All right stop, collaborate and listen: Right, I think that got all the Vanilla Ice out of my system. Let's drive this damn thing. It's brony week at TTAC and things are looking good for Ford with Oh, Ford makes this thing? Well that's weird: why there aren't any dang Ford badges on it? I've got a galloping steed up front, "5.0" on the flanks and a big ol' GT belt-buckle out back so that the guy in the 3-series knows that at least he didn't get smoked by a V6. Welp, there ain't no bow-ties on a 'Vette neither. The Mustang is a brand all to itself, which is exactly why it has such a clear feeling of identity. This latest edition obviously has the blood of its sixties ancestors pounding in its veins, although I can't say I'm in love with the tweaked front end. It looks like Moose thinking about something sad. This car is American, inside and out. Frankly, I love it. The materials aren't luxuriant – dear me, no – the pebbled dash is textured like the backside of a vulcanized rhinocerous and why does chrome-look plastic even exist? Why? Matte-black would do just fine. The steering wheel is leather everywhere you don't touch it and plastic at the 9- and 3- o'clock positions. And the retro-look speedometer is useless with metric markings, but serve me right for living in an igloo. Ignore all that. The Recaro seats fit perfectly, the cabin is clean and simple and spartan and it feels really well put-together. You get the feeling that the person (well, robot, I suppose) that screwed all the plastic bits down watched the car go out the factory door with a satisfied nod. Made in America, and that's a good thing. I suppose I should mention something about the on-board But then, the glorious V8 soundtrack is about half the reason to buy a GT over the V6 in the first place; why cover it up? Save your money for an aftermarket exhaust. Or, just put the window down. Overall, the inside of the Mustang's a bit like a pair of jeans. Not useless skinny jeans nor saggy-crotched baggy jeans nor hyper-expensive ass-framing euro-denim. Just jeans. The kind you wear when you're going to fix something or hammer nails into stuff. "Getting-shit-done" pants. Yeah, that's it. The inside of the Mustang feels like a place where you Get. Shit. Done. This is the ranch, where I keep my four hundred and twenty horses. They'd like to run to 7500rpm. Too bad the fuel cut hauls on the bridle at 7K. The Coyote loves to rev. Point that big nose down the on-ramp, stomp on the throttle and don't forget to shift – there's no top-end dead zone to remind you. 1-2 from a roll-out around town is giggle-inducing; 2-3-4, you shut up and pay attention. As a sort of sauerkraut sorbet to whet my palate pre-Stang, I spent a few days behind the wheel of six-speed M3. Let me just put this out there: while the 'Stang's Chinese-sourced 6-speed may be inferior to the Boss Tremec option (deferring to the opinion of my colleagues here), it's better than the Bimmer's. And, dare I say it, I like the Mustang's engine better too. Whoever designed the Mustang's traction control was either a genius, or a red-neck, or a redneck genius. Mishandle the 'Stang, yank at the wheel and stomp on the go-pedal and the back-end riverdances about like Michael Flatley, pulling back just before it falls right off the stage. Sure you can disable it for the track, but on the street it's less hand-slapping e-nanny and more Master P: shake dat ass – but watch yo'self! Stickier tires would not go amiss though. This car had the glass roof, high-mounted weight which should theoretically affect the handling like a lead cycling helmet. That and the soft-ish suspension might have track-addicts hunting down the Boss instead – or heading for the aftermarket. As a street car though, you'll be having too much fun to care. There's a caveat. For all the talk of muscle-car-turned-sports-car, the Mustang is a big machine. With an upright seating position and long front-end, it's like being in a canoe (albeit a canoe with twin Mercury outboards) compared to the "sit-in" kayak hip-pivot feel of something like a MX-5. Not disconcerting, but something to get used to if you're stepping out of anything lighter than 3000 pounds. And then there's the fuel economy which is not… good. If you've got a commute, and you're on the fence about the V6, be aware that you won't get any pleasant surprises from the V8. But I pay for my own gas when I'm evaluating a car, and I begrudged the V8 not a single drop. Sure it did a pretty thorough job of processing petrochemicals into noise and shimmy, but I expected it to. There are basically just two kinds of cars in the world. There are those that you climb into after a long day's labour and suddenly you find yourself half-way home on autopilot, living out the Talking Head's "Once in a Lifetime". Then there are those cars that straighten out the workday slouch and quicken your step as you walk towards them in the empty parkade. You've put in extra hours to make the bigger payment and the nine-to-fivers are already gone for the day. Rush hour has tailed out, the roads are quiet and you pause before you crank the starter to mute the radio and drop both windows. The Coyote barks, hollow echoes bouncing off the concrete. Dinner's in the fridge, kids already in bed – no need to drive straight home. Yo. Word to your mother. Ford Canada provided the car tested and insurance. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com | |||
| |||
| |||
|
Friday, June 15, 2012
Off-track Excursion – 2013 Ford Mustang GT Take Two
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Archive
-
▼
2012
(7297)
-
▼
June
(664)
- Fifty Years of the Trans-Canada Highway
- Hammer Time: Finding A Cheap Ride
- LeMons Arse-Sweat-a-Palooza BS Inspections: Britis...
- This Week's Most-Read Stories
- Junkyard Find: 1980 AMC Eagle Coupe
- Most-Watched Video Reviews of the Week
- Toyota And BMW Plan To Take The Lead In Commercial...
- Phil’s Podium Of The Automotive Pure: Ten Trick Te...
- 2013 Dodge Dart 1.4 Turbo/Dual-Clutch First Drive:...
- 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed: What’s Headed Up ...
