Re: Help a brother out... Reply #15 – August 09, 2005, 02:00:21 PM Quote from: EricCoolCatsVery nice Jeeves! Ya hit the nail on the head bro.We may be stuck in the 1980's with our cars, but they were from the last era where those at Ford actually had balls to do something different. They're happy to be complacent right now. Which is why there is not a new Ford in my garage. And this is why they have to change.As much as it confuses and confounds my wife (wow...haven't typed that one in a few years :p) I still am firmly entrenched in the styling of the cars of the late 70's-80's. That doesn't mean I'm keen on the performance/technology, but that I can change :D. I don't need to make an older car "look" new...I want it to run like new. No carbs, bigger better brakes, etc. The drivetrain/suspension techology is what interests me. The current batch of car designers (industry-wide) couldn't design their way out of a paper bag if you ask me. The new Mustang is marginal to me. The powertrain stuff is cool, but the styling lacks something...seems neutered. I also doubt the Cougar or the Tbird will come back as anything other than some silly niche concept car for 50-somethings that misses the point. The Mercury dealerships wouldn't know what to do with a 350hp Mustang-based 4-place coupe. Now if you took a Mustang and changed the grill and taillights and added more chrome and , then maybe they might have an idea.To me there is not a new car out there that speaks to me enough to warrant all the new car bullshiznit. Why would I want to pay some bank and insurance company outrageous payments for a car? So I can fit in? Screw that.I'll be happy with my 80's cars and do my powertrain updates on them and be able to do the work myself and not be held by the short curlies by a bank, insurance company or dealership service department. Actually average age of my cars is going up from 20.4 yrs old to 21.5 yrs old since I'm selling the Ranger and buying an '80 Merc Z-7 :D (It's carbed, but not for long....) Quote Selected
Re: Help a brother out... Reply #16 – August 09, 2005, 03:55:46 PM i have a new car, but I also must be able to drive 120 + miles every day, day in and day out. I don't have time to be sitting at home changing a sensor, I can take my new one in, they give me a loaner and I still get to work.BUT, for any car that I get as a toy, or if i never have to drive far (unless i can miraculously afford a new EVO XIII) I am buying another t-bird to put a new 5.0 in, or hop up the Turbo 4, if a tc of course. Quote Selected
Re: Help a brother out... Reply #17 – August 09, 2005, 11:49:41 PM Quote from: Chuck WThe new Mustang is marginal to me. The powertrain stuff is cool, but the styling lacks something...seems neutered. I also doubt the Cougar or the Tbird will come back as anything other than some silly niche concept car for 50-somethings that misses the point. Now if you took a Mustang and changed the grill and taillights and added more chrome and , then maybe they might have an idea.QuoteI agree. If I had the money I would hack up a new Mustang. Fords new design misses the point completely. That challenger is a perfect example of a new-retro look. The tailights new to be reversed and the body(minus the front fenders and rear window) trashed. I love 64-70 stangs to death. But to me they totally ruined an icon. Plus the ricer cougars dont cut it. Older cars are always going to beat them. "You can always upgrade an old car(perfect), you cant(and dont) downgrade a new car". And thats all I have to say. Quote Selected
Re: Help a brother out... Reply #18 – August 10, 2005, 03:10:14 AM I rather liked the Mercury Messenger, at least from that pic, and their ideas about a new T-bird sound decent. I am and have always been a big fan of 60's and 70's cars, the big old land yachts, and seeing the designs that most of the car companies are spewing out nowadays , a single word comes to mind: bland.So I hope that somebody will take notice and we'll see more interestingly styled cars coming out of the production lines. Quote Selected
Re: Help a brother out... Reply #19 – August 10, 2005, 07:21:57 PM Thanks for all the comments everyone, its nice to see that Ford enthusiasts all believe in the same general concept. Now if only Ford could see that, and maybe realize that boring cars are the domain of Toyota, and they can't touch Toyota's reputation. So make more Mustangs...both literally and figuratively!And yeah, I actually do not like the styling of the Mustang, but its look is like an infection...and its a very profitable one! Wouldn't kill Ford to make their current FWD cars have this much passion...As far as more RWD ones, well maybe in the next decade. Aside from the Panther and possibly a Cougar (there's lotsa rumors) that ain't gonna happen.Thanks again, the more "we" voice our opinions to Ford the more they might actually listen. Quote Selected
Re: Help a brother out... Reply #20 – August 10, 2005, 11:59:57 PM Quote from: pro-five-ohThanks again, the more "we" voice our opinions to Ford the more they might actually listen.:laughing:Fat chance.Great article though.Someone posted a picture of an '05/06 Cougar concept somewhere (too tired to look) but it was basically an '05 Mustang with Cougar trim, much like it was in the late 60's. I would buy that. :headbang: Quote Selected
Re: Help a brother out... Reply #21 – August 11, 2005, 10:09:10 AM LOL, be an optomist, would ya? :)If it wasn't for waves of angry letters from irate Mustang fans in the late 1980s, the Mustang would have been FWD with a turbo 4, and the Probe would never exist! True story. Quote Selected