2004 vs 2005

It all depends on what you are looking for. If styling is your major consideration then that's really personal preference. The major advantage of the '04 is going to be cost. With the '05 coming on line I would imagine you could get a sweet deal on an '04. Also, you have the advantage of a huge pool of aftermarket accessories that are about to go non-current. The '05 probably won't have enything decent for another year or so.

I'm really gravitating towards the '05 though. Basically the car is going to be better in every way (especially ride/handing) and I really like the way it looks, inside and out.

I just saw the '05 in person yesterday. Sat in it, started it up and reved the engine. I looked at every detail inside and out.

It is simply NO CONTEST, the 05 makes the 04 look like a joke. It is a better car in EVERY way. Much MORE HP & TQ. Much better inteior, Seats are vastly better, Brakes are HUGE compared to the 04, trunk is bigger, stock exhaust sounds great, with its longer wheel base, wider track and much stiffer platform it will run rings around the 04 in handling and comfort. It would take me all day to tell you all the details, but believe me, put the 2 next to each other and the 04 looks like a hobbie horse on roller skates compared to the 05.

The ONLY way I would get an 04 is if I got an incredible deal on it and just couldn't come up with the bucks for an 05.

Note, in my signature I own a 2001 GT, which is pretty much the same as an 04.

If you need to save money, I'll sell you my 2001 GT, it only has 19K miles on it and has a 60K mile extended warranty.

351CJ said:

It would take me all day to tell you all the details, but believe me, put the 2 next to each other and the 04 looks like a hobbie horse on roller skates compared to the 05.

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Ok, let's here some more details. I'm stuck at work anyway. How'd you get to sit in it? Does it look like a SUV in person? How's the fit and finish? Etc. etc.

66Satellite said:

Ok, let's here some more details. I'm stuck at work anyway. How'd you get to sit in it? Does it look like a SUV in person? How's the fit and finish? Etc. etc.

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You may be stuck at work and need to wast some time, but I'm home and an grilling some chicken right now. So in between flips of the chicken, here you go.

The 2005 GT is on tour with the Great American Pony Drive II. They stop at various Ford dealers and show the 2005 GT along with the 300 millionth Ford made (The Redfire GT Convert) but no one could care less about that 300M car. The tour stopped at Rodman Ford outside of Boston MA yesterday. The 05 was on display and the manager of exterior and structure engineering was on hand to answer questions. They just had it sitting on the dealer's lot and you could look it over, sit in it, pop the hood and start the engine. (I did all 3).

It does not look like an SUV, the new larger diameter tires fill the wheel cut outs very nicely.

The fit and finish was awesome (is was Redfire), especially considering that this was an early prototype. The engine had tags on it that said it was built in July 2003. The engineer couldn't tell me exactly when it was built, but he said he believed that this specific car was a P2 car (Prototype 2nd build) that was probably build around Nov - Dec 03.

My only complaints were that the shifter (MTX) felt like a rubber band. The engineer said not to worry, they've changed it 5 times since this car was built. The parking brake lever does look ugly and the the Shaker 500 woofers in the doors look ugly too.

The seats are real comfortable and the whole look and feel of the interior (dash, shape of the windshield) really reminded me of the 1967 Mustang GT's I used to have many years ago.

He also said the 3V engine had a VERY robust 300 HP rating a and is better than the Mach 1 engine.

Next chance to see the 2005 will be on Sunday at All American Ford in Hackensack NJ.

I love my 99 GT but I strongly believe it's a pos compared to the 05.

ChromeYellowGT said:

I love my 99 GT but I strongly believe it's a pos compared to the 05.

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I used to think the exact same thing about my 2001 GT compared to the 05. Now that I've sat in the 05 I know that it's the case.

if you dont like the 05 body style i would suggest you buy the 04. if you can wait until the 05s hit the dealer lots you'll be able to grab an 04 at a huge savings. i considered grabbing a mach1 my dealer is giving away to hold me over until my 05 comes in but my wife didn't have the same perspective the prices are great, and will only go lower the longer you wait.

351CJ said:

You may be stuck at work and need to wast some time, but I'm home and an grilling some chicken right now. So in between flips of the chicken, here you go.

The 2005 GT is on tour with the Great American Pony Drive II. They stop at various Ford dealers and show the 2005 GT along with the 300 millionth Ford made (The Redfire GT Convert) but no one could care less about that 300M car. The tour stopped at Rodman Ford outside of Boston MA yesterday. The 05 was on display and the manager of exterior and structure engineering was on hand to answer questions. They just had it sitting on the dealer's lot and you could look it over, sit in it, pop the hood and start the engine. (I did all 3).

It does not look like an SUV, the new larger diameter tires fill the wheel cut outs very nicely.

The fit and finish was awesome (is was Redfire), especially considering that this was an early prototype. The engine had tags on it that said it was built in July 2003. The engineer couldn't tell me exactly when it was built, but he said he believed that this specific car was a P2 car (Prototype 2nd build) that was probably build around Nov - Dec 03.

My only complaints were that the shifter (MTX) felt like a rubber band. The engineer said not to worry, they've changed it 5 times since this car was built. The parking brake lever does look ugly and the the Shaker 500 woofers in the doors look ugly too.

The seats are real comfortable and the whole look and feel of the interior (dash, shape of the windshield) really reminded me of the 1967 Mustang GT's I used to have many years ago.

