I wonder if we’ll ever see another GT350 type Mustang from Ford

[_zOmbIE_]

Yeah but do so-called “younger” buyers really dig performance cars? I mean really? At the risk of stereotyping I’d think they’d be more into green stuff and EVs, connectivity, etc. If you go read the S650 forum regularly you’ll easily get the feeling that it’s a kinder, gentler place than the S550 hangs.

IMO, young people don't care about cars in general, performance, EV or otherwise. There are, of course, exceptions to this, but overall a lot of young people don't even care if they ever have a license. They'll just jump in a uber or an autonomous taxi or take public transit or, worst of them all, one of those stupid electric scooters.

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[DarthMalice]

Yeah but do so-called “younger” buyers really dig performance cars? I mean really? At the risk of stereotyping I’d think they’d be more into green stuff and EVs, connectivity, etc. If you go read the S650 forum regularly you’ll easily get the feeling that it’s a kinder, gentler place than the S550 hangs.

Oh I fully agree and those of us in the discussion said the same...including that most of these target buyers they are looking at or listened to in the focus groups can't afford a 70K+ DH. The Ford guy acknowledged all (then proceeded to tell a story about a very financially ignorant young woman who sold a house to get a DH because she had to have it). Not what I would deem a success story. However, Ford is still pursuing them. To that end, we talked about how divisive the tacked-on screens on the interior are, particularly to long time mustang owners...but again, they did it to get the new younger crowd. Although he stated they are looking at better integration and have heard the complaints, I didn't get a sense much will be changed in that area. I brought up the lack of a PDR similar to Camaro/Corvette as a missed opportunity for a true digital add that would have been performance oriented. That seemed to resonate well with both him and his team. The one thing I did come away with from his tone and mannerisms despite no firm answers is that there will not be a Ford-sold Shelby S650. I will happily eat crow tomorrow if it happens, but everything in that discussion left me with that impression. One of his crew told me they are working on a DH owners' kit. I found that surprising since I have seen nothing on it. Could be full of it, but it was not the usual deflective answer or a definitive no.

 

[Thomas]

Dark Horse = Mach 1 equivalent product offering with newer tires. It is not a special variant (Boss etc) in any way. I don’t believe any special variants from Ford are known yet (apart form multimatic collabs). The price is higher, because there are just that many electronic doo-dads added + a very real rate of inflation (nearly 30% in the last several years). You can blame energy prices for that.

Shelby actually had an official tweet I wish I had saved, confirming no S650 Shelby collab with Ford at the time. Of course they can still (and did) make the super snake etc.

Also, I’m biased but the 500 is the real track/corners car even over the 350. It was designed as a track car. Good in a straight sure, but just as good in corners. The 350 is the enthusiasts car, which is why it retains value a bit better than the 500. Both are stupid fun.

 

[honeybadger]

Sorry - couldn’t help myself. You guys were making me laugh.

FWIW - as a somewhat younger guy (33), most younger guys I know buying mustangs just aren’t on forums like this. They’re on different platforms.

mustangs are fairly expensive to mod these days. At the track, most of the racers that are younger are in cheaper cars that they’ve built up - Toyotas, Hondas, Subarus, etc.

One thing I think is fairly clear, my age group is in love with the cars we grew up watching on tv - supras, evos, s200s, STIs, GTRs, etc. so that’s what they’re buying now….ir the lower trim versions of those JDM Cars. It makes sense older generations like muscle cars - yall grew up with them.

One thing I can tell you - I’d say at least half the people that ogle over my car at the track are kids. Personally - I think the younger generations are going to love modern day sports cars when they start driving. Everyone is bored of SUVs

and one final note - the car modding community is bigger than ever. There are tons of people that love gas powered cars. While the total number of options available will decrease, I think we’ll keep seeing them for the foreseeable future. But that’s just
My guess.

