2005 Mustang GT…Yay or Nay?

[Frogdog1]

I had an '07 GT 5 speed. It was a very solid quick, fun car. But, beware, it has a solid axle and the rear end is a very limiting factor when it comes to controlling the car. Ask me how I know. A dumb-ass woman forced me and others head on into the divider wall on I-24 doing 70 mph when the rear end went berserk. The good news is the car explodes in parts flying and the car protected me perfectly.

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[Starship Enterprise]

The 1980, the great Corvette produced an underwhelming 190 hp with the neutered 305.

The 1982 Mustang GT 5.0 High Output Engine put out a laughable 157 hp.

In 1987 the Buick Grand National was the quickest American production car for that year boasting 245 hp which required turbo V6

My 1991 Camaro Z28 was very proud of 275 hp.

My 1998 Z28 put out a more respectable 305 hp, but my wife’s 2017 Buick Lacrosse V6 put out the same hp. Also more than my 2006 Mustang GT by 5 hp. But we were getting there in hp advancement.

Whatever advances in technology allowed manufacturers to squeeze more and more hp out of the same size engine and smaller, and the turning point seemed to happen in the early 2000’s. Modern V6 engines can easily match or beat the V8’s of 20 years ago.

Now we have 486 hp on tap in a plain bone stock Mustang GT, where in 2007 Shelby had to supercharge a 5.4 to get 500 hp in their premier GT 500 at a price of $41,000, or in today’s money about $61,500. And it still had a solid axle.

My point? Today’s average GT model was considered a supercar not even 20 years ago.

 

[Riptide]

I had an 08 Cali special with a 5 speed. My parents bought it for me as a graduation present. Had 88k miles at the time and I ran it all the way up to 125k before selling it to buy my 14 CS. 3V was great. Engine sounded amazing. I had an offroad x pipe and borla atak axel back. I did however have to replace the alternator 3 (yes 3) times in that time period but it wasn't all that bad of a job to do. Alternator is fairly accessible. Also I had issues with my 1st gear synchronizer where I couldn't shift into first gear unless the car was at a completely dead stop which was annoying for city driving and stop signs. Other than that the only issues I had were the door panel trim coming unglued. I got it reupholstered once and it was good to go after that. I would probably still have it now if it weren't for me wanting a 5.0. As much fun as the 5.0 was I felt a lot more connected to my 4.6 and I really enjoyed driving it. For a while I was driving ~400 miles a weekend between houston and lafayette every weekend going back and forth between school and home (to see my girlfriend at the time, now wife) and the card help up really well. Only once did it ever die on the side of the road on me and that again was due to the alternator failing

 

[AZ_Ryan]

My point? Today’s average GT model was considered a supercar not even 20 years ago.

I get your point, but umm super car??? No.

One of the knocks on the early S197s GT back in the day was that they were underpowered. Yes, even back then. By the late 2000s everyone was making more power than the Mustang GT. The 2009 Camaro made 400hp by then. I remember EVERYONE was grumbling about how weak the 4.6 was. Hardly a super car lol.

 

[Starship Enterprise]

No, I mean if you transported today’s Mustang back to 2005. 486 hp with all the bells and whistles as well as IRS and variable exhaust. The car is like a rolling toy store. It would have blown minds if today’s car existed in 2005.

Maybe Camaro had advanced quicker, but thanks to that, it pushed Ford to work harder on the Mustang. Competition is good.

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