He also said the 3V engine had a VERY robust 300 HP rating a and is better than the Mach 1 engine.

Next chance to see the 2005 will be on Sunday at All American Ford in Hackensack NJ.

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Very cool.

There won't be any 04's on the lot for you to buy by august.

Hey 351, did you see this? Pretty much lines up with everything you said.

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=2250

66Satellite said:

Hey 351, did you see this? Pretty much lines up with everything you said.

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=2250

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Well is had better line up since I wrote it.

I want to see one live...sometimes it sucks to live in a small city in Canada.

351CJ said:

Well is had better line up since I wrote it.

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Wylde said:

I want to see one live...sometimes it sucks to live in a small city in Canada.

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I drove 4 hours (round trip) to see it. Just seeing the car in the flesh, being able to sit in it and start it up was worth the drive. Add on top of it that the Ford engineering manager responsible for exterior and structure design was on hand to answer questions made the whole deal mind blowing. It would have been worth driving 10 hours.

That Ford engineer used to work on the LS. He just kept gushing on and on about how much better the Noise Vibration and Harshness is on the 05 vs. the 99-04. He said the ride and handling is so much better on the 05 you won't belive it and the engine has gobs of power.

Also, over on Brad's site, MustangSource, make sure you read the "Foxboro-5/27" topic started by DustinBu4. He has a lot of photos posted including many of the displays from the message center. Dustin & I played with the message center. I ran it through its displays and modes as he snapped photos of all the different ones. We also played with the MyColor display color setup too.

The exhaust sounds great, very similar to the 03/04 Mach 1 in sound. I think that the aftermarket is going to loose a lot of business because the stock exhaust is so good. (there is a link to an audio clip that Dustin made over on MustangSource too).

Also the seats are absolutely wonderful compared to the 99-04. You feel like you really are sitting facing straight forward to the steering wheel, and not angled to the left like in the 99-04. The grear shift knob position is within reach too, no more straining to reach it with the stock shift lever.
It felt to me like it has an inch more leg room than the 99-04. I ran the driver's seat all the way up and down and there is plenty of headroom even with the seat all the way up (I'm 6'2"). I sat in the passenger seat too and even it was comfortable.

The back seats are still a joke. They look a lot better, but if you have the front seats all the way back there is the same or less legroom than the 99-04.

For those in the NY - NJ area, the 05 will be at All American Ford on Sunday morining (I think it is in Hackensack). If you are a Mustang fan and you live within 5 hours of there, I'd advise you to go see it. It will also be in the Wash DC area on June 1 or 2. Someone on the MustangSource has the details of that stop.

that article answered all my questions. Now all i have to do is wait for the SVT hood to come out and 2005 magnapacks and i will be a happy camper

ChromeYellowGT said:

I love my 99 GT but I strongly believe it's a pos compared to the 05.

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It is still a stang...

2005 Mustang Tour

351CJ said:

For those in the NY - NJ area, the 05 will be at All American Ford on Sunday morining (I think it is in Hackensack). If you are a Mustang fan and you live within 5 hours of there, I'd advise you to go see it. It will also be in the Wash DC area on June 1 or 2. Someone on the MustangSource has the details of that stop.

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I attended both the Foxboro and Hackensack events. Due to a digital camera mishap, I lost all of my Foxboro pics so I had to go see the car again! I am about midway between the two cities.

Hackensack was somewhat less attended than Foxboro. At least this was the case during the morning hours when I was there. It was a great chance to get the car all to yourself. Although, the Ford engineer that was in Foxboro and has been spoken so highly of was not in Hackensack. Instead there was someone from a marketing agency that Ford used to put together the event. Still it was well worth the trip. In fact, they had a second 2005 there; a silver V6.

See my site for some of my pictures:
http://www.triplewhitefox.com/mustang/pictures05.htm

The tour will be at the World's Fair site in NY today (5/31) for a photo shoot. It will go to Philadelphia on 6/1. I don't know the location in Philly but it will be wherever the Pony Drive II will be.

Thanks for your comments and photo's tripplewhite. I was debating going to Hackensack to see it again, but there was just too much to do around the house & yard this weekend.

You are correct, Ford has done a HORRIBLE job publicizing the 2005 Stang showings. I only found out that the 2005 was definately going to be at Rodman Ford because someone on Brad's site saw an ad in a Boston newspaper and put the info up on that site.

Because the Ford engineer was at Rodman, I'm really glad I went up there to see it.

Regarding your comments on your web-site:

At Rodman Ford, I found out that this was one of three pre-production cars. Its VIN ended with something like 000194 and had no other identifying tags other than the VIN plate in the windshield. It was said to be "cosmetically correct".

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There is one cosmetic piece missing from the GT. That is the black grille insert that goes in the opening in the bumper. Recent spy photos have shown this insert.

60 more have been made since the initial three with 110 more scheduled very shortly (as of 5/30/2004). This car will probably be ultimately scrapped, used in a crash test or have some other similar sad fate.

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The 110 scheduled shortly must be the pilot run that the Ford engineer @ Foxboro told us about. He said they are scheduled to be built in 2 - 3 weeks. He also said that these cars will be EXACTLY like the real production cars. If they go together without any problems, he said these cars will be "sale-able". I wonder who will get these cars. I'd imagine that they will loan out most of them to car rags and newspapers.

He also told us that ALL the 05 stangs built before this pilot run will be crushed or crashed.