Having the 08 GT vert for a few days now, and graduating from the 00 GT vert, here is what I would change: 1.) Have the seats return to the original positions when putting them back into place after letting someone in the back seat. The 00 car did this. 2.) Lumbar support for the passenger seat (I thought it would come on the power passenger seat I got, but it's not). 3.) Pop-up rollbars for the vert. 4.) Adjustable pedals for the wives. 5.) Choice of more aggressive tires from the factory. The all season 235/50-18 tires on the car don't stick as well as the 245/45-17 Eagle Gatorback tires I had on the 00 GT, but the ride is much better, so I guess that's the tradeoff. Still, when it comes time to replace them I'd probably go with the same size but unidrectional and stickier. That's all I can think of, everything else seems much better!
No, not at all. The 08 is so much better in so many small and large ways. The tautness of the whole car, the quality of the ride, the extra gear in the smoother transmission, the comfort of the heated seats, the quiet of the soft top, the HID lights, the nav system, the side airbags, the placement of the gas tank, too many things to list. And so many other things that can't even be described, just feelings. What I posted was just a small list of (what I would consider minor) improvements I would wish for.
Memory seats is one of Fords big failures on the S197. I have found out recently that the tires are not rated for high speeds at least the stock ones on my 05 are not.
As an option I would love to see the incredibly highly rated Goodyear F1 GS-D3's in the stock 235/50-18 size. I'll put those on next year...
Good grief. Come on guys. Listen to what you guys are ****ing about. Memory seats? Come on! Useless garbage. They didn't even have memory seats 10 years ago... and they definitely didn't have memory seats when Shelby was designing his '67 GT500 and Ford was redesigning the '69 Mustang. Yet you sound like it's a wonder anyone can stand to drive without them. Do you know how lazy that makes you sound? How about just taking an extra 3 or 4 seconds to re-adjust the seat to your liking. Memory seats...
this is true, but we are in the 21st century. many people expect creature comforts when spending $25,000 or more on a car. that is why you cant go and buy a stripped out version of the mustang. having options is what buying a new car is all about. some want the bare minimum, and others want everything and then some. the great thing is that we have a choice!
The big thing I want on the Mustang is automatic climate control. I'd love to just set the temp to say 70 degrees and forget about it rather than sitting there constantly playing with the blue and red dial trying to find the right position. Memory seats are nice, but not a big deal to me because no one else drives my car.
See, that's just it, to each his own. Memory seats aren't that important to me (I drive the car 99% of the time), but if my wife and I switched all the time, it would be nice to have as an OPTION. Same thing with the air-con. I prefer the manual system, since I have a convertible and with an automatic system you're either getting roasted or frozen, but it would be nice to have the OPTION. These are all things (like the pedals, for example) that Ford uses in almost every one of it's cars, so it's not a big design challenge to offer them for those who would like to pay for them. Some people want bare bones, light wieght, hard core. Some people want luxury and technology. My car cost almost $40k, and for that price I just feel like a few little things should have been offered. But I'll say it again and again, what an amazing car!
Do those tires fit? Are they wider than the wheel at that point, or no? I'm definitely noticing a lot more understeer than on the 00 GT with the 245/45-17. Maybe that 235/55-18 is just a little too much sidewall to get that hard turn-in I'm used to.
255/45 will fit very nicely on the 8.5" wheel. That is what I have on the front of mine and I could tell a big difference in steering feel. I can agree to some point about memory seats and adjustable pedals, but come on, this is performance V8 Mustang. Available as options could work, but you know too many of the cars will be sent to the dealers with alot of them installed. Before i bought my '00, I asked the dealer why so many on the lot were autos He said so they can adverise alot of them as FULLY loaded. That didn't leave many to choose from if you wanted one with few options...at least at that dealer. I didn't buy from there anyhow. A few of the things in the car, I have questioned, but after 36K miles it's all pretty much second nature now. Having to reach far back behind to grab the seat belt, no trunk release inside the car and the one that bothers me most, having to duck down to see under the rear view mirror out the windshield as I'm on an off ramp.
What I would have liked on the S-197 is lateral seat support, I'm all over the place when taking turns and most important an independent rear suspension.
True. To each their own. But the seat thing is silly, I mean, if the previous car had it... ? And the pop-up rollbars, should be standard on all verts. And the passenger lumbar? If it's already a mirror image of the driver's power seat, why not? If they didn't offer a power passenger seat I could see it, they would need to provide extra wiring, etc. But if the wiring is already there? And the pedals, I guess the reason is that you can't make them for cars with stick shifts, so I can understand that one. But the tires? Maybe they only offer one type so as to take up lass space at the factory? Maybe they want to make sure some idiot in Chicago doesn't order them in the middle of winter? Who knows...
I was replying to kooldawg about the seat, don't know how your post got in there... But I agree about the lateral support...
All I have to say is that all these little gadgets cost money...to design, to make and time to install and we all know time is money, for Goodness sake this Mustang doesn't have an interior fuel door release or sun visor mirror lights. The idea of the Mustang is performance/dollar value. Did the old ones have it? Yes but, the old ones were basically late 80's Thunderbirds turned into Mustangs so all those gadgets were designed, built and paid for almost 2 decades ago. I'ld rather spend my money on an aluminum 3v v-8 that makes 300hp on 87 octane, can create tons more power with basic mods and get me over 20mpg even though I don't always baby her, then to have them take R&D money to make small gadgets. My $0.02
I agree. I would love the Memory Seat option, as my wife and I car pool almost every day.. and when she comes to pick me up... the seat is so far forward I can't get in (she's 5'3'' and I'm 6'4'')... it'd be NICE to just hit the button and every go to the way I like it rather then play with the seat and mirrors half way home to get them right. I would also like the auto climate control, the trunk button, more supportive seats, and did I say inside trunk button? lol. Oh well... I still love the car.. but it'd be nice to have those options. I understand that it's a MUSTANG, but we're getting older, with more money... and still wanna go fast. So I would love to have the power and performance along with the comfort of a Honda Accord, and I'd be willing to pay for it! I just don't wanna have to pay top dollar for a German car (AMG or M series) to get these creature comforts and go fast! Maybe Ford will read this thread.
Basically it boils down to this: If it wouldn't cost much to offer as an option becaue it already exists in the Ford lineup, then offer it (things like auto climate, mem seats, that sort of thing). But, of course, make available a bare bones version for the enthusiasts.
I just remembered one other annoyance. Why did they get rid of the dome light like in my old SN95?!?!? The little map lights just don't give me enough light to see into the back if I need to.
