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The Ford Mustang races to the top spot

4K views 47 replies 26 participants last post by  Carbide 
#1 ·
http://www.ctvnews.ca/autos/the-ford-mustang-races-to-the-top-spot-1.3383724

Less than two years after officially launching its Pony Car beyond its domestic U.S. borders, the Ford Mustang is the world's best-selling sportscar.

In all, Ford sold 150,000 Mustangs around the world in 2016 which, according to the latest industry data from IHS Markit, means the car is not only America's most popular sportscar, it has now conquered the world, too, despite some hard-hitting European and Japanese competition.

The Mustang has outsold the Mazda MX-5 Miata, BMW 4 Series, Nissan 370Z and the venerable Porsche 911 among others to claim the top spot, leaving many to ponder why it took Ford so long -- 51 years -- to finally offer its most famous muscle car to European and Asian customers.

Over the past 12 months, 45,000 Mustangs were sold beyond North America and every time the car arrives in a new territory, demand surges. For example, since arriving in China, sales have climbed 75%, making it the country's most popular sportscar. But that's to be expected from a country that wants to buy into US culture. What is a surprise is the reaction in Germany.

The birthplace of the automobile and home to some of the world's most desirable and performance-focused automotive marques, the Mustang is proving more popular than the Porsche 911, Audi TT and the hardtop and soft-top Porsche 718 models (Boxster and Cayman).

While in the UK, the Mustang can claim to be the most popular car in the country that sends more than 250hp to its wheels.

Not even less than impressive performance in recent EuroNCAP tests seem to have dented demand for the car, especially in V8 GT guise.

"The legacy of Mustang continues to grow, and in places it never reached before," said Mark Schaller, Ford Mustang marketing manager.
 
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#5 ·
Awesome that more enthusiasts around the world want an American iconic pony car....

Way to go Ford..

I still believe performance wise the camaro kicks it butt...butt unit sales...the mustang is clearly the champ in this latest iteration of models..

I don't think the camaro moved the styling needle enough to warrant its customer base to trade in the fifth gen camaro for a sixth gen.

This was a calculated move by GM as the previous generation had sold so well. Most automobile companies would have done the act same thing.

The seventh gen or mid cycle refresh will or should be more revolutionary in styling changes versus the evolutionary effort of the sixth gen.

Let's face it...the styling of the fifth gen prompted GM to be evolutionary in styling.

From a performance stand point the camaro crushes the mustang...

I happen to think the halo effect of the challenger hellcat and its lower scat pack models have done an admirable job of stealing sales away from camaro as well.

Chrysler holds very little back when it comes to discounts either.

I just read you can get a hellcat in California for 1500 down 499 a month lease...

Whose going to leave the dodge showroom and spend 50 grand on a camaro ss when they can lease a hellcat for 1500 down and 499 a month..

I'm a GM guy and even I would lease the hellcat over buying a camaro ss at 50 grand...

I really dig the camaro ZL1 but I know there are no leases like that for a ZL1...

I'd lease the hellcat in that comparision shop as well.

Meanwhile Ford Mustang gt350 owners are sueing Ford for some nonsense...

I am hopeful as the corvette goes rear mid engine in the c8....the camaro will leave its retro heritage behind and evolve into something more like a five seat two door Porsche pamamera like 928 derivative from a styling standpoint...

The camaro could literally become like a four seat c7 corvette....as the c8 reaches closer to a McLaren like driving experience for about five grand more than the present c7 z51, grand sport and z06....
 
#7 ·
I don't think the camaro moved the styling needle enough to warrant its customer base to trade in the fifth gen camaro for a sixth gen.

This was a calculated move by GM as the previous generation had sold so well. Most automobile companies would have done the act same thing.

I happen to think the halo effect of the challenger hellcat and its lower scat pack models have done an admirable job of stealing sales away from camaro as well.

Chrysler holds very little back when it comes to discounts either.

I just read you can get a hellcat in California for 1500 down 499 a month lease...

Whose going to leave the dodge showroom and spend 50 grand on a camaro ss when they can lease a hellcat for 1500 down and 499 a month..

I'm a GM guy and even I would lease the hellcat over buying a camaro ss at 50 grand...

I really dig the camaro ZL1 but I know there are no leases like that for a ZL1...

I'd lease the hellcat in that comparision shop as well.
In regard to the Camaro styling the problem is while most car companies would have kept the previous generation styling GM made it pretty hard to tell them apart, especially out on the road when they're moving. I feel like at this point they should just do something easy and obvious like change the bright work or some type of clear markings to shake things up a bit.


