Camaro Still winning - Mustang sales not enough to sustain Flat Rock plant

[snakekiller]

the camaro is not the reason why the plant may close.
the reason is the now dead joint venture to build the mazda 6 there, its only logical to see why the mustang has lost sales to the camaro. the car is 7 years old and competing quite well with a relatively new camaro.

[Alaskan_SS]

From the time I could talk I loved the Mustang, and that continues today. I can already tell some people are scratching their heads.....lol. But seriously, I have always loved the Mustang. My first car was a 1965 coupe that at the time I got it had the inline six. My dad (A Huge chevy fan) and I spent a lot of time together and strengthened our bond by putting a 289, full suspension, transmission...etc!!! There is an aura about the Mustang. As I grew up I loved the battle between the Camaro and Mustang. I even have a 1965 coupe now that is in the middle of a restoration.

Here is how I feel about the news with the Ford plant. In 1993 when Chevy restyled the Camaro and Firebird they hit a home run. They were fast, beautiful, and at the time had the best pony car interior. It reignited the ponycar war. The Mustang continued to outsell the Camaro regardless of the performance gap. Why???? Mainly because the Mustang was cheaper. Then when the F-body was canceled, Ford let the Mustang brand become stagnant (except for the 03-04 Cobra). They didn't have to compete with anyone. The interior remained bland, and chassis was terrible.

Now there is competition, and when Ford announced the redesign for the 2010 model, they also released info on the new 5.0 due for 2011. If you search the internet, you will also find articles with reference to Ford execs laying out the plans for the Mustang. First, style update (2010), then new powertrain (5.0), then they will do a complete redesign (2014) that will incorporate the independent rear suspension (and possible ecoboost option). And that the new chief of global opperations said all Ford cars (not trucks) will be required to share a global platform....including the Mustang. An example is turning the Explorer into a cross over, sharing it's platform with the Taurus (Mondeo in Europe). I think the story was in Motor Trend, but can't remember. Ford spent a ton of money developing the 5.0, but shared the expense with the F-150. But now they are spending the money on a complete redesign including chassis updates...including the much debated IRS.

The Mustang is still strong and will continue to be. I hope the workers keep their jobs. Like everyone said, you need more than one car to continue the war.....

I love the pony wars....and I love my Camaro....best car I've ever had. I know Chevy will continue to update the Camaro, and keep this thing interesting at least for a while.

Addition.....I am not defending the Mustang. My Camaro has as my friends put it "Pulled me to the dark side". I guess all the years of my dad's constant Ford bashing, and chevy praising has finally kicked it. But I did finally get a "That's my Boy" from him....haha

[CamaroSS426]

Originally Posted by snakekiller

the camaro is not the reason why the plant may close.
the reason is the now dead joint venture to build the mazda 6 there, its only logical to see why the mustang has lost sales to the camaro. the car is 7 years old and competing quite well with a relatively new camaro.

Just hoping no jobs are lost!

[Lazerbrainz2k3]

Originally Posted by Black5thgen

You can't tell me that the hype hasn't died down in over 2 years. That argument holds no water any more. The mass public cars more about looks, quality and image than straight-line performance and handling. That is why the Camaro is out selling the mustang now and the mustang outsold the Camaro in the LS1 days. The mustang is a better performing car, not a better overall car.

No doubt they do care about that, I believe that was a big part of my point in the first place. Doesn't mean that they're not subject to being influenced more by that "image" (ie marketing, hype, etc.) part over comparative quality and looks - Ford has plenty of the former across their product line, and the latter is totally subjective; I for one think the latest refresh looks pretty awesome. Say what you want about anti-GM conspiracies within the automotive press, but when you objectively look at the reasons why most of them call the Mustang the better all-around car, many of them are pretty good ones - the Mustang has a lot going for it.

In my opinion, since there's such parity in terms of quality and "bang for your buck" value, and since looks are a matter of personal tastes, the Camaro's success is due more to those hype and image factors than the rest. That, its 8-year hiatus, and the persistent perception of every third driver having a Mustang anyway, make the Camaro the clear winner. What will be really interesting to see is what happens when both are refreshed in a couple years.

[siriusdish]

hee hee

[stand-al0ne]

United we stand. Period. We need Ford and their workers working.

[Viral]

Originally Posted by CamaroBelarus

Yeah, such as http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...mparison_tests maybe? Or http://www.insideline.com/ford/musta...camaro-ss.html ? Maybe tons of them on youtube proving cars are identical? Even roadandtrack got 1/4 in ss.

Cmon loser, just admit u dont dont have a babe and driving mustang, so il just ingore u, like other trolls out there.

Yup, road & Track also had the SS faster - http://www.roadandtrack.com/var/ezfl...acc2eca750.pdf

2 of the 3 major Automotive magazines tested the SS faster than the GT.

[chain777]

Originally Posted by truth411

IMVHO the problem isn't really mustang sales (there only like 10,000 units behind) its the fact that they are looseing production of the Mazda 6. In any case, no way in hell would Ford pull the plug on the mustang. I think they are going to try and make it untill the redesign.

Originally Posted by snakekiller

the camaro is not the reason why the plant may close.
the reason is the now dead joint venture to build the mazda 6 there, its only logical to see why the mustang has lost sales to the camaro. the car is 7 years old and competing quite well with a relatively new camaro.

I think you two are the only ones who actually read the article.

The joint venture between Ford and Mazda is ending, and the Mazda 6 that's built at Flat Rock along with the Mustang is ending production there. Mustang sales alone aren't enough to sustain the plant. What they do with the plant is anyones guess, but the Mustang isn't going away.

BTW, why isn't this in one of the mega threads? Oh, it's a bashing thread..


Carry on

[HIOFECR]

Camaro =

[doc7000]

Why doesn't Ford just use the Mustang platform to make a sporty RWD Lincoln which can have a price premium?

[CamaroSpike23]

Early next year, GM plans to roll out a ZL1 Camaro with a 550-horsepower engine, matching Ford's Shelby GT500 version of the Mustang that starts at $48,810, according to Edmunds.

anyone else notice this....?

[ssump29]

Originally Posted by doc7000

Why doesn't Ford just use the Mustang platform to make a sporty RWD Lincoln which can have a price premium?

Hmmmm if you didn't know Lincoln isn't doing very good for Ford. They are looking at how to get that brand back on track, so no need to do that and sink money into a brand that's trying to find it's way again.

[SGOS252382]

48,810 Base price (2011 GT500).
How easy is it to get a new GT500 for this price? Just curious because I really don't know.
The as tested price is always $53K - $55K for the Coupe in all the mags.

The as tested price for the Camaro SS is usually around 37k.

That's a $15K - $17K as tested price difference (which is pretty substantial).

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by HIOFECR

Camaro =

The problem with this post is the Camaro IS winning, whereas Charlie Sheen is a loser that just claims to be winning, sort of like most of the ford fanatics on here...