Shnack.com Mustang News

Glass Roof Shines on the 45th Anniversary Ford Mustang

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 19:55:09 PDT

Ford Mustang, the country's best-selling sports car for 22 consecutive years and one of the auto industry's most successful nameplates ever, celebrates its 45th anniversary with a new panoramic glass roof option that opens the world to pony-car enthusiasts from Maine to Maui and all points between. The segment first, factory-installed glass roof is available as a $1,995 option on Mustang V-6 and GT models.

"Our new panoramic glass roof will allow owners to enjoy the outdoors year-round from the comfort of their Mustang," said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president for Global Product Development. "It's one more feature that sets Mustang apart from the competition."

Three Roof Choices - Top That!

The glass roof joins the coupe and convertible to give Mustang customers three roof choices. It also addresses the fact that 62 percent of buyers in the sports car segment are interested in a sunroof or moonroof on their next vehicle, according to J.D. Power and Associates research. Mustang's new roof allows customers to let the sun shine in for half the price of moving up from a coupe to a convertible.

While allowing occupants an unrestricted view of the world above and around them, the special tinted, reflective glass reduces energy used by the vehicle's air conditioning system by 20 percent and also protects the interior fabric from fading and deteriorating. A manually operated roller blind allows owners to block the light on bright days.

Noise, vibration and harshness are controlled in the cabin with a layer of sound absorbent vinyl sandwiched within the special glass.

The glass-roof Mustang is built like the coupe and has been developed to maintain the structural integrity of the car.

"We want to offer this feature to customers while maintaining the quality and safety of the vehicle that we've been recognized externally for," said Paul Randle, Mustang chief engineer.

One-of-a-Kind Mustang AV8R to Benefit Youth Program at World-Famous Airventure 2008

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 17:33:17 PDT

DEARBORN, Mich. July 23, 2008

The numbers tied to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture Oshkosh are impressive, if not overwhelming - but there's one statistic especially worth eyeing.

Some 2,500 show aircraft and 650,000 visitors are expected at this year's meet, which runs from Monday - Aug. 3. An estimated 10,000 airplanes are expected to fly in to the airport in east-central Wisconsin. And here's the kicker: The event will feature one cool Ford Mustang.

A special one-of-a-kind AirVenture Mustang, the Mustang AV8R, will be unveiled on Sunday. The classic American car was named after the famous P-51 Mustang fighter, which played a key role in World War II as a bomber escort. Several P-51s are slated to be at Oshkosh, according to the show's web site, www.airventure.org.

Saleen's SMS Twenty Fifth Anniversary Mustang

Wed, 9 Jul 2008 11:46:24 PDT

Steve Saleen's passion for automotive excellence still shines bright after 25 years with the introduction of the 720 horsepower SMS Twenty Fifth Anniversary Mustang Concept. The SMS 25th Anniversary Mustang concept celebrates his illustrious automotive career starting in the early 70's carrying through the 80’s when he formed Saleen Autosport till the present day with his new company SMS Limted.

The SMS Anniversary Mustang packs a 720 hp Supercharged 5.0L aluminum block V8 engine with CNC ported Saleen supercharger and CNC aluminum heads. Other options not found on Steve’s previous cars include a patented SMS Red Butterfly induction system and SMS Light Blade led taillights system give the car a unique look. This is SMS Limited’s first working concept vehicle with plans to makeover a Challenger and Camaro in the future.

Is Ford Reviving the Mustang SVO?

Wed, 9 Jul 2008 11:08:51 PDT

According to a Garage419.com, Ford is thinking really hard about bringing back the SVO badge for a 2010 Mustang. The 2010 SVO Mustang’s rumored powerplant would be a 4-cylinder twin-turbo Ecoboost engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission producing 300 horsepower and weighing 500 lbs less than the GT model. If your wondering why Ford would bring back the SVO badge using a 4-cylinder its pretty simple, fuel economy. Fuel economy would increase by as much as 25% over the current GT model which gets in the neighborhood of 18 city 25 highway. This could definately be the right play for Ford as there seems to be no end in sight for high gas prices.