 

[NPTR]

I think the GT350 is one of those “once in a generation” cars that we likely won’t see imitated, as it wouldn’t make financial sense for Ford. Radical analog, but like the Lexus LFA…this car was turned up in every way possible and while they created an absolute legend, it also created a lot of headaches for the company. Models like the Mach and DH are much less costly for Ford over time. The 350 feels like one of those rare times where the enthusiasts inside the company take the wheel away from the finance guys and create something truly special for purist drivers, and we don’t see that often.

Agreed with the comment above on the car / tuner scene being alive and well, just with different models/makes. Mustang definitely has a generational gap and it makes sense Ford is trying to bridge that…even if it means the audience here will be turned off by it. We have our 350s, they don’t need to make another car for me. Feel the same about BMW - my F87 M2 CS is gorgeous, but the new G body cars are just utterly hideous to me…and they’re selling like hot cakes to younger buyers.

No matter how much I hate the digital interiors, I do appreciate Ford being one of the only OE’s keeping the NA V8 alive…that’s saying something. And while I’ll never buy one, if you look around at the price tags on the competition, the car doesn’t screen particularly expensive on a relative basis. Inflation is a b***h, and I also think that’s one of the reason why you’re seeing clean/low mile Rs sell for 100K…trying to find something equally as compelling new will put you in that range, and for a car that is inferior in so many ways.

 

[Finally21]

I kinda doubt it, at least anything with it‘s own unique engine while invoking the Shelby legacy. Especially at the price point the GT350 was stickered at. If you think about it, the car was a bargain when new. To confirm that you only need look at the used market today, even as the GT500 market might be starting to wobble a little. I know the 500 is the undisputed straight-line bully but there’s something about the 350 that just screams badass.

Obviously Ford will eventually trot out another halo trim that unlike the GTD is meant to be enjoyed. The GTD is sadly destined to become another non-driven show pony like the GT. Whether this new halo Mustang is called a Shelby is anybody’s guess but I’d bet it will be more 500-ish than 350-ish. Straight line numbers and Cars & Coffee sends get the headlines.

Anyway I’m thinking sitting around waiting for GT350 prices to “normalize” much may be a waste of time.

To the original question my answer is I hope not. (See another GT350 type Mustang)

 

[young at heart]

To the original question my answer is I hope not. (See another GT350 type Mustang)

Curious about why you hope not?

Maybe hoping to maintain exclusivity on current 350s out there or something more complicated? I’d have thought overall it’d be good for the brand and enthusiasts.

 

[mavisky]

Yeah but do so-called “younger” buyers really dig performance cars? I mean really? At the risk of stereotyping I’d think they’d be more into green stuff and EVs, connectivity, etc. If you go read the S650 forum regularly you’ll easily get the feeling that it’s a kinder, gentler place than the S550 hangs.

There are absolutely young kids out there who are into cars and performance, but with inflation drastically outpacing earnings, none of them can afford them. Hell the new Dork Horse costs 70K where in 2018 my loaded GT350 stickered at 61K. It's easy to get a Mustang GT with some options up to 60K now. All the young people I know with nicer performance cars are either living at home still or are in apartments with multiple roommates to be able to afford these cars.

 

[Johnny maverick]

Even if Ford did do a

I'll buy an old '69 Mustang before I buy an I-Pad vehicle..................

Got that covered.

 

[Kabayo]

I don't think anything will happen until we see a change in the Government Administration(President), a stop on the attack of oil and gas production, and a change in EPA regs. Until then, why would any car company produce a high performance car?
Now, if things change come November elections, I think you'll see all the car companies start producing muscle cars again.

Well said.

 

[sms2022]

IMO, young people don't care about cars in general, performance, EV or otherwise. There are, of course, exceptions to this, but overall a lot of young people don't even care if they ever have a license. They'll just jump in a uber or an autonomous taxi or take public transit or, worst of them all, one of those stupid electric scooters.

