With the St. Therese (sp?) plant a pile of rubble, could the gag order be starting to come off? Perhaps not to the point of not officially announcing a new C----- but acknowledging one in passing?

God knows I'm tired of loosing the Mustang/Camaro arguement with "at least you can still buy a new Mustang."

Hopefully not too soon the Mustang will be 'the least' again.

 

work faster!

otherwise i see a 'stang in my future (i know it's a good car, but i'll feel SO strange driving one...I've dished out more than my share of Ford jokes over the years, so part of me will feel like a backtracking hypocrite)

 

At least they are working on it.

 

Then dont buy one?

 

WHY NOT?

Value?
Fun factor?
Factory support?
Aftermarket?
Clubs and orgs?
Shows and events?

Gee, I could see why a car guy wouldn't want to sample that platter...

You know, there are actually many folks in the US that have BOTH a GM and a Ford product in their driveway. And worst-come-to-worst, if you were to buy a Mustang and didn't like it... you actually CAN sell them. There are peep's with money that buy used ones too. Same goes for any car. Dodge included.

I am fortunate enough to get to rent cars frequently for work. I get to sample just about anything out there from pickups to rice cars. There are units I like profoundly, and will likely own one day unless I find something better before I am ready to buy. Then again, there are units I dispise 1 mile out of the lot, and specifically tell the agency to never give me again when I return it (a certain white 2003 Toyota Corolla with a goofy front seat that was like a 5-gal pail and radio with controls well-hidden behind the shifter is the first that comes to mind... )
In fact, I just spent the last few days riding in a Black 2001 Suburban, leather, loaded. NICE vehicle.

So to anyone interested - I say "Go for it".
After all, variety is the spice of life! (until I tell that to the wife )

 

I've never owned anything other than a GM product in my entire life....

For the first time, I am seriously considering going outside of GM for my next new car... and I am not even a fan of the retro styling.

I have three options in my head right now for next spring, which is when I am thinking about buying a new car... they are:

1) Sell the Monte Carlo, buy a new GTO for a daily driver.

2) Keep the Monte Carlo as a daily driver, buy a new Corvette.

3) Sell the Monte Carlo, buy a new Mustang GT for a daily driver.


Problems with #1 are the supposed trunk situation, and the price which, IMO, is too high. The semi-bland styling doesn't kill it for me, but it doesn't help either. I think there is a lack of OnStar and heated seats, which are options I'd enjoy having, and have become accustomed to on the Monte Carlo.

Problems with #2 are that it is obviously the most expensive proposition of the three, plus I am still having trouble liking the front end of the C6. I am trying really hard, but it just isn't happening. I would love to pick up a left-over 2004 Z06, especially a Z16, but I doubt I'll be able to find one at that point, plus I'd need a nice rebate at that time too to help absorb some of the loss it'll take on a C5 by the C6 launch. There are nice rebates now on 2004 Corvette (excluding Z16), but will they be there in the spring when I am looking, and what will be left to choose from??

Problems with #3 are... well... first and foremost, I've been one of the loudest opponents of the retro styling. It's not that it's ugly, it's that I think it's a bad path and a dead end in logical styling progression... as well as unoriginal. Also it is not a GM car... I have always liked GM cars, they have served me well over my life. I have been a very loyal customer, and GM has treated me well.
BUT... the Mustang looks like the smart choice. I have issues with all 3 cars styling... so it is almost a wash with Mustang, and it's bound to be the cheapest of the three options I am considering... it has most of the stuff I want, except IRS, and the things like heated seats (not sure if they are available, boy I've come to LOVE heated seats) and OnStar...

I'm still stradeling the 3 lines, but boy would a nice looking, non retro Camaro fill the bill right now for me (with T-Tops)... but... anyway......

 

i was kinda joking about the hypocrite part...but being raised in a longtime GM family, it does feel weird to be considering a new car within the next year to year and a half, and only one of GM's offerings on even on the list (GTO, which is near the bottom)...

but hey, things change...even my parents (who went from GM-only for years to Lincoln and Toyota)

 

Loyalty is a tough thing to overcome, but in the end you're better off with the product that makes you happiest. It seems GM has realized that, and it it's own 'lazareth' way is addressing the problem.

Lucky for my I bought a low milge Z28 last year and the new Mustang is does nothing for me.

 

Good points from the both of you. I've owned GM and Ford before. My preference is Ford because that's what I started with (1967 Mustang which I still have) and I haven't had any real problems with them. My parents, especially my dad, have owned all three brands (and others) for years. My dad was a big GM guy back in his youth. In the early 80's he switched over to Toyota for his cars and Fords for his trucks. Since 82 my parents have only needed two Toyotas. You can only imagine the amount of miles on them now (combined it's well over 600,000 miles). He got a another Toyota in 89 (Corolla) so my mom would have a car. In 95 my dad retired the 82 Toyota Tercel (old age and too small of a car) and I gave him my 93 T-Bird (which had 100,000 miles on it in 3 years). They're still driving the T-Bird with over 250,000 miles on it. My dad sold the old and beat up Ford F-150 he had and got a used Dodge RAM. I don't think he's really impressed with it and would rather have a Ford again, but regardless, it works for what he needs and isn't going to get rid of it. My sisters have had Camaros, Fords, GM trucks, etc...and my wife's family is the same way. My daily beater is a Subaru WRX and my wife's is a Focus SVT.

