Mustang Leads the Pack

[cloud9]

Congrats and well done Ford! 8)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-02/ford-s-mustang-is-officially-the-american-sports-car-to-beat

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

It's all cyclical...

 

[coboss]

It's all cyclical...

Right on.

I think the quote from the story, tells the story. 40% of buyers are buying Mustang no matter what, 40% are buying Camaro no matter what, and the other 20% are the undecideds. Actually, given how well the Dodges are doing, it is probably more like 35-35-30 at this point.

Of course the Mustang is kicking sales butt right now. Who would buy a 2015 Camaro when the new one is already announced, and is so much better?

Ford has a big problem. They have shot themselves in the marketing foot with the 2015 Mustang, and here is why:

Ford has positioned the Mustang like so: V6-Ecosnooze-V8
Chevy has the Camaro like so: 2.0 Turbo-V6-V8

Unless you have shopped a 2015 Mustang, you may not realize that Ford has seriously hamstrung the V6. They intentionally detuned it to not step on Ecosnooze toes, and they limit the options that can be ordered. You can't get a Performance Pack V6 any more, for example. So, the V6 is relegated to the secretary/rental market. Its head to head competition will be the 2.0L Turbo 4 in the Camaro, which will get 30 MPG, put out 275HP/290lb-ft and which CAN be ordered with a top handling package. In the ATS this engine with a manual does 0-60 in 5.5 with the 1/4 in 14.1 at 99 MPH. Not bad, and actually better than a 2015 Mustang V6 0-60.

The midrange offering in the Mustang is the Ecosnooze 2.3L. 5.3 0-60 and 14 in the 1/4 mile. The Camaro will have a 3.6 DI V6 at 335HP/284lb-ft. I'm pretty sure that is going to smoke the Ecosnooze, especially with the 8-speed automatic. The 321HP version in the ATS gets it 0-60 in 5.4 sec. Add 14 HP, and again, the Mustang sees Camaro's ugly taillights.

In the V8 arena, Mustang is 20 HP shy of the Camaro, and again, especially with the automatic, the Camaro will probably rule. BTW, the 6-speed manual in the Camaro will be the Tremec again, the transmission we wish the Mustang had.

The Camaro weight penalty is gone. The interior is vastly improved. The powertrains are strong. I am very certain we will be seeing a LOT of 2016 Camaros rolling out a year from now. I hope Ford has something up their sleeves to counter.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Interior on the Camaro does look better but the body looks like a Charger and Mustang got together after a night of drunk driving and had a Camaro as a bastard child.

 

[Backorder]

Charger and mustang? I thought more like a charger had a three way with a corolla and a Scion tC...somehow that was created...:-D

All kidding aside, it's better but I'm just not a chevy fan at the moment and the new camaro didn't change my mind.