- Jaguar Adds V-6, Turbo Four, New Gearbox to U.S.-M...
- 2012 Jeep Wrangler Freedom Edition Proudly Wears t...
- The Continental: Another Detroit Designer for Opel...
- 2013 Audi A6 Allroad First Drive: Off-Road Looks M...
- Audi R8 e-tron Sets “World-Record” Lap Time at the...
- 2013 Ford Focus ST First Drive: The Hot Focus Deli...
- McLaren Officially Confirms MP4-12C Spider, Provid...
- Cars.com's Convertible Buying Guide
- New or Used? : Seeking A California Vintage
- Toyota and BMW Announce Further Ties, Adding a Joi...
- Mercedes-Benz Reveals the Not-a-Station-Wagon 2013...
- We Be Sippin’: Nine Technologies that Significantl...
- GM’s Brazilian Spin: Dog Of An Engine Devours Any ...
- Where is Gas the Cheapest?
- Toyota Expands Floormat Recall
- Overcapacity In Europe: It’s Worse Than We Thought
- General Motors Looking To Cut Engine Lineup By 40 ...
- BMW And Toyota To Jointly Develop Sports Cars And ...
- Daily News Briefs: June 29, 2012
- Canadian Auto Plant Caught Up In Abortion Debate
- Take That, China: Japan Finds 200 Years’ Worth Of ...
- Adventures In Marketing: The Cocainiest Car Ad of ...
- Junkyard Find: 1969 Volvo 145 Wagon
- The Secret Of The Tiffany-Blue LFA, Or How Those A...
- 2013 Subaru Impreza: What's Changed
- 2013 Audi Allroad: First Drive
- Best Selling Cars Around The Globe: The Millionair...
- 2014 Chevy Tahoe / GMC Yukon Spied: Next Generatio...
- 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Postponed...
- 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Spy Photos: The Next-G...
- Mazda Considers Hotter Miata with 205-hp MX-5 GT C...
- The (Nearly) 1.0-g Nissan Leaf: Getting an EV to G...
- Next-Gen Alfa Romeo Spider Won’t Be An Upscale Miata
- Aston Martin Produces Another 77 One-77s: Okay, Th...
- LeMons Good/Bad Idea of the Week: Twin-Turbo Taxi!
- What’s Right With This Picture: A Father’s Advice
- 2012 Chevrolet Equinox: Car Seat Check
- C/D Video: We Thrash the Ariel Atom 300
- Trackday Diaries: How’d that Cadillac crash, anyway?
- Consumers Want Backup Cameras, Blind Spot Systems
- Hyundai Generation Why Intramural League, First Pl...
- Edmunds Issues June Sales Forecast: No Major Changes
- Ford’s Traffic Jam Assist Combines New and Existin...
- Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Chrysler 200 Convertible
- Mazda Can’t Make Its CX-5 Fast Enough
- GM Preps for Wireless Charging Tech by Filing to T...
- Daily News Briefs: June 28, 2012
- How to Drink Less (Fuel): Five Tips for Efficiency...
- Ford Predicts 47 mpg for C-Max Hybrid
- Generation Why: Throw Some D’s On That Spark!
- Carbuzz Builds Chinese Firewall To Lock Out Lone D...
- Chasing Perfection: 1000 Miles in the McLaren MP4-12C
- BMW/NedCar Now In Talks
- Junkyard Find: 1987 Chevrolet Nova Sedan
- Fun at 40 mpg: Real-World Mileage Test with Chevy ...
- Fiat’s Viaggio To Bolster Chinese Exports
- 2013 Nissan Altima: Explaining the Trim Levels
- The Zen of Cupholders
- World’s Largest Automaker 2012: Toyota Leads After...
- 2013 Porsche Cayenne GTS First Drive: A Little Mor...
- Here’s Why Your Mileage May Vary (A Lot) from the ...
- Toyota and Gazoo Racing Twincharge a GT 86 for Goo...
- How Dampers Work: We Slice Open Four Types of Shoc...
- Ladies and Gentlemen, Mazda’s Rotary Has Left the ...
- Trackday Diaries: I can tell you how to win a Lemo...
- Cadillac ELR: More Details On How the Volt Will Be...
- Ford System Could Block Incoming Calls While You M...
- 2013 Subaru Forester: What's Changed
- Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Volvo XC70
- Hyundai Generation Why Intramural League, Second P...
- 2013 Dodge Dart Video
- Daily News Briefs: June 27, 2012
- Carnewschina: Carbuzz Is A Bunch Of Thieves
- Ask An Engineer: Natural Gas For Dummies
- Ford Developing Traffic Jam Fighter
- Question: What Car Most Needs a Spec Racing Series?
- Cars.com Family Reviews the 2012 Infiniti QX56
- Junkyard Find: 1996 Volkswagen Jetta Trek Edition
- BMW And Toyota To Make Announcement This Week
- Opel Restructuring: Baby Steps Instead Of Big Bang
- Piston Slap: Of Winter Tires and The Nürburgring D...
- Vellum Venom: 2012 BMW 750Li
- Best Selling Cars Around The Globe: 1992, The Year...
- 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo First Drive: A Sportie...
- 2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman ALL4 Long-Term Wrap
- Four Hundred And Thirty The Hard Way: Porsche Intr...
- BMW M School: Learning How to Go Fast in German
- Name That Exhaust Note, Episode 141
- 2013 BMW 640i Gran Coupe Tested: Six Plus Four Equ...
- Ford Aims for 47-mpg City Rating for C-Max Hybrid,...
-
▼
June
(664)
No comments:
Post a Comment