You wanna talk about MUSTANGS?......was: Re: [Shotimes] OT New Camaro just slightly retro

[George Fourchy]

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006 22:22:42 -0600, van Oss wrote:

>I think they got the new Mustang so right that, at least forward of the doors, .....snipped.....

Yeah--sure...let's not talk about what it is like BEHIND the doors, like down at the
rear axle, where it still has that famously unreliable 8.8 ring and pinion set. 
Yeah, this is 2005/6, but just because they've made a LOT of those axles, that
doesn't mean my chances of getting one that will stay quiet for more than 1,500
miles is any better.

....Axle shafts that ride on the rollers of the axle bearings, rather than having
separate races (so that WHEN, not if, they fail, you have to buy AXLES as well as
bearings)....that's the kind of cost cutting _I'm_ talking about....any way to make
it cheaper and lighter...who cares if it won't last a year.

This version MIGHT be better....I have asked 4 Ford dealers throughout 2005 to find
out for me if they ARE better....no response.

Junk it must be, then.....pure junk.

>What does "I'm a traditionalist" mean?  To what tradition are you an adherant?

How about this.....I am an adherant to the tradition of making a quality product,
that will deliver performance and reliability as advertised, which is advanced and
improved compared to prior versions, while respecting and maintaining the heritage
of performance and value of the previous product...referring to Mustangs from
1965-1970.  I do not expect five out of six 1987-1995 Mustangs residing in my garage
to have drivetrain troubles from the factory, either out of balance driveshafts
(both '93 Cobras) to ring and pinion sets that might as well have been omitted from
the car at delivery...for example....a '94 GT convertible, with bad gear assembly
from the factory...noise noticed at delivery plus 5 miles; and a '95 Cobra
convertible...ring gear bearings failed at 1,500 miles....replacement gearset failed
at 8 miles....not even delivered to me by the dealer. The only one of these cars
that had a decent axle was the '87 GT convertible....and it had a bad oil pump at
delivery, with subsequent engine problems...relatively rare for a 5.0, so I'm not
complaining about that....also the selling dealer was VERY good about getting that
car fixed.

I'd keep going, but the delete key gets very enticing, I'm sure....

George