The $20K V8 thread

[Rootus]

You will not be laughing when the two different V8 versions of the 2005 Mustang come out. Will ya?

No reason to be sensitive, I wasn't making fun of you. I just got a chuckle from your post, that's all.

Dave

 

[Z28x]

It was a mistake, Why would they sell a car for $20K when people are willing to pay $25K. That would just be bad business

 

[Ron Jeremy]

It's not bad business. It will make Ford a lot more money because more people will by the V8 who don't want to buy the V6, but who at the same time don't want to spend a lot on the V8 GT. There will be more V8 sales. Plus the V6 will sell well too. And Ford will make more money. So how can this be bad business for Ford? I sense that you have things mixed up.

 

[pairofnines]

It was a mistake, Why would they sell a car for $20K when people are willing to pay $25K. That would just be bad business

Did you hear J. Mays give his speech? He was very specific, stating that both a 200 and 300 hp Mustang would be released under 20 grand. I don't think it was a mistake, because a correction statement was never released, and I believe that Ford would want to correct a mistake like that. And I don't understand how it would be bad business? They did it with the Fox Body, look how many bought LXs, as well as those who paid about 6k IIRC extra for the GT package. If you get rid of some of the creature comforts that some wouldn't want, such as heated seats, leather, special trim, different body and badging, etc, it is a very attractive package for those of us who just want a cheap, V8 car without all the frills. But hey, I could be completely wrong, but I'll still have one in my garage

On the same note, when are we actually gonna get prices and options? What about job 1 dates?

 

[Blk01gt_]

Assuming ford did offer a V8 "LX" edition ofr under 20 grand, do you guys think it would have the better drivetrain components(3650 tranny, and better rear end) or the v6 mustang components(T5 tranny, weaker rear end). If the "LX" V8 had the weaker V6 components, wouldnt that put it into a bad reliability postion as far as the engine being too powerful for the rest of the drivetrain? Or would the "LX under 20 grand V8" package upgrade the engine AND the other components of the drivetrain?

Almost forgot, whats up with the new version, have the forums been agonizingly slow for anyone else these past few days?(it takes like a minute to load a page, im on cable)

 

[MatthewP]

I assumed J Mays made a mistake in that speech, but if Ford intends to release a stripper V8 Mustang my guess for equipment would be:

Complete V8 powertrain including 3650 transmission and 8.8 rear end
Electric windows, locks, A/C, Single CD player, and probably Cruise Control
Cloth seats
No fog lights
V6 wheel package

Fox3 5.0 Sport (LX Sport) cars contained the complete V8 powertrain, and it is probably cheaper for Ford to not offer crank window, manual lock, and other option deletes than to simply build all the cars with the same basic equipment.

If J Mays didn't mis-speak, I bet Ford sells more like 250000 '05 Mustangs. Wouldn't you sooner have a 300 HP V8 Mustang than a 175 HP Honda for $20000 (US) ?

-Matthew

 

[yellow5.0cobra]

Great so now instead of the resale value losing ~$7k the second you register the car in your name at the dealership, it will just drop to pennies!

Like I said before, its a mistake of the choice of words he used. He meant a Muscle car can be had for under $20k, meaning the V6 is part of the Muscle car heritage.

No way, no how can it be made and sold for $20k in V8 trim.

That is unless you want to use the old frail FOX body interior(no offense, I own a Notch and love it) and VERY cheap quality builds... like sagging doors, horrid suspension, cheap radiator support and non tilt steering wheels.. then be my guest and enjoy one.

 

[GreyGoose]

right from the FORD site...

“Cars are built all over the world, but Mustang could come only from Ford," says Martens. "Like the F-150 is to Ford trucks, Mustang is the soul of Ford cars. A pure performer, it's the most affordable 300-horsepower car made and the best rear-wheel-drive performance car under $20,000.”

located at bottom of page... http://media.ford.com/newsroom/feature_display.cfm?release=16647




I have a feeling its no mistake. they want to make this baby sell good in its first year.

Well to me it sounds like they are talking about the mustang but not the different trims. The Mustang will be the most affordable 300HP car in GT trim but it won't mean it will cost under $$20K and the Mustang will be the best performance car with rear-wheel-drive for under 20K but in V6 trim.......... by the way I don't think there is many rear-wheel-drive cars under 20K ahaha

 

[Jeffspeed24]

alll these quotes from mr. mays are so different from each other.

 

[Z28x]

It's not bad business. It will make Ford a lot more money because more people will by the V8 who don't want to buy the V6, but who at the same time don't want to spend a lot on the V8 GT. There will be more V8 sales. Plus the V6 will sell well too. And Ford will make more money. So how can this be bad business for Ford? I sense that you have things mixed up.

