Autoblog

[Source: Ford]

When the 2005 Ford Mustang debuted, it thoroughly reinvigorated the pony car segment that it created four decades earlier. After 25 years of being assembled on the archaic rear-wheel-drive Fox platform, the Mustang finally had an all-new platform and styling that hearkened back to the late 1960s. Known as the S197, this Mustang appeared at a time when it was in fact the only surviving member of the muscle car class. The Camaro and Firebird had been cancelled two years earlier and Chrysler had been out of the rear-wheel-drive sport coupe market since the 1970s. The Mustang's enormous success inspired Chevrolet and Dodge to create their own retro-styled muscle cars in the form of the new Camaro and Challenger. Fortunately for Mustang fans, Ford has not been sitting idle, and even while it was creating all those special edition Mustangs over the past few years, it was also working on thoroughly revamping its core pony. For the 2010 Mustang, Ford has taken the best parts of the S197 and fixed most of what was broken. Read on to learn what's new.

UPDATE: The cat's out of the bag, so click here for our full post on the 2010 Ford Mustang with analysis of the new pony car and lots of high-res images.



Everyone here at Autoblog has been patiently counting down the seconds until 12:01AM EST tonight when Ford's embargo lifts on the 2010 Mustang. At that time we can tell you all about the new 'Stang as well as share our official high-res images and live shots that we took when invited to see it behind closed doors last week. Well, thanks to Ford itself we don't have to wait that long to give you a full featured sneak peek. The Blue Oval has already updated its official micro-site for the 2010 Mustang with a few wallpaper images (see gallery below), a CG video and the pony car's official order form that gives up the entire goods on each model, their standard features and optional equipment. You can try out the car in different colors.

We're still going to wait until 12:01AM EST to release our mother load of Mustang content (at least for now), so come back at midnight to read all about the changes to America's favorite muscle car and view our high-res galleries. Thanks for the tip, Jason!

"Thick and fast." That's the phrase that describes the opinions, pleas, advice, denunciations, and WTF? going on around the U.S. auto industry right now. Enter Congress, which is trying to figure out how to give Detroit automakers the $25 billion they were promised a few months ago. Congressmen are sounding off almost daily on what kinds of stipulations they want to attach to the loan/bailout/whatever you want to call it -- and that's just the ones who would vote for it at all.

Next up is Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida democrat, who wants U.S. automakers to achieve a fleet average of 50 mpg by 2020. Right now, the CAFE target is 35 mpg by 2020 -- a goal agreed upon only after a huge amount of jockeying in and out of Congress. Nelson asked, "Why should we be pouring taxpayer money into an automobile industry that has continued to resist higher miles per gallon, which has led us in part to the problems we're in?"

While that might sound like a great idea to some, it would cost a terrific sum of money to achieve. The Detroit Three need the money they're asking for just to get to Q2 of 2009, not to create a range of cars that would represent magnificent advances -- based on where we are right now -- in 11 years. There's a good chance nothing will be decided until the president-elect takes office, and by then, who knows what other requests Congress will have.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

We're less than a day away from hearing all the official details on the new 2010 Mustang and bits of information are still dribbling out on the interwebs. The latest is that we now have some purported pricing and option information on at least the Mustang GT Premium package. If accurate, the price of the GT Premium will climb by about $935 to $30,095, a jump of 3.2%. Looking at the equipment list though, it appears some new features are included in that price like 18-inch wheels that were previously optional and SYNC. Other standard equipment includes automatic headlamps, LED tail-lights and body-colored mirrors. If this information is accurate, one other annoyance of the 2005-2009 Mustangs has been addressed with an interior trunk release, something that was previously missing. Ford will be revealing everything very soon, so stay tuned.

[Source: MustangBlog]

Today's lame-duck Congressional meeting is going to be an important one for Detroit automakers, with House Democrats working on a $25 billion bailout proposal. Passion is high on both sides of the bailout argument, and Democrats are looking to toughen up a bill to help gain crucial votes needed for passage. Among the items being discussed is a taxpayer stake in any assisted automaker, additional restructuring and stiff restrictions on executive pay.

