The 2015 Ford Mustang

A drastically different approach for sure.

Co-written, C&G

The 2015 Mustang (www.musclemustangfastfords.com)

    Alright guys, I know this one has gotten a lot of other press recently, but Connor and I have some strong opinions on this car as well as all other Ford products. I’ll start with the facts before we get into that so some of you might actually like this thing (trust me, it needs the love).

2011 5.0L (www.mustang50magazine.com)

    This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Mustang. It’s a big deal and Ford wanted to show they’re still interested in people who want fun cars instead of boring grey shapeless hunks of metal, four cylinders droning down the highway. They are also now aiming at the European market with this new generation. This means change. Mainly updates to old technology. This marks the first time the entire range will be offered with independent rear suspension and the first time since the SVO that the car will be offered with a turbo 2.3 four cylinder. This new engine is claimed to make about 305hp and 300lbft of torque.The current 300hp V6 will still be offered (for anyone who liked that engine). I know Mustang purists are scared that Ford is softening up the Mustang, but not to worry. The car will be offered with the 5.0 V8 that’s resides between the fenders of the current model, though slightly revamped. The new 5.0 will have 420hp, over the last incarnation’s 412. Fuel economy is increasing across the board on these engines as well. The 5.0 will now beat up your wallet and take it’s lunch money now as opposed to tearing it to shreds. All cars will still be offered with 6 speeds and three pedals. There is also rumored to be a Cobra Jet version for track only use if you still want a live axle in the back. The chassis and styling is all new for this car. Ford has been saying they want the new Mustang to attract younger buyers. In order to do so they have started straying from the retro look. The new model has adopted the company-wide grille and done away with the rear medallion. Also, this thing will be loaded down with every digital bell and whistle in Ford’s toybox.

(david-wasting-paper.blogspot.com)

Our opinions:

Griffin-

Ok, call me old fashion, but I’m a traditionalist. I can’t stand this car. Not because it’s no longer retro, not because of the turbo four. Because of the damn computers! (and I’ll be honest, a little because of the new suspension) All of that aside I'm sure it's a solid car. Like all Mustangs the aftermarket will be all over this. I give it less than a year before a live axle kit is on the market. Also I'm fine with the turbo four option. I always liked the SVO and my dad had it's big brother, the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. The looks don't bother me as much as they did when I first saw it. The Aston Martin grille still bugs me, but that's all of Ford's line up right now. I will also admit that I'm not the biggest fan of the side profile looking like the last Jaguar coupe. I am glad they stuck with the manual trans in the car. What I have seen of the convertible makes me think the designer just said "Oh, crap! we forgot to make a soft top version!" and cobbled something together in a matter of minutes. I run hot and cold with this thing. I find one thing I like and then immediately find another I don't. To sum it up, the car has a great drivetrain, but the rest is like the greatest hits of the companies Ford used to own.

New Ford grille (left) vs Aston grille (right)

Connor-
Alright, I get where they are coming from. They want groundbreaking. They were the first to truly bring the "retro-look" to fruition with the last style of Mustang, soon copied by most of the old favorites- the Challenger/ Charger/ Camaro boom. Mustang hit the nail on the head there. I'm sad they are losing their retro-ness or whatever, and I'd be more okay with it if it were actually groundbreaking. Their design makes every single ford sedans look the same, only some are like, the fat siblings. The new mustang is just a Taurus that lost a little weight. Beyond that, Ford has flat out copied with their standard grille these days. It isn't unique, it isn't edgy, yet somehow they still thought it would be okay to copy the grille off an Aston. I mean, look at the fusion too! It's just not new. 50 years of originality, celebrated by a damn photocopy of an Aston body on a [mostly] gutless car. As Griffin said, there are options provided to make it real, but would you buy a four cylinder Aston? Alright, I'll quit the copy cat rant (Image from www.carscoops.com). Now, I know my opinions are mostly cosmetic, and some of them were just about where Ford is headed in general, but for me that is the main issue right now. No, I don't think there should be four cylinder Mustangs. But beyond that, I think a Mustang should stand out in a line up like it has since it was born. 

So, the exterior is sexy, because Aston designs nice cars, and it would be fun to work on, if it didn't take 3 college degrees to be able to understand how it works. Bottom line- sure, the Mustang looks alright, and people are going to buy it because, after all it messed up, it's still a Mustang. There isn't anything glaringly wrong with it, but there isn't anything stand-out-right with it either. It's alright.

Pros:
- You can still get a bitchin' 5.0 in it
- Loaded with fancy gadgets
- The V6 is available. I think that is a good thing? I mean, if you're into that...

Cons:
- When you drive this, you will not be noticed, unless someone is like, "Hey, is that an Aston- oh wait, it's just another stupid Ford."
- The suspension doesn't resemble any sort of Mustang that ever existed
- If you want to work on it yourself, better go back to college

Just a few ups and downs, but that about sums up the 15 Mustang.
We give it a solid B as a car and a solid D as a Mustang.

C&G
-ThrownRods-