its very simple. if ford wants to compete with the better cars out there that will be around in 09(camaro, challenger, charger, etc), theyre gonna have to step it up, and realize what it is thats making those cars look like a better buy than the current retro/homo stang.
1) 5.4L/4V - 370+hp stock - if chevy and dodge can make 400-500hp naturally aspirated with motors that are bigger in cubes but take up less engine bay, i dont see what the **** fords dilemma is. maybe design a engine that isnt 281cid that has the same footprint as a 460cid.
2) lighter and smaller - nobody likes driving a fricking land barge. thus the reason for the death of the MN12 platform.
3)looks - you guys ****ed up the t-bird. then you came back and ****ed up the mustang. ford, you suck @ teh retro. it looked decent, as a concept, but somewhere between that and the mass produced version, someone dropped the ball and got all half-assey. the challenger is retro perfected. if they make the exact version as it is now, i WILL buy one, no matter the cost. and thats what the 2009 mustang should make me feel like, make people say "i want his car, no matter the price or how my insurance will look"
4)No IRS on GT - 'nuff said. i love my solid rear, and as far as DD and Dragstrips, im going to keep it, i feel i have much more control over it, compared to my old MN12. if i want a corner carver/autox, ill get a Evo.
6) Diversification - want more sales, make better cars/lineups. currently, ford has no AWD performance vehicle to slap around the evo/sti. as a slap in the face to ricers galore, id like to see ford bring back the Pinto name, AWD 2.3L powertrain from the Mazdaspeed6, slap that into a small chassis(or just use the mazda6 as a base) and make it 300ish HP. then if you want to piss off more, make a RWD version of it, grab some sales from nissan and infinity.
then piss of chevy by making a corvette eater for half the price. im talking about a 2 seater Tbird, 5.4L 4v with 400ishHp, but suspension and lightness to make it one to be contended with. price it 30k and watch corvettes cower. nobody said the Mustang had to be top dog forever, i mean, it wasnt when it first came out.