How do you refresh a retro car for its second generation? The "what's next?" dilemma has baffled designers since J Mays' Concept 1 became the 1998 Volkswagen New Beetle-after all, VW has no Mark II original Beetle from which to crib. The problem followed Mays to Ford, where the 2002 Thunderbird became a one-hit wonder.
Lucky thing for Ford, it can draw from a half-decade's worth of Mustang redesigns and facelifts from mid-1964 to 1970. While the 2005-2009 Mustang paid homage to the 1967, 1968, and a bit of the 1969, the redesign simply amps up the 1969/1970 cues slightly more, and the new car is made to look smaller. The nose looks pointier, the power-bulge is more pronounced, and the front turn signals are out of the bumper and inside the headlamp clusters. The much-ballyhooed new pony badge is in a vertically tighter grille. The V-6's grille has a thin, horizontal chrome bar, with foglights now placed in the lower fascia, while the V-8's fogs surround the new "black chrome" pony emblem in the grille. In back, the trunk key cylinder is gone, replaced with a center-console remote button and the tail is canted a bit like the 1969-1970's.
Lucky thing for Ford, it can draw from a half-decade's worth of Mustang redesigns and facelifts from mid-1964 to 1970. While the 2005-2009 Mustang paid homage to the 1967, 1968, and a bit of the 1969, the redesign simply amps up the 1969/1970 cues slightly more, and the new car is made to look smaller. The nose looks pointier, the power-bulge is more pronounced, and the front turn signals are out of the bumper and inside the headlamp clusters. The much-ballyhooed new pony badge is in a vertically tighter grille. The V-6's grille has a thin, horizontal chrome bar, with foglights now placed in the lower fascia, while the V-8's fogs surround the new "black chrome" pony emblem in the grille. In back, the trunk key cylinder is gone, replaced with a center-console remote button and the tail is canted a bit like the 1969-1970's.
Taillamps are off the 1965-1971 T-Bird/ 1967-1973 Mercury Cougar/1967-1969 Shelby Mustang: They're sequential rear turn signals. Cool. The taillamp sections are chamfered, and the lower front and rear fascias and the rocker panels are now black instead of body-color, part of the effort to make the car look smaller.
Mostly, the 2010 Ford Mustang is to the 2005-2009 model what the 1994 Fox Mustang was to its Fox-based predecessor, a huge sheetmetal upgrade that was bigger than it looked. The 2010 Mustang retains the 2005's live rear-axle platform and its V-6 and V-8 engines. Sheetmetal is new below the roof, which has been retained to accommodate the glass roof option added in mid-2008. It's within millimeters of the outgoing car's overall length, and the new profile surfacing, including more pronounced wheel openings and the sharp shoulderline, makes the car settle "back on its rear wheels," says design chief Doug Gaffka. For more details click here.
Mostly, the 2010 Ford Mustang is to the 2005-2009 model what the 1994 Fox Mustang was to its Fox-based predecessor, a huge sheetmetal upgrade that was bigger than it looked. The 2010 Mustang retains the 2005's live rear-axle platform and its V-6 and V-8 engines. Sheetmetal is new below the roof, which has been retained to accommodate the glass roof option added in mid-2008. It's within millimeters of the outgoing car's overall length, and the new profile surfacing, including more pronounced wheel openings and the sharp shoulderline, makes the car settle "back on its rear wheels," says design chief Doug Gaffka. For more details click here.
