Are the '03 & '04 Mach 1s a real Muscle Car??

[Smith]

Just wondering if you ever had anyone ask " Is this a real muscle car". Or maybe " The 60s, now they were the real muscle cars!". Well, most of you already know this but I looked up the performance specs of the Icon Muscle cars of the 60's just to compare to my 2004 Mach 1:



69 Mach 1 428 Cobra 0-60 5.5 sec 1/4 mile 13.9 sec
69 Boss 429 0-60 6.8 sec 1/4 mile 14.0 sec
69 Boss 302 0-60 6.9 sec 1/4 mile 14.6 sec
69 Camaro Z/28 0-60 7.4 sec 1/4 mile 15.1 sec
69 Camaro 396 0-60 6.8 sec 1/4 mile 14.7 sec
69 Camaro 427 ZL1 0-60 5.3 sec 1/4 mile 13.2 sec
70 Hemi Cuda 426 0-60 6.4 sec 1/4 mile 13.1 sec

and the '04 Mach 1...
0-60 4.7 sec 1/4 mile 13.2 sec

Well oh my...looky there!!

[iudelt89]

These new regulations and insurance premiums will undoubtedly eventually kill off the horsepower war that is raging right now, in terms of V8's anyway. What I expect to see is a much larger utilization of turbo charging technologies. It would not surprise me if we see a top model mustang being offered with a turbo 6 in the next 15-20 years. Is this a bad thing? In terms of the glorious sound of an american V8, yes. However, turbo cars are much easier to extract extra horsepower out of. Wherever we go, I never see the performance car enthusiast scene dying. I say bring it on, we will just see the value of our traditional v8 muscle cars go up!

[TRMach1]

All good things come to an end, just enjoy it while it's here! I'm one of those people who was coming of age (driving age) at the end of the 1960's, so I know a little bit about those first generation Muscle cars! In fact, I owned a 1970 Mustang Mach 1, red and black, 428CJ, Drag Pack, and by the standards of those days, that sucker was fast! By today's standards, not so much. I tried, and tried to get that car to break into the 13's, and couldn't do it, my current Mach 1, in stock showroom condition, ran a 13.1 @105! In it's current configuration, my current Mach 1 would run away and hide from the old one! And it can actually go around turns, and brake without making a spectacle of it and me. LOL!

[stang8092]

Mustang SVO is supposedly coming back with V6 ecoboost in 2014 (if rumors are true).

[smith30]

The joys of technology lol

[24kmach]

Originally Posted by Smith

Just wondering if you ever had anyone ask " Is this a real muscle car". Or maybe " The 60s, now they were the real muscle cars!". Well, most of you already know this but I looked up the performance specs of the Icon Muscle cars of the 60's just to compare to my 2004 Mach 1:



69 Mach 1 428 Cobra 0-60 5.5 sec 1/4 mile 13.9 sec
69 Boss 429 0-60 6.8 sec 1/4 mile 14.0 sec
69 Boss 302 0-60 6.9 sec 1/4 mile 14.6 sec
69 Camaro Z/28 0-60 7.4 sec 1/4 mile 15.1 sec
69 Camaro 396 0-60 6.8 sec 1/4 mile 14.7 sec
69 Camaro 427 ZL1 0-60 5.3 sec 1/4 mile 13.2 sec
70 Hemi Cuda 426 0-60 6.4 sec 1/4 mile 13.1 sec

and the '04 Mach 1...
0-60 4.7 sec 1/4 mile 13.2 sec

Well oh my...looky there!!

Love it. I quoted you on Facebook.

[Smith]

I also came of age in the 70s and owned a 69 Z/28, all original with the 302. It was a screamer and was one of the fastest cars I had ever seen. Now, I have two 2004 Mach 1s (one is for sale) and both could eat that Z for lunch. Plus I'm getting 25 mpg, and the 74,000 mile one runs better than the one with only 5500 miles!! you could never get that many miles out of the old muscle cars...or that kind of mpg!!