As for the Chrysler comments I appreciate what you said. I'm always surprised by the contempt at this site for FCA since they offers insane cars enthusiast should love at discount prices. And then people start talking about fuel efficiency and reliability... Which is fine but when people by Toyotas over GM for those reasons they're jack-wagons.
 
#10 ·
It needs to race to profitability with Flat Rock revenue down so much combined with an expensive bespoke low volume/low margin platform. Although I think the Mustang, along with Lincoln, could continue to lose money for decades before they would pull the plug due to the emotional attachment the family.
 
#12 ·
It needs to race to profitability with Flat Rock revenue down so much combined with an expensive bespoke low volume/low margin platform. Although I think the Mustang, along with Lincoln, could continue to lose money for decades before they would pull the plug due to the emotional attachment the family.
Do you have any support for your claim the Mustang is a money loser? I suspect the answer is a definite no, thus my next question is WTF are you smoking?
 
#14 ·
On the flip side it's almost impossible to get Jeep wrong so long as you don't stray to far from it's well established recipe.
The "Compass?" Really!, I think they have already strayed.

Do you have any support for your claim the Mustang is a money loser? I suspect the answer is a definite no, thus my next question is WTF are you smoking?
Ha!, I use to receive "GM Truck Talk magazine quarterly" I never thought of Smoking it!
 
#21 ·
Mustang-Camaro rivalry takes root in China
In the world's largest market, Ford and GM flex their muscle cars


http://www.autonews.com/article/201...kes-root-in-china?cciid=email-autonews-weekly

sometimes Automotive News blocks me, if so perhaps link through Google
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=automotive+news+mustang+camaro+rivalry+in+china

SHANGHAI -- Few feuds are as fanatical as the Ford Mustang-Chevy Camaro throwdown, a decades-old emblem of American consumer demand for throttle power and driving freedom.
Now the quintessential American rivalry is taking root in China.
A growing cadre of hot-rodders here are enthralled with the U.S. cars, and Ford and Chevrolet are playing up their performance and iconic designs as the brands seek better traction in the world's biggest market.
Chevrolet upped the stakes last month by launching its sixth-generation Camaro. It goes up against the Mustang, which arrived here in 2015. Both cars were partly remade for overseas tastes as parent companies Ford Motor Co. and General Motors look to widen their international appeal.
But it is the no-apologies Americana aura exuded by both cars that is hooking their fans.
"We're seeing the beginning of a muscle car culture here," said James Chao, a China market auto analyst with IHS Markit. "Something that is uniquely American appeals to the Chinese consumer. The image that it relays to the automotive public is very positive."
 
#29 · (Edited)
Hurray for Ford.

I'm kind of proud, despite Mopar allegiance.

Strategy against the 911 in Germany is the same (in kind, if not magnitude) as Camaro here: More for the money.

If the 911 is a 'supercar' so is the Mustang GT. (Not even withstanding my ongoing point that "supercar" was coined to describe a Pontiac, not a Ferrari)

Really glad to see it swat both 911 and the miata's ass.
 
#34 ·
GM has never ever thought as a Global company, its run by insiders who do not run the company as a Global company. No one inside it wants to push Change, not the leadership, not the board.
Heck they will not even let Escalade break away from Chevrolet.

They will not even let brands report across borders, Johan forced Cadillac to, but that's about it.
 
#43 ·
That's a good point and as exampled by Ford and GM, their most profitable market by far is North America
and n that market, regional specific large trucks and SUVs are making the bulk of the profits.

I see "one Ford" as more about controlling costs in products that don't seem to generate much profit,
perhaps Europe now looking at more ST, Titanium and Vignale models finally signals a change away from
Ford as a budget manufacturer.
 
#47 ·
Once in a while we see shades of the old GM and the old Ford but not to the same degree they once were.
GM still loves to load the plants and then sell as many as they can even if strong incentives are needed.

Ford still likes to go after what it sees as important fleet sales to balance out production, it may lower
the overall retail percentages but it keeps Ford's plants humming all year round.

Both are still making good profits and in spite of slowing car sales, the trucks and Utilities are still selling well
so maybe some grace shown in respect to both managing change, car inventorys seem to be edging down.
 
#48 ·
Things are going well now, but all it takes is an international terror assault, another mid-east conflict, or some geo-political sh1tstorm, a pudgy man-brat with nukes, for example, halfway around the world, to shake the markets, hike the price of oil, and muddy the free flow trade of products to spiral the economy down, again.

And it doesn't matter much what they're selling when no one is in a position to buy much.

Enjoy the relative prosperity of the moment, these things come and go.

History will repeat itself. Probably sooner than later, and the last thing anybody really needs is a new Mustang or a Camaro.

It's the Circle of Commerce.
 
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