That's the key, keeping everything in correct context. Just because you prioritize a, b & c in a car, doesn't mean that you can ignore x,y & z. The Mustang was a far better balance than the Camaro/Firebird across the entire demographic that it was built to appeal to. People who only care about e.t.'s and trap speeds don't buy a ton of cars. We're the hyper-enthusiasts, we're the most fervent of fans.....but if Ford only focused on us because we screamed the loudest, they would be making an ENORMOUS mistake, just as Chevy did with the F-bods. Ford has the recipe pretty well down-pat, and GM will likely copy that recipe alot more closely the next time they take a stab at the pony-car wars. It's more than just making it fast. It's quality, refinement, practicality, IMAGE, feature content, etc.etc.etc... you've got to have the total package to be a success. All of those attributes cost money and resources, portions of budget and manpower, to optimize to their fullest. Imagine the car being a
pie, and all of the facets of the car being pieces of that
pie. It's getting that
pie chart right that seperates the winners from the losers. And you've got to sell that
pie at a targeted price. To throw all of your budget into hyper-performance, you'll either have to rob available resources away from other slices in the
pie, OR, you'll have to build a bigger (more expensive)
pie. Any way you go, you start alienating customers away from the
pie. Or, you learn how to bake pies more efficiently. Daimler-Chrysler is currently running the clinic on how to bake a
pie more efficiently. Ford's not too far behind I think. The new Mustang GT is not meant to be the fastest car Ford could conjure, it's meant to fit a large demand in the lineup. It's a great balance for the price. Ford will use special editions to satisfy the smaller niche of customers that demands more performance and prestige, and for those who can't afford s.e.'s, the aftermarket will kick in to help those GT's out just fine. I don't foresee GM pulling a 400 h.p. Camaro out of their hat. For a special edition, sure, but not for the mainstream V-8 version. You've got to ask yourself, what insurance company would insure a 400 h.p. car that was priced to sell to young people? It's an unrealistic car to build in vast numbers, because nobody could justify the insurance expense. They'll build a stinking-fast special edition to fight with Ford for bragging rights, but they would probably build a low-300's h.p. V-8 for the mass-sales market that wants AFFORDABLE performance. Back in the 60's you could get anything from a 250 6-cyl up to a 427 in a Camaro. They probably sold 20 small blocks for every ONE big block back then. I don't think that would be any different today. We just don't understand that, because we're all the types of people that would be stepping up for the big blocks.
, but if it makes you like your car better, knock yourself out!!
