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Ragtop retro Mustang reinterprets a classic
Power and personality define drop-top version of the ultra-hot '05 ride
Non-auto companies - like OPI nail polish - covet product tie-ins with the popular Mustang.
The Mustang convertible's interior has a certain '60s charm.
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DEXTER --The next time you get a pedicure, you might want to select one of the hot new OPI nail polish colors inspired by the Ford Mustang.
Choices include "Gone Platinum in 60 Seconds," "Revved up and Red-y" and "You Make Me Vroom."
David Fee, Ford Mustang marketing manager, said he spends a considerable part of his day fielding requests from non-automotive companies that want to connect with the ultra-hot Mustang, especially as the convertible version makes its debut this spring.
"A garage band even sent me a CD with their song called, 'I Love My Mustang,'" Fee says. "It's a heavy metal song about being born and bred in the USA. They wanted Ford to sponsor their tour. Any auto brand manager would love to have people writing songs about his vehicle, but I had to turn them down."
Let's just say the new song wasn't quite up to the caliber of "Mustang Sally."
The point is that the public can't seem to get enough of the redesigned, retro-styled 2005 Mustang. And after driving the new convertible version, we can't either. The Flat Rock-built 2005 Mustang convertible is on sale now.
Prices start at $24,495 including a $625 destination charge for the base Mustang convertible with a 4.0-liter V-6 engine. A Mustang GT with a 4.6-liter V-8 starts at $29,995, including destination.
Be prepared to pay full price. The coupe and convertible variants of the Mustang are two of just a handful of Ford Motor Co. products that don't come with incentives.
The Mustang is so popular, it doesn't need rebates or low-rate loans to entice buyers.
Ford says Mustang demand is up over 45 percent this year even before the launch of the convertible, which is expected to account for about 30 percent of all Mustang sales. The Mustang is so hot that Ford recently announced plans to hike production by 70 percent.
Two weeks behind the wheel of a "screaming yellow" Mustang GT Premium convertible with a black top and dark charcoal leather interior convinced us that this car is destined to be the convertible of the year.
It has lots to recommend it, from the relatively affordable sticker price to its solid driving characteristics and thrilling exhaust note.
We felt fortunate that we were able to test our amply equipped $33,605 Mustang GT during a transitional weather season here that included a slushy ice storm as well as sunny days that hit nearly 70 degrees.
Unlike some convertibles, which seem fit for duty only in the best weather conditions, the Mustang performed valiantly in a variety of settings even though it lacked cold-weather features like heated seats and stability control, which helps keep you out of trouble on wet and icy roads.
The compact two-door Mustang manages to avoid the toy-like feel of some convertibles -- the Mini Cooper and the Mazda Miata are just two that come to mind.
The rear-wheel-drive Mustang convertible has the presence of an all-season car with a solid ride quality that tends to feel harsh only on rough pavement. Ford says it tuned the suspension on the convertible to provide for a slightly more relaxed ride without sacrificing steering response.
A satisfying steering feel is one of the Mustang's strong points. We appreciated the good, responsive feedback it provided along the curving roads in rural Washtenaw County. In fact, the Mustang convertible handles like a sports car and is decidedly more nimble than its predecessor.
And then there are the intangibles.
If you are suffering from loneliness, the Mustang convertible is a sure cure. People -- especially men of a certain age -- feel compelled to strike up conversations about their memories of old Mustangs and what the new car means to them.
Outside the Andiamo restaurant in St. Clair Shores, a 40ish man cornered us as we were getting out of the Mustang. He criticized the 21st century version as a "collage of all the Mustangs from the 1960s." But, he added, "I still love it anyway."
Speaking of memories, purists may be rejoicing over the debut of the new Mustang convertible. After all, the first Mustang ever was a Wimbledon white convertible with a 260 cubic-inch V-8.
The new Mustang convertible doesn't deviate much from the coupe version, inside or out or under the hood.
Like the coupe, it features a knockout look with a long hood, forward-leaning grille and classic fastback profile. Basically, it's a cleaned-up version of the previous Mustang convertible. Designers wisely stripped off such extraneous details as the hood scoop and side scoops. The convertible top itself comes in a choice of two colors, black or parchment, which is a shade of tan.
We were surprised that the visibility was so good, even with the top up. And the cloth top is fairly easy to manipulate. Inside, the convertible's cabin is dominated by a retro-inspired three-spoke steering wheel with the old-style horse and red-white-and-blue logo on the hub and square-arched "eyebrows" above the instrument panel. A color-configurable instrument cluster can be backlit in any of 125 colors at the touch of a button.
Some may find the interior a bit heavy on the plastic, but it does have a certain '60s charm. On the plus side, controls and displays are simple and easy to use. Storage space is fairly limited, but usable, especially for weekend trips.
Our test vehicle came standard with a long list of amenities, including an in-dash six-CD player, power accessories and air conditioning. Expect to pay $115 for a convertible boot cover and $995 for the optional five-speed automatic transmission.
Like many of the sidewalk critics we encountered, we loved the Mustang convertible even though we came up with a list of things we wished it had, from more rear-seat room to lighted vanity mirrors.
While the Mustang convertible has decent standard safety features, including antilock brakes and traction control, front seat side air bags cost $370 extra on our test car. And there is no air-bag coverage for rear-seat passengers and no adjustable pedals -- glaring oversights.
Fortunately, there is horsepower aplenty.
Our Mustang GT's V-8 delivers a beefy 300 horsepower and 320 pounds-feet of torque. Ford says the car goes from 0-to-60 in 5.1 seconds, with a top speed of 143 mph. Despite the performance aspects of the convertible, fuel economy is reasonable, at 18 miles per gallon in city driving and 23 mpg on the highway.
Before we drove the Mustang convertible, one of our nagging concerns was that it would be little more than a novelty -- the flavor of the month like so many retro-styled convertibles before it.
After all, the Chrysler PT Cruiser and the Volkswagen New Beetle were wildly popular when they first came out, with sales spiking early on, and then tapering off in relatively short order.
But we don't get that sense with the Mustang convertible, even though it has been introduced with a certain amount of silliness, including a wedding in the Mustang exhibit during January's Detroit auto show.
"Given the 40 years of history and the strong owner base, I don't see the Mustang falling into that trend," said Ford's Fee. "I don't see a temporary spike in demand.This is a modern interpretation of a classic."
We couldn't agree more.
You can reach Anita Lienert via e-mail at conseye@aol.com.
Levers and a power switch make the cloth top easy to use.
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The Detroit News.
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