My thoughts on the 2018 after seeing it in person

[GTRacerX.]

Relax my Mustang brothers & sisters ....

Everything will be ok. Ford will make a correction in 2019 or maybe they will surprise us in the Fall with the 2018 models. Worst case senario the aftermarket will provide us with heavenly hoods and fantasic front fascias. ;)

:ford:

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[Ground Speed]

I think I've realized what my issues are with the 18.

There are a lot of design changes that disrupt the flow of the car's overall aesthetic.

The headlights slant down as they head towards the wheel wells, instead of up into the negative space of the front fenders. This is (to me eye) an out of place design choice. The overall shape of the lights resemble the 2017 Toyota Tacoma.

The lower grill doesn't match any other shape on the rest of the car, with its squashed triangular look and lots of black plastic on each side. I don't mind the plastic, but I'd be looking for an aftermarket lower grill ASAP if I was buying one.

The brake lights I like, but not as much as the straight blades of our current version.

Last is my biggest problem. The inner hood line now runs from the side mirrors towards the hood's center line before filleting/curving back out towards the front of the car. Refer back to the top view someone posted when they were pointing out the weird glued on vents.

This strange design choice makes it look like something you'd expect to see on the hood of a truck, where they are trying to to replicate the dominant truck aesthetic for the last 15-20 years, where the hood is taller than the fenders/lights. The current models have that line too, but it is much more subtle and follows the overall flow of the car's design.

The 18 still looks better than its classmates, the bloated Challenger and the Carolla-esque Camaro. I'll admit I'm partial to how the 15-17 looks after more than a year of driving/washing/photographing/enjoying it, but to me it does a much better job tying everything together.

 

[King Jackmode]

Looks are a big factor in deciding whether or not I keep a car for a long period of time. The 2018 model just doesn't have it. That sucks, because I'm sure I'm gonna want to pick up a new mustang daily driver before the 2022 models are out.

I'm very happy with my 16s, so at least there's that.

 

[Spartan]

Last is my biggest problem. The inner hood line now runs from the side mirrors towards the hood's center line before filleting/curving back out towards the front of the car. Refer back to the top view someone posted when they were pointing out the weird glued on vents.

The inner hood line mimics the GT350 but doesn't go in as far as the GT350. It goes about halfway where the GT350 goes on to form the bulge/vent.

http://st.automobilemag.com/uploads/sites/11/2014/11/2016-Ford-Shelby-GT350-Mustang-top-view-02.jpg

http://st.motortrend.com/uploads/sites/5/2017/01/2018-Ford-Mustang-Convertible-top-view.jpg?interpolation=lanczos-none&fit=around%7C2048%3A1360&crop=2048%3A1360%3B*%2C*

The headlights slant down as they head towards the wheel wells, instead of up into the negative space of the front fenders. This is (to me eye) an out of place design choice. The overall shape of the lights resemble the 2017 Toyota Tacoma.

The headlights are similar to the 2017-18 Fusion in shape. They also slant towards the front like the previous S197 side shot vs back like on the S550 '15-'17 (when that came out people were complaining about how they slant back and it looks asian).

 

[Strokerswild]

I think I'm going to attend the annual auto show in Mpls in March, no doubt the '18 will be featured there.

I was in complete and utter lust after seeing the '15 in the flesh there in 2014, and was plotting how I was going to get one before I left the convention center.

We'll see if the '18 leaves me drooling similarly....somehow I doubt it though. The pics don't interest me much, not like the pics of the '15 did, which was why I wanted to see one for real in '14.

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