23rd Sep 2009, 10:56

8 first generation Mustangs at a show and you are sold that 6 cylinder cars are on the rise?

Remember, when the first generation came out they were mostly 6 cylinder cars. That was pretty short lived though once they started building the performance models like the Shelby cars and eventually the Mach 1's and Boss cars. This took a couple of years, as they didn't even know how popular this new car of the day was going to be. So, yes you will see more 6 cylinder first generation cars. This is not an accurate view of the popularity of the whole line from then until now however, and it certainly doesn't mean people are now more interested in 6 cylinder cars.

Most of the high performance cars are just plain out of reach to most of us. Boss 429's routinely sell for upwards of $250K for a low mileage mint original example, and a Shelby car is pretty much a six figure investment as well if it is mint. Even a Boss 302 and a Mach 1 are in the $40K to $100K range. So what are the local show guys going to restore? 6 cylinder cars. Yes they are still historic examples of the start of a legend, but today's 6 cylinder cars are not. Today any late model V-6 Mustang will be used and forgotten. A new Shelby and even a GT will be much more likely show pieces at future classic car shows.

I was just at a Mustang show Sunday, and there were at least 100 of them there and 90% or more were V-8 Mustangs. I only actually saw one 6 cylinder convertible, but there may have been a few there in all. Most of the cars were Mach 1's, Bosses and even a Shelby Eleanor. The newer cars were 100% V-8 GT's and Shelby's and not one V-6 among them. Like I said, the only late model V-6 I saw was outside the show in the parking lot. The coolest part was the way they lit up the tires on the way out at the end of the show. You don't get that kind of rush from any 6 cylinder Mustang, old or new.

23rd Sep 2009, 10:59

I think the poster meant that out of the current late model Mustangs, only Shelby's and GT's would make it to antique status someday. Nothing to do with the historical first generation of the Mustang.

23rd Sep 2009, 12:46

You are talking about the first generation here! There may be some interest in them because they are the first generation.

It doesn't mean if the first generation 6 cylinder becomes a collectible, that the newer ones will as well.

4 and 6 cylinder Mustangs are a dime a dozen. They do NOT have the Mustang heritage associated with them.

Ha ha, just imagine Steve McQueen outrunning anyone in the Bullit movie with a V6 Mustang. If the Mustang V6 is on par with the Mustang GT, why didn't the producers choose to go with a V6? I'll tell you why, no one would watch the movie!

24th Sep 2009, 10:35

Yeah, they didn't even put a V-6 in a Mustang in 1968 so that would have been fun to watch! ha ha ha!!

I get your point though and agree that it is a V-8 or it is nothing!!

24th Sep 2009, 21:01

I suppose that means no one watched "The 7-Ups" because it had a Pontiac Bonneville and a Ventura in the chase scene. Give us a break, please. NO ONE watches ANY movie because of the cars in it. 99% of the people who saw "Bullit" couldn't tell you what EITHER car was. The only people who can even tell the difference between a V-6 and V-8 Mustang are Mustang enthusiasts. Not even the average OWNER can tell the difference.

25th Sep 2009, 11:59

Really? The average owner doesn't know what they are paying for? Hmmmm. Oh, I think they know the difference. Do they know how to drive the faster car? Probably not, but they do know what they spent their money on.

You are right about the chase scenes in movies though. No one cares what they have under the hood... it is all about the way they are filmed. Look at the Mini chase in The Italian Job...

25th Sep 2009, 12:24

I had to laugh on the way home the other night. I was following a V-6 Mustang who was a wannabe GT. They had gone ahead with the dual exhaust, but cut corners on the bumper, which only has one cutout in it for the tail pipe to tuck up into the bumper into looking neat and finished off properly. The other side was coming out below the bumper making the system cock-eyed. It looked ridiculous and so "home garage" I couldn't believe I was seeing it.

Yeah, way to make it look like a GT there! The problem is, it is so slow you have time to really study the mistakes in the upgrades!

25th Sep 2009, 12:37

The whole issue started due to Mustang V6 owners wanting their lesser car to match that of a GT.

The general public knows the difference between a V6 and a V8.

They could see it, hear it and experience it.

If you want to drive a Mustang, buy the GT and leave the 6 cylinders to other cars. There is nothing wrong with a V6, just look at the Maxima, Accord, Bonneville, Intrepid and Impala.

Any of these V6 equipped cars could outrun the V6 Mustang.

The only person the owner of a V6 Mustang is fooling is themselves.

25th Sep 2009, 12:46

Really? First of all I was only referring to the Bullit movie, not all car chases in any other movie.

Bullit would not be enjoy the iconic status had it been a Mustang V6. First of all, the producers would never have allowed it.

A V6 Mustang is neither a muscle car nor a performance car.

25th Sep 2009, 20:56

Well over half the people who buy and drive a Mustang (6 or 8) can't tell the difference if they see a Mustang going down the highway. The similarities are so strong it takes a VERY close look to tell ANY difference. My nephew (who is a computer geek who knows nothing about cars) test drove a V-6 Mustang and thought it was a V-8 until he was filling out the loan application and had to call his insurance agent about switching the coverage. There are lots of folks like that. Most people just go for looks and could care less about the engine. All Mustangs are plenty fast.

26th Sep 2009, 09:30

21:01 totally disagree, I was driving and buying when the Bullitt movie came out in the theatre. That movie alone did more to sell the Dodge Charger than any traditional advertising. It packed the dealer showrooms. The Charger cool trivia had smaller and smaller wheels placed on it, and still could run circles around the Mustang.

The movie sold many cars, both Mustang and Chargers. Parts were continually falling off the Mustang in spite of being beefed up for the San Francisco chase scene. The only problem the Charger had was it kept losing hubcaps. I have the movie and extras on DVD today. The chase scene made the movie.

If you do not feel people know cars from movies, look at Smokey and the Bandit... the Trans Am sales totally skyrocketed as well a result of that movie.

I love the original Vanishing Point movie Dodge Challenger (there were 5 used in the movie) and I remember the same car in Mannix and the original Mod Squad. My cousin rushed out and bought a Challenger RT and still luckily has it today. And the GTO on My Three Sons, and the Monkeemobile GTO, Route 66 Vette, 77 Sunset Strip T Bird, and the Munsters 5 model A's modified to make one single family car on and later Grandpas Coffin Dragster. Nash Bridges Cuda. My dad bought a black 60 MGA MK after watching Sea Hunt on TV! He loved that car.

My first Vette; I was tempted to order the Daytona kit after seeing Miami Vice; even the Testarossa on the show was also an actual Corvette conversion kit not a Ferrari.

To not think movies and TV shows do not influence buying - think again. And I know many that do exactly what the car is. I wonder how many people do not know what the Dukes of Hazzard car was or even Starsky and Hutch? Most do. I also remember Mustangs in Bond Films both Thunderball and Diamonds are Forever in Las Vegas, as well as the original Gone in 60 Seconds prior to the latest version.