[Bill Hamilton]

Yeah, what all my old geezer friends said up above (LOL).

I had a 1970 428 SCJ w/4.30's and it was a muscle car in it's day. But today's would run away and hide from the late 60's Muscle Iron. Those state of the art Goodyear Polyglass tires back then would spin and smoke forever with no traction and make you think you were going a thousand miles per hour. The 5 to 7 mpg ensured you spent a lot of time hanging out at gas stations. They were the greatest powered cars of their generation, just like the Mach's, Cobra's, and GT's are today.

Today's 2011 up Mustang's with the 305 hp V-6 can run 13.7 at 104 mph. That's better than 95% of the 60's Muscle Cars would run plus today's V-6 gets 31 mpg.

[un gm]

I agree with all the above. I had a few I wish I would've been able to hold on to. There's a little get together at a donut shop on Sunday mornings here. About 10-15 regulars with various mint cars ( nothing like the gatherings Russ posts on here) but almost all those guys are original owners. Im hoping I can keep this mach1 and in 20 years if there's any gas left, I'll be one of those guys.

[CO Mack]

The 60's stuff would do a lot better with only modern rubber spooned on, but the modern muscle cars really are better in just about every way...only thing you can really argue is looks.

The smaller displacement trend with force feeding is mostly around manufacturers trying to meet tightening CAFE standards. Same reason the car makers got in to it in the 80's...

I loved my 85 SVO...and look forward to a new one to replace our STi.

[wannamach1]

Very good stats! I quoted this on Facebook as well! Hope you don't mind.

[Mikestang]

The mustang is NOT a muscle car its a pony car.

[Bill Hamilton]

Originally Posted by Mikestang

The mustang is NOT a muscle car its a pony car.

A V-6 is a Pony car.

A V-8 is a Muscle Car version.

[73mach03]

While the older Mustangs and competitors may have started with the Pony Car label, they sure seem to have morphed into muscle cars in recent years.

[lightninwithin5]

I don't really think the Mustang was ever quite a Muscle car. The Mustang, Javelin, Challenger, and Nova SS were often called "Pony Cars" (I wonder where that term came from...). Whereas muscle cars had the wheelbase of pickups, the pony cars were smaller. To me Chargers, Chevelles, and Torinos were your muscle cars, but this is a topic of debate. The argument has been really skewed by the changes in auto building too. To me, muscle car follows this recipe: take the two door version of a mid to large sized sedan, add the biggest engine, sporty gears, and performance styling cues. Whereas a pony car follows this recipe: Take the smallest possible car, add a high output engine, sporty gears, and performance styling cues. Also, remember Mustang does not mean performance car, plenty of "pokie ponies" have made their way of the assembly line over the years... now a Mach 1, that's another story.

[stang8092]

American made, V8, RWD, 2 door, 4 passenger = muscle car. This has always been my understanding.

If it walks like a duck...

Long hood & short decklid is a Pony Car but fits under the muscle car umbrella. A car with a truck-like wheelbase is not a muscle car, it's a land yacht. :p

[ASH302]

I would say they are the new age muscle car, still a muscle car

ASh

[lightninwithin5]

Originally Posted by stang8092

American made, V8, RWD, 2 door, 4 passenger = muscle car. This has always been my understanding.

If it walks like a duck...

Long hood & short decklid is a Pony Car but fits under the muscle car umbrella. A car with a truck-like wheelbase is not a muscle car, it's a land yacht. :p

I'll agree with the land yacht statement, but that is a fact about muscle cars that is often forgotten, they were huge!

1968 RoadRunner: Wheelbase 116 inches
1968 Chevy C/K: Wheelbase 115 inches (133 if you got the extended bed)

This is why I never really thought of the Mustang as a muscle car.

