Official: 2018 Ford Mustang Refresh Detailed! (Options/Features, Specs, Photos, Info)

Just in case ya missed this...

I've said it before... but I see the ST in the Mustang that stands before me now...

millhouse said:

Again, all Ford had to do was slap the front end from the GT350 on the MY18 and update the headlights (same shape, but add LEDs) and we would all be going ape shit for the MY18.

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This

millhouse said:

IMHO, you shouldn't have to "Warm up" to a design. The second I laid eyes on the MY15, I effing loved it.

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This

Topnotch said:

Just in case ya missed this...

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It's pretty normal that they start sketching a refresh or new model as soon as another one launches. With development times of multiple years they just have to start soon enough

Ace said:

First leaked images and the video of the yellow GT PP with ne real contrasts and stupid angles really made the car look ugly.

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The car in the leaked video was actually Orange Fury believe it or not. The image quality of the video however was so poor that it looked yellow indeed.

Arthonon said:

Sorry, when I read "The front end is what is turning everyone off," I thought the implication was that it was turning everyone off. I've seen other comments about how sales are going to tank, etc., so in context, I think it's easy to see how a comment like that might be interpreted to mean everyone dislikes it.

Some people are choosing to buy the 17 and giving up those things to do it, but I'll bet the same thing happened when the S550 first came out, and some people liked the S197 better. Tastes are varied, and as has been pointed out, many of the comments made about the '18 were made about the '15. I guess Ford could have done a better job there too, right? Seriously, no design is going to please everyone, so the fact that some don't like it doesn't mean Ford could had done a better job - at most, it means that Ford could have done a better job to please those specific people.

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Haha, Touche....I was speaking figuratively, not literally.

Literally speaking, almost everyone love the GT350 styling. Had they done what I suggested, you wouldn't be seeing these posts today.

Personally I find the front end of the GT350 a little over-exagerrated (as it should be for a special model). I think it would look stupid as the mass-manu models. The fangs look like a ridiculous satire of the GT fangs.

Twin Turbo said:

...
Please be aware though, that once the '18MYs start to get into the hands of customers, the Moderation team will start to implement one of our forum rules on threads/posts specific to the '18:

"3. Inter Model Bashing — To reiterate, the forum will not tolerate any bashing of another member's choice of vehicle, options/equipment, modifications, stock vs. non stock etc. Respect for all models (EcoBoost, V6, GT, GT350, etc) is expected of all members. Posting in a thread or section related to a specific trim/model for the sole purpose of bashing the vehicle will not be tolerated on the forums"
...

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:doh:
Wow. I can't believe there is a need for this rule.
Perhaps we all need to rethink our lives.

MRGTX said:

:doh:
Wow. I can't believe there is a need for this rule.
Perhaps we all need to rethink our lives.

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Unfortunately, people cant stand being left behind. While I have my personal tastes, I would never bash another for theirs. I can however debate the what ifs, or whys or hows. :cheers:

On a side note, even with my disdain for the new styling...I think sales will pick up with the MY18. I wouldn't expect it to be anywhere on par with the opening year of the S550, but it should provide a good bump in sales for Ford compared to this and the latter half of last year.

MRGTX said:

:doh:
Wow. I can't believe there is a need for this rule.
Perhaps we all need to rethink our lives.

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This isn't a new rule....it's been there, along with all the others, for a long time. There's a "rules" sticky in every section.

We don't put up with V6 or Ecoboost bashing, and we won't put up with '18MY bashing once they get into the hands of customers........and members of this forum.

millhouse said:

I agree, designs do affect people differently. One of the reasons the S550 sold so well was because of the styling. Let’s face it, performance wise, it’s not far off from the previous generation.

Again, don’t get me wrong…the MY18 isn’t hideous. It just seems like they did a more dramatic facelift than most that purchased the S550 preferred. Let’s face it though, Ford isn’t trying to sell the people that already purchased the 15-17s. They are looking to cash in on those that were on the fence. Those of us that purchased the 15-17 will be more interested in the S650 than the MY18.

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Totally agree with all of the above.

It took me a while to warm up to the S550 front end...headlights, grill opening shape/size/overhang.
They look so much better in person.

Unfortunately after seeing the 2018 in ATL, in my opinion, the restyled front end, taken as a whole...does not look better in person.
It just doesn't work for me and I will never grow to like it.

I am very fortunate to own what I believe are examples of the two best ever modern Mustang designs...the original S197 and original S550.
Stylistically and mechanically, they are very different cars, but each one captures the essence of what a Mustang should look like.

The exterior designers responsible for the 2018 front end tried hard to create an updated design that imparts a more aggressive visual impact.
But apparently any measure of sensible or original creativity was beyond their scope and grasp.
All that was needed was just a little variation of the current design theme.
Darth Vader's mask was their design inspiration...
Are you kidding me?
This weird mashup of angles, slits and openings does not complement and/or remain cohesive with the beautiful lines present in the rest of the car's design.

