FORD MUSTANG 2010 REVIEW FROM NEW YORK TIMES... READ ON...

Here is the much anticipated review of the superb muscle car of all -- the Ford Mustang 2010... from the New York Times.


April 19, 2009
BEHIND THE WHEEL | 2010 FORD MUSTANG
Original Pony, Now Playing Catch-Up

By JERRY GARRETT
IT’S a lot like 1969 again. The Dodge Challenger, with styling that draws heavily on a sport coupe Chrysler introduced in late 1969, made its return last year. The Chevrolet Camaro, whose shape evokes the popular 1969 model, recently went back into production. Each is a clean and lean interpretation of its ancestor from the muscle-car era.

Meanwhile, Ford’s retro-futuristic Mustang, based on a late 1960s fastback model, has been around since the 2005 model year — and is beginning to look as droopy as a Fu Manchu mustache. So for the 2010 model year, a sartorial segue to a more ripped look, to stay current with the competition, was in order.

None of the period-perfect charm of its predecessor has been lost in the newest edition of Ford’s seminal pony car. But you’d probably need to park a 2009 next to a 2010 to see how truly different they are. The redesign seems to have carved away about half the body fat; what’s left is, appropriately enough, all muscle.

“Muscle goes modern,” Mark Fields, president of Ford’s Americas division, said when he introduced the car in November at the Los Angeles auto show. “This car is a modern legend — with more than nine million of them sold in the last 45 years. We needed to make sure the legend continues to live up to expectations.”

It met — and in some areas exceeded — mine when I opened the door on my Torch Red GT test car. “How can you not love a car with a red-and-white leather interior?” my smitten 16-year-old daughter said with a sigh. Indeed.

A deep love of cars was evident in the designer’s work, I told her, something that hasn’t been apparent in all Fords. But my opinion, since driving recent releases like the Flex, F-150 and Fusion, is beginning to shift. Add Mustang to the list of recent Fords executed with panache, passion and polish.

Here’s an example: The last Mustang had a hip-looking, retro-theme instrument panel. The problem was, you could hardly read the gauges. They were set too deeply into their recesses; reflections obscured the driver’s view. But in the 2010 model, the gauges are bright, well laid-out and easily readable.

Another difference is the sound. Noises intruding from outside, like tire-on-pavement hiss, wind howl and traffic thrum, have been engineered down to a satisfying level.

The sticker price of the GT I drove was $28,845, an increase of about $800 over last year. Yet it has much of the extra-cost high-performance package from the 2008-9 Bullitt Mustang built in. That is good value, I think.

Base V-6 coupes start at $21,845; convertible versions, available as V-6s or V-8-equipped GTs, add $5,000 to the price tag.

The GT’s engine is essentially the 315-horsepower Bullitt version of the 4.6-liter V-8, which has made the list of Ward’s Best 10 Engines in recent years. And it runs on regular unleaded fuel.

Fuel economy ratings for the V-8 are 16 miles a gallon in the city and 24 on the highway with the 5-speed manual gearbox and 17/23 for the 5-speed automatic. The base Mustang engine, a 210-horsepower 4-liter V-6, is only slightly more economical, with ratings of 18/26 for the manual transmission or 16/24 with a 5-speed automatic.

Ford’s upcoming twin-turbo EcoBoost V-6, capable of 340-horsepower (and potentially delivering further improvements in fuel economy), could be an option in later model years.

The new Mustang rides on the same platform as the departing model, with most exterior and interior dimensions very close. The shape of every body panel but the roof has changed, if only slightly, to make the new Mustang look more taut and tight. Even the emblem of the galloping Mustang, a signature element that had been unchanged for 45 years, was put on a diet.

Relax, traditionalists: attention to Mustang-centric details was not lost or trivialized. The double-brow dashboard has been retained, though it now is covered in materials that look and feel richer. There are even new three-section taillights, and they illuminate sequentially, from the center outwards, just as they did on Mercury Cougars in the 1960s.

Nothing evokes disco days like the lighted Mustang emblem in the door sills or the instrument panel lighting that can be customized in 125 colors. The interior ambient lighting offers 7 choices.

The design team’s goal was to eliminate compromises.

“We never stopped at, ‘Good enough.’” said Gary Morales, manager of interior design for the Mustang. “We only stopped at ‘right.’”

There is, however, one area where compromises continue. The Mustang still uses a solid rear axle — a cost consideration — while its modern-day competitors have independent rear suspensions. That setup, with coil springs, three trailing links and a Panhard bar, carries over to the 2010 redesign, but with welcome upgrades to ride and handling similar to the Bullitt package for Mustang GTs.

These include recalibrated shock absorbers, stiffer springs and tire choices that improve grip. Options include a $1,095 19-inch wheel and tire package; a $495 3.73:1 performance axle ratio (instead of 3.31); and treats like a rear-view camera, GPS navigation system and 10-speaker audio system.

The handling — even on the V-6 model, which is calibrated much like last year’s GT — is crisp, rock-steady and unflappable.

Traction control, antilock brakes and electronic stability control are standard. On base models the stability control can be turned off; on GTs with the Premium Package, the system also includes a sport setting that allows a bit more aggressive driving.

In a straight line, the Mustang GT is a force, with 0-to-60 acceleration in five seconds flat.

In just about every other area, the Mustang has its rivals fairly well benchmarked. Mustang has a wider range of optional features available. Its V-8 is an aftermarket darling; Ford says it is the industry’s most accessorized engine. And unlike the Challenger and the Camaro, it already comes as a convertible. There’s even a new glass-roof version.

Top that, 1969.