New Mustang

Aw man….you just had to take the conversation in this direction again, didn’t you? Alright…I’ll play!

revhead347 said:

You can fix all that other stuff. Weight is the one thing that's almost impossible to fix, unless you want a swiss cheese car. I just hate how all 3 manufacturers are totally missing the point and building these sled muscle cars. There is no reason for a Mustang to be bigger than it was before.

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And by “fixing all that stuff”, what exactly is it that you think you’re adding to the Fox body? Airbags, chassis reinforcement, increased interior room, a 3-link/panhard bar rear suspension, 18-20” wheels/tires, 4-wheel large diameter ABS brakes with dual piston calipers, 31-spline rear end, 6-way adjust able power seats, finally a decent factory stereo option and twice the available features and creature comforts offered over the Fox? I’d say the little added weight is a pretty good trade off.

Especially when you consider a 5-Speed S197 clocks in at about 3,450lbs and my loaded ’87 LX Hatch only weighed about 150lbs less than that…the weight difference isn’t all that significant.

.....and yes, bigger was a necessity. At 6’3”, I don’t comfortably fit in either a Fox body, or an SN95. Sure I could tilt the seat back and get away with it like I did in my last Fox for 6-years, but I was always either look out the top of the windshield, banging my knees off the dash/consol, or elbows against the door panels and quite frankly felt claustrophobic in the car 90% of the time. And that was after altering the shift handle and modifying the seat tracks to lengthen their travel. Truth be told.....anyone over about 5’10” needs to make serious compromises just to drive the older models.

I hop into the S197 and its night and day. Everything’s in the right place, there’s not smashing my knee’s off the dash.....hell, I didn’t even had to adjust the seat back all the way and was actually for the first time able to put the seat in an upright position to drive the car. And best of all…no more claustrophobia

revhead347 said:

I think the build quality is about the same.

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You must be joking?! ?

revhead347 said:

As for technical differences, it's still a live rear axle car with a 5 speed transmission. Not a huge advance there. The suspension might have a little better geometry, but it wasn't that bad before. The design of the new Mustang is definately a step back. In addition to it's increase in overall size, driver visibility has been reduced. They also designed the door seals poorly and had to bandage it later. You'll notice that when you open the door, the windows slide down just a hair to keep the glass from damaging the seal. That's one thing that's certain to break down the road.

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Strongly disagree. Put engine modifications aside...since quite frankly the argument is irrelevant when you consider the numerous possibilities and combinations of go fast parts available for both cars, can you name one thing...just one thing that the Fox body/SN95 does better than an S197? Even taking into account the difference in weight, the S197 out handles, out runs, out rides and plain outdrives the previous Fox bodies and SN95’s before it. And that’s with the additional weight. If you can look at all those factors and still think that the Mustang took a step back in ’05, then there really isn’t any hope for you.

I also disagree about driver’s visibility. The visibility on an S197 is greatly improved over the Fox body. That huge front windscreen and massive side windows is a night and day difference compared to the tiny, obtrusive outlook on the fox body. If there’s anything intrusive about the S197 visibly, I would say it’s the tall head rests, but the rest of the car is superb.

Poor window seal design...ok, I can agree with that, but do we really need to start comparing flaws between the two cars here? I mean...I could go on for hours with the list of factory design flaws that my Fox body had. If poor sealing windows what comes to the top of your head when rhyming off the S197’s ergonomic flaws, then I’d say they did a pretty damn good job with the car.

revhead347 said:

6 inches of length, 2 inches of width, and 3 inches of height is a lot when you are talking about the same platform.

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But its not the same platform. Completely different cars. The only thing they seem to share in common is the V8 front engine and RWD configuration...as well as the "Mustang" moniker.


Look, I’m all for you preferring your Fox body to the S197 based on your individual tastes, choice in style, need for nostalgic simplicity, or because the Fox was the lightest, most simple platform available, but please let’s not be delusional here and attempt to ignore the fact that the S197 to this point has been the best Mustang Ford has ever built. There is no category (besides those that can be judged with personal bias) that the Fox or SN95 ever excelled over the current S197 at. It’s just quite simply a better car. And to make a blanketed statement like “The Mustang is definitely a step back” even after taking into consideration the 100% improvement in all areas of the car since the last Fox body rolled off the assembly line, is quite simply a ludicrous and unfounded comment of a bitter man who doesn’t seem to embrace change very well. Be honest Kurt.....you were ready to boycott Ford when you found out they were going to stop building the Fox body Mustang, weren’t you?