infinitenexus said:3800lbs for a GT? No thanks, even if the engine is magical.
I said the same thing, directly to the FRPP guys at PRI the year the S550 was released. They basically laughed at me and said it would be impossible to hit 3000-3200lbs with all the things the market demands. Clearly I am not part of the market they are focused on.
gumby said:infinitenexus said:3800lbs for a GT? No thanks, even if the engine is magical.
I said the same thing, directly to the FRPP guys at PRI the year the S550 was released. They basically laughed at me and said it would be impossible to hit 3000-3200lbs with all the things the market demands. Clearly I am not part of the market they are focused on.
Even a C7 Z51 is north of 3400 lbs.
So I believe them when they say they couldn't get a Mustang that light.
gumby said:infinitenexus said:3800lbs for a GT? No thanks, even if the engine is magical.
I said the same thing, directly to the FRPP guys at PRI the year the S550 was released. They basically laughed at me and said it would be impossible to hit 3000-3200lbs with all the things the market demands. Clearly I am not part of the market they are focused on.
If they knew you were a poster here, then they know the typical car buyer here is waiting for the new cars to depreciate, then buy it used.
Based on that GRM stereotype, no, none of us are part of the market they focus on.
Not to say there are not some new car buyers here, but far more of us do not get new cars.
gumby said:infinitenexus said:3800lbs for a GT? No thanks, even if the engine is magical.
I said the same thing, directly to the FRPP guys at PRI the year the S550 was released. They basically laughed at me and said it would be impossible to hit 3000-3200lbs with all the things the market demands. Clearly I am not part of the market they are focused on.
That weight range is simply unrealistic for a car that size in the current era without spending huge money on lightweight materials and such. You're talking about what a Fox body weighed 30+ years ago, with no airbags, no modern crash structure, less emissions, lighter engines, lighter transmissions, terrible structural integrity, and that's not even getting into all the electronics that modern cars come with. Even the current Camaro, which went on a significant diet from the last generation, is over 3500 lbs once you put a V8 in it.
Yes, they did it with the F-series, but that vehicle has volume on it's side. It's a lot easier to amortize the costs when you're selling literally a million of them a year. The Mustang will never approach that volume. So basically, it comes down to make the Mustang way lighter and way more expensive, or make it heavier and still relatively affordable. I think they've made the right choice. Besides, the S550 is fast as hell on any kind of track, and the GT350 is one of the best driver's cars of the last 5 years. I'd say they are doing OK.
I definitely think pony car, which the Mustang used to be, not the bloated personal sports coupe it has become.
Prior to release however, we were told the S550 was going to be smaller and lighter than the ‘11-14s. In that vein, a no-option GT could be 32-3300lbs if it were 370z sized; and an EB car even lighter. That was the Mustang I wanted.
It would be naturally lighter, as well as cheaper to own and operate, because it wouldn’t need a 10spd DCT, or 15” brakes with the accompanying 19-20” wheels and tires, etc. Save all that junk for the optioned up special editions, I don’t need it.
It was an transition point for the Mustang and Ford had an open opportunity to steer the market rather than follow. They delivered a car that was “lighter than the competition and out performed all previous versions of Mustang” (paraphrasing the booth guy who wouldn't disclose the actual weight at the time), instead of the overall smaller car that was promised. He was not wrong, it just wasn't the car for me.
I doubt strongly that they will reverse course any time soon, which seems fine with their market, and I will continue not buying Mustangs. Now, where’s my new Ranchero??
Tom_Spangler said:gumby said:infinitenexus said:3800lbs for a GT? No thanks, even if the engine is magical.
I said the same thing, directly to the FRPP guys at PRI the year the S550 was released. They basically laughed at me and said it would be impossible to hit 3000-3200lbs with all the things the market demands. Clearly I am not part of the market they are focused on.
That weight range is simply unrealistic for a car that size in the current era without spending huge money on lightweight materials and such. You're talking about what a Fox body weighed 30+ years ago, with no airbags, no modern crash structure, less emissions, lighter engines, lighter transmissions, terrible structural integrity, and that's not even getting into all the electronics that modern cars come with. Even the current Camaro, which went on a significant diet from the last generation, is over 3500 lbs once you put a V8 in it.
Yes, they did it with the F-series, but that vehicle has volume on it's side. It's a lot easier to amortize the costs when you're selling literally a million of them a year. The Mustang will never approach that volume. So basically, it comes down to make the Mustang way lighter and way more expensive, or make it heavier and still relatively affordable. I think they've made the right choice. Besides, the S550 is fast as hell on any kind of track, and the GT350 is one of the best driver's cars of the last 5 years. I'd say they are doing OK.
That said, I would like to see the Mustang shrink in size a bit from the current behemoth that it is. Not BRZ small, but smaller than it is now.
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