[darkpuppet]

Honestly, I was tempted to start another thread about the whole V6 vs V8 thing in the Mustang. Because I think it would spark some good debate.

Me personally, I could never see the mustang as a performance car. It's not. It's a muscle car sure, and the purest form of the muscle car is the GT. But what do muscle cars do? Go in a straight line... the odometer should be marked out in 1/4 mile increments...

Anyone who's buying a mustang under the premise of buying a sportscar are deluding themselves. They're not buying a sportscar, they're buying a truck.

And it takes a helluva lot of work to make a sportscar out of a truck. The GT ups the performance by putting in stiffer suspension, a bigger engine and LSD. However all of these things combine to show every flaw in the chasis and drivetrain as well.

Clunky gearbox, frame shimmy, axle shimmy.. ugh... I know that musclecar enthusiasts don't care about this so long as the car can drive straight, but man, it's a bitter pill for me to swallow... especially for the price of doing it.

So what's the point in even buying a mustang? Honestly, it's for the uneducated public who think they're getting a sportscar, and for those who are looking to buy something with image.

I'm the latter... it's a good looking car, and image wise, it's a step up from the focus. I've accepted that this car is a step down in handling from the focus, and honestly, half the fun of the focus is in how it handles. If you lose the one thing that makes a car fun to drive, you tend to look to other things that make it fun.

That's where the convertible comes in. It doesn't matter how terribly handling a convertible is, they are always fun to drive. I hate to admit it, but top down on a sunny day, it's a great way to be driving if you can't be doing it 10/10ths fast.

If I were Jeremy Clarkson, I'd say that the mustang is a pointless car. Cheap interior plastics, terribly handling, loud, and even with 300HP, not overly fast...

But to own one with that image, and to do it for the same price as owning a focus... why not give it a run for a few years?

I'm still young (sorta), plenty of time to save up for a true performance car later on in life... I do want to get into racing when money and time permit... and who knows.. get my practice in on a 'bad' car, then move up.... bad being relative of course.. the stang isn't THAT bad.

god I'm gonna miss the focus