Post by TonyV on Dec 1, 2009 1:56:53 GMT -5
Reloaded 2011 Mustang to take on Camaro
Ford pumps up iconic muscle car
BY BRENT SNAVELY
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
The 2011 Ford Mustang to be unveiled at this week's Los Angeles auto show will offer a more powerful engine and improved fuel efficiency so the iconic muscle car might remain America's favorite.
The base model 2010 Mustang has a 210-horsepower V6 engine. That's a lot less than the 304 horses available in General Motors' base model Chevrolet Camaro.
The Camaro has been gaining in popularity since it went back on sale in March after a nearly 7-year hiatus.
Through October, General Motors Co. sold 47,233 Camaros -- 9,236 shy of Mustang. Given its strong performance, Camaro might even outsell Mustang this year.
But Ford Motor Co. said its new 3.7-liter aluminum V6 engine, mated to a new 6-speed automatic transmission for the 2011 Mustang, will deliver 305 horsepower and offer a 25% improvement in fuel efficiency.
So if Mustang loses its No. 1 spot this year, Ford might reclaim the crown with its 2011 model, which is to go on sale in the spring.
Reloaded Mustang to take on Camaro
With the 2011 Ford Mustang, Ford Motor Co. is gunning for its archrival, General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet Camaro.
Ford said it believes the new Mustang, which is to be unveiled at this week's Los Angeles auto show and go on sale this spring, will retake the leading monthly sales position from Camaro because it has reloaded the iconic muscle car with a new engine and transmission that adds 90 horsepower and a 25% improvement in fuel efficiency.
The Dearborn automaker also said it thinks it can market the Mustang to customers younger than those who traditionally buy the car.
To appeal to younger customers, Ford plans to market its technology, such as a message center in the instrument cluster and blind-spot mirrors, as well as the Mustang's power and improved fuel efficiency.
"We're addressing the new customer, the younger customer, and we're also going to go after Camaro," Dave Pericak, chief nameplate engineer for the Mustang, told journalists last month.
The battle between the two cars dates back to 1966, when the original Camaro went on sale -- two years after the first Mustang -- but temporarily was put on hold when GM ended production of the Camaro in 2002.
GM brought the Camaro back this spring, and the battle has resumed, with the Camaro outselling the Mustang for the last five months.
GM said the Camaro is on pace to outsell the Mustang this year for the first time since 1985. Through October, GM had sold 47,233 Camaros -- 9,236 shy of the Mustang, according to Autodata Corp. The Camaro went on sale in March.
Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, said Ford's Mustang was doing fine until its lackluster base-model engine was exposed by the new Camaro.
The base model 2010 Mustang -- built at Ford's assembly plant in Flat Rock -- has a 210-horsepower V6 engine, versus 304 horsepower for the base model V6 in the Camaro.
Ford said its new 3.7-liter, aluminum V6 engine and a new 6-speed automatic transmission for the 2011 Mustang will deliver 305 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. Ford will build the engine at its recently retooled Cleveland Engine Plant.
"The base Mustang V6 was a very unfortunate engine," Hall said. "Now they have an engine ... that is worthy."
In addition to power, Ford said fuel efficiency will be a big selling point for the 2011 Mustang.
With the help of a new automatic transmission, Ford said it expects the Mustang to be rated at 30 miles per gallon on the highway and 19 in the city. That beats the comparable 2009 automatic Camaro, which gets 29 m.p.g. on the highway and 18 in the city.
"We are the only ones that can provide 30 miles per gallon and 300 horsepower," said Barb Samardzich, Ford's vice president of global powertrain engineering.
Samardzich said she expects that Ford and other manufacturers will continue to find ways to improve vehicle fuel economy without sacrificing power.
"This is just the start," she said.
Ford pumps up iconic muscle car
BY BRENT SNAVELY
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
The 2011 Ford Mustang to be unveiled at this week's Los Angeles auto show will offer a more powerful engine and improved fuel efficiency so the iconic muscle car might remain America's favorite.
The base model 2010 Mustang has a 210-horsepower V6 engine. That's a lot less than the 304 horses available in General Motors' base model Chevrolet Camaro.
The Camaro has been gaining in popularity since it went back on sale in March after a nearly 7-year hiatus.
Through October, General Motors Co. sold 47,233 Camaros -- 9,236 shy of Mustang. Given its strong performance, Camaro might even outsell Mustang this year.
But Ford Motor Co. said its new 3.7-liter aluminum V6 engine, mated to a new 6-speed automatic transmission for the 2011 Mustang, will deliver 305 horsepower and offer a 25% improvement in fuel efficiency.
So if Mustang loses its No. 1 spot this year, Ford might reclaim the crown with its 2011 model, which is to go on sale in the spring.
Reloaded Mustang to take on Camaro
With the 2011 Ford Mustang, Ford Motor Co. is gunning for its archrival, General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet Camaro.
Ford said it believes the new Mustang, which is to be unveiled at this week's Los Angeles auto show and go on sale this spring, will retake the leading monthly sales position from Camaro because it has reloaded the iconic muscle car with a new engine and transmission that adds 90 horsepower and a 25% improvement in fuel efficiency.
The Dearborn automaker also said it thinks it can market the Mustang to customers younger than those who traditionally buy the car.
To appeal to younger customers, Ford plans to market its technology, such as a message center in the instrument cluster and blind-spot mirrors, as well as the Mustang's power and improved fuel efficiency.
"We're addressing the new customer, the younger customer, and we're also going to go after Camaro," Dave Pericak, chief nameplate engineer for the Mustang, told journalists last month.
The battle between the two cars dates back to 1966, when the original Camaro went on sale -- two years after the first Mustang -- but temporarily was put on hold when GM ended production of the Camaro in 2002.
GM brought the Camaro back this spring, and the battle has resumed, with the Camaro outselling the Mustang for the last five months.
GM said the Camaro is on pace to outsell the Mustang this year for the first time since 1985. Through October, GM had sold 47,233 Camaros -- 9,236 shy of the Mustang, according to Autodata Corp. The Camaro went on sale in March.
Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, said Ford's Mustang was doing fine until its lackluster base-model engine was exposed by the new Camaro.
The base model 2010 Mustang -- built at Ford's assembly plant in Flat Rock -- has a 210-horsepower V6 engine, versus 304 horsepower for the base model V6 in the Camaro.
Ford said its new 3.7-liter, aluminum V6 engine and a new 6-speed automatic transmission for the 2011 Mustang will deliver 305 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. Ford will build the engine at its recently retooled Cleveland Engine Plant.
"The base Mustang V6 was a very unfortunate engine," Hall said. "Now they have an engine ... that is worthy."
In addition to power, Ford said fuel efficiency will be a big selling point for the 2011 Mustang.
With the help of a new automatic transmission, Ford said it expects the Mustang to be rated at 30 miles per gallon on the highway and 19 in the city. That beats the comparable 2009 automatic Camaro, which gets 29 m.p.g. on the highway and 18 in the city.
"We are the only ones that can provide 30 miles per gallon and 300 horsepower," said Barb Samardzich, Ford's vice president of global powertrain engineering.
Samardzich said she expects that Ford and other manufacturers will continue to find ways to improve vehicle fuel economy without sacrificing power.
"This is just the start," she said.