Yup. Glad you touched on that. The Mustang as it is now is already a stout performer, even agaisnt the 370z (but I'll always mention it's not quite the bargain once you start checking things on the options list), so now you give it quite a quantum leap of power you really got something that'll make GM shake its head.
I just hope ford doesn't see this as having a green light to make the car heavier or more expensive.
Man, 400hp in a mustang out of the box, geez these days you really gotta pay to play, not like the old days where you could get a used dsm cheap, throw 1000 bucks into it, or get an eg swap and tune it and embarrass those loud mustangs all day. Ridiculous, we've really come to the next level of performance.
I hope that it'll eventually become like computers where they get so powerful/fast to the point that the average folk doesn't even need it anymore, and instead of making them faster, they'll make them more stout and cheaper, and I'm beginning to think we're getting closer to that. Mustangs and vettes in the 400s, hyundai in 300, 4 banger turbos in the 300s. ferraris and such over 500, supercars around 1000, just ridiculous.

 

Yep, this puts the 2011 model firmly on my test-drive list. Looking good, Ford! Just hoping they fired the guy who positioned the shifter in the Terminators...

 

Coming from a die hard camaro fan, if this stang weighs 35XX, then without a doubt it will be a better buy for the person who wants to keep their car semi stock. the weight and the interior are huge selling points to me. however, for someone who wants to do heads/cam, then the camaro is the true winner. nothing can touch an LS3 for the price, nothing. i remember reading that the stang already has mid headers on it so I have a feeling it wont be responding well to bolt ons, so tuners will instead go for forced induction whereas camaro guys can throw a cam in theirs and hit near 500rwhp.

and to the guys who think the LS3 with its pushrod technology is archaic and for whatever reason DOHC rules, I have yet to see anything that can touch an LS3 for the price especially in stock form all the way up to being heavily modified. 500rwhp cam+bolt ons, need I say more?

 

hey I totally agree with your praise of the LS3, but we have no clue how this new 5.0 will take to basic mods till it is out. Realistically if someone wants power it has always been relatively cheap to get a really good quality supercharger for mustangs, the after market is hyuge.

 

So if we could just get the LSx in the Mustang...

Really, that's not fair as I really like the current V8. I know the power numbers aren't great but it is a very smooth and refined engine. I love the LSx motors but in the Corvette and in the Tahoe (same family but technically not LSx) the GM motor isn't quite as refined. Hardly uncivilized but sometimes the idle vibrations are that of a good V6 vs a really smooth V8. I recall driving a supercharged Fox body Cobra. I was expected power. It had it. The throttle response wasn't as crisp as my friend's LT1 Z28 but it was powerful. What shocked me, what I absolutely wasn't expecting, was just how SMOOTH the motor was. Were it not for the loud exhaust I could have sworn that motor was in a BMW. It was just vibration free at idle. The new Mustang V8s (well now the outgoing V8s) seemed to retain that smoothness as well as one of the greatest cross plane V8 rumbles on any production car. The hot rod Mercs seem to sound like Mustangs to me. The Corvette just doesn't sound as right to me.

Anyway, I think this new motor will be a nice plant. I suspect it will be bigger than the LSx and on paper no better. However, I suspect, all else being equal (and it rarely is) I will prefer the character of the Mustang motor.

 

Had a chance to sit in the Camaro & see the 2011 Mustang (V6 version) at the LA Autoshow. The Camaro to me was the exact reason GM is failing. Rave all you want about their engine, which really is a nice engine, but the interior is a joke. Same old plasticky, nasty cheapo interior. The trunk was an absolute joke. To me the exterior of the car is decent to good looking, but like a lot of previous GM products it's a great engine, with the rest of the car an afterthought.

The 2011 Mustang (at least from looking through the window) is a further refinement, of an already much better interior. Ford is actually thinking about the inside of the car. IMO, the 2010 Mustangs look better than the previous generation Mustang. Overall this is a car that I might highly consider for my next car.

2011 Mustang==>2010 Dodge SRT8==>2010 Camaro SS

 

I also got to sit in a dude's SS before, I found the interior to be well built with reasonable materials. I mean if you compare it to say an Audi, yeah you got a point, but compare the materials to a BMW or Merc and I'd say it's on par. Problem with me was that it was too busy and over styled, but when I felt and tapped on everything, the dash, the plastics and such, it all felt well built, doors didnt shutter too much, my only real gripe was the quality of leather but was understandable since it wasn't a luxury car and it did pack what 400+hp under the hood?
I mean yeah, the dash wasn't covered in leather, the steering wheel wasn't covered in alcantara, the door sounds didnt sound liek a vault, but neither do a lot of the entry level luxury cars whose price is about the same.
The challenger interior on the other hand was a joke at it was pretty much a carryover from teh dated charger interior, the stang for the most part used good bits, but where they cheaped out like the center console area they really used coleman's finest. The camaro for the most part had a nicely put together interior, only problem is that I'm sure to be sick of it in 5 years. Then again, if they put in a subdued audi like interior, people would say it's too vanilla.

 

I will agree with you, it's way too busy, maybe that contributed to it being way too chintzy.

I think the new Mustangs interiors are just better looking, the seats are still a bit rubbery.

I don't compare the Camaro interiors to Audi, MBZ or BMW (they can't compare), but I don't think they compare to even the new Mustangs (anymore. Maybe 3-5 years ago). The Dodges are a bit austere, but that is far better than some of the design of the new Camaro. Like old muscle cars, everything is where it is supposed to be, & not made to look like some of the cheesy bits in the Camaro design

Yeah, the quality of the leather has always been sub par to me in GM products. The new upgraded leather package in the Vettes are dramatically better on the dash, door panels, etc. But I don't know how many Camaro owners would want to pay $6K-$8K to upgrade their interior.

 

you are right we have no clue but I can use the past to predict the future .

96-98 cobras: bolt ons with other goodies can yield 12's but theres not much in it after that unless you build the motor with a supercharger/turbo.

99/01 cobras: actually overrated, and again never responded well to N/A bolt ons. again, people supercharge this example.

03+ mach1's: seen a few examples of car hitting 330rwhp with bolt on's, but that was thousands of dollar later. i've heard the highest is around 350rwhp without getting a built motor, but even then, you arent at stock blown 03/04 cobra levels.

05+ GT 3v stangs: again heard mid 300's with with heavy duty cams, and apparently some hitting 400rwhp with crazy h/c packages.

to put this all in perspective cam only LS1's can hit near 440rwhp cam only, h/c with stock cubes 470rwhp, 500+rwhp with more displacement. The LS3 does that on the when its all hungover on a sunday morning with one eye open

bottom line, ford modular motors are getting better, but they cant touch an LS3, let alone an LS1

 

There is so much more to a car than just its motor. I'd take the Mustang over its V8 competitors.