House Republican Richard Shelby is one of many leaders likely to vote against the bill no matter what stipulations are added. The Alabama Republican called Detroit Automakers "dinosaurs" that need to start over. He also called for management to go, but he stated that he wouldn't support a bill even if they did. Michigan Democrat Senator Carl Levin suggested that if GM CEO Rick Wagoner had to step down to guarantee aid, he should consider it. GM is pleading for a bridge loan both in Washington and on YouTube, where the automaker released a four-minute video explaining the importance of its industry.

President-Elect Barak Obama also chimed in on the automaker bailout situation on 60 Minutes Sunday, stating that the loss of Detroit Automakers would be a disaster for the country. Obama also insisted that any loan can't be a "blank check," and that industry leaders, labor, suppliers, lenders, and stakeholders needed to agree on a long term solution that shows that loans aren't merely delaying the domestic industry's demise.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

With the domestic auto industry hurting like never before, most analysts expect budgets for motorsports activities to drop dramatically in the coming few months. This slowdown of funds will surely impact NASCAR, which sees participation from each of the Detroit 3 along with Toyota. Despite being one of the most visible racing organizations in the United States, it's also one of the most expensive for teams to operate, with some estimates pegging a single day's worth of track testing at over $100,000 per car. Large teams can expect to save a few million bucks per year in expenses due to the new policy.

Just a few months back, however, NASCAR teams were pushing for more testing sessions at more tracks, and officials had proposed a new plan that would have increased testing sessions to 24 per year. That tactic would have increased the amount of money that teams and sponsors would need to spend by a substantial figure. Although we're not big NASCAR watchers, we tend to think that the change could actually benefit the series, since it could level the playing field and make for better racing. We'll see if we're right in just a few months.

[Source: NASCAR]

Employee pricing, that tricky sales tactic that helped GM post better sales figures than its competitors back in August and September, are about to work their magic for the Blue Oval. According to reports, Ford is planning to launch an employee pricing promotion on November 19 and is expected to keep it active until January 5th. Throughout that period, General Motors will be running its annual year-end Red Tag Sales Event, so the two biggest domestic automakers will be battling it out for lowest profits sales supremacy. In addition to paying the same as a Ford worker, buyers may also get an extra dollop of cash on some models to help move the last of the '08s, though the brand-new 2009 F-150 pickup truck will not be part of the promotion. Now, go find yourself a deal.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Click above for a high-res gallery of 2010 Mustang teasers

Can't make it out to the L.A. Auto Show to see Ford's new pony car? No worries! The Blue Oval and SPEED TV have teamed up to provide live coverage of the 2010 Mustang's unveiling next week. The cameras will be rolling next Tuesday at 11:00 p.m. EST, so either put it on your schedule or set your DVR. Of course, we'll also be there with cameras in hand, so be sure to check back here for plenty of photos and all the latest news on the Mustang and the rest of the LA Auto Show.

[Source: SpeedTV.com via MustangBlog.com]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

The recently-introduced Ford F-150 SVT Raptor seems to elicit emotional responses that range from "What's the point?" to "I need one NOW!" Opinions aside, the fact is that the SVT Raptor is one highly capable truck. We were able to get a ride in the passenger seat of one in the Nevada desert outside Las Vegas, and can attest to its ability to handle everything thrown at it. The beefy suspension upgrades and BFGoodrich All-Terrain TA/KO tires make the Raptor the best off-roading production truck ever built. Period. The guys at SVT weren't shy about exploiting this, and seemed to especially love kicking up as much dirt as possible (we're still cleaning all the dust out of our cameras). Ford recently posted some beautiful new photos of the Raptor doing just that, which we've added to the high-res gallery below. Enjoy!

[Source: Ford]