Darth, why you ask??? Well, I imagine they would like to make money on it.

As to the other, yes the Mustang platform is very loosely based on the DEW platform (at this point they share a floor stamping). However, Ford had to change the suspension to less expensive components to get the pricing where they wanted it. To keep the a-arm front, and IRS rear, would have made Mustang much more expensive.

You also have to look at sales volumes here. Ford pretty much knows that they will sell at least _________ number of Mustangs in a year. Thus, they can amortize the costs based on that. The potential sales of a Charger, or Camaro is unknown. Also, most Coupes that are based off of sedans are more expensive due to lower volume (I'm not talking stripper econo cars).

Anyway, back to the "what ifs."

 

The whole prospect of IRS making these cars too expensive is off base. Many, many FWD cars have Independant rear suspension... Yes, it is probably slightly more expensive to do it this way, but the cost is being blown out of proportion. Also, any CHANGES in suspension will have to be completely re-engineered, where existing stuff has that work already done, or at least some of it if some changes are needed.

Ford "knowing" how many Mustangs it will sell is no different than DCX or GM "predicting" how many they will sell. Unless Ford has a time machine, they only had their best guess as to how many Mustangs would be sold annually when they were designing the new car.

Monte Carlo is not more expensive than Impala... Cobalt coupe is not more expensive than Cobalt sedan...

 

Personally, i wonder what the state of the mustang will be come 2010 model year assuming that's an approximate model year for a hypothetical camaro and charger coupe debut. By then, the current car would be in its 6th model year or 5th calender year of production or something like that. I'd assume it would see changes by then or atleast around then.

What changes do you guys think will be made? I doubt the struts are going anywhere anytime soon on the mustang, but the rear may see a switch to IRS. But the use of live axle on the flagship 07 GT500 has me thinking that Ford is pretty serious about sticking with a live-axle. On the flip side, an IRS is probably already developed (they tested them out on GT-500 i think but went live because handling improvements didn't offset costs), and the attachment points are already built into the platform/chassis so it would be a bolt-on job if Ford decides to go that route. So struts will stay, verdict is out on the rear-end suspension, and i expect some sort of hp increase on the GT's by then. Perhaps to 320hp for GT. Exterior body will probably be due for a refresh around then as well.

 

My understanding of the reason for live rear on the GT500 is more of an IRS engineering issue than a cost issue.

 

Yup. You won't see the IRS on anything over 400 anytime soon. The SN95 cobra was really pushing the IRS, it can't take the extra power and have decent warranty. IRS will be on the Mach1/Boss type editions.

 

I hope Mustang sells 200K units this yr alone! I really do, the 2 door coupe market needs to jump back into play....

all GM has is the Monte and the Cobalt..thats it, and I hope they do well the cobalt I hope does really good in SS trim..

Just makes a RWD platform more "looked at" from DCX and GM

 

Yet another strike against IRS. That's in addition to more weight, higher costs....

I'm one to wait and let things pan out.

 

FWD cars have idependent rear suspensions because their is nothing driving the rear wheels. When was the last time you saw a FWD car with a solid rear axle?

 

another sane post by guy.Thank you for bringing reality to this board.

 

Didnt read the whole posting but IMO Z284ever, Ford would just improve the Mustang. The Mustang is Ford's baby, especially their CEO's baby. If there was a 500hp Camaro coming out, I have a feeling that today's Ford would be cooking up a 500hp Mustang. Same deal with the drivetrain and suspension. Just my thoughts anyway...

 

There are FWD cars that have solid bars linking the rear wheels... like the old Cutlass Ciera, and I believe the Venture minivans, among others... , I haven't crawled under and inspected them, this is just from looking at them while driving down the road, so I may be wrong, but it sure looks that way.

Also, some new FWD vehicles on manufacturers websites do not list Independant Rear Suspension as a feature, and others do... doesn't mean they don't have it, but you'd think they'd list it as a feature, especially if they do so on other models in their lineup...