Ford did a similar thing back in early 80’s with the original SVO Mustang as gas prices were high but after only 9,844 units Ford stop selling SVO badge Mustangs because gas prices hit the floor. Lets hope we can have the same result after Ford makes a few thousand of the newer SVO models.

RaceCraft 420S Mustang To Debut at Mustang Week in Myrtle Beach

Wed, 9 Jul 2008 10:47:44 PDT

Saleen has made the RaceCraft 420S Mustang official with a press release, photos and a debut date of July 26th at Mustang Week in Myrtle Beach, SC. Mustang Week takes place from July 22nd to the 26th when the RaceCraft 420S will be unveiled at Colonial Mall on North Kings Hwy. at 4pm. Saleen is inviting everyone to come out for demo rides and to give feedback on the new RaceCraft 420S Mustang. The RaceCraft Mustang features a 420 horsepower motor with an MSRP of $38,995 giving it one of the best horsepower to dollar ratios for any aftermarket Mustang.

Ford Kills Boss Engine For Mustang

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:53:35 PDT

Another high performance V8 engine has fallen to the $4+ dollar gas prices. The Boss engine, which was slated to appear in the rumored Boss Mustang and F-150 will now only have a home in the Super Duty which needs a more efficient replacement for it’s 6.8L gas guzzling V10. The news isn’t really shocking to most of us, just disappointing, as gas prices were making a high performance, large displacement motor much less feasible for the Mustang. Ford will likely take the funding for the Boss engine and point it toward much more fuel efficient programs such as the Ford Fiesta which will be making it’s appearance in American soon.

Source: AutoBlog / Mustang Evolution / PickupTrucks

2010 Shelby GT500 Spy Shots

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:59:25 PDT

Jalopnik has captured several spy pics of a camouflaged 2010 Shelby GT500 test mule, though several of the shots do show some rather detailed interior pics. Check them out at http://jalopnik.com/395440/2010-shelby-gt500 and http://jalopnik.com/396008/2010-shelby-gt500-mustang-is-a-meshy-mustang.

Ford to build only 45,000 Mustangs for 2009 model year

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:52:08 PDT

The 2009 Mustang will be special for several reasons but it won't set any sales records as Mustang Marketing Manager Fritz Wilke has said Ford will likely only produce 45,000 Mustangs in an abbreviated model run. The main reason for the low production figure is the refreshed 2010 Mustang hitting dealers in early spring of 2009. Another reason for the odd 45K production run is the Mustang’s 45th-anniversary happens in 2009, so it would fitting to only produce that amount. To commemorate the 45 years of Mustang glory a special 45th-anniversary badge will be added to select Mustangs.

2010 Mustang To Have A Smaller Look

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 18:09:43 PDT

While real meat and bone information about the upcoming 2010 refresh of the Mustang is scant these days, we have some more insight from the team that is hard at work on it. The redesigned Mustang is due to hit showrooms early next year and will be facing off against both the new Dodge Challenger and the Chevrolet Camaro.

It seems however that Ford has read the tea leaves a bit with the current trends in the market that have been driven by high gas prices and more stringent fuel economy standards. At a recent event, Ford design chief Peter Horbury has said that the 2010 Mustang will have a smaller look than the current car. While it will be identical in size, clever design tricks are said to make the car appear less bulky and heavy.

9 Million Mustangs and Counting

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:16:26 PDT

The Mustang passed yet another landmark less than a week after its 44th anniversary on April 17 when production reached nine million units. The milestone Mustang, a GT Convertible, went to a dealership in Iowa for delivery to its lucky customer. As Ford's longest running nameplate, the Mustang had one of the best starts of any production car with over 22,000 sold on the first day and more than one million sold in the first two years. It's had its ups and down over the past 40+ years, but it's safe to say that the Mustang has enjoyed an upswing in popularity since its retro-restyle a few years back.