1st Jul 2010, 14:13

I think the newest design is very retro and actually looks more sporty than the last edition. I like the '05-'09 as well, but this one looks more updated to me. The sequential turn signals are awesome too! Sometimes too retro is just old and outdated looking. The beauty of the Challenger is that it has the flavor of old, but everything is new and clean as far as the lines go. I'd have a tough time choosing between the two actually.

1st Jul 2010, 16:59

Very true. My family has a restored 1970 Challenger R/T. If it is parked next to a new Challenger, the heritage is immediately VERY obvious. I can't say the same for the 2010-2011 Mustang. It looks absolutely nothing like earlier Mustangs. It's a matter of personal preference, but the 2010-2011 Mustang just isn't very special to me. I've actually had people ask me if my 2007 Mustang was a 1969 (obviously they weren't really very car-savvy). That would never happen with a 2010-2011 model. The retro look just isn't there at all anymore.

2nd Jul 2010, 08:34

Jars your fillings? They aren't the smoothest riding cars in the world, that's no secret. If you want a smooth riding car, buy a Lincoln or Buick. If you want a car that can actually handle and ride well, a Mustang is the ticket. You're not going to have it both ways.

I'm sorry that you own the only modern Mustang that rides and drives like an oxcart, and gets poor fuel mileage.

I will agree that all Mustangs from 1964-1998 ride and handle terrible, and the 1999-2004 is not much better. The convertibles are especially rough.

A two year update on my 2008 GT/CS also reveals almost no problems. I continue to enjoy my SMOOTH RIDE, and a mix of city and mostly highway driving gives me an average of about 23-24 MPG. If you feel the need to have a lead foot and show off all the time, those numbers will drop significantly.

The only bad part of the suspension is the live rear axle and light rear weight, causing a bit of hop on extremely bumpy curves.

The only problem I have is my trunk was set too low from the factory, causing the top of the rear bumper to scrape the bottom of the trunk lid. It has now gone in for the second time to be buffed and readjusted, and Ford WILL remedy this, I will make sure of that.

I'm excited for the 2011 model, Finally a V6 Pony we can be proud of. 300 HP and 31 MPG highway, and it will just about run with my current 2008 GT. The 2011 GT should be a downright monster, 400+ HP and 25 MPG highway is very respectable, not too mention a much lighter curb weight than the Challenger and Camaro.

3rd Jul 2010, 13:10

The early Mustangs DID ride very roughly and handle horribly, but boy, were they BUILT!! I hit a 6" high curb at 50mph head-on dodging a car that ran a stop sign in front of me in my '90 5.0. The impact literally knocked off my sunglasses. I was sure I'd wiped out much of the front suspension, but upon inspecting it I found that the tire was not flat and the rim appeared undamaged. Still assuming I had seriously messed up the alignment, I carefully drove the car to my friend's front-end shop to have it checked. He found the alignment perfect and not a sign of ANY damage.

My brother's Japanese import skidded into a 4" curb at 20mph on a rain-slicked road and the entire front sub-frame assembly was wiped out. He didn't buy any more Japanese cars after that!!

4th Jul 2010, 16:33

A friend of mine attempted to kill a Japanese-import a few years ago (an '88 Honda Accord that already had 250,000 completely original miles on it). He ran it through the woods behind his house. He jumped it multiple times, ran it through mud and water and hit many large rocks and stumps. Obviously it had to be towed out a few times (but only because it had gotten stuck).

After 3 separate attempts, the Accord would not die. It was very beaten up, obviously covered in scratches and dents from its ordeal. However, it held up pretty well. After all that, it did pull to the left, but only because the alignment was off. Nothing was seriously damaged, and it still ran just fine. He sold it for a few hundred bucks after using it himself to get around for a few weeks.

5th Jul 2010, 13:54

"After all that, it did pull to the left, but only because the alignment was off."

The alignment was off because the sub-frame assemblies on Japanese cars are easily bent. They are made of much smaller gauge steel, and bend very easily.

6th Jul 2010, 16:29

I hit a boulder dead on with my '89 Toyota Tercel. I was doing about 45 mph and caught it square with the left front wheel. It bent the rim, it hit so hard, but guess what; you could STILL let go of the wheel and it would go perfectly straight down the road. Had that been a Cavalier or an Escort, I'd have been calling a tow truck for sure.

7th Jul 2010, 15:52

Funny since once he had an alignment done it tracked straight just fine. And by the way, after all of that, it wouldn't have surprised me if the frame was bent. But it wasn't.

19th Aug 2010, 19:06

My car just turned 3 and I thought a follow-up might be in order.

Complaints: None other than the impossible-to-read gear selector indicator. I have learned to just guess where drive is pretty well.

Ford either fixed or disabled the silly low tire indicator system. They told me they couldn't disable it, but I begged them to, and hopefully they did. At any rate, the annoying thing no longer comes on. If you can't tell you have a low tire, you shouldn't drive.

I'm getting far more good comments on the Pony than I ever did on any of my previous Mustangs. The car is faster than my previous V-8, and gets much better gas mileage while saving me 40% on insurance (it's actually cheaper than my wife's SUV). I'll be keeping this one or trading it for a Challenger, due to the fact that I don't care for the new styling at all.

25th Sep 2010, 11:20

I just went with a friend to get tires and an alignment on his 2009 Corolla with 42,000 miles. He was told that the car could not be aligned because the frame had sagged. It was bought new and has never been in an accident. I had the exact same issue with one of my Japanese cars. Obviously the frame members are very flimsy on these cars.