29th Mar 2004, 14:02

Hey Joe Dirt,

I bet the '03 Cobra will eat your Trans Am for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And for a price about 10,000 dollars cheaper.

29th Mar 2004, 18:16

You mustang men need to give your heads a serious shake. For more than a decade the FireBirds, TransAms and Camaros have been the far superior street machines. Faster and better handling the GM cars were designed for performance. Mustangs were and are far more moderate in their design, and this is what has allowed them to remain in the market after the GM's were out of production. Cheaper, higher riding, and always more similar to a sedan in shape than any serious sports car, Mustangs were a viable option for overweight, middle aged people who couldn't get in and out of the Camaros and TransAms, and also for young people who couldn't afford the GM's.

19th Jun 2004, 01:25

I think it comes down to this. From 1993 to their demise, GM outperformed Ford. Yes, the new supercharged Ford engines are faster than even the Ws6, but its after the fact. Who know what the F-bodies would be putting out today if they were still in production. GM could have easily s/c their small block too. But as it is, the whole Camaro/Mustang war is over, which depending on how you look at it is both good and bad for the Mustang enthusiast. On the plus, it means less competition for the Mustang and higher sales. On the negative, it means the Mustang is now compared to the Corvette, which with the advent of the 400hp c6 and the upcoming 500hp z06, leaves the Mustang a step behind.

18th Jul 2004, 21:33

I think they're just two different cars, with different publics. They both like power and speed. If I could choose between the two, I would for sure pick the WS6 TA. Not only for the looks, but because there's no supercharger, it's a bigger engine - 5.7 against 4.6 - and just by swapping some intake and exhaust parts you can bump up the power even more. Think about what a supercharger can do to a TA... Not eve fair to our mustang friends. And for one thing, mustangs are everywhere, I mostly see women driving them. The 01's and 02's WS6 are rare and they turn heads... and will always put dust on mustang's windshields.

3rd Sep 2004, 02:27

Hey Burt Reynolds Wannabes.

If the WS-6 is so great, why is it discontinued?? Why are ALL F bodies discontinued?? Gee, I guess the Chevy "Buy Into It Slogan" is only for their minivans now!!! For the braintrust who was bragging about soaking $45K into his WS-6, the stock 2004 Cobra has 390 HP, and 390 lbs. of torque. Hmm, that seems like more than the 325 HP and 350 lbs. torque that old pushrod Chevy 350 puts out!!! Face it, the Trans Am is a great car for rich nerds who like chrome wheels and fuzzy dice. Oh yeah, and did I mention that the MSRP on a 2004 Cobra is $35K, which seems like a lot less than SOME people spend on their GM equipment.

9th Oct 2005, 22:50

Let me just say the Firebird & Camaro's were the fastest before they were discontinued (discontinued for what every reason, who really knows why?) Kind of unfair to compare to an 03 or newer Cobra, but if you really want to try... well... OK.

Take a (35k or 36k dollar) 03 S/C Cobra and take a (25k or 27k dollar) plain 02 Firebird Formula (with the same great LS1 under the hood, which were making 318 rwhp stock approx. 365 crank hp in 01 & 02yrs) and add (7k or 8k dollars) worth of power adder bolt-on's (to make up for price difference). Story over. The Mustang wouldn't stand a chance.

And by the way, I wouldn't rag on simplicity of the push rod 8V LS1. It's a very superior efficient powerful engine. If anything, why the hell does Ford need 4oh cams, 4-valves per cyl., 2 timing chains, and a super charger (too many moving parts that can break/expensive to fix/mod) just to get power like that old push rod LS1 chevy? Huh "Eleanor".

OK, now we're even. I think both Ford & Chevy deserve some hard earned respect. I'm just glad there are still some good old powerful american muscle cars rolling around out there. We've all got our own preferences .I've got two Trans-Ams: 95 convertible M-6, & 02 WS6 M-6. Love them both, excellent cars!

27th Jun 2006, 15:48

Well I'll add my two cents.

Yes, the LS1 powered Camaro's and Firebirds were faster than than the GT Mustangs and Stock Cobra's. However, with a blower pulley, chip and headers, a Mustang Cobra pushes well over 500 hp, which will decimate a stock Firebird or Camaro for far less cash.

I love the look of the Camaro's and Firebirds, but for what they offered, they were over-priced.

The stock 7.5 rear-ends are gunk and will break easily if any serious modifications are done to the car. There is a reason that magazines like Super Chevy have tech articles on bolting in 12 bolt rear-ends into these cars. The stock ship-shift is annoying as hell and can be eliminated.

The biggest knock against the F-bodies is build quality and an interior which is better suited to a Chevy Cavalier than a 30 thousand dollar car.

To the guy who paid 45000 for his car, I would have bought an BMW M3 for that money and those will out run an F-body. I can buy an 2001 Camaro SS here in Canada for tops 35000 cdn with under 20000 miles on it. So the F-body is a great car, but they stopped making them because for the money they where over-priced.

Personally for the price difference between a Camaro/Firebird, I would buy a Vette. The Mustang is less powerful, but the Cobra's are great cars and so are the GT's, especially with a supercharger kit.

I respect all three American muscle cars, but don't knock Mustangs, they are great cars and not everybody is made of money... Remember big guy, there are always 911 Turbo's and Ferrari's waiting to embarace you.

28th Jun 2006, 09:09

Ever think that there may a bit of a size difference between the 4.6 and 5.7?

I'd love to see a 5.4 engine in the Mustang, I don't know why they haven't done that, but it'd make more sense if Ford wanted to keep competing with a bigger engine.

However, I'll always loved the aerodynamic look of the Camaros, and won't forget the sound of a exhaust only modified Z28 showin its stuff.