running_cold924

amen....my buddy has a 99 gt and he has rode in the 951 couple of times. Finally i heard him say that he doesn't want his *** handed to him from a 4-banger. All i can say is atleast he is honest........or scared...

hacker-pschorr

The Mustang has never and will never be a sports car.

For starters, nobody in their right mind would consider any vehicle with a solid live axle a sports car.

You need to become more familiar with muscle cars and more specifically, Pony cars.

The original Mustang was a re-bodied Falcon.

LUCKYJACKASS

FIFY

2BWise

I've been behind the wheel of the GT500 and I didn't like it either. The motor is phenomenal and some of the bits and pieces are pretty nice, but they only account for about 30%. The rest of the car is pretty bad. The rear hops all over the place, the steering has way too much feedback, the shifter is vague, and the clutch sucks (the engagement is way up at the very end of its travel). If you're driving it hard in a straight line its awesome. Its easy to shift fast and abuse the thing, but when I was just cruising around in it I could never quite get comfortable with it.

944Ross

LOL, I learned to drive in my mother's '64 Comet 4-dr 200-6 w/2-sp slush-o-matic. I know what you mean, the driving experience doesn't have to be about going fast or sliding corners. When I drive my '52, I take about 5 seconds to row the 3-on-the-tree from 1st to 2nd. It rides like an old truck (because it is) and rattles, but it's more fun than driving a Ferrari. Anyone who says it isn't, hasn't tried it.

pontifex4

I was given a rental Mustang in San Francisco about two years ago. It was really hard to park, and I found it really difficult to tell when I was in my lane on the highway. I didn't enjoy it.

JnJNY

Not really a Mustang fan, but it is not a sports car... Maybe Sporty is more like it, especially in base form.

However, it is the lightest of the three retro muscle car/pony cars.

It does very well in autocross, so the suspension is not that bad (Shelby/GT form).

The Mustang V6 that all the mags talk so highly about is the one with optional suspenion...

I thought this might be a fun read for those who have not: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...mparison_tests

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...ss_page_2#Ford Mustang V-6

The Challenger is the poseur of the bunch with a lot of weight to be moved around.

The Camaro is the in-between... Still hefty, but delivers more on the muscle car/pony promise.

The Mustang delivers a little of everything...

Again not a Ford fan, but the Mustang is better driving then the other two in base form...

kombatrok

Amen ... its just a different kind of fun. Although my falcon is ligther than a 944 and has very stiff suspension (actually corners really flat and handles well if you can keep the rear end in) its just a whole different world... who cares if there is a little slop in the steering and it won't stop on a dime, so what if the bumpsteer is terrible and it rattles a little. Porsh is not the be all and end all of driving enjoyment.

sydneyman

funny to see this thread. my buddy rented a GT when he came down for my wedding 2 weeks ago and let me drive it around for a bit. i was completely blown away with how ****ty it was. the seats felt like mushy rubber, and the back seats you can almost pull completely out of the car, fitment is so bad. handled like crap and for 400 horsepower, it felt really weak... completely dissappointed... cheap interiors, bad handling and it'll just be another stang in a few years...

of course my friend said he was probably going to trade in his 300zx turbo for one. i told him that would be a huuuuuge mistake.... then again ive been trying to get him in a p-car for a while now...

Jay Gratton

Late to the party, but was this the newest V6 with 300 ponies or the old POS V6?

whalebird

I will disagree that a "sports car" cannot have a solid axle. That statement would strike some of the most important sports cars in history from the list. It is a proven system that works wonders and has it's compramises for sure, like any other more articulated systems do as well.
The latest Mustang is a nice product...but in no way a Porsche.

Todd951968

+1. The old Alfa spiders, Triumphs, and I believe MGs and even early Ferraris were solid rear axle cars. Quintessential sports cars.

67King

Highly doubtful it was a GT. Outside of the $250 a day exotic rental places that rent Ferraris and such, GT's are not rented. It may have had some fancy interior package. I haven't found a place that rents them outside of the exotic places. Hertz was renting SHelby GT's, the prior generation, with teh 4.6L 3V which was maybe making 315 horsepower. The new GT is rated at 412, but it makes over 425. I have not read a single criticism of that engine being weak.

THere are a few RLers who have one. Red1 is one. He indicated he likes driving it better than his 951. And the gushing from the media is pretty persistent. Better than an M3? High praise, but not uncommon. Here's an example: http://jalopnik.com/5518750/is-the-n...-than-a-bmw-m3

Hollywood D

I like the mustangs from the 60s. If someone wanted to trade me a '67 fastback for my 944 I'd do it in a heartbeat. But they can keep the new ones. I thought it was pretty funny they were comparing the new mustangs handling to that of the M3 in one of the last editions of car and driver.

I think it's cool that they are doing the retro thing though. I went to the Denver auto show back in March and out of all the new cars similar to the mustang, I liked the Challenger the most. I'm not a Dodge fan at all and will never own one, but it had the best ergonomics.

whalebird

As Hacker states, It is a "pony" car. I do think it is more of a gran touring platform (in terms of chassis) than any other of it's counterparts. In fact, I think the new 5.0 is a superb GT that can threaten vettes on the track and match any intermediate GT made on the long haul.
The new family of V8 Mustangs will spank any garden variety 951 in most every circumstance. Not a fair comparison.