8th Jun 2009, 18:20
11:49 has a point; we race on our big screen at home... and then take nice actual rides after work and weekends having fun and nothing to prove. When you have a significant investment, why thrash it on the street.
I enjoy having significant power on tap, great handling, suspension, braking and having the top down.
Sometimes being in a fishbowl brings out the biggest idiots in their stock vehicles. Motorcyclists even more so especially the Hayabusa crowd. It's a great feeling having a car that you worked very hard for and is a reality. I think the police have a lot of respect for this viewpoint and they like mine. Seeing an idiot revving a stock Jeep Cherokee at a light for example is unfortunately a common occurrence next to mine.
My favorite time is dawn on weekends to go out and avoid everyone. I mostly drive a SUV to work all week in no great hurry to get to work or even get home. Drive fast on TV and cruise on the street, it's more fun.
8th Jun 2009, 19:41
Maybe it's because a huge number of us want Mustangs that ride better, get much better mileage and have way lower insurance rates. That, not to mention the $7,000 to $10,000 less in initial purchase costs. Not everyone is a speed fanatic. Some of us actually drive our cars in a NORMAL manner.
As for "better V-6s" if you're referring to Japanese cars, my grandmother might like a Camry or Accord. I DON'T.
10th Jun 2009, 10:07
First, the GT Mustang rides better than the V-6 if you want to have any handling ability, plus the mileage difference is minuscule compared to the performance difference as proven by C&D and MT countless times. They get an observed 15 mpg in the GT and 19 mpg in the V-6, and you can bet they were driving the GT a lot harder than the V-6 as the fun factor is quite a bit higher in the GT.
I am not actually a speed fanatic either, but having the whole package of performance in a Mustang is what interests me. I don't street race or drive like a maniac, which is why I can get in the mid 20's with a V-8 for mileage.
My insurance isn't way higher with the GT either, probably due to my driving record, which is impeccable.
Lastly, why does everyone think you are talking about a Camry or an Accord when you say there are better cars out there? I was actually thinking the Camaro V-6, the Hyundai Genesis coupe,... okay and maybe the Accord V-6 Coupe with a manual tranny as well, but that is no granny car!! Not thinking of the Camry sedan though... I am talking better sport coupes... There are better V-6 options with nicer smoother powertrains than the old Explorer V-6 in the Mustang.
10th Jun 2009, 12:15
Why do V-8 Mustang owners get so touchy and hostile when someone exercises their right to buy what they want??
10th Jun 2009, 12:45
The point is this: A car that has as rich a heritage as the Mustang GT, Camaro Z28 (SS), Firebird Trans Am, requires the performance that only a V8 could could provide. Any base pony car is for people who are wannabe's. The V8 engine made these cars what they are today. Not the V6. Don't get me wrong, a V6 in any other car is fine, just not in a car that is supposed to be high performance. A word to all V6 pony car owners, don't compare your car to my Mustang GT or any other legitimately equipped V8 performance car. You are comparing red apples to green apples. They are both apples, but the similarities end there. The same can be said about the Mustang GT vs Mustang V6, Camaro SS vs base Camaro, and Firebird Trans Am vs Firebird V6!
10th Jun 2009, 14:36
Anyone factor the low resale of the V6 when you sell - I would say a convertible would hold value either way for a Mustang however,
10th Jun 2009, 20:02
"First, the GT Mustang rides better than the V-6 if you want to have any handling ability"
This statement contradicts the laws of physics. You CAN'T have a "better ride" with a harsher suspension. That is a physical impossibility.
11th Jun 2009, 12:22
Believe me, I don't really care that you want an underpowered shell of a sports car. Good for you. Just stating that there are better choices out there is all. Even everyone's coveted MT and C&D hate the V-6 in the Mustang. You're only getting half the package and half the fun. I think it is the V-6 drivers that are touchy about the subject with all the complaining about higher costs and lower mpg... (and a few mpg isn't really that much) and "I just want it for the looks".
11th Jun 2009, 15:18
"Even everyone's coveted MT and C&D hate the V-6 in the Mustang"
Yes, and the editors of both mags aren't going to pay for your gas and insurance.
If everyone drove what the editors liked, we'd all being driving cars that cost as much as a house.
In the real world people drive what is practical for them.
11th Jun 2009, 16:25
I waited to get mine. Another 2 years for a nice Camaro SS rather than base, and it was worth saving and waiting. I also despised column shifts and bench seat muscle cars; even a AAR Cuda automatic on column 340 with a lift off hood. A very strange car great except the column shift saving a buck when ordered.
11th Jun 2009, 22:23
In other words Ford should build only V-8 Mustangs and lose 66% of their customers??
12th Jun 2009, 06:16
It's up to you to decide if having better resale is worth it to you when you sell.
12th Jun 2009, 08:21
In the real world it is practical for me to drive a GT. My insurance is marginally higher, but not crazy and the gas mileage is only a few mpg less. Again, I say if cost is a factor then why are you even looking at sports cars? We're not talking a lot of difference here either... maybe $5K or so overall depending on options.
And no, the editors won't pay for your gas and insurance, but they test a lot of cars out there in extreme conditions, which you or I can't do, and give an honest review of what the car would be like in these conditions which translates down to real world driving. Let's face it, on a test drive the salesman is talking your ear off and you are playing with the stereo and looking at everything else on the car. It is tough to get an honest look at the car that way and you only really learn about the car after you own it for awhile and the euphoria wears off. That is when your Explorer based V-6 becomes downright grating to listen to every time you hit the gas.
7th Jun 2009, 11:03
People who are so disorganized that they leave late for every occasion and have to make up for it by driving like a lunatic don't really have any excuse. There are times when speed is called for. On two occasions I've had to get to a hospital very quickly. In one case I covered 14 miles in 8 minutes. I was driving a 6-cylinder compact. The real-world performance differential between cars is really not that much. I seriously doubt that I could have covered that distance to the hospital any quicker in a Shelby 500. Road and traffic conditions always put a limit on speed, no matter what you're driving.