More Muscle Cars

[mpeach1976]

Back in the day Ford had a few muscle cars: Fairlane, Torino, Falcon, T-Bird and of course Mustang. What happened? Wouldn't it be cool to have the option of a 2 door coyote powered Fusion GT. I think this should happen. I'm just blabbing...would be cool though.

 

[97gtstang01]

Great question

sent while thinking of mods for my 4.6s using tapatalk

 

[Mattstang04]

I agree it would be cool. Right now, there are a few GM selections that offer some V8 rear drive variety. Cadillac, the past Pontiac G8, GTO, Chevy's SS or Caprice models give some options. Dodge has the Charger and Challenger.

Maybe a V8 Lincoln or a return of the ever faithful Crown Victoria, Grand Marq and Marauder. They tried the T-bird with the retro model. That really didn't do as well as Ford thought it would. The Lincoln LS was a neat car. It would be neat to see that return. Falcon, I'm afraid, will stay an Australian model, never to return to the states.

But upon a little consideration, I don't want Ford to return all its old name plate and ruin their legacy with a something that won't go over well. Like the T-Bird all over again.

Ford is pretty in tune with the market. I think if they think they can sell it they would. As much as I love the V8, there seems to be a lot of evidence that it won't be around much longer. The rise of the turbo 4s and 6s would indicate the impending doom of the V8. I hope I'm wrong.

I don't see how a turbo 6 has any better gas mileage than an equally powered V8. Every body seems to equate turbo charging with fuel economy. Maybe its how you drive it or maybe its just a sales gimmick. I'm not drinking the Koolaid and jumping on the turbo bandwagon just yet.

Getting a little lengthy. But, yes, I would love to see more V8 rear drive Fords.

 

[MustangIIMatt]

The real problem is that Ford prices anything truly interesting out of the most important demographic of enthusiasts' price range. So does pretty much everyone else though.

 

[mpeach1976]

I wouldn't expect them to make different cars in V8's from the factory, but like back in the day you could get an option package of which could include a V8. Like Mattstang04 said; other companies have various V8's to choose from like Dodge with both the Charger and Challenger. That said; why couldn't they offer (for the cost difference between a turbo 6 cylinder and a coyote V8) to put a V8 it into a Fusion or Taurus. Gt seems to be Ford's staple like SS to Chevrolet an R/T to Dodge. They should offer more car models in a GT for sure... being that the GT badge would mean it had a V8. Sell cars how ever they come from the factory and for a little extra offer a 'GT' package. Of course within reason...you wouldn't put a V8 into a Focus or Fiesta.

 

[SpartaPerformance]

2017 will see a 350hp Fusion ST using a 2.7L Ecoboost and torque vectoring AWD, its MKZ counterpart will have a 3.0L Ecoboost making 400hp 400trq

 

[Phillip123]

The Falcon is still here... faster than a Lambo!

Behind That NAIVE LOOKING FORD FALCON GT Is Hidden A Lamborghini Gallardo Beater!NO Car NO Fun! Muscle Cars and Power Cars! |

 

[mpeach1976]

The Falcon is still here... faster than a Lambo!

Behind That NAIVE LOOKING FORD FALCON GT Is Hidden A Lamborghini Gallardo Beater!NO Car NO Fun! Muscle Cars and Power Cars! |

Are you in Australia?

 

[Phillip123]

Are you in Australia?

Nope. Birmingham, AL.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[mpeach1976]

Nope. Birmingham, AL.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I ask because Ford Australia still makes the Falcon

 

[Redskulker]

Ford is pretty in tune with the market. I think if they think they can sell it they would. As much as I love the V8, there seems to be a lot of evidence that it won't be around much longer. The rise of the turbo 4s and 6s would indicate the impending doom of the V8. I hope I'm wrong.

.

This touches on why I made the engine choice that I did. Not too long from now I see a v6 being in the position a v8 is today. Of course if gas stays "reasonably priced" this may be delayed a bit.

 

[Phillip123]

I ask because Ford Australia still makes the Falcon

Makes sense

 

[SpartaPerformance]

Falcon is about to be moth balled. Mustang is moving in.

 

[Svtpilot]

Even though they are not the V8 muscle cars we all want , Ford will be making a 325HP AWD Fusion Sport. So that plus the already mentioned 350 HP Focus RS, now 2 Lincolns with 400hp, the Raptor and of course the Mustang/Shelbys and the new Ford GT gives us Ford fans quite a few performance choices. I wonder if the 350hp Focus combined with the new Camaro which is lighter and more powerful then the Mustang means we can expect our favorite Pony Car to receive a nice boost in horsepower.. I would like to think that Ford doesn't want to see its flagship performance car get smoked at red light by a hatchback or a family sedan .

 

[dgc333]

I don't see how a turbo 6 has any better gas mileage than an equally powered V8. Every body seems to equate turbo charging with fuel economy. Maybe its how you drive it or maybe its just a sales gimmick. I'm not drinking the Koolaid and jumping on the turbo bandwagon just yet.

I have been driving turbo 4s continuously for the past 30 years as a daily driver.

I have always been able to get significantly better fuel mileage than equivalent HP naturally aspirated engines.

My current daily driver is a 15 Ecoboost Mustang. With the mods I have on the car I am making in the range of 350HP / 390 ft-lbs. I have a 50 mile round trip suburban commute that I average 29-31 mpg tank full to tank full, on the hiway at a constant 70 mph I get 32-33 mpg.

The reason you can do better than a NA engine is 85-90% of the time the engine is not in boost so you are essentially driving a small displacement NA car.

The complaints about turbo engines not delivering on the great mileage promise is when they put a really small engine in a car that doesn't make enough power off boost to move the car along in normal driving and these cars will spend a much larger percentage of there time in boost.

In the case of my Mustang I can do my commute without ever going into boost and comfortably keep up with traffic so its like driving a 2.3l NA engine. If I do that my mileage jumps up to 37-38mpg.

Dave

 

[Paul G]

This is a good thread. We saw a complete decline in 2 Door vehix, yet Japan and Germany still crank them out as an offering to their 4 door equivalents.
Regarding the Retro T-Bird, it was not that it did poorly, it was never planned to be a long production run with high prod numbers. It was planned to be a limited vehicle. Also, T-Birds was always a name-plate Ford used to test the waters with for new designs. Wasn't until the 70's it became just another big two door hulk sharing the same platform as the LTD, etc..

At this point with Eco Boost 4 Cyl cranking out 300 + HP and 300 + torque, and the EPA and US GOV piling on the mileage standards, I think turbo I4's will be a thing of the future.

I do agree with someone who mentioned cost, it's getting to the point where a Focus RS carries a near or over $40K price tag. I know it's an RS, but it's still a Focus.