Love the new design but..........

peyotesands said:

i can't imagine when they unveilded the Aztec to the honchos at GM one of them actually said to himself "oh yeah, that's the stuff... build it" It just escapes me.

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Why not? Ugly sells. Look at the Taurus - one of the ugliest cars ever built (looks like a catfish up front), and they sell the bejabbers out of 'em. (Also one of the worst performing cars I've ever driven. A brand new rental scared me badly when it couldn't get up to 50 - when traffic is 75+ - on an interstate ramp in Philly!!!)

Ever driven a VW Cabriolet with the top down? I haven't, but I've riden in one. I honestly was not expecting to survive merging into traffic it was so slow. A Festiva has better power.

A Lesson in Aerodynamics

Just because the leading edge of the hood on the 05 protrudes more than the current Mustang has very little to do with the aerodynamics of the car. If you take a very close look at the grill and the headlights on the 05 you'll notice how much more flush everything fits together, unlike the current car. I know one topic of contention about the 05's grill was the number of blocked openings in the grill, the reason for these to be closed off is to reduce the size of the actual grill opening. As for the flush plastic lenses over the headlights they are there for a similar purpose, the way they are angled back away from the grill they direct air around the side and up over the hood rather than catch it like the classic stangs open lights did, or the HUGE GAPS over the Current Mustangs headlights. The profile of the 05 Mustangs front end is very similar to a BMW's if anyone hasn't noticed, and I believe BMW is very concerned with aerodynamics, as much as Ford is. I am an amateur designer and have studied alot about aerodynamics, as I got my desire to design in the height of the Aero Craze! It's alot more than how low the front end is, if anyone remembers the Audi 100 of the 1980s just take a look at it's front end, it looks much more square and Brick like than the 05 Mustang yet it had an industry leading CD (Coefficient of Drag) of .29. I'm confident that Ford has done their homework on this design, and that it spent numerous hours in the wind tunnel to achieve a respectable CD number. It's Funny how none of the car manufactures boast the CD numbers of their cars anymore. But they sure are making the Horsepower Numbers Known!

TampaBear67 said:

As for the flush plastic lenses over the headlights they are there for a similar purpose, the way they are angled back away from the grill they direct air around the side and up over the hood rather than catch it like the classic stangs open lights did, or the HUGE GAPS over the Current Mustangs headlights.

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Not to mention the new car's lack of barn door caliber protrusions like the current model's fake hood and side scoops.

ghettocar said:

Not to mention the new car's lack of barn door caliber protrusions like the current model's fake hood and side scoops.

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Agreed. The new car is a much cleaner and more attractive design than the current, even if it is still too high and narrow for my personal taste (I like 'em wide, low and fast - both of my cars fit that description).

The new car gives the illusion that its much lower to the ground then the current mustang. I dont know the exact height of either car off the top of my head. I do know that in person, it "Looks" much lower.

65conv50 said:

Why not? Ugly sells. Look at the Taurus - one of the ugliest cars ever built (looks like a catfish up front), and they sell the bejabbers out of 'em.

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Um, Taurus sales dropped off dramatically after the 96 "bubble frog" redesign. That's why it only lasted a few years before it was replaced by a more conventional looking body. Styling is HUGE in car sales. Most people don't ask for something distinct, they just want something stylish that won't stand out.

And I wouldn't worry about the 05's aerodynamics. The 99-04s aren't incredibly sleek and the giant scoops don't help. Notice how the hood of the 05 has no scoops and the side scoops are much smoother. This may be for looks, but also helps compensate for the more blunt front end.

Nazgul said:

Um, Taurus sales dropped off dramatically after the 96 "bubble frog" redesign. That's why it only lasted a few years before it was replaced by a more conventional looking body. Styling is HUGE in car sales. Most people don't ask for something distinct, they just want something stylish that won't stand out.

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What replacement? The Taurus is as ugly as ever. There are still a heckuva lot of very ugh-lee cars being sold. Honda Element, Ion, Taurus, Fairlane, Cayenne, TT, I could name a dozen more. I repeat: ugly sells.

Element: I bet anyone the platic panels will be replaced by painted ones within the next two years. You'd think Honda could learn something from GM's woes with the Avalanche and Aztek.

Ion: a dud

Taurus: did get redesigned to get rid of the oval rear window, and is being discontinued soon.

Fairlane: WTF?

Most of these "ugly" cars are not being sold in the numbers predicted before people got a look at them.

I haven't read this entire thread, but apparently I haven't said it enough: it is difficult, if not impossible, to judge a vehicle's aerodynamics based on pictures of the car. Some of the most aerodynamic vehicles on the road are boxy looking sedans.

(&) said:

I haven't read this entire thread, but apparently I haven't said it enough: it is difficult, if not impossible, to judge a vehicle's aerodynamics based on pictures of the car. Some of the most aerodynamic vehicles on the road are boxy looking sedans.

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like the chevy astro

Flexia said:

like the chevy astro

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No the hummer

I can't wait to see people start converting their 2005's to GT-500 replicas, I bet it will look awesome.