Ford Mustang Overview

The Ford Mustang is an absolute hoot to drive. The new Mach 1 and the Cobra deliver brilliant acceleration performance with lots of torque for quickly attaining super-legal speeds. The Mustang offers good grip when cornering hard, and you can really feel what the car is doing. Don't expect sophisticated ride and handling, though. This is a hammer of a car, and it's interior is dated.

Mustang's heritage dates back to April 17, 1964, when the first one rolled onto the streets with its long hood, short rear deck, low profile. Performance and style were its hallmarks.

Today, the Mustang is commonly seen at local racetracks of all types, drag strips, road racing circuits. About 135,000 Mustangs were sold in 2002. Ford claims Mustang is the best-selling convertible in America (54,783 in 2001). With the Chevy Camaro and Pontiac Firebird gone, the Ford Mustang is the last pony standing. A new Mustang is on the horizon, likely to be introduced as a 2005 model.

For 2003, two new special-edition models are available: Mach 1 models boast a powerful twin-cam V8, sports suspension, and shaker hood designed to remind us of the famous 1969 fastback. The Mustang Pony is a new package that offers the aggressive appearance of the GT in an affordable V6 model.

2003 brings important safety improvements to the Mustang. Several new measures are designed to reduce wind noise, the suspension has been retuned, and the V6 and V8 engines get some minor refinements.