I think the new Pontiac GTO is looking better each day when compared to how the new Stang is going to look .

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. If those are 17" Bullits, (IMO, one of the best looking wheels on an American car in recent memory), the front rotors look like like around 13" and the back ones around 12".

If this turns out to be a base V6 car....I'm glad it looks like it's more than just a secretary special.

 

From a designers' mind:

Not knowing which model this is, my first impression is there's noting inspiring about this car inside or out:blah:

-The back end really looks like an early 90's Capri
-The front is so neutral and non-aggressive, it seems really lame (even for a base car)

The inside is just plain, there's nothing else I can say. Even the guage faces seem to be gimmicky in their blatant retro styling.

I agree with everyone else here. This will sell great to good for the first 1-2, maybe 3 years, probably to older buyers (about 35 years old who remember the first 'Stangs).

There doesn't seemt ot anything remotely 'young' about this car, which seems odd considering it's market (late 20's early 30's singles), it looks old already.

I continue to be unimpressed with Jay Mayes. I'm sure however, he'll get many kudos and awards from the various lame design associations.

 

I think this has been said a billion times: Every car has initial strong sales which drop off after the first few years. The 4th gen wasn't retro, why isn't it here today? Why were sales dismissal even with a new front clip and engine? Why were Mustangs (my 94 has same interior, basic exterior lines although smoother, and roof as 03’s), but the Mustang was killing the Ls-1 F-bod in sales year after year. What gave? Huh, it must be the styling? The supra, 300zx, rx-7, 3000 Vr-4, and the camaro were all modern coupes that have failed to sell. Can we conclude that their “modern” styling killed them? No, there were other reasons that have led to their dismissal sales. The same with retro.

The cars success doesn't hinge on whether it's retro or modernly styled; it hinges on the overall appeal, marketing, and success of the design as a whole. If Ford can do all 3, the Mustang will still be selling 140+ thousand 4 or 5 years from it's intro. It's got one big thing going for it already, it's a Mustang and Ford seems committed to keeping it fresh and appealing.

A redesign isn't that hard either. I don't know why people make it sound like it's next to impossible. It’s just like any other car. You use the 05’s design as a base, and make new revisions/additions. And no, it doesn’t have to continue with the 70’s and 80’s look either. If I had photoshop installed on my comp, I could have come up with the revised look myself. It isn’t that hard. Other than that front clip, the rest of the car doesn’t look that retro and appears to have borrowed and carried on where the Sn95’s left off.

 

That interior is horrid, and this is comming from a 3rd gen owner. There might be more plastic than an fbody - esp that whole center console. I sure hope thats not a production car. The exterior has a lot of potential, I do like the front end so I'll hold off judgement till Ive seen the whole exterior uncovered in person.

 

Don't waste your breath 5.0.

You can bring up the fact that MOST ALL CARS SALES DROP AFTER THE INITAL 2 YEARS till you're blue in the face, and there will still be assorted "world is flat-type" guys here that will blame "retro design" in this instance, while ignoring the fact that it also as a rule happens in the case of modern conventional design (heavy incentives on the 6 year old Impala is an exception).

PT Cruiser & Lincoln LS came out the same time and both were head turners when they came out. Today, if 2 were parked side by side, which still would draw a look?

 

Lets not use the 4th Gen as an example, they didn't sell for many reasons, including styling. Whats the 1st thing you notice about a car, the look. With retro it's the same thing everytime. The current car is alot more appealing and will continue to be unless you want a 60's M*stang, and alot of people, especially the younger crowd, including girls, (which make up alot of the sales) don't want that. Retro is looked down at by alot more people than you think. This is gonna be a M*stang enthusiasts car and as we know just enthusiasts can't make up all the sales.

 

What would you guys say if someone was totell you both '05 Mustang engines were basically from Ford's "truck" stable?

 

All I ever hear is jokes about those cars!! It's the same thing, people liked them at 1st and now the dealers are full of them, and when you go back it's the same 1's as last time. It seems the only people that like them are the owners. We'll just see how this all plays out with the M*stang.

 

Since when was the LS a head-turner. I think it is one of the most anonymous and derivative cars out there. Even all the car mags said that it was rather dull, not bad looking just kinda "seen that already".

When people are talking about sales drop in relation to retro styling, they don't mean the normal precentage decrease, they are talking about a drastic decease. Of course it still remains to be seen if this will happen. I initially thought that the retro design would have little downside as far as sales but now I am thinking it might.

The interior is actually better than I thought it would be but to me it doesn't seem very sporty, but then again, none of them really did. It does seem boring and that's a big negative on those gauges.

 

1. Looking at Male/Female buyer demographics, more "girls" buy SUVs than Mustangs. Mustang is beaten only by Camaro and Corvette in having an overwhelmingly male buyer group of normal production cars and SUVs (with the possible addition of the Hummers). Being 3rd out of well over 150 cars and dozens of SUV and crossovers is nothing to be ashamed of.

2. The next car considered by a Mustang buyer is the Grand Am! This means Mustang is attracting alot more than to enthusiasts. Mustang Cobras sell to enthusiasts. Mach1s sell to enthusiasts. Same with half of the GTs (which attracted more than twice the male buyers than all the f-body). But to call all those Mustang V6 buyers "enthusiasts" is a very very big streach of the truth.

3. A design school which was almost exclusively made of this group of the younger crowd, chose the Mustang concept for an award as the best looking car, and they wern't stingy about their enthusiasm.

The new Mustang is going to be a pretty huge hit, and it's going to pull in a vast new group of buyers if it's reception at last winter's auto shows is any indication...... unless you want to believe Mustang enthusiasts paid large sums of money to bribe auto show attendentees (including Bob Lutz and other members of GM) to hang out at the Mustang display and fake appriciation.

If you believe that, then I'll tell you how the government has microchips inplanted in our teeth to keep tabs on all of us.

 

I'm holding judgement until i see one in person.

 

I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!

 

I disagree guion. I feel alot of the "regular" buyers will think different and retro makes a bigger difference in perception than you think.

 

Totally uninspiring. Totally unoriginal. That car is a de-evolution of the Mustang, from a design standpoint. How is that forward thinking?

Let's hope GM blows that car off the streets with the next Camaro, both in design and in performance. It won't be hard.

But please oh please Chevy, don't you dare ruin the 5th gen with that annoying chrome bar across the grill. I don't want my next Camaro looking like it was derived from anything else in your lineup.