As one of the so called young people this is sadly true. Most of my friends liked cars growing up but were priced out of the market and now drive leased crossovers. My sister doesn’t even have a license and she’s 24. Luckily I have been able to corrupt my brother (22) and we’re going to slap a bigger turbo on his Cadillac ats this summer.

Also got my fiance into a twin charged Volvo sedan recently - she’s a car gal in the making lol

 

[526 HRSE]

Even if ford did do something with the s650 it still will be a s650. The dash , nose, tail don't do it for me. I will never go to the Dorkside.

The ass end is all that I appreciate from the Dork Side. The rest is designed by a held back third grader.

 

[526 HRSE]

Sorry - couldn’t help myself. You guys were making me laugh.

FWIW - as a somewhat younger guy (33), most younger guys I know buying mustangs just aren’t on forums like this. They’re on different platforms.

mustangs are fairly expensive to mod these days. At the track, most of the racers that are younger are in cheaper cars that they’ve built up - Toyotas, Hondas, Subarus, etc.

One thing I think is fairly clear, my age group is in love with the cars we grew up watching on tv - supras, evos, s200s, STIs, GTRs, etc. so that’s what they’re buying now….ir the lower trim versions of those JDM Cars. It makes sense older generations like muscle cars - yall grew up with them.

One thing I can tell you - I’d say at least half the people that ogle over my car at the track are kids. Personally - I think the younger generations are going to love modern day sports cars when they start driving. Everyone is bored of SUVs

and one final note - the car modding community is bigger than ever. There are tons of people that love gas powered cars. While the total number of options available will decrease, I think we’ll keep seeing them for the foreseeable future. But that’s just
My guess.

They are buying and modding those cars because they are cheap. Any person you know driving one of them would gladly swap straight up for a gt350 or c8 flat plane.

 

[BombZombie]

Sorry - couldn’t help myself. You guys were making me laugh.

FWIW - as a somewhat younger guy (33), most younger guys I know buying mustangs just aren’t on forums like this. They’re on different platforms.

mustangs are fairly expensive to mod these days. At the track, most of the racers that are younger are in cheaper cars that they’ve built up - Toyotas, Hondas, Subarus, etc.

One thing I think is fairly clear, my age group is in love with the cars we grew up watching on tv - supras, evos, s200s, STIs, GTRs, etc. so that’s what they’re buying now….ir the lower trim versions of those JDM Cars. It makes sense older generations like muscle cars - yall grew up with them.

One thing I can tell you - I’d say at least half the people that ogle over my car at the track are kids. Personally - I think the younger generations are going to love modern day sports cars when they start driving. Everyone is bored of SUVs

and one final note - the car modding community is bigger than ever. There are tons of people that love gas powered cars. While the total number of options available will decrease, I think we’ll keep seeing them for the foreseeable future. But that’s just
My guess.

I'm with you (and the old man yelling at clouds is spot on). I'm 36 and prefer the Tuner focused shows over classic/muscle car shows anyday. The former have an actual vibe. The latter often look like a church basement get-together following a funeral. There's plenty of Mustang enthusiasts around me and in my age group....they just don't hang on the forums here. The younger crowds absolutely love cars, particularly the JDM tuner ones, and show enthusiasm over anything with a gasoline engine.

 

[NPTR]

Agreed - everything just got so expensive, because they ain’t making em like they used to! I recall when I was in high school, you could buy a 5-10 yr old car that was heavily depreciated even with decent mileage, tune the crap out of it and enjoy. I bought and sold everything in the early 2000s from BMW to Subaru to Ford, even had an SRT Neon in the mix, and depreciation was my friend. You could pick up a 5-10 yr old car with low mileage in good spec for 1/4 the price new. But the game has changed, folks now know new doesn’t mean better, and that combined with inflation have driven up second hand value on enthusiast cars, pushing the younger generation into something different.

Also agree on the forums skewing older now - kids turning to Reddit and TikTok over places like this, while buying / selling through FBM. So be it…these communities are still incredible sources of information and advice, even without the 20 somethings!

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