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Wouldn't be funtional at all but would generate a TON of PR. How about Ford fit the "new" Mustang with gullwing doors? Similar to the old Mercedes 300sl AND of course highly identifiable with the GT40. In fact in the pictures of the new Mustang it looks to me like te roof line and rear deck have been altered just a tiny bit to make it appear more related to the GT40.

That would be a gimmick. The Mercedes engineers had to do it that way. I forgot why, but the gullwings were a fairly straightforward solution to an engineering problem. The Bricklin and Delorian DMC-12 had gullwings and they didn't set the world on fire.

My advice to Ford - stick to the basics. They know how to do this stuff. It gets mighty disappointing when you research a car (I was thinking of a Eagle Vision a/k/a Dodge Stealth, Chrysler Concord, for the wife), find it to be beautiful car with cab-forward design with lots of room. Did I mention it looks great?! Oh wait, trannies go bad at 100K if you're lucky. Somewhat like the reliability of the GenII Taurus electronically controled transmission. I have a big problem with a company that probably had a hand in inventing the transmission, having made them for almost 100 years, not being able to put a bulletproof unit in a $25K+ car!! They aren't as reliable as the 727 Torqueflight in my long gone I-6 AMC Spirit. That's real lame. So it's not a question that the Japanese of Germans are "better". I can't be convinced that the engineers at GM/Ford/Chrysler don't know how to do it. Somewhere, somehow, in management, some chump decides to chisel away at designs so the subassembly can come in $2 cheaper. I have three Toyotas now and I almost never see that in their designs.

I've been renting Tauruses like the rest of the world for years and noticed with the Gen III Taurus, they had a pretty good car. The last few Gen IIIs I rented back when they were new had (again) poor build quality. Wind noise at 65, etc.

Bill Ford needs to change some attitudes or something. There is a huge segment of the buying public that has been burned too many times by the Big Three and won't come back until they prove they can do it right. With options like Lexus, Acura, Audi, Infinity and BMW wooing mid market Toyota/Honda/Nissan buyers, how can he convince us to visit a Ford showroom?

They better come up with a better solution than they usually do (good looking cars).

I guess, reading some posts, that my car is an anomaly. I bought my '91 Ford Mustang LX 5.0 brand-new and still drive it daily. I've had no breakdowns, it's fun to drive, has power to spare, and baisically keeps right on chugging. The stereo even sounds as good now as it did new.

She's got nearly 120,000 miles on her, has seen winters in Maine and summers in Florida and springs in Memphis. She's rode the North-South corridor of the east coast five times.

That little LX does show her age-her paint is faded, as are her headlights, and I think the driver's seat is molded to my body, permanently. She's also picked up a ding or two in her time, but parts are easily found. A recent broken tailight was replaced in 3 days, for only $135.

Despite 11 years of hard, daily use, she still runs well, and can still accelerate fast enough to snap your head back. I'd say I got my money's worth-all $12,000 worth.

Not all American-made cars are crap, guys. NOBODY does V-8's, rear-drive, and pure driving fun like American manufacturers. When they listen to their core consumer base, as this thread topic shows, they kick a$$ and take names.

Mustang-of-the-month? To me, that sounds like filling market niches and offering choices to consumers. The reaction on automotive-related websites is overwhelmingly positive. Ford will make money on this segment, without doubt. GM and Chrysler will notice(and possibly already have, given GM's GTO announcement and Chrysler's Crossfire project) and provide competition. Enthusiasts will rejoice, and head for the street and track.

It's probably no coincidence that the reputation of American cars suffered at the same time as that of America herself; the 1970's. Prior to that time, U.S. cars were justifiably regarded as the best in the world. The malaise of the Carter years, coupled with an energy "crisis" that caught Detroit off guard, smeared American cars with a greasy stain that has taken twenty years to wipe away. IMHO, they've come a long way. And it's perhaps poetic that this new renaissance is grounding itself on designs from that pre-1970 Golden Age.

Just one gearhead's opinion...

Somewhere, somehow, in management, some chump decides to chisel away at designs so the subassembly can come in $2 cheaper.

EXACTLY. A few years ago Ford redesigned a part in their truck transmissions to save some tiny amount of money per unit. They started producing the trannies, then discovered that if you floored it, got above 4500 rpm in second gear, and abruptly let off the gas, the transmission would immediately fail every time. So they had to stop production, recall them (none had made it to consumers, fortunately), go back to the old design, etc. I'm sure that wasted more money than they ever would have saved right there. I wish companies (especially--but not exclusively--American companies) would realize that most people do not want to buy a cheap throwaway piece of junk.