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OK -- controversial question for ya'aaall

Mustang used to be a brand in its own right. 

I thought the new Mustangs must be good ... but until today I had never seen one in the flesh. 

Would you have the new Mustang ...if you had enuff Franklins and Jacksons?

It has $65000 styling and looks .....a $65000 engine  and $1,000,000,000,000,000,000 of history and heritage. 



..but the interior ! ! ! ! ...woof - WTF ! ! ! ! ! !      ... what rabid dog ...  made out of recycled water bottles, BIC biros and a wheelie bin . 

The quality was so bargain basement I thought I was in a 1990's Nissan.

I have never seen such an uninteresting, uninspired pile of goo  since Volvo came out with their 1980's boxy monstrosities. 

I bet they got someone more used to finger painting to style it



What an unremitting sea of grey, soulless dreariness.

I'm glad I can get into my 1971 and have quality that is galactically better than these expensive trash cans.



 
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I know what you mean. Seems like most of todays cars interiors are limited in color. Most color options are two tone - dark on dark. Grey seats with black dash. Black seats with grey dash. Beige seats with black dash. Grey on grey or black on black. The only thing colorful is the instruments and you have to have the lights on to enjoy those.

The molded dash, console, door panels and the rest of the trim has a lack luster feel to it. They tend to limit options to get you to step up in the cars models and have you pay more. Want leather seats, you have to get the top level model. What gets me is that in order to get one option, you sometimes have to get a another option or complete package. You want heated seats, got to get a sun roof too! What the hell does a sunroof have to do with heated seats?

Although our cars may of not had nearly as many options available they did have a wide choice of colors. And for the money, the material was top notch at the time.

 
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Well maybe not new but I like my 2014....and it is a v6 but with computer upgrade, engine upgrades and 3.73 gears she moves very well and loves corners at high speed.









 
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My sons have 2016/2017 GTs with the performance pack option. They are a blast to drive, very quick, handle well, stops great. A stylish interior doesn't contribute to any of those things. It may not be to your liking but, the interior layout is very functional. I have a 2007 GT as a daily driver. It has a lot of upgrades that make it tons of fun (10 PSI SC, race weight wheels, 285x40x18 Pilot Super Sport tires, suspension mods, and 15 inch rotor 6 piston Brembo brakes. I do love my 72 Mach1 but would not want to drive it everyday. If you put a Ferrari interior in an Opel it would still be an Opel. My 3 cents. Chuck

 
My sons have 2016/2017 GTs with the performance pack option. They are a blast to drive, very quick, handle well, stops great. A stylish interior doesn't contribute to any of those things. It may not be to your liking but, the interior layout is very functional. I have a 2007 GT as a daily driver. It has a lot of upgrades that make it tons of fun (10 PSI SC, race weight wheels, 285x40x18 Pilot Super Sport tires, suspension mods, and 15 inch rotor 6 piston Brembo brakes. I do love my 72 Mach1 but would not want to drive it everyday. If you put a Ferrari interior in an Opel it would still be an Opel. My 3 cents. Chuck
Hi C9zx - that made my point in a way- I'm really commenting on the interior, especially the one I got took out in.  - It looks like they spent all the money on the power packages - really excellent styling ...whereas on the insides, it looks like they spent your 3 cents on it because, surprise to me, that most of the interior feels so cheap.

 
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My sons have 2016/2017 GTs with the performance pack option. They are a blast to drive, very quick, handle well, stops great. A stylish interior doesn't contribute to any of those things. It may not be to your liking but, the interior layout is very functional. I have a 2007 GT as a daily driver. It has a lot of upgrades that make it tons of fun (10 PSI SC, race weight wheels, 285x40x18 Pilot Super Sport tires, suspension mods, and 15 inch rotor 6 piston Brembo brakes. I do love my 72 Mach1 but would not want to drive it everyday. If you put a Ferrari interior in an Opel it would still be an Opel. My 3 cents. Chuck
Hi C9zx - that made my point in a way- I'm really commenting on the interior, especially the one I got took out in.  - It looks like they spent all the money on the power packages - really excellent styling ...whereas on the insides, it looks like they spent your 3 cents on it because, surprise to me, that most of the interior feels so cheap.
That was exactly what I thought when I bought a brand spanking new 2002 Mustang GT, all the money was under the hood and the interior was so cheaply done!

