What details have you noticed on the 2005 V8 Stang?

[351CJ]

Sweet. Does anyone know it the quarter windows open or not? Do the interior shots show a latch or something? The high res pics are a bit out of reach for me right now.

Looking at the high res. interior photos, I do not see any type of latch or hinge. Therefore I have to conclude that the rear quarter windows are fixed.


Another improvement is the trunk volume increased to 12.3 cu ft (was 10.9 cu ft.)

Interior volume appears to be larger too. C&D says 86 cu. ft. HR says 96 cu ft. The HR # appears to be really huge, so I'd guess they got it wrong. The 99-04 has 83 cu ft of interior room so 86 cu ft. for the 2005 sounds more believable. I actually hope the interior is not a huge amount larger as you'll lose some of that sporty car feel.

 

[351CJ]

Here's 4 more nice little things on the 2005 Stang:

An inclination sensing module to guard against tow-away thefts
Interior motion sensor to detect "smash-and-grab" break-ins
Separate alarm sounder – instead of vehicle horn – to thwart thieves trying to disable the horn
High-capacity, 60-ampere-hour battery capable of sounding the alarm longer

 

[SportscarFan]

You can thank the feds for the low tire pressure monitor. This was regulated for all '05-later vehicles in the wake of the Explorer/Firestone tire thing.

While I am not one to thank the government for added regulation. (but the defense is very good, thank you for that.) Tire monitors may not need to be federally legislated, but might be a worth-while addition to a vehicle. I plan on installing a set when I get a chance to do some research, and save some money, but then again, I check tire pressures and wear several times a month.

I do have to think that maybe the tire-monitors aren't so bad an idea, unlike other winners such as daytime running lamps on cars.
Under-inflation is not such a good thing, most of the time. For a drag-racer, monitors may be an annoyance, but for most of the people, driving on under-inflated tires can be dangerous.
Overheating the carcasses (causing catastrophic failure in OEM Explorer tires), and seperated nylon plies, and uneven tire wear. All of which cause lack or loss of control on the few square inches of contact with the road for a several thousand pound mass. (not counting inertia)

If people let tires become under-inflated in the first place, the chances are that they won't check it until it becomes a potential safety issue. Auto maintenance seems not to be on the highest priorities of the general motoring public. Probably no one on this forum has that problem, but definitely people we all share the road with.

Do you want a car with a blow-out careening into your shiny new 05' Mustang, or hurting you or your passenger, when it could have been easily corrected by simply stopping by a compressor at a gas station?

 

[SportscarFan]

According to the Motor Trend article, Torsional rigidity is up 100%. You cannot underestimate how huge that is.

I agree that is huge, but that "100%" number, that I have heard as well, is only possible because the outgoing car is so NOT stiff!

good luck getting that kind of torsional rigidity increase percentage numbers on any car being updated from a relatively modern chassis. Modern being less than 15 years old, rather than 25+ years old.

They have taken a car that was a "quarter century" behind, and actually put it back in the present. That doesn't neccessarily mean that it is as stiff as other cars being produced today. Probably pretty close, but it is still built to a price point, after all.

 

[351CJ]

The computer geeks and electroic wiz's in the audience will love the 2005 Mustang.

Modular Electrical Architecture

The groundwork for Mustang's new features and content is the car's all-new, state-of-the-art electronics architecture, which allowed the design team to add content while minimizing cost, weight and complexity.

Almost all of the car's electronic functions are integrated on a controlled area network, or CAN. At the heart of the system is a "smart junction box," which analyzes and disseminates many of the car's electronic functions, including the powertrain, safety, traction, security and convenience equipment.

The CAN electrical system is the enabling technology behind a host of new features, including:

A new optional message center information display that provides trip-meter functions
Global open and close windows
Standard delayed accessory power and a standard battery saver feature that disables the interior lights and headlamps when inadvertently left on
Standard power windows, mirrors and door locks plus "smart locking," which will not allow the driver's door to be locked inadvertently

 

[66Satellite]

feature that disables the interior lights and headlamps when inadvertently left on... plus "smart locking," which will not allow the driver's door to be locked inadvertently .

You don't need computers to do this. I've had old cars with these features.

I admit some of this computer stuff scares me. I hope we're not looking at another BMW 7 series type scenario.

 

[351CJ]

You don't need computers to do this. I've had old cars with these features.

I admit some of this computer stuff scares me. I hope we're not looking at another BMW 7 series type scenario.

Yea, some of those old cars had that stuff, but it was done with mechanical timers and all sorts of other primitive electrical junk that had very high failure rates.

These days it's much simpler, lower cost and more reliable to do it with a computer.

 

[stangman]

i actually saw the car in person last night at a the auto show & i must say that i liked it much better in person.
but a couple of things that i noticed were the 4x4 height is gone....thank god. & another is the shifter remings me of a camero shifter setting. the center console is on the same height as the shifter. there are a bunch of other little things that i noticed but most of which have already been stated.
oh & btw-the quarter window didn't look like it moved at all & i didn't see any buttons for it.

 

[351CJ]

i actually saw the car in person last night at a the auto show & i must say that i liked it much better in person.
but a couple of things that i noticed were the 4x4 height is gone....thank god. .

Glad to hear that you like it. There is a big debate going on as to whether the show cars are at the real production car ride height or if they are lowered for the show. There are a # of people who belive that the show cars are lowered. I don't remember which Forum that discussion was taking place on though.

 

[nomuffler]

How do you think the new stang will sound, do you think it will sound better then the current stangs?

You can bet Ford didn't skimp on development money for the exhaust sound, Mustangs have gotta sound badass. I bet it'll sound alot like the current engine, which is to say beautiful and abolutely nasty at the same time

 

[KidTwist51]

Best thing I've noticed is they seem to FINALLY have gotten the wheel spacing, (mostly in the back) and by that I mean being flush with the fender, right. They look very flush and like they actually fill out those gorgeous fender bulges. I use 1.3" spacers on my '01 Cobra coupe that is lowered... when the wheels are flush it looks like a totally different (and better) car. Anyone want to buy them when I buy my Y2K Cobra R's? Congrats to Ford for making a change that most people can't quite put their finger on that makes a car look sooo much better.

-Chris

 

[BLK91GT]

The bad thing about the wheel/tire combo being flush is that there is no room to change to anything wider than a 8" or 9" wheel with out it sticking out of the fender (look at the rendering of the rear suspension . . . the lower shock mount is VERY close to the back of the brakes)

I could be totally wrong though. I have not seen the car in person so I'm going on from what I've seen in the pictures and renders.

 

[KidTwist51]

Thats true, I didn't consider that, but I'm sure you can get around it with the right wheel offset. BTW, I notice you have the exact same Cobra as I do.

 

[BLK91GT]

I like my '01 Cobra but I'm still waiting to see a 2005 in person before I make the decision to get an '03-'04 Cobra or wait for the '06 SVT . . . or I may just keep the '01 and wait for a KenneBell kit (if they ever finish it) . . . the '01 is nice but it's just not the same after you ride in a modded '03

Thats true, I didn't consider that, but I'm sure you can get around it with the right wheel offset. BTW, I notice you have the exact same Cobra as I do.

 

[shatner saves]

Speaking of wheels and tires, Does anyone else think the tire sizes are a little odd? I've done some research to try to find comparable tires from other manufacturers and I don't think there are a lot of direct replacements for these tires out there.

base: 235/55R17 on a 17 x 8 wheel
optional 255/45r18 on a 18 x 9 wheel