Chad Kirchner

MBA | Technology Consultant | Reviewer |  Apple Fanatic | Car Guy Tiffin, Ohio

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2013 Ford Mustang GT [w/video]

Has the @Ford #Mustang gone the way of the @Porsche #911 and is that a bad thing?

@TheRealAutoblog yesterday posted a "First Drive" of the 2013 Ford Mustang GT, referring to it as the "Poor-Man's ///M3". (Link: ). This is not the first time the 5.0 Mustang has been dubbed as competition for the iconic BMW sports car. Motor Trend released a video (Link: ) not too long ago that compared the two vehicles in a head-to-head dogfight at the track.

So, one could argue that the Mustang is in BMW territory for a lot less money. But what is the one biggest complaint about the Mustang (since for literally as long as I can remember)? It's the live axle rear end. Chevrolet, as they like to brag about Ferrari using their technology, sports a magnetorheological ride control system on their high end vehicles (Camaro ZL1 being the latest example). The logical argument is, since the car has four wheels, which not treat each of them independently of each other? Seems to make sense.

But one of the biggest complaints about the Porsche 911 is that the engine literally hangs out over the rear wheels, which for a long time made the car extremely squirrelly beyond the limits of grip. However, that rear-engine design, however dangerous or ludicrous it may be, is a staple design of the 911. You would NOT have a 911 if you did not have a rear-engine layout.

So Porsche has engineered around it. They've adjusted the car, employed the lastest technological aids, and just performed general magic on the car to make it one of the best handling sports cars in the world.

Has Ford done the same thing with the Mustang? Would a Mustang be a Mustang without the live axle rear end? I don't know. But looking at the spec sheets for the 2013 line of vehicles, it seems that Ford really wants to make a competitive sports car, regardless of that rear end.

The Shelby GT500 can be had with a full on track pack, that for $3000 adds a differential cooler, brake cooling system, oil cooler, and miscellaneous systems to keep everything under control on the track. Brembo brakes are available at virtually every level, and the traction control system has several settings depending on the driver's talent and current conditions.

Haters of the Mustang (and I used to be one, I swear), would talk about how the Camaro has outsold the Mustang since it's re-introduction, and that Mustang is just not a proper sports car, but rather just a straight-line muscle car. Both Ford and Chevrolet are trying to change that image with their latest introductions, but it does seem that Ford is serious about making the Mustang a competition in the higher-end market.

The new Mustang interior is great, but it's the same interior (virtually) on the entry-level V6 coupe as it is on the Shelby GT500 coupe. But then again, the Camaro's interior is worse, being typical GM fare, along with the interior of the Corvette, which is also not that appealing.

But they aren't building luxury cruisers, they are building cars to wipe the smirks off the faces of the Germans and the Italians, and they are seemingly doing a good job about it.

What is more impressive, with regards to the Mustang, is that they are able to do it without changing the one characteristic that makes a Mustang a Mustang. Just like Porsche has not changed what makes a 911 a 911. What Porsche did do though was build the Boxster, which was their attempt to build a sports car that wasn't a 911. I would like to see Ford do something like that as well (and the Focus ST is not what I mean, even though it's a fantastically lovely car), but there certainly isn't a market for such a machine? Or is there. I mean look what the Toyota / Subaru venture is developing in terms of small, cheap sports cars; we'll see how that pans out.

Until then, I'm saving my pennies for a Mustang. Yes, I said that out loud, and proud of it!