 
I could never bring myself to buy a new one. I think they are way overpriced. Since I worked in the supply chain for automotive for so many years I know how cheap they are to build. I would expect the Ford cost out the door for a model that cost buyer $65,000 would be around $15,000 at the most. 

If something goes wrong some areas cannot be repaired. I do believe the dash is assembled on bench and then glued into the chassis so no way to take out for a repair. Our throw away population of today has created that. 

When I worked in China we built dies for a lot of what they call IP, Instrument Panel. The tolerances were much tighter due to everything being automated in the assembly. Our local instrument panel wiring supplier is Prettl based in Germany I believe. They built a plant in Greenville, S.C. to supply BMW. I had a friend that worked there and the wire harness for a BMW cost more than the entire body cost. 

I am surprised you did not take a drive in a R.H. drive Mustang or was that just a picture you pulled in your post.

 
I could never bring myself to buy a new one. I think they are way overpriced. Since I worked in the supply chain for automotive for so many years I know how cheap they are to build. I would expect the Ford cost out the door for a model that cost buyer $65,000 would be around $15,000 at the most. 

If something goes wrong some areas cannot be repaired. I do believe the dash is assembled on bench and then glued into the chassis so no way to take out for a repair. Our throw away population of today has created that. 

When I worked in China we built dies for a lot of what they call IP, Instrument Panel. The tolerances were much tighter due to everything being automated in the assembly. Our local instrument panel wiring supplier is Prettl based in Germany I believe. They built a plant in Greenville, S.C. to supply BMW. I had a friend that worked there and the wire harness for a BMW cost more than the entire body cost. 

I am surprised you did not take a drive in a R.H. drive Mustang or was that just a picture you pulled in your post.
David, you need to factor in the cost of the couple of BILLION dollar factory and the  MILLIONS in upgrades every couple of years to those costs

The Avon Ohio Ford Assembly Plant  [ that you have mentioned ] is getting a 900 MILLION dollar upgrade in 2021

My son has a 2016 GT with the track pack and like Chuck said they are a blast to drive.

Seems like it is the same plastic and vinyl interior we had in 71 only a lot nicer.

His was around $27,000 with the employee discount

Dash assembly for sale out of wrecked 2019 Mustang it bolts in 
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/CcYAAOSw9fZd2Waz/s-l1600.jpg[/img]

 
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The cost to keep the factories is all factored in for sure. I know for a fact that at the BMW plant they have paid all the salaries and all the operating expense by the end of June I believe it is. The remainder of the year is 100% profit. Ford has less hands on cars in their factories so they operate for less. There are over 10,000 employees at the BMW plant. 

My son has a 2019 GT Mustang and is head inspector on one of the assembly lines at BMW. He wrote the program BMW uses to track issues during the build which is a lot, lol. He tells me there is not a car that does not have something wrong with it. 

If you supply Ford you give them a price reduction of 3-5% every year. Then they give the consumer a price increase every year. Humm seems like consumer is getting bent over for sure.

In manufacturing if you cannot stamp, weld, paint and assemble for $1.00 a pound you are not very efficient. Machined parts are more of course. 

Most of the tooling for the Mustang is built in China, S. Korea or Taiwan. Tool & Die shops in the U.S.A. have fallen off the radar on being able to compete. Again most have unions so employees have such restricted job descriptions it costs double and triple to get a job done. I lived and worked in China so I know how they work and how much better their work ethics are. They are treated very good. They are well paid, happy, more holidays than U.S. and pretty much everyone in the country gets a months bonus pay during the Chinese New Year. The U.S. gave it all away to them. 

They do not even have Tool & Die course at our local tech school because nobody wants to work.

All I know is that I will never buy a new vehicle again just not worth the money. 

Ford is buying more and more engines from India. Again U.S. cannot compete. 

The unions in the U.S. are going to kill the auto industry for Ford and GM. I am told by some now that Ford is struggling. They keep dropping more and more vehicles to reduce costs.

 
I hate that the non premium models get a dinky little screen for the reverse camera instead of a large touch screen. My Mazda had a better camera system! Works well enough, but tiny compared to the premium model.

