I'm going to try to contribute to this thread without writing a 6 page white paper. The first thing I would mention is out of the box thinking does not seem to be a trend in this thread by many who have posted. Nor is realistic or deductive reasoning using the past, current trends, and the nuances of manufacturing on a billion dollar scale, but this is all just in fun right? I am not pretending to be an expert, just thinking it through a bit and here is what I have come up with.
First an foremost, I'm a proponent for the 20K V8. It embodies what the Mustang was all about in the 60's - a car that could be optioned any way you wanted with nearly any combination of amenities offered over the entire model line. When thinking about ways of making this 20K V8 a reality, so many factors are being left out it's mind boggling.
Just to touch on a few; what is the real cost /profit of the BASE model Mustang? - What is more costly to FORD - manual windows and door locks in a few hundred special order cars to lower the price or having every car come off the line with THE SAME options? - Wheel options - appearance (the wing and bumper treatments that don't really cost Ford more, just the consumer) - There are three options for the V6 and two for the GT. What's the price difference between the "V6" and the V6 Deluxe & what’s Fords real cost on this “package“? - And the biggest part of this equation; the sheer volume of these parts produced by Ford. You see a few hundred dollars, but Ford saves or spends millions for these "options" over the span of 200K + unit year (for good sales years of course)
The V6 is an 18.5K+ car @ the Deluxe option level MSRP. What makes the motor, drive train, suspension and the few appearance parts of the GT entry level package (built on the V6 Deluxe) cost NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS? I'll tell you right now it is, for the most part, pure profit. That's why a car that has only sold 20-30K Units (GT coupe) or less for years is still around. The V6 takes care of making the car viable and pays the bills, selling 2 times the units (in 2000 it did better by outselling the GT almost 4 to 1) and the GT makes the gravy.
So break down the GT parts in aftermarket prices and take about 20% off for a price still far more than what ford would pay. What do you have? 5K worth of stuff?
NO! You have about 5K worth of stuff for one car. Now buy 50K of them and how much do you think it will cost... in fact, keeping with current unit trends, buy 30K for the GT and another 40 to 60K for the $20K "wish upon a star" V8 that will more than likely sell instead of V6‘s. Now you are making 70 to 90K of these drive trains/suspension packages. Wow - 2K cost out the door now? Maybe, but you are going to order this every year for the next 5 to 10 years with only minor changes. Isn't that worth a discount? SURE! - Now… make the stuff instead of buying it… Ha-ha!
Even without that multi year manufacturing in the equation lets go with 2K cost per unit; so a 2K wholesale cost to Ford for this drivetrain, suspension with NO GT appearance parts and the 17" V6 wheel option if there is one, you have a car that will make as much profit as the V6 without even trying to get more money for that GT driveline. If the entry level V6 - the third V6 option that is not available in the GT line, is 17,995, you get a 19,995 tag on a V8 equipped BASE model Mustang.
So I personally can see how it can be done, but will it? only time will tell. But if it DOES happen I will buy one, if it does not happen I will NOT buy an 05 - so there is a market Ford could OWN if they make this move.
As for the Fox Body GT/LX question - go buy some books on Mustangs. Even with the minor errors the authors tend to make, you can learn a lot of interesting info.
Not including the verts (83+), the Fox came in 2 flavors, hatch and coupe.
There were 5 engine options for the 79 model year. I'm not going to list them. The two top were a 140 HP 5.0 and the Turbo Charged 2.3L @ 132HP. The V8 sounded great but the turbo 4 was the fastest of the lot until you modded your 5.0. The top performance cars were denoted with the COBRA name from 79 to 81; sold as a package for $542 (The cobra name continued to be used in Canada for marketing). I'm just writing basic info here so don't bother bench racing me or questioning the info or I'll smack you with my SVO.
It got worse: In 80 the 4.2 dog came out @ 119 HP, the 5.0 was dropped. So the Turbo took over top dog spot for 80. In 81 someone bumped there head and dropped the turbo and kept the 4.2 as the top of the line model. The 2.3T was still available as the Cobra option package, but published sales numbers from the sources I'm using to check my facts don't reflect it. The 4.2 was rated at a whopping 120HP. There was just the stirrings of talk at Ford to drop the Mustang and close Dearborn towards the end of this year (JUST TALK). It would get serious later, but I'm getting way off the point - In 82 the name GLX was used for the top models and the Cobra option was dropped. The GT made it's debut in Fox form in 83 in the form of a Turbo GT and the 5.0 HO GT.
All high performance models 5.0 and Turbos with the exception of the SVO were labeled "GT". No Turbo GT's were made past 84 and Mustangs dropped the use of the turbo lima when the SVO was removed from the lineup at the end of 86. From what I have read, the LX was available from 87 and up. The 5.0 could be had in any model, vert, coupe and "fastback" hatch without the cost of the GT appearance package. I don't have broken down sales figures that split up model to engine config but I can tell ya the LX did real well with down to the ground performance enthusiasts.
If you think about it, Ford is not just drawing form the 60's to go back to the Total Performance expression Mustang used to represent, they may be pulling from 80's marketing too.
Well, my pain pill has worn off so it's back to being my non-talkative self...
Z.
