16th Nov 2009, 09:27

To me these years were very weak for the Mustang up until they updated that body style in '99 to make it look more muscular. As far as the 60's cues, yeah the tail lights worked for me, but the dash looks like a 60's Corvette more than a Mustang. The newest cars have more of the original 60's retro dash going on.

16th Nov 2009, 09:38

"But for now the new Camaro is outselling the Mustang 3 to 1."

Yes "for now" but the Mustang will quickly outsell the Camaro again once it isn't the new thing and the problems start coming to into the light. The Camaro is plagued with manufacturing issues. I feel sorry for anyone who grabbed this first year production of them.

16th Nov 2009, 15:31

Who EVER said anything about never using the power? Actually I will be using the power more efficiently with my lighter Mustang. It's so funny that just because I like a the Mustang as it comes off the line, you assume I don't want a performance car and should drive a Camry. They got you programmed don't they? Yeah, that'll drain your wallet real fast!

Why is a well designed sleek lined car such as the Mustang so ugly without any add-ons? I'm sure the designers would rather you buy another car than call their work ugly and "plain Jane". I ask you the same question... If you have to add $1,000's in add-ons to make the car good enough for you, why would you buy a Mustang at all??

16th Nov 2009, 15:37

Feel sorry for what!? I own a new Camaro SS 6 speeds with little over 20k kilometers on it and no problems whatsoever yet, but I didn't like the fact that it takes nearly 9 quarts or liters of expensive mobil 1, 5w30 oil, 110 cdn dollars, for an oil change, ouch!

FOR NOW I don't have to customize my Chevy to be different, or have the precious look-at-me factor that so many Mustang owners try to have. Mine is a plain SS, and next year everybody will get used to it.

By the way to you all proud Mustang owners, you can say you got a REAL American built muscle car 'cause our Camaros are from an Australian platform and built in Canada, maybe that's why we don't have any problems yet. Mustangs are fine, but there are too many.

19th Nov 2009, 22:18

I was with a group of non-Mustang people recently in a large mall parking lot. One of them was pointing out a "basic, cheapo Mustang" and everyone was agreeing how blah it looked. I looked at it and just casually mentioned that it was a Shelby 500 (it didn't have the rally stripes) and that it probably cost more than any of their vehicles. It was a hideous "old lady" grey, which also wiped out any hint of sportiness, so yes, there is an issue of mistaken identity among those not so well versed in Mustangs. A bland car just doesn't come across as anything special unless you're a fan of that particular car and know what it really is.

20th Nov 2009, 17:24

I agree. PARTIALLY. The first year of ANY car is generally NOT a good one to buy. There are ALWAYS a few minor glitches with any new model, regardless of manufacturer. For that reason I opted to wait a couple of years to buy the new retro-styled Mustang. So far it is flawless. On the other hand, both Ford and GM are building the best cars on the planet at the moment, so quality is very high even for a first year model. Besides, domestic manufacturers offer a 100,000 mile warranty, so I hardly think there should be any worry about buying either a Camaro or a Mustang. I'd now buy a first-year Ford or GM without much worry about problems.

21st Nov 2009, 17:12

"On the other hand, both Ford and GM are building the best cars on the planet at the moment"

What are you talking about? Ford has ONE top ranked car, the Fusion and GM isn't even in the top 5 as the top 5 is still comprised entirely of Asian brands.

Also, GM's 5 year warranty, however many miles it covers, is still about the same as the imports as most people do not drive more than 50K or 60K in those 5 years.

Do a little forum searching on the Camaro and you'll find a lot more than initial little quality issues. GM jumped the gun and sped that car into production, cutting a lot of corners along the way. One thing I heard they were doing was gluing wheel weights on the brakes to balance them... then when the brakes heat up... well you can guess the outcome! Not the first time a domestic company has made these errors in production.

21st Nov 2009, 23:18

According to J. D. Powers long term reliability rankings, the two top vehicles are a Ford and a GM. They are far more reliable as a rating service, because they are not influenced by advertising. Most of the rankings showing Asian brands on top are very subjective, and not based on actual long-term owner experiences.

22nd Nov 2009, 19:49

Okay, you are citing a very few vehicles. The top 5 consist of Asian brands as higher quality across their entire lines. Yes domestic companies have a few hits in the auto industry, but overall they are still behind.

Why would rankings of Asian brands be subjective and not based on actual owner experience? That doesn't even make sense, and since I know countless people who have had great long term experience with Asian brands, I hardly think it is subjective that high quality exists among those brands.

Why would the rankings of Asian brands be so subjective and yet the ratings of the domestics are the word of God? Obviously you are picking sides here so anything positive about the brands you dislike is fabricated... of course it is... uh huh... okay then.

24th Nov 2009, 11:57

Objectivity in auto ratings is woefully lacking. One major publication that is partially owned by Honda deliberately does comparisons of cars so they can rate the Honda higher. They even had the audacity to compare the Ridgeline (which is NOT a truck) against TRUCKS!! You call that OBJECTIVE reporting? I beg to differ.

24th Nov 2009, 12:14

"so anything positive about the brands you dislike is fabricated"

J.D. Powers is "fabricating"?

24th Nov 2009, 13:07

"They even had the audacity to compare the Ridgeline (which is NOT a truck) against TRUCKS"

The Ridgeline is not a truck? What is it then? A horse?

Just accept the truth. Foreign cars offer superior build and quality than Ford, GM, and Chrysler.

BTW, 68% of "foreign" cars are actually American built. This offers employment and career opportunities for Americans! You're not happy with this? What has GM and Chrysler consistently given us over the last 15 years? Junk! How many "American" cars are actually built in Mexico and Canada?

Where was your Cavalier and Sunfire made? Where was the Camaro/Firebird made? The "FOREIGN" (Mexico/Canada) made versions of these cars were garbage!

Somebody always has to be the scapegoat. Someone always has to be blamed. Let's pick on Asian car makers. Why not German car maker? Why not British car makers? Why not Swedish car makers?! THEY ARE ALL FOREIGN!