This was a series of questions and answers between a couple of Mustang enthusiasts and the Ford engineering manager for '05 Mustang structure and exterior. They met up with him at a dealership called Rodman Ford. The engineer is WM.


How much does it weigh?
WM "A lot"
How much is "a lot"
WM - sigh - " I can't say, it is a bigger platform, it's longer"
"I heard 3475"
WM - startled, pauses, sort of gives a nod.

How much HP does it really have?
WM - "I can't tell you."
Is it under rated?
WM - Let me just say that it is a VERY robust 300 HP
How does it compare to the Mach 1 engine?
WM - "It's better, in some ways a lot better" Let me tell you this thing has power. I'm not a racer, but to me this thing has more power than anyone in their right mind needs for driving on the street.

Does it use the Mach 1 Aluminum block?
WM - No, it's all new. Most of the engine is new, it does not share much of anything with the older 4.6's.

That shift lever feels like rubber. Is that the final choice? (manual trannie)
WM - Oh no, this is an early car. We've been working on the shifting, I think we've gone through 5 iterations since this car was built. We've also been working hard on the automatic shift calibration and let me tell you it is great. It's really responsive, they've worked hard on it. An average guy like me will go faster in the automatic than the manual. When I drive this car I have to be very careful, its unbelievably easy to find yourself going 90 MPH and not realize it. Let me tell you the handling and ride are incredible compared to the old SN-95. Well, it should be, since that car is really 20 years old the NVH (Noise vibration and harshess) are horrible on the SN-95 compared to the 05.
I heard the tooling for the SN-95 was completely worn out, that Ford could barely build SN-95s.
WM - A horrified look, Yes it was getting to be tough going at Dearborn. AAI is completely different, all new tooling and we're using the Mazda assembly method. Build quality will be excellent on the new Mustang. Just look how good this car looks and this is an early build prototype.

How does it sound?
WM - Here's the keys, go start it up and give it some revs.
(grinning from ear to ear) I always do what I am told, it sounds great, similar to a 03/04 Mach 1.
WM - What you just heard is nothing, you're reving it without any load on the engine. Wait until you hear it running through the gears on the street.
Let's go for a ride
WM - Sorry, we can't.

What happened to the 18" tires?
WM - sigh - SVT took them away from us.
You mean the GT won't ever have 18" tires?
WM - Probably not, SVT has a lot of power, they want their models to be special, so they got first dibs on the 18" wheels. You may see them on a Special Edition, but you won't see them on the regular GT.

What about IRS on the GT?
WM -There will not be IRS on the GT, as I said, SVT gets to make their models unique. Same with the hood scoop. SVT gets the scoops and air dams. There might be a SE with IRS though in addition to the Cobra.

When will see a SE?
WM - March
You're kidding me, that soon?
WM - Yes they're in the works.
What will the SE be called.
WM - We work in code names. It's up to the marketing department to give them a real name.

I heard that the SVT Cobra will not be out until the 2007 model year. Is that true?
WM - That's the plan.
How much HP?
WM - Well, everyone thinks that the Cobra has to have more than 400 HP.
So will it have >400 HP?
WM - I don't think they will be able to get 400 HP out of a 4.6.
Well that's easy to do, The present Cobra has that much now.
WM - But is has a supercharger.
You mean you're shooting for 400HP normally aspirated?
WM - That's what they'd like.

I've seen spy photos that show the lower air intake on the GT blacked out.
WM - Oh, they should have put one on this car.
One what?
WM - The grille insert. There is a black grille insert that goes in the GT bumper cover. It has the same pattern as the upper grill. It looks real sharp. I'll have to make a note to get lower grille inserts sent out to the show cars, it really sharpens it up.

What's the feedback on the GT foglamps?
WM - These are real fog lamps, they are functional and they meet the NHSTA definition of a fog lamp. If you read the brocures on other vehicles closely you'll note that a lot of them no longer can say that they have fog lamps, because they're not. They're calling them courtesy lamps or something like that because they really don't do anything in the fog. You should see the way this thing looks with all the lights on when we're doing our night shoots. It looks like a 747 is about to land.
How about HID, did you consider that.
WM - Yes, we considered HID and a lot of other things, complex reflector, projector.
You didn't do HID because of cost?
WM - Not so much that, these lamps, fog and headlamp are easy to work on and easy to modify. We did a lot of things that make it easy for the customer to work on and modify. The tail lamps too, you can easily change them and modify them.

Have you been working with aftermarket companies?
WM - Yes, but more importantly we've designed in a lot of things to be friendly to the aftermarket. See here ( pointing under the hood) there's your hood scoop cutout. You won't have to buy a SVT if you want a scoop, there will be plenty of aftermarket scoops for you to put on yourself.

When will we see the Convertible?
WM - Your dealer will have them on their lots by March.
That's earlyier than planned, isn't it?
WM - Well, we would have liked to have the convertible at launch, but that wasn't possible. Most verts are coupes with the tops cut off. We didn't do this. The vert has been designed from the ground up to be a vert. It's really a different body shell.
When do they go into production?
WM - January, maybe even early January. As I said your dealer will have them by March, maybe February.