Now that you know some of what I've owned and driven, let me tell you what I was going to do this year before I ended up buying a house. I was considering about four cars to replace the WRX. There's nothing wrong with my WRX, it's a great car, I just felt like trying something new (yes, I'm fortunate enough to do that). My choices were 1) Honda S2000 2) Subaru STi 3) Corvette Z06 and 4) 2004 Mustang Cobra. There just wasn't a Dogde (not even the SRT-4) that I was even interested in. Of these four, each has its pros and cons which made my choice very difficult. I've always wanted a roadster and the S2000 was this and more, but is small for my 6'3" frame and size 15 shoes. I LOVE, REALLLLLLLLLLY LOVE AWD so the STi is sweet and fits the bill, but requires 93 octane (expensive everywhere) and basically gets the same mileage as the Cobra which has more power. The Z06 is nice, fast and meets most of my desires, however, it's the most expensive of the four. The Cobra is powerful, fast, easily modded, but more uncomfortable than the others and doesn't handle as well. Fortunately I don't have to worry about this anymore with the new house, but I hope to see what's out in a couple of years once I'm settled down some.

I have no problems with "retro" designs and certainly, if a car looks good, who cares if it's retro? If you like the new Mustang, you certainly will get a good deal. The Mustang crowd isn't going to beat you down, but you better keep your eyes on the GM guys We wouldn't want them beating you up for buying a Ford

 

You kind of missed the point. If hes having such a moral problem with buying a Mustang...they why buy one?
-Hes not a fan of the styling
-The power isnt any thing new
-and he doesnt really like driving fords...
All 3 reasons why NOT to buy one IMO. Why buy one? Because its the cool thing to do? Its like drugs. You know its bad for you. You dont want to do it. But everyone is doing it, and they say its cool to do it. So what do you do?
If you are me, you find your nearest DARE officer. Its not about brand loyalty. Its about why would you buy the car if you have serious doubts about it? Why spend mid to high $20k on a car that you really didnt like in the first place? Because its cheap? I know its your money, but its also the reason why Im bringing this up. If you dont want the car, dont buy it. No one has a gun to your head.

 

Nice post. I can sense your position - been there, done that.

My folks were fairly brand loyal to GM through the sixties, then due to financial and family reasons, started buying any used cars they could afford (They needed cars for 3 teen-aged girls to learn to drive in and keep! ). That opened the door to anything. I think the girls killed about 4 cars in 3 or 4 years to boot, so we had several in the driveway when I was growing up! They tried AMC/Mopar, Chevy, Ford... even had a Cimca for a while. Somehow, we just settled into Fords - no huge event.

I have owned/driven other cars, but ended up a Ford owner. My first car - a 4-banger Mustang - was bought mostly because the old man got a GREAT deal on one from a friend, no other reason really. Once I started getting into collecting cars, I found myself having to make a decision about what car to study... analyze... get intimate with so I could be an informed buyer and not get rooked. I was already more astute on Mustang than any other car (having owned one as a first car), so it just fell that way.

Now, I am a ford guy more for the comfort factor... lemme explain.
I am INTIMATE with a small (and I mean SMALL, as in 25 cars on the lot total kind of small) Ford dealer in my home town. They let me use their shop manuals - free. They offer me advise on problems I may be having - free. They inform me of good things/bad things they see going on with all vehicles.
I get parts at cost or just above most of the time. They still work on old cars like 64 Galaxies and 69 Torinos for their long-time customers (something big dealers are no longer doing in my area), so when they need a part they can't get or find they call me (and ask if I've got a distributor for a '64 390GT-4v I wanna sell). I help them, they help me.

I'll do a computer scan of my car, and find out what the code is and what the fix is - then if I choose to fix it - fine, but if I choose to have them do it, I take it to them, tell them the codes and what I need and they do it, no bickering, no sales pitch, none of the BS many dealers use to milk a customer. It's just hard for me to leave that kind of security and relationship right now, so until I have some really bad experience with them or can't find a product I need/want to buy, I doubt that I will change.

That doesn't keep me from driving other brands as much as possible, liking them, respecting them, and having fun with them. In fact, if GoatCrazy can convince me his Vette is as awesome on the road course as one of my fox-body cars, I might just have to add one of those to my collection! We're going to try them both out here in a few months...

Honestly Darth, I'm not going to make any money from you, regardless of what you buy, so I'm 3rd party and carefree. And I don't care if it's a GM, Ford, Mopar, or whatever (though I'd PREFER you bought American! ), but I want to offer to you that just because you bought a Mustang (since it was your option 3) doesn't mean you have committed treason and will be hanged. I promise, you would not have the only driveway with a Monte and a Mustang side-by-side. There are even driveways with Camaros and Mustangs side-by-side (for whatever reason), ain't that right jg95z28!
If you don't like the car or have issues... well, that's what classified ads are for.

 

I must have misread what Darth typed then, because I didn't get that he hated the design. His position on "retro" is well understood, but that doesn't mean one dispises the actual design itself, just the basis.

Anyways, HE put it on his list, not me.
If he hated the design so staunchly, he wouldn't have put it on a consideration list at all (or shouldn't have). Just like PaperTarget's last post about the SRT-4... all the right specs and costs, but he simply was turned off by it so it was out... period.

Darth is a big boy, and a smart one too. I think he will handle himself just fine.

 

No, I like most of what Mustang brings to the table, and the price it does it at.

I like the fact that it (finally) has a modern, fresh sturdy platform.

It's just that "backstabbing" feeling I get, because I really am very loyal to GM, but... when I really look at it, there is just a GAPPING HOLE in their lineup without Camaro and Firebird.

Honestly, right now, I keep going back and forth between all three options... I guess I have another year to drive myself crazy over it.


PS: I will never, ever, buy a foreign brand car. Call me blind, ignorant, or whatever, but I don't ever see a time where GM would make nothing I would like to drive, let alone all of the American manufacturers combined .

 

Would you point out the word "hate" in my post please?
He says in his break down of the 3 sections that he does not like the retro styling. For whatever reasons, thats up to him. What I dont understand is if he is so against all these things about the Mustang, i.e. its a Ford, the retro design, then why buy it?