'15 GT or wait for Focus RS?

[foghat]

I think he is saying that American consumer tastes are changing. The "bigger is better" mentality isn't as strong as it used to be. American tastes are slowly becoming more like those in Europe where just because a car is small doesn't mean it's not desirable. For example, The Fiesta ST is regarded as one of the best cars you can buy right now. It is actually more fun to drive than the bigger, more expensive, more powerful Focus ST, because it's chassis is just perfectly tuned. In the past, Americans would have ignored it because of it's size (or Ford would not even have released it here). But that has changed.

The new Mustang is awesome, but it is kind of like a last gasp triumph for it's class. You could argue that's it's not a muscle car at all, more like a European sports car. And if you read reviews in places like Car & Driver, where they compare Mustang, Camaro and Challenger, they actually review them like sports cars, with the best handling car always winning. If they reviewed them as muscle cars then the Challenger would probably do a lot better!

Cars like the Fiesta ST, Focus RS and Alfa 4C are the future of sports cars (at least until everything is electric).

I interpret him to be saying he shouldn't have a problem getting one, cause anyone who is willing to spend that kind of money will spend it on a mustang.

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[davidw76]

I interpret him to be saying he shouldn't have a problem getting one, cause anyone who is willing to spend that kind of money will spend it on a mustang.

Getting one of what? RS or GT? I thought he was saying he's not worried about the price of the RS because to him, the Mustang isn't automatically a better deal at the same price as an RS just because of the V8.

 

[foghat]

Getting one of what? RS or GT? I thought he was saying he's not worried about the price of the RS because to him, the Mustang isn't automatically a better deal at the same price as an RS just because of the V8.

Getting the RS. Yes, to him the fact that the 2 are the same price does not sway him from getting the RS.

BUT, given the North American mentality of 'bigger' is better (not sure I necessarily agree), I read as him saying this fact would sway others away from the RS to the Mustang.

 

[Supa LA]

Getting the RS. Yes, to him the fact that the 2 are the same price does not sway him from getting the RS.

BUT, given the North American mentality of 'bigger' is better (not sure I necessarily agree), I read as him saying this fact would sway others away from the RS to the Mustang.

THIS is what I picked up on. Glad to see I'm not the only one lol. I disagree as well. I feel most people would want the 4 doors of the RS, but then again it's more of a raw "race car" type (supposedly). The mustang can be had as a straight up luxury vehicle with some oomph, if you will.

 

[Sterling Archer]

The RS isn't meant to be a family car. It's a race car that coincidentally has 4 doors. Odds are people who buy it will throw out the rear seats and put in a cage.

 

[Supa LA]

The RS isn't meant to be a family car. It's a race car that coincidentally has 4 doors. Odds are people who buy it will throw out the rear seats and put in a cage.

Thats a good possibility, OR they keep the backseat to give out joy rides to friends/family lol. I know i would.

 

[ilkhan]

The RS isn't meant to be a family car. It's a race car that coincidentally has 4 doors. Odds are people who buy it will throw out the rear seats and put in a cage.

Or they'll use it like a focus that happens to be fast the same way people use their FoSTs?

 

[TheZman]

Ill tell ya what ill be eyeing up an RS in a couple years.. Have my Scat Pack Challenger for my summer car and a Focus RS for the winter fun!!

 

[Hockeypucks]

Ill tell ya what ill be eyeing up an RS in a couple years.. Have my Scat Pack Challenger for my summer car and a Focus RS for the winter fun!!

This is the ideal situation, but I can't afford the both so gotta find a compromise somewhere. That AWD will be really great once the white stuff falls so it's still tempting but I'm tired of snow keeping me away from a beautiful V8 muscle car...

 

[Supa LA]

If I went back to an awd platform, there'd be no need for a daily driver anymore. BUT, I just got the stang, so I doubt I'll be doing anything soon lol.

 

[jared89]

I think the 6th gen camaro is going to be a beast with the new lt1. My dad has 5th gen camaro i was going to buy, but once i drove the s550 i had to have it. So much better in just about eveyway then the camaro even tough i am a big ls fan. From all the renderings i saw of the 6th gen camaro i dont think it can touch the s550, but we will see.

 

[Hockeypucks]

I think the 6th gen camaro is going to be a beast with the new lt1. My dad has 5th gen camaro i was going to buy, but once i drove the s550 i had to have it. So much better in just about eveyway then the camaro even tough i am a big ls fan. From all the renderings i saw of the 6th gen camaro i dont think it can touch the s550, but we will see.

I also feel the 6th gen will be a killer performance car. I've always preferred the Camaro over the Mustang as far as exterior looks but neither have been worthy of a decent interior imo until the very nicely done S550. This is the first Mustang I've ever really considered buying but if the interior of the new Camaro is as good or better then I will be going with the bowtie.

If for some reason there's something awful I can't get over with the 6th gen then I'll just save for the GT350 because that's a gorgeous car that will be a gem forever.

 

[TheZman]

This is the ideal situation, but I can't afford the both so gotta find a compromise somewhere. That AWD will be really great once the white stuff falls so it's still tempting but I'm tired of snow keeping me away from a beautiful V8 muscle car...

I hear ya.. It does suck living in the North. There was a few times i bought cars i really didnt want because of worrying about the winter. Even now i said screw it and went with a rear wheel drive Muscle car because thats what i love and just plan to drive my front wheel drive beater around in the winter till it dies but hopefully buy then ill have enough money together for the RS.. I just need to hit the lottery so i can move down to the Smokey MT's.. Im sick of the NorthEast!!

 

[Sterling Archer]

Realistically the Camaro will be faster. I think the fact of the matter is that GM is going for performance whereas Ford is going for user experience, which is why you see GM putting a borderline race-level aggressive performance package whereas Ford's is still very comfortable for a daily driver. Naturally you see one car being more fun to daily drive and the other will win on the track.


This is one of the really tough calls you have to make in marketing, as if you pick the wrong customer base at the start of the design process you'll lose sales the entire lifetime of the product. Given that the 2015 Mustang sales have absolutely murdered the 2014's sales, I think it's a good sign that Ford made the right bet (for now).

If you really care about performance, compare the next gen ZL1 against the GT350. I think that'll be the truly interesting track match up.

 

[Sterling Archer]

I think a great reference for people would be to check out the differences between product-centric and customer-centric marketing. You should be able to clearly relate the differences in approach Ford and GM are taking (this becomes especially true at the luxury level).

A truly phenomenal resource is Wharton's online MBA program. It's not a full MBA, but it's free and the fundamentals you learn can be applied just about anywhere.

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