The Mustang Becomes an Obamamobile

American Spectator ^ | 4/20/12 | Daniel J. Flynn

[rhema]

The greening of a classic car makes it unrecognizable to drivers.

The Ford Motor Company is giving its Mustang a unique 50th birthday present: death.

Detroit will still market an automobile called the Mustang. It just won't bear much of a resemblance to the iconic roadster driven by the likes of Lt. Frank Bullitt and James Bond.

Ford's new "Evos" concept features gull-wing doors, a rounded, aerodynamic body, and a smaller design clearly inspired by Europe. When Ford officially unveils its new Mustang in 2014, company insiders insist it will embrace this visual transformation.

More pertinent than its changing look will be its changing feel. Rumors abound, to the chagrin of drag racers, regarding the introduction of independent rear suspension. The five-liter engine supposedly morphs into a two-liter one. There is even talk of a hybrid Mustang.

Why not a hang-glider F-18?

A 2012 Ford Mustang boasting an eight-cylinder, five-liter engine goes from zero to sixty in less than five seconds. It takes a lot of fuel to generate all that power. The muscle car travels an average of twenty miles for every gallon of gasoline consumed. It's a performance car, albeit one that performs the way that drivers, rather than bureaucrats, want.

Twenty miles per gallon is considerably less than fifty-six miles to the gallon. That is the 2025 industry fuel-efficiency standard announced by the Obama Administration last year. With automakers having to produce a fleet of cars traveling an average of further than 56 miles per gallon by 2025, and further than 34 miles per gallon by 2016, a Mustang guzzling a gallon of gas every twenty miles would be certain to bring the fleet average below the mandated standard.

[rlmorel]

My dad, how I loved him and miss him. He was the best at everything...except two things: quality tools, and cars. He got to the point he knew we would break his tools no matter what, and instead of getting crazy about it, decided to buy crappy tools and just replace them when they break.

In retrospect, that worked for him, because he had a mostly good eye for when a tool couldn't be used, and I only saw him fall prey to a bad tool.

But it was cars. My dad had two of the worst cars ever (on the list) in a three year period! He didn't have good car sense.

He had this:

...and this...

Whew. Then he got this, and little kids we were, we called it the "beep beep" because of that silly french horn. But you know, when I look at it now...I think I like it!

My dad had a white one in 1966 when he was stationed at the Navy Yard in Washington DC. It is best known in my family for the smell. My dad took us with him to pick up some things for the yard at a store called GEM. (My dad worked part time there for years)

One of those things was a bag of manure.

Now, being a small car, the only place you could put that bag of manure with a full car of kids was the floor underfoot, where we were expected to rest our feet gently on top of it.

As soon as we began driving, as my feet rested on that back of manure, I began to kick my feet on it in the bored manner of a boy who has been banished to Right Field in Little League, because you can't hit...can't catch, you stand out there the whole game wearing grooves in the ground with your sneakers where you stand.

Well, that's what I did to that bag of manure. I admit it. I just giggled at my dads puzzled and panicked look as he got the smell and looked back.

That car was just about six months old, as I recall.

Anyway, here I am, talking about how cars were his weak point, but then you know what? As I thought of those cars, I remembered this one:

A 1964 Chrysler New Yorker wagon just like this one, except it had a red interior. Push button transmission. Room for 10 people. 413 cubic inches. Built like a fricking Sherman Tank. (Traveled across country in it, my parents spent their wedding anniversary with us all sleeping in the car,a the front end of the car off the ground on a hill, the rear stuck in the mud. We lost the brakes coming down Pikes Peak!!!)

So, I thought..."THAT was a beastly, car, and a good one, too. (Took it to Japan and Subic Bay)

Then, he got this car:

Ours was silver, and it was the first car I ever went over 100mph in...

But you know...the one I got to drive in High School, was...this:

Had the same paint scheme, but the shift lever was on the dashboard. I had that great slant six.

Come to think of it, Dad...You made some great choices!

[Randy Larsen]

Got any views in the backseat?

[yarddog]

I have a cousin who has either 4 or 5 of those early models. They are just sitting on his property and will probably just rust away eventually.

