My how the auto industry has changed
 

When I purchased the Mach in 2003 I thought it was pretty bad ***. There were a few other cars that were close... but it was near the top anyway.
Holy Cow! Now the tin can grocery getters have 300hp. Of course they are not as much fun or handle as well, but you gotta give the manufactures cudo's for getting hp out of some small engines.
If we wanted to even be in the same class with the likes of the 1LE Camaro or one of the new Mustang variants you'd have to put a Hasse monster motor under the shaker.
Time marches on. I just wish my checking account could keep up.

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

Yea no doubt the horsepower race is back on for sure. But you need about $40k to get most of the goodies!

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

They have to keep adding power to keep up with the growing weight. No matter how many times I say it, I enjoy my Mach 1 still and more than the Boss 302 with its 130 hp advantage.

:borg:

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

Found out a long time ago, that no matter how much time and money you spend on your car, there will always be someone faster and better. Love our Mach for what it is, it puts a smile on our faces every time we take it out. As far as the new Mustangs go, sure they are fantastic. But look how stupid the prices of cars have become, 800-900 a month car payments----Insane.

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

It is a great time we live in. A lot of very fast cars out there, factory stock.

This car is just something special. We were down on HP to our Terminator brothers/sisters when we were new. most of us did not buy this car because it was the fastest...it was because it is a Mach1...

I am enjoying the car more and more the longer i have it...especially since i have a new seat belt on the driver side...so nice to have one retract again :eyebrows:

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

I need 2 new seat belts and I love driving my Mach.

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

Seatbelt not retracting is annoying...are they available from Ford, or...

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

The new cars are more comfortable and do a lot of things better...on paper. But in real world scenarios, the Mach 1 is still more fun to drive, draws bigger crowds at your local car meets, and gets more thumbs up from random passer-bys. It's not just another new muscle/pony car lost in a sea of new muscle/pony cars. It's special. And as time marches on, it only gets more special. Ford did the mustang crowd a big favor between 2001 and 2004 with the Bullitts, Mach 1, and Cobras. They built future specialty/classic mustangs and sold them to us for $30k and less.

People like to talk about and buy big HP numbers, but I've blown the doors off a light bolt on '16 SS 8 speed camaro, '14 boss intake/full exhaust coyote, several other light bolt on coyotes, and a new challenger of some sort with "all kinds of crap" done to it. All it took was a bit of boost and my little Mach was out front. Way out front. :3:

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

I'd say the Mach1 was the last great muscle car in the "just an engine tranny and rear" department.

Now everything has an IRS, weighs more, and feels more "solid" but what I loved about the Mach1 was that it felt like I was basically sitting in a shell with a v8, tranny and a log for a rear end. It was made to go, and that was it. Now everything has gone upscale, and gotten so quiet that people need to have the fake engine sounds pumped into the car.

I'm planning to get a 2018 GT, but I fully expect it to always be missing "something" that my Mach1 had. Something that's just.. primal about it, something that made it feel like it was a 70's car in 2000's.

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

And in 14yr those owners will have bolted on a SC and be saying the same thing about the 2032 cars.

The Terminator is sadly the only car from 2003-04 that can be mostly in stock form and still be very competitive in the market today. Most the rest of that generation needs to be full bolt-on just to run with most the new market stock.

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

and the #1 reason to love the Mach... no car payment
_

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

Back when I was young, I would have been lusting after the newer and faster cars. Now, I just enjoy the awesome overall experience of driving around in my Mach 1. But yes, the horsepower has gotten insane. Not that I would ever really be able to use it anyway.

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

The one good thing about new cars, when calipers aren't releasing, something drains your battery as soon as you turn the car off, the revs jump between shifts or climb while idling...you just drop it off at the dealer and tell them to fix the thing!

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

:yeh:

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

My truck has more power than my Mach. It's got 395hp/410tq. Sorry Ford, you lost me when your trucks went to only V-6's and an aluminum body.

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

Around here (and online it seems), if you don't have a turbo or supercharger, many people ignore you lol. I can't even count how many times I've been asked "are you going to boost it?" :??: Maybe that's mainly the youth out there, but I get tired of it. TBH, If i want boost, I'm going to buy something that's already boosted. Not against modding on that level, I just don't want the headaches of boosting something that wasn't designed for it.

When the 5.0's came back in 2011, that was probably the first time where I would actually be 100% happy without changing anything on a new Mustang. All you needed to do was make sure you picked the right wheels and boom...done. I would want to do a cat back, but I don't think I would "have too". It sounds like the 2018's will have an even better exhaust setup with integrating the GT350's setup (minus the flat plane crank lol). Pretty **** cool to see all the American muscle cars competing like they are now.

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

I have a Teksid aluminum block forged rods and pistons waiting for a blower in the shop for when 310-ish rear wheel horsepower feels too slow. So far I am satisfied with what I have.
I weighed my Mach 1 and it was 3420 LBS with a mostly full tank no idea why it's 44 LBS lighter than Ford lists it. But the 3800 LB weight of the new Mustangs offends the hell out of me. The 11-14 Mustang and their 3600+ weight bothered me :)

This could be because my car before the Mach 1 was a V8 5-speed Maverick that weighed 2910 LBS :)

Still waiting for any one to put a Coyote in a Mach 1. That would be the right combo I think :)

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

$53,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek::eek::eek:

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

Insane, Right!

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

for that much money you are better off spending a bit more for a GT350, its value will not tank like a normal GT does.

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Also, the continued increase in prices have not made me realize it is finally cheaper to restore the 'Cuda than to buy a new F150 or Mustang, crazy!

Priced out a new F150, wanted a two door, 4 Wheel Drive, 5.0 with 10 speed and of course creature comforts but not even leather, it was 40+k. I had a thought of put twins, dropping it and making it an AWD beast but the starting cost will have to wait until I get the wife's car paid off.

Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

there's 6 years off my mortgage.
that would translate to being to 6 years closer to retirement.
or pretty much cover the offspring's cost of college.

still wondering what happened with being born into old money
_

Huh? You can still get the 5.0 V8 in the F150. They're just pushing the Ecoboost because it's the "latest and greatest".

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Re: My how the auto industry has changed
 

I looked the engine line-up online and they didn't mention a V-8 at all. Only the Eco-boost, even in the Raptor. I remember only seeing one 2017 F-150 with the 5.0 in all the Ford lots around here. That's ridiculous. Great thing about Dodge is wall to wall V-8's in every bodystyle they have.