australia; Shanghai, China; Barcelona, Spain, and near Ford’s world headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.

When TTAC first got the news about the 2015 Ford Mustang’s engineering changes, we were pretty excited about the prospect of not one but two high-revving naturally aspirated V8 engines, and a independent rear suspension. But our source wasn’t so hot on the exterior styling, which he described as being too round and akin to the rather bulbous Evos concept.

In an exclusive story, Australia’s Herald Sun newspaper has announced that Australian rear wheel drive Ford enthusiasts will be getting something to help them get over the hurt of Ford’s recent announcement that it will be discontinuing local production of the Falcon along with the rest of Ford production facilities down under.