true.
I am a car nut, so I tend to obsess over these things. This is my first Ford, and the first Mustang I have owned. I have to say, I am very impressed; going on about 8 months of ownership.
I read the car blogs everyday and go through phases where I think one car or another would be the best thing ever, then I drive the mustang, and no... the mustang is pretty damn near perfect. I think the only thing that might be better is a 2010. I just saw the specs for a 2010 SMS mustang, and that will probably be my fascination for the next few weeks.
First, its a Ford. And though I denied it when I drove Volkwagens and Toyotas over the years, it is nice to have some patriotic pride in your car. Not only that, but the petigree of Ford, and Mustang, is unbeatable. I can drive my car with pride into ANY situation, be that a snooty private golf club or a biker bar 50 miles outside town.
**side note - my wife has this snobby friend. She is a great gal and we like her a lot, but she was raised in very wealthy circles and sometimes lets her guard down and reveals the true snobery of her ways. When I bought the mustang, she said "A what, why in the world did you get a Mustang?" Then a couple month later I had to pick her and my wife up from a party, and before she got in she was like "wow, amazing car." Then she got in and was like "Can you make it go fast, I want to go fast." Totally changed her tune once she actually experienced the thing.
Second, the mustang seems to be the perfect balance of performance. It handles great around town. A Lotus will beat it around a track with only half the cylinders, but thats about all a Lotus can do respectably. The V8 has such a smooth broad powerband that it can be a silent cruzer, nimble autocrosser, or balls to the wall beast depending on your mood.
It can seat four in a pinch.
It looks amazing.
It sounds amazing.
Its affordable! (relatively)
Really, there is not a better car out there (for the money). The Mustang, by being the smallest most nimble muscle car, is the best balance of performance you could want.