No Politics Today, Just Cars

As I reported last Halloween (here), I got up that morning and went out and bought a new 2015 Ford GT Mustang. I promised to give an update on the car and how it was turning out. This is that update. I will return soon enough to politics, especially the new DNC meme,"If you knew what you know now, would you have supported Bush's invasion of Iraq?"

I just put 5000 miles on it, not many for California, but thought it a good time to do a review.

I am delighted with my GT Mustang with the optional performance package. Overall, it's the best car I have ever driven, and not just the best one I have owned. In my many years wandering the earth, I have driven all sorts of cars from all sorts of manufacturers and countries. Some were great, e.g., Ford Bronco, Porsche 911, Toyota Landcruiser, Corvette Z06; some were OK, e.g., VW Beetle, Ford Aerostar, Honda Civic, Mitsubishi Galant, Toyota Camry, Ford Fairmont, Isuzu Trooper, many FIATs; and some were genuinely horrid, e.g., Triumph Spitfire, Yugo, Datsun 1600, Chevy Vega, Ford Pinto, Suzuki Samurai, and the abysmal Chrysler LeBaron. There are many others I have driven and even owned which fall into one or the other of those three categories. No country and no manufacturer has a monopoly on great, blah, or horrible cars.

Very roughly, this GT Mustang has the old Coyote 302 cu.in engine (5 liter) taken from the Boss 302 and the independent rear suspension from the old Cobra Mustang. The engineers, however, have tweaked both, and that along with terrific new steering, braking, and superb six-speed manual gearbox have produced a great machine. The gearbox, by the way, is as good or better than the one I had previously ranked best, Honda's silky-smooth five speed gearbox.

The car is extremely responsive and damn quick--though not, of course, as fast as my old Corvette. The beast is meant to drink 93 octane, and produce some 434 hp, but here in California the best you can get is 91 octane. Doesn't seem to make too much of a difference; I don't notice the couple of horses that drop off. The Mustang stays glued to the highway, even when driven at (ahem) a bit too much speed on a twisting mountain road (Ortega Highway in So. Cal). Plus, the car looks good inside and out, and gets lots of compliments.

Gas mileage is pretty good: about 20-23 mpg on the freeway (those are US gallons which are smaller than Imperial gallons) and anywhere from 13 to 16 mpg in town--depending on how much accelerating I do.

So far, no squeaks, rattles, or system failures of any type.

Negatives? Sure, there are a few minor ones. My biggest complaint: no spare tire. Why? My Vette didn't have one either, and this seems to be a growing trend. I don't like it. Instead of a spare, not even a lousy tiny doughnut spare, you get an air pump and a bottle of goop. That might be OK if you get a little hole from a little nail at the shopping mall parking lot, but if you damage the tire in some major way, especially in a remote locale, you're stuck. Better have your AAA membership paid-up.

Those much-vaunted Recaro seats? Except for giving some bragging rights (I guess), I don't know if they are worth the extra $1500. After buying my car, I saw an identical Mustang with standard seats, and those seemed just fine--although they had some weird stitching along the edges. Oh well, I've got them now and that's that.

The car is not loud enough! If you buy an American V-8, you want it to sound like an American V-8! It's too quiet. I have been told (true?) that the more subdued sound was made necessary as Ford is exporting the car to Europe and elsewhere where limitations on car noise are greater than here. OK, so I guess I'll have to blame it on the French and let it go. I, however, have been exploring getting a new exhaust system, but the Diplowife (retired) is looking askance at that project and even more so at my attempt to contact the Hennessey people here in California to have them boost the car to a 700-plus hp monster. I'll have to wait for her to go on her annual trip to Spain . . . .

In sum, if I knew then what I know now, would I have bought this car? You bet!