I've heard that you will be building only 180,000 Mustangs a year, don't you think that you will sell a lot more.
WM - In this segmented market? It will be hard, this isn't like 10 years ago, The Focus is a volume car and what do we sell, 280,000? The market is very segmented.
What if you do sell a lot more? Customers are already in line at their dealers ordering 05's.
WM - The plan is for up to 195,000 / a year. That would be two 10 hour shifts.
Can you go to 3 shifts?
WM - No the plant requires 4 hours of maintenance per day. That's it, 195,000 we can't build more we're flat out at that point. Even if we could expand the plant you can't just ramp up production beyond 200,000. A lot of parts come from outside vendors and their tooling may only allow 200,000 / year.
How many Verts will you build?
WM - I'm not sure exactly, about 40,000, that's just approximate.

So when will we really see the 05's at the dealer.
WM - We will be building the first "Saleable" cars in 2 or 3 weeks. We've just finished training 1,300 workers to built the 05 Mustang.
You mean before September?
WM - These will be pilot run cars, but they will be build exactly like regular production. All the parts will be production. If they go together without any problems, then we can sell them.
They we may see 05's before September?
WM - Can't say, but it's possible.

 

Here's a video/audio of the same car's exhaust note.http://thrawn.org/mustang/FoxboroGT.mpg

 

has a little more note than the mach 1. but from everything i've heard the base v8 mustang is suppost to be the same as the 04 mach 1 1/4 mile wise.

 

I wish I understood this concept, haha, it would be so much cheaper Guess I'm not in my right mind, I definately think my 500rwhp is NO WHERE near enough for the street yet, much less 300fwhp

 

For a car the size of the new Mustang, 3475 pounds is quite reasonable, especially for the V8 model. That's only a little bit more than an Accord V6 Coupe. From what I've read, it should be nearly as roomy as that car.

 

I don't think he knows about the other engines Depending on which SE or SVT, there's going to also be a 440 HP S/C 4.6. I don't believe it will be the Cobra motor from what I know. The N/A might be the Boss engine (also the IRS SE car he was talking about).

 

I was hoping the stang would be closer to 3400 than 3500 lbs...Does this mean the Cobra with IRS, 18" wheels, and other add ons will top 3600+ (especially with a blower)??

 

I tend to agree.

BTW, recently I had a conversation with a Ford employee who had some familiarity with the Mustang program. He said that Ford plans one SE every year for Mustang.

 

The current Cobra is 3700 lbs, still pretty fast. I don't think the next Cobra will be any heavier than the current one. In fact, my personal opinion from what I've learned is that it could weigh a tad less than the current Cobra.

 

Sound about right. They've got one planned for March of 2005 though it's not supposed to be one of the better ones.

 

Quote:

Have you been working with aftermarket companies?
WM - Yes, but more importantly we've designed in a lot of things to be friendly to the aftermarket. See here ( pointing under the hood) there's your hood scoop cutout. You won't have to buy a SVT if you want a scoop, there will be plenty of aftermarket scoops for you to put on yourself.

Now THIS is the difference between Mustang & Camaro that everyone on this site who has owned a Mustang in the past or present has been talking about!

Every time a Mustang vs Camaro thread comes up, there is a solid group of people who simply can't comprehend why people buy Mustangs though F-bodies are quicker. It has to do with what YOU can do to them. This market's all about aftermarket.

What is the "Ricer" or "Tuner" market? It's the same as the old hot rodder market. Twenty or thirty-something year olds that buy a low priced quick sporty car and have an army of aftermarket companies as well as factory accessories and add ons to personalize the car.

GM of the last 2 decades have treated the aftermarket as an unwanted stepchild, and made their cars as unfriendly to modifications as possible. Ford realizes that personalization is THE reason why Mustang sell as well as they do & are accepted in the Ricer/Tuner/Hot Rodder communities. They were soliciting input from Mustang owners at Blueovalnews & other Mustang websites 2 summers ago on how to make their cars more friendly to personalization.

That means right about now we should be solicited for input for the next generation Camaro... er Chevrolet sports coupe.

As you can see, we aren't.

 

sure enough.

I've heard that somewhere before... it's like Vu-Za-De all over again.

I figure if I keep saying it - with the help of others like guionM, WERM, and others - maybe SOMEBODY in the glass towers will get the hint!

Well...

 

maybe GM doesn't want to comply cause they're thinking about getting in on the action? i don't know, but i hope not. if GM ever started their own aftermarket complany parts would suck and be over priced, IMO

 

Ya lost me pardner...
That's like sayin' "Don't give me any silverware or steak sauce at the table... cause I'd just love a big ol' juicy steak!"

GM should be heavily laden with focus groups, interactive media sessions, mock-ups, fittings, surveys, questionaires... you name it. Every Camaro Club in the US should be giving out questionaires to it's members to fill out and send in - postage pre-paid. Is this happening and I just am unaware of it?
If so, I owe many people an appology. But I am not seeing it myself.

I am already a tiny bit fearful it's gonna be yet another one of those "Here... here's what we think you need to buy." type of projects that are kinda typical of Big Ol' GM.
(Car named GTO without scoops anybody? )

 

I think you explained why in the last part of that sentence. Any GM employee that hiccups the word "Camaro" would be shot on spot and we want them to ASK US what we want on the upcoming car??

One thing, I like the exhaust note of that GT. Give it headers, bigger pipes, an X pipe, and some flowmasters and that thing should sing sweetly!