It's hard to quantify exactly how much better Ford's 2011 Mustang Coupes and Convertibles are over their 2010 model year predecessors, but if order figures are any indication it's three times better.
Numbers from Ford show that in the first month on the market approximately 11,000 people have placed orders for the newly-power-trained 2011 Mustang.
A hefty fifty per cent of those orders were for the V6 base model (30 mpg, 305 horsepower), while the GT V8 (25 mpg, 412 horsepower) came in second at 41% and the beefy GT500 snagged the last 9% (23 mpg, 550 horsepower).
"Fuel economy ranks among the top two reasons people choose vehicles," said Steve Ling, North America Car Marketing manager. "With the 2011 Mustang lineup, we've found a way to offer even better fuel efficiency for V6, GT and even Shelby GT500 performance drivers – while improving performance. And consumers are responding."
Quick figures:
V6 orders up 19% (no doubt a direct result of the greatly improved output/economy ratio)
V6-based Mustang Club of America Special Edition and GT-based California Special orders were three times higher than expected
10% of cars ordered with a rear-view camera
18% of cars ordered with a navigation system
26% of cars ordered with HID headlamps errands
Now if we could go back to having the GT500 be a full-fledged SVT model and avoid any shameless marketing ploys (Shelby, I'm looking your way), all would be right in the world.
- By Phil Alex