Styling is what sells cars and the '18 Mustang will meet the needs of the masses including many on this forum.

I'm very interested in the design direction planned for the S650.
No doubt it will be lighter and faster than the current generation.
Let's hope it's truly drop-dead gorgeous.

When a '68 Fastback joins the stable, I'll have my "Holy Trinity" of the best looking Mustang body styles.

The S650 could be a contender...we shall see.:ford:

DrGrabster said:

Ford shares are so cheap the whole company could be taken over by one of the new tech billionaires. If they are one of the virtue signaling green types the '18 might be the last Mustang ever!

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At some point, it will set off acquisition signals. Ford stock has been in a steady decline since 2Q 2014.

DrGrabster said:

That's true.

But if the new, bet the farm, 10 speed develops a massive fault and needs a total recall of all models the share price could halve...

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Have the issues been widespread in the F150 using the 10 speed? We'll also get to see how the ZL1 does given it's using the same transmission as the 18 GT and 17+ F150.

DrGrabster said:

A brilliant review of the 10 speed in the F-150 by the sae...

Less than 200 feet after leaving my home driveway, the F-150’s transmission is already in 3rd gear. A half-block later it has upshifted into 5th. Merging into the main drag on light throttle, the transmission upshifts two gears at a time. The gear changes up and down are so seamless and hushed, I have to watch the indicator lights on the cluster to know what gear is engaged.
It took perhaps five minutes of driving this 2017 Ford pickup, a King Ranch-spec crew cab with the new 3.5-L twin-turbocharged V6 and equally new 10-speed automatic, to realize this is the future for full-size truck transmissions. More ratios are better, as long as they’re calibrated as exquisitely as in this early production test truck. And 10 of them feel ideal in a 5000-lb (2268-kg) vehicle propelled by 375 SAE-rated horsepower (280 kW) and 470 lb·ft (637 N·m).
Co-developed by Ford and GM (download the July 2016 AE feature, http://magazine.sae.org/auto/), the 10R80 carries four planetary gearsets and six clutches in an overall package that’s virtually the same size and mass as the 6-speed unit it replaces. Ten gear ratios appear to be an increasingly popular solution at other OEMS, too, as Toyota debuts its new Aisin-sourced AWR10L65 in the 2018 Lexus LC coupe and LS sedan and Honda springs its new 10-speed transaxle, developed in-house, for front drive applications (see http://articles.sae.org/15215/).
With a 7.4 ratio spread and triple-overdrive ratios in gears 8, 9 and 10, the Ford 10R80 I tested was typically in 7th or 8th gear when driving on 40 mph (64 km/h) suburban Detroit roads on light throttle. First gear is numerically lower than its 6-speed equivalent, and 10th is slightly higher than the 6-speed’s 6th, with a super-close-ratio feel from the ratios in between. It’s a set-up that provides more standing-start-accel punch and slightly lower rpm in open-road cruising.
Tipping into the F-150’s gas pedal for highway roll-on acceleration—65 mph (104 km/h) at 1,500 rpm—the gearbox zips imperceptibly from 10th gear to 7th. Later while northbound on Interstate 75, the truck’s running at steady-state 80 mph (128 km/h) on light throttle in the indicated 10th gear, but a long hill looms ahead. Under load on three-quarter throttle, the 10R80 drops four ratios rapidly, then briefly drops two more—to 4th gear at 4000 rpm—before upshifting four gears as the road flattens again. Slick and impressive!
The truck’s stop-start function was smooth and unobtrusive in most circumstances. But few drivers will enjoy the loss of power steering boost when the engine shuts down—the wheel gets heavy immediately. Although the V6 starts instantaneously, the feeling of being stopped with a dead engine in the middle of a four-way intersection is unnerving.
A few WOT drag-style starts on my favorite back road showcased the 10R80’s ease in rocketing sequentially up through the ‘box with almost CVT-like smoothness. In such situations the transmission doesn’t skip-shift. In the 3.5-L F-150, fuel shuts off at 5750 rpm but the cals are designed to keep the V6 in its power sweet-spot under such conditions. The calibration team responsible for the F-150/10R package deserve a bonus for their thorough work—how about it, Raj (Nair, Ford’s global product-development boss)? Just my opinion.
Addition of the 10-speed gave F-150 a 1-mpg bump in EPA fuel efficiency for the gas V6. Will pairing it with the 3.0-L diesel V6 next year push a 2WD F-150 over the elusive 30-mpg highway threshold?

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Is it weird that I read that like a book that keeps getting better and better? Well then. I'm 100% sold on the auto pp.

ApollosWar89 said:

At some point, it will set off acquisition signals. Ford stock has been in a steady decline since 2Q 2014.

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After hearing Ford's "City of Tomorrow" talk at this year's Detroit Auto Show and their obsession with developing new patents and becoming a mobility company, my bet if anyone buys them it'll be Apple.

Sorry for the off-topic. :headbonk: