[bristol16]

unfortunately, in this day and age we can only partially blame vehicle weight on the manufacturer. there are so many safety requirements to meet that comparing a mustang today to a mustang even 5 years ago is not a fair comparison. my 2004 never had to consider lane departure warning, adaptive cruise, a pedestrian impact friendly hood, rear camera, etc etc etc. even if the vehicle is not spec'd for these options the groundwork is probably there and wiring/electronics adds weight. yes, improvements in metal and other weight savings materials has also made progress in that time, but the amount of tech that is being forced into vehicles these days is crazy and it all adds weight. it's not like ford wants to make each generation of vehicle heavier than the last.