But I guess they want us to spend 10K to upgrade so we can get it . . . not gonna happen

 
I hate that the non premium models get a dinky little screen for the reverse camera instead of a large touch screen.  My Mazda had a better camera system!  Works well enough, but tiny compared to the premium model.

But I guess they want us to spend 10K to upgrade so we can get it . . . not gonna happen
Crutchfield.com

I just replaced my factory head unit in my 2012 Ram with a nice JVC touchscreen w/back-up cam.  As much as I hate touchscreens (fingerprints), this one's pretty nice.  Less than $300 with the camera, all of the adapter pieces, module, and harness (fits perfect and retains steering wheel stereo controls).

 
The cost to keep the factories is all factored in for sure. I know for a fact that at the BMW plant they have paid all the salaries and all the operating expense by the end of June I believe it is. The remainder of the year is 100% profit. Ford has less hands on cars in their factories so they operate for less. There are over 10,000 employees at the BMW plant. 

My son has a 2019 GT Mustang and is head inspector on one of the assembly lines at BMW. He wrote the program BMW uses to track issues during the build which is a lot, lol. He tells me there is not a car that does not have something wrong with it. 

If you supply Ford you give them a price reduction of 3-5% every year. Then they give the consumer a price increase every year. Humm seems like consumer is getting bent over for sure.

In manufacturing if you cannot stamp, weld, paint and assemble for $1.00 a pound you are not very efficient. Machined parts are more of course. 

Most of the tooling for the Mustang is built in China, S. Korea or Taiwan. Tool & Die shops in the U.S.A. have fallen off the radar on being able to compete. Again most have unions so employees have such restricted job descriptions it costs double and triple to get a job done. I lived and worked in China so I know how they work and how much better their work ethics are. They are treated very good. They are well paid, happy, more holidays than U.S. and pretty much everyone in the country gets a months bonus pay during the Chinese New Year. The U.S. gave it all away to them. 

They do not even have Tool & Die course at our local tech school because nobody wants to work.

All I know is that I will never buy a new vehicle again just not worth the money. 

Ford is buying more and more engines from India. Again U.S. cannot compete. 

The unions in the U.S. are going to kill the auto industry for Ford and GM. I am told by some now that Ford is struggling. They keep dropping more and more vehicles to reduce costs.
I was working with a friend in the automotive tooling industry yesterday and he supported the Italics part above.  What he shares was back in 2009 when GM and Chrysler were taking bailout money and Ford did not there was a reason.  According to my friend, Ford had borrowed money from China a few years earlier to keep the solvent during the downturn.  Apparently the "Chinese debt Collection" was a mandate that all conveyor systems and system upgrades for Ford factories must use Chinese built conveyors and components to pay the debt off.  Thus the US conveyor companies lost the Ford business.

Seems to make sense, but I cannot validate the story.  That would allow Ford to continue to keep US part content up but cut the tooling cost(in the books)

My friend also told me they lost a conveyor bid to Ford, the competitor that won the bid used all the required Chinese components, but provided no warranty, so my friends company came in to fix things at 130% of the original build.

Its a funny world, the old automotive business.

kcmash

 
I tried this route in 2014... Purcased a 2013 Boss Laguna Seca. Overall nice car, but the 5L just did not thrill me as I thought it would. I guess after owning ‘71 factory BB car’s since ‘93, this car would not meet my expected torque requirements. Handled well, sounded great, but with impending GT 350’s coming, I felt that this version was a temp gap measure for Ford to sell a few more car’s... My opinion. I sold it in 2015 to a guy in Finland....

 
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 If you put a Ferrari interior in an Opel it would still be an Opel. My 3 cents. Chuck
Hey, now....while you are correct, I still like my Opels....

BTW, Bitter produced Opel based cars that had a huge Ferrari influence to their styling. The coupe had the 3.9 straight 6 and the CD I believe had a Chevy v8 (oh, well).

 
I agree about those interiors.....I am the original owner of a Boss 351 and really love the exterior of the "new" Mustangs. Although I have been tempted numerous times to buy a new one I just cannot bring myself to lay out that kind of money and have to look and live with the interior. CRAP!

 
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