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Cars
 Still hot after all these years
By Royal Ford | November 6, 2004
It is not often that as you age you still fit into a hot number you wore when you were younger.
Yet such is the case with the 2005 Ford Mustang GT because, seated inside its gripping leather bucket seats, you are wearing the past. It looks just as fashionable as it did circa 1968. And it fits because, while its exterior remains compactly hot, this is a bigger car. Consider that the original Mustang, now more than 40 years old, rode atop a Ford Falcon platform. Now consider that the new Mustang is anchored to platforms that also sit beneath the Lincoln LS and the Jaguar S-type. Yet as you walk around it, you'd never guess its girth had expanded, because it has been designed in such a retroactively perfect manner. It still has the long hood, the short rear deck, three-part tail lamps, and a quarter window behind the rear pillar. Add muscular fender bulges, a large sloping rear window, fog lamps built into the mesh grille, and a front dam air intake that means business, and you are looking at one of the most enduring designs in American auto history -- made better. Inside, retro refinement continues. Chrome circles surround gauges and air ducts. An aluminum band, simple and bold at the same time, bisects the dash. A three-poke steering wheel is also evocative, as is the numbering on the gauges: tall, thin analog digits. Twin brows loom over the gauge cluster and the glove box, again a bit of nostalgia. The four leather bucket seats are deep and rich, perforated in their pockets and backs, with strong side bolsters that look already worn, like a well-used leather chair, with bulging bolsters beneath the thighs for support. Thanks to its increased size -- longer and wider -- leg room and elbow room are substantially greater. Because it is a two-door, rear access can take a bit of maneuvering, but the space is quite comfortable unless you are very tall. The added length and stance make for a far smoother, less jerky ride than was delivered by Mustangs of the past, despite the decision to stick with a solid rear axle. In fact, that rear axle, coupled with coil springs and trailing links for suspension, are part of what makes the new Mustang feel so modern, yet so familiar. Because traction control does not intrude (though it will defend you), you can still make the back end kick out, even hop a bit. Straight ahead, the steering was linear, with easily induced bits of understeer in hard cornering. Body roll was minimal. Braking was quick and straight as long as the brakes were stomped so ABS could do its thing. These are not brakes (discs around a foot in diameter, front and rear) meant to be babied. The new Mustang comes with a couple of engine options. There is a base 2005 Mustang with a V-6, 4.0-liter with 210 horsepower, and the GT model, as tested, with a 4.6-liter V-8 that delivers 300 horsepower, to the heart-stirring burble of twin, 2.5-inch exhausts. Either comes with a five-speed automatic or manual. The manual in the test car was more easily reached, had shorter throws, and was tighter than any transmission yet to be in a Mustang. This car is fun to look at, fun to drive, fun to just sit in and reminisce. I cannot wait to see the variations of it that evolve -- from Ford, and from the after-market crowd. This car, I predict, will be so successful that we may see, rising Phoenix-like from the automotive ashes, reborn Barracudas, Firebirds, and Camaros. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company. |
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