There is more to it than just dropping in a bigger engine. Tranny, rearend, and suspension need to be changed to handle the extra power too. it is bad bussiness because instead of selling for $25K they would be lossing $5000 in profit selling it at $20K. For $1000 over the V6 price they would pretty much be giving the V8 away. More V8s would also lower there CAFE avg.

If they can do it, that would awesome, but I think the announcment was a mistake.

 

[awalbert88]

If there is in fact a $20k V8 Mustang, then I'll be buying one when I return from boot camp. I was debating between building up my Audi (probably with a twin turbo S4 engine) or getting an old LX Fox and building that up. But if I can get a new Mustang with a 300hp V8 for $20k, I'd probably do that in a second.

 

[MustangDanny]

I'm fairly convinced from the arguments presented that there will be a LX-style V8 in '05. Seems very likely. My last Mustang was a 1991 LX notch with a V8 in it... you see almost as many LX 5.0's on the roads as the GT's (Fox Body era). I'd bet that Ford's plans are to mass-produce that 3V V8 to the point that it will cost them less than even the small production V6. After all, that 3V V8 has pretty much the same components as the F150 V8 (which, if I am not mistaken is Fords best seller). You would be surprised how much a manufacturer can save by increasing production (i.e. ordering more quantity of material/pre-built components, standardization). [B.T.W. I am an engineer in the transportation industry]. Standardizing the powertrain would end up increasing profits for Ford, not decreasing. Remember, Ford doesn't pay for their motors according to how much horsepower they put out... it's all about supply and demand. Go to any wholesaler and increase the size of you order, and watch the prices drop. Now when we are talking about quantities in the hundreds of thousands that becomes very significant.

With all that said... I wonder what Ford would give me on a trade in on my 99 Cobra for a stripped down 05 LX V8?

 

[beary58]

>>it is bad bussiness because instead of selling for $25K they would be lossing $5000 in profit selling it at $20K.<<

I think it's possible. Last September you could get a new Mach1 for around $22000 if you were willing to travel. They just don't give those things away. Someone posted the artical yesterday about the 5.4 and in it Ford pointed out how they are decreasing the cost of building engines. I'm sure that translates to other car parts and engines. And if was Ford wanted to hit the market hard the first year, a $20000 V8 sure got my attention. Still, I want another convertible. I wonder where that fits in the Ford marketing scheme.

2000 White Vert

 

[jdfording]

Check out caranddriver.com They have video footage on the front page of the new mustang (silver one) and even the guy doing the video preview for C&D said that specific model will be available for 20k and the V6 for about 17k.

 

[SN95StangMan]

"...200 or 300 horsepower both starting under 20 grand..." Whats so confusing about that. He never said anything about it being a GT. I think it is very possible that we will see the return of an LX/GTS model. That would be good for the younger buyers like me. The only reason I didnt buy a new Mustang was because I couldnt afford it at 24+K, and I wanted a V8. A 20K V8 sounds a little more affordable. Just because you can spend 1K more for a V8 doesnt mean every V6 buyer is going to jump on it. My sister thinks her '00 V6 is cool because it doesnt waste as much gas as my car. She just knows that her car has all power, CD, Mach460, leather seats, etc... and it is a mustang, so its cool to her. Hell, my brother offered to give her a set of '00 cobra R rims that he has lying around and she didnt want them because they arent "shiny"

** Did anyone notice that right before the car pulled in at the end of the video, the exhaust only came out of one side. Was that a v6?

 

[beary58]

How would $20K V8 effect used car prices?

Given a choice of a used 04GT or a New 05 LX with the new retro body style and 300HP engine for about the same price. Well I'm just wondering what that will do to used car prices. I remember watching this same discussion on the Corvette Forum. I say discussion, it seemed more like a panic.

Comments.

2000 White Vert

 

[Omegalock]

Check out caranddriver.com They have video footage on the front page of the new mustang (silver one) and even the guy doing the video preview for C&D said that specific model will be available for 20k and the V6 for about 17k.

Hmmm...see if this IS a mistake Ford needs to jump on it now because when you have big media sources starting to say this it could be very damaging.

 

[66Satellite]

Well if it's true guys hoping to trade up from 99-04 cars better sell fast before word gets out!!! This is of course great news for people hoping to pick up a 99-04 car cheap in the next year or so.

 

[André.]

Don't worry about it, it will never happen !

 

[BelueLX]

Wonder if an all black interior is going to be rare again?