I noticed a year or so ago, he put a sign on them which read “Not For Sale”. He is now approaching 70 and he obviously in never going to restore them.

I just don’t understand why he doesn’t sell them while they are still in fairly good shape.

[txhurl]

People talk smack about the Probe, but those suckers ran.

I swear from the back seat of a brand-new '90 we were doing 100 in second gear in about 3.7 seconds.

[Revolting cat!]

The new Mustang? I'd ride it!

[antiRepublicrat]

I drove a 79 or 80 “Mustang” once, pretty much the same thing as a Mercury Capri. That was a very sad car to have the Mustang badge.

[Charles Martel]

People talk smack about the Probe, but those suckers ran.

Yes, and they were fairly reliable too - my sister loved hers. The vehicle was fine, it was just the attempt to foist off a Mazda as a Mustang that was a bad idea.

[antiRepublicrat]

Pretty sweet, but honestly what Mustang fan wouldn’t give it up for a ‘65 GT350 with only 300 hp?

[rlmorel]

Oh, man. A Capri. My brother had one, a real ball-buster of a car.

[FunkyZero]

"People talk smack about the Probe, but those suckers ran"

Agreed. I had the turbo version. Only problem was the suspension and engine mounts were of poor design... it was a ditch-hunter under heavy boost.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

THAT’S IT! THANKS!

[Norm Lenhart]

Like most I think the 89-70 Boss Mustangs were the pinnacle, but I think the hated 73ish Stangs with the 351Cleveland 4V (especially the Boss 351) is seriously underrated. Yes it was a pig, but it was a FAST pig. People should look up it’s stats vs the 429. You will be in for a shock.

That car, with side pipes, rear window louvers and 50s/70s to me is the ‘classic’ redneck backyard hotrod. I’ve built a few cars over the years (and trucks) but never could find one in salvagable condition that the owner didn’t want a fortune for (just the regular ones, bit the Boss, which is rare as hen’s teeth to begin with.) They are usually either on the wrong side of ‘project’ quality or in good shape and should be left alone for what they are.

And a 351C4V at 7,000 RPM makes the most beautiful sound on earth.

[qam1]

Not Guilty, Not Guilty, Not Guilty, Guilty as charged,

Oh wait, wrong thread

[Norm Lenhart]

Edit - 69-70.....grrrr....

[HereInTheHeartland]

We are restoring a 67; looks just like that picture. Well it will hopefully look like that one.

[Idaho_Cowboy]

No sunscreen?

[The Antiyuppie]

“Gen Y will never have a peak of buying cars, because these dumb asses keep their faces shoved in an I-pod or I-pad for the rest of their lives, lest someone ‘dis them electronically.”

Well, mom and dad won’t be able to drive them to the game store forever.

Seriously, both the Mustang and Camaro are basically going to be history, due to demographics. Both start and mid-20’s and the one you actually WANT is 45-60K. Seriously. This is why the average age of a buyer is in the 50’s.

[When do we get liberated?]

I am not buying it, for 2 reasons. Ford isn’t Government Motors. They will build what people will open their wallets and buy. For Mustang, that is horsepower. Who is afraid of IRS? Contrary to the article, the drag race crowd wasnt putting 1000 HP in front of a stock axle. The Ford 9 inch rear end has been the standard for drag racing for 40 years and for that reason, it is one of the cheapest to build and modify. The IRS in a factory horse car will be great. As a road racer with a solid rear axle, trust me the difference is astounding. If Ford keeps the current body, current motor and puts IRS in, I may not need to buy a Corvette (I hate GM, but that thing goes turns and stops like nothing else for the dollar)
Reason 2? Remember the Ford Probe? It was touted as the next Mustang until fans flooded Ford with mail. They will do the same thing. Drown in the adoration of thousands and release this “next Mustang” as a new model. The next Mustang will have a short deck, long hood and a V8. Anything else is economic suicide.

[therut]

A lady never tells and gentleman never asks!!!!

[When do we get liberated?]

I tred that on my Opel GT. Virginia wouldnt let me replace both side mirrors with cameras. They said i could do one.