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2004 Detroit
Auto Show Coverage
(1/4/2004)
Talk about the Mustang in the TCC Forums!
subscribeIf
your big enthusiast heart hasn’t already burst with the introduction of a new
Corvette — the second in eight years, no less — you may want to check into the
ICU ward and strap on the EKG whilst reading about the new 2005 Ford Mustang,
the first ground-up renovation of the classic pony car since 1979 and easily one
of the best-looking efforts to emerge from J Mays’ halls of car
coutoure.
Live axles? Six-cylinder engines? Buyers won’t have it any other way, Ford engineers told us at a background session for the new Mustang late last year. In short, the V-6 version pays the bills, keeps unenthusiasts in two-door coupes and keeps the total sales numbers high enough that Ford can spin off wild, high-performance versions like the 390-hp Cobras of recent vintage.
As for the live-axle rear end, Ford execs tell us that the tuner crowd needs the durability of the setup so they can continue to tune the ’Stang’s engine lineup for racing and other not-so-street-legal events. “We talked to a lot of Mustang owners as we were developing this program,” said Hau Thai-Tang, chief engineer. “They are a very passionate group, and a lot of them told us — very strongly — that the all-new Mustang had to have a solid rear axle.”