[stang8092]

Wheelbase aside, the Road Runner's quarterpanels were almost half of the Mustang's length. Lol

[Bill Hamilton]

Originally Posted by lightninwithin5

I don't really think the Mustang was ever quite a Muscle car. The Mustang, Javelin, Challenger, and Nova SS were often called "Pony Cars" (I wonder where that term came from...). Whereas muscle cars had the wheelbase of pickups, the pony cars were smaller. To me Chargers, Chevelles, and Torinos were your muscle cars, but this is a topic of debate. The argument has been really skewed by the changes in auto building too. To me, muscle car follows this recipe: take the two door version of a mid to large sized sedan, add the biggest engine, sporty gears, and performance styling cues. Whereas a pony car follows this recipe: Take the smallest possible car, add a high output engine, sporty gears, and performance styling cues. Also, remember Mustang does not mean performance car, plenty of "pokie ponies" have made their way of the assembly line over the years... now a Mach 1, that's another story.

This was true in the late 60's. By 1968 a Muscle Car was a GTO, Road Runner, Chevele SS 396, Olds 442, Torino GT, Buick Grand Sport, Cyclone GT or any other mid-size two-door sedan with a V-8 four-barrell car over 400 cubic inches (or big blocks as 389 to 396's counted too) plus 300 or more hp. If you had a Torino with 351, a Buick GS 350, Olds Rallye 350, or some other sedan with in the mid-350 cubin inch range and 4-barrell it was a "Junior Supercar". The Duster/Dart 340's, Nova SS 350's, and similar cars were called "Econ-Supercars".

The Mustang/Camaro/Firebird/Cuda/Challenger/Javlin were all Pony Cars even though some out muscled the Muscle Cars. Today the lines have been blurred as the Pony Cars really have the Muscles.

It's all good and just a matter of opinion so basically in my world you can call me anything you want ... just not late for dinner.

[STICK]

I to grew up in the Mid 60's. I owned a 1966 GTO till I returned from the service in late 72 and ordered a 1973 Trans AM. The 66 was sharp and ran great in a straight line. But the steering and handling were not up to today's standards. The 73 Trans AM was most likely the best handling car out of Detroit. It was the worse car for paint and history of repairs was horrific. I found the original bill of sale, brochure and repair tickets a few months ago. Today's Pony Cars or Muscle cars are far superior in quality, performance and in some cases appearance.

I like going to see the old Muscle cars but I have no desire to own one again. I await the 50th Anniversary Mustang. I will be 66 by then and ready to cruise along while I'm retired.

[dsmdavid]

My dad owned a mach(71 ugly green) I owned a mach. We both had camaros(73 for him) 97 for me, we both had a trans am new school vs old school. He loves taking the mach out on rides. I can only imagine what's coming when I have kids and tell them about my mach and they have cars that fly lol

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[73mach03]

Originally Posted by STICK

I like going to see the old Muscle cars but I have no desire to own one again. I await the 50th Anniversary Mustang. I will be 66 by then and ready to cruise along while I'm retired.

That's about how I feel (about the same age too). Once in a while I think about acquiring a car like my old 73 Mach 1 or 78 Firebird Formula, but then I remember the bad things about those cars that can easily be masked by that longing to relive those good old days.

[XSELLR8]

I don't see how anyone could say they aren't They're American, from Ford, have great V8s..
If people think they don't sound like it, all you have to do is throw on a set of cams and BINGO.

[DA5DEUCE]

Actually knew a guy with a 01 Z28(typical GM fanboy) actually say these words with confidence "Mustangs are NOT muscle cars they need superchargers to go fast" I gave him the "are you F'ing serious face" then I actually said are you ****ing serious???!!!!

Your catfish was basically made because of the mustang then I began to name N/A cars making power that did not need forced induction suck as the 2000 COBRA R 2011 coyote 5.0 03-04 MACH 1 etc etc..can't wait to see this guy again because at the time I didn't have my MACH an as I hear he still was **** near stock an I would love to show him all motor a 281CI 32V engine can beat or keep up with a "lightly" modded Z28

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