2005 Mustang in Motor Trend

Road & Track sucks. They cover cars that less than 1% of the buying public actually buys..... Their "hardcore" comparo for this month is an Audi TT vs. a Chrysler Crossfire. Not that it's an inappropriate comparo, but seriously... how many of either of these cars are sold??... Porsche Supercar? Blah blah. Another car nobody can afford. Who cares. Jaguars, Aston Martins, etc, etc. Other expensive pieces of ***** that most people can't afford and have absolutely no interest in.

I honestly don't see how that magazine stays in business.... Motortrend, on the other hand, covers the "real life" stuff. Cars people actually buy: Hondas, Fords, GM's, Toyotas, etc. Even Corvettes... while most don't buy them, they are "within range" of a good portion of Americans if they really wanted one, and a 2 or 3 year old used Corvette is a very viable car purchase for many college-grad professionals...

Anyway. Yeah, Road & Track sucks. I won't be buying it again, ever. The only reason I read this month's, is because my roommate bought it. I bought Motortrend and Hot Rod (both had the '05 Mustang on the cover), and I subscribe to Popular Hotrodding, Car Craft and GM High-Tech Performance.... mags that have RELEVANT information for an auto enthusiast (who also owns GM cars).

-Michael

I agree. MT is a great magazine with great coverage of vehicles that working people can actually afford.

They are also notorious for being slaves to whichever company spends the most on advertising.

grendal said:

Road & Track sucks. They cover cars that less than 1% of the buying public actually buys..... but seriously... how many of either of these cars are sold??... Porsche Supercar? Blah blah. Another car nobody can afford. Who cares. Jaguars, Aston Martins, etc, etc. Other expensive pieces of ***** that most people can't afford and have absolutely no interest in.
-Michael

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I understand that this is an opinion, and I don't tend to read R&T Either. (actually most generalized US auto journalism is kind of tepid to me anyway, who wants to keep reading "I guess you'll have to make up your own mind." at the end of every comparo? Be Decisive, people! )

But I have this counter-point. I know that Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche, and the like are a very small portion of the market, but they are the best. That is why ford is going after them with the Ford GT. That is why people who buy Mustangs and the like should be interested. When Aston Martin and Ford (Same parent company, and the people who will also be, and are designing your future mustang) try to compete with Ferrari and Porsche, they have to learn and work to do so. Those techniques influence the lower cars they will design after that. How much have Ford powertrain engineers learned about supercharging the 5.4 in the Ford GT, that will likely have direct results on the new Mustang GT, and very likely, the '06 SVT offering.

That, and also, the Variable Valve/Cam Timing and the 3 valve design of the new 05 GT's V8 are indirect results of past years of F1 racing, by the likes of Ferrari and BMW, and the 3-Valve design was recently improved and brought to fore by Mercedes, for more power and efficiency than 2 valves, with fewer moving parts and costs than a 4 valve, twin cam arrangement. the new 05 GT has quite nearly the same amount of horsepower that only Cobra owners could claim from a hand-built engine. That is progress.
The interior of the 05 GT, and the F150 is a direct result of having to improve on the interior of the Aston Martin DB7 to the Vanquish and DB9, and Jag XKR.
Aluminum Construction (hood, panels, and crush zones in the 05 mustang) came from the technology that has gone so far as to allow the new Jag XJ series sedans being made completely out of that material.

That is part of the complaint that some people have leveled in other threads about six speed manuals, and IRS, which have "Trickled down" to a lot of other cars in or near the price range of the 05 Mustang, yet the Mustang may not incorporate those, even as options. I hope the new Mustang does have those options. I would hate to think that a brand new car would be behind the technology curve in those areas, right out of the box.

Hot Rod technology today is not that far removed from the upper eschelon of sports car development from years ago, just a matter of time and lowered expense. That is only going to continue, which is a great thing.

I dotn think it matters which magazine it is, they're all going to support the company that pays the most for advertising, its how they make money.

Wait a minute about dissing R & T...

I have no problem with your not liking the mag - that's a personal opinion, and you're entitled to it. However, Road and Track is an excellent magazine, well respected world-wide, and is also the oldest US car enthusiasts' magazine. It's quality of writing and the experience of its editors and contributing writers is top notch. I've had a subscription to R & T since I was 12 years old. I have a wide ranging enthusiasm for cars and R & T gets the job done better than the other mags.

Their reporting is at least as unbiased as the others, their photography blows away the others with the possible exception of Automobile magazine, and they get more factory level cooperation, at least internationally, than the other US mags. Look at the driver, designer, and engineer interviews they get. Drivers like Phil Hill, AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti. Designers like Gorgettio Guigiario (sp?) Chris Bangle, and Jay Mays. Their in-house engineering editor is fantastic, and the other mags don't even have a person in this position. Peter Egan's column is a compelling read, and he's even had compilations published as hard cover books.

I think a car enthusiast who in wholly American-based in his or her interests might feel less well-served by R & T than me, but criticizing the magazine for its overall quality is totally unfound. BTW, someone on this thread criticized R & T for it's not having the 05 Mustang on their cover. Did this person see the multi-page story and cover photo on the Mustang concept that from last year? And this month there's a nice piece on the new C6 Vette with an interview with it's chief project manager. As for only doing pieces on unaffordable cars, that's totally untrue. R & T covers entry level cars, minivans, and family sedans as well. They will definitely report on the new Mustang when they get their hands on one.

Your comment deserves the analogy of someone who thinks MacDonald's is great food saying that caviar sucks. Personal taste can't be used to judge quality.

Anyone have any Pics of that Car (or the same colors) as the one from MotorTrend ??

Basenji guy said:

I have no problem with your not liking the mag - that's a personal opinion, and you're entitled to it. However, Road and Track is an excellent magazine, well respected world-wide, and is also the oldest US car enthusiasts' magazine. It's quality of writing and the experience of its editors and contributing writers is top notch. I've had a subscription to R & T since I was 12 years old. I have a wide ranging enthusiasm for cars and R & T gets the job done better than the other mags.

Their reporting is at least as unbiased as the others, their photography blows away the others with the possible exception of Automobile magazine, and they get more factory level cooperation, at least internationally, than the other US mags. Look at the driver, designer, and engineer interviews they get. Drivers like Phil Hill, AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti. Designers like Gorgettio Guigiario (sp?) Chris Bangle, and Jay Mays. Their in-house engineering editor is fantastic, and the other mags don't even have a person in this position. Peter Egan's column is a compelling read, and he's even had compilations published as hard cover books.

I think a car enthusiast who in wholly American-based in his or her interests might feel less well-served by R & T than me, but criticizing the magazine for its overall quality is totally unfound. BTW, someone on this thread criticized R & T for it's not having the 05 Mustang on their cover. Did this person see the multi-page story and cover photo on the Mustang concept that from last year? And this month there's a nice piece on the new C6 Vette with an interview with it's chief project manager. As for only doing pieces on unaffordable cars, that's totally untrue. R & T covers entry level cars, minivans, and family sedans as well. They will definitely report on the new Mustang when they get their hands on one.

Your comment deserves the analogy of someone who thinks MacDonald's is great food saying that caviar sucks. Personal taste can't be used to judge quality.

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Kinda off the subject, but HotRod Sucks.

I think the Blue car on the cover is just the Grey car in the magazine with a really good photoshop to change its color.