I thought that was pretty much impossible.

Hold on a minute. I want to show you guys something. It's my shocked face.

 

There is no Track Pack for the 2011 Mustang GT. All the components in the 2010 Track Pack (minus the wheels, tires, gears) are now standard for the 2011 model year. The Brembo package includes 19x9 aluminum wheels, summer-only tires (probably the same 255's that came with the '10 Track Pack) and of course the Brembo brakes.

I'm not sure how much more weight this package will add to the estimated total for the standard GT coupe (3,603), but 50 pounds seems a little high.

 

I don't think that is correct. Do you have a link?

The Track Pack appears to be the 402A package if I remember correctly and it should include additional bracing, different sway bars, shock tunning, maybe spring rates, etc. in addition to the 19" wheels, Brembo's, and 3.73 gears. Just like the 2010 Track Pack did. This is the consensus from everyone I have talked to.

Do you have some new information?

 

We talked about this in CamaroZ28.Com Podcast #231! Check it out!

 

My friend really wants a 2011 Mustang and he had an LT1 Camaro. He told me countless times at the Auto show. I sat in both and enjoyed the Mustang.

But at the end of the day, the Mustang isn't the Camaro and thats why all I need is a 5th gen, V6 or V8, I love this car.

 

I read something curious today. Maybe some here can verify.

Educated "rumor" is, the Z28 has not been approved, due to word from above........... WAY above.

Comment??

 

Where did you read this?

 

Im not worried about the Camaro vs Mustang rivalry or whether one does the 1/4 mile faster or if one exhaust sounds more manly then the other. In the end im a loyal GM custumer and have had nothing but pleasant experiences with them. Now im 100% sure that while cruising down the road there will be the odd mustang revving next to me or even another camaro, plzplzplz jus as long as it not another civic hatchback haha. Im gettin myself a good ol Camaro due to the fact GM has done alot to earn my loyalty and lets face it ... GM seems to be doing alot more to better their products then ford is. No knocks to ford ... been in a newer mustang and the exhaust notes are sexy. As with anything else, l'll believe the new Mustang numbers when I see one off the production line. Can almost guarantee the numbers will change from specs now. my 2 cents worth. all jus my opinion though

 

Have you driven a Ford lately? In my opinion it is the other way around. The new Fords I have driven and ridden in are very nice. Shoot my boss and I requested a Ford Edge Limited this week over the CTS we have been driving. While the CTS was pretty fun, the Edge is a better ride and has all the bells and whistles, while still being fun to drive.

 

That, if true, will make my friend at Brembo a very happy camper as it would up the penetration of sales of his stuff a bunch. I still sorta doubt that's the case though. Nonetheless, I don't read Ford order books. Someone else where I work certainly does...

However, careful reading of your post seems to suggest that there's to be no "Track Pack" option, but gears wheels and tires, < maybe Brembos> are free flowing options?

Kinda strange to establish a "must have" option name and then abandon it...

 

Like I said no knocks to Ford ... However comparing an Edge to a CTS isnt really fair. 2 diff types of vehicles. However compare the Edge to the new Equinox and its a diff story. Trust me I need to be careful with my wording because my better half is a Ford girl and she will kick my ***. As far as I know, which isnt much, the Edge is nice visually and maybe performace wise etc but it has weight issues regarding fuel economy depending on trim level. There was one I was even willing to buy in edmonton but I wasnt paying almost 50 grand for one. I drove a Focus around which can be compared to a Cobalt ( which unless its the SS model isnt pretty in itself ) and it was like riding a skateboard down a rocky road. Better half owns a Ford Escape which is ok I guess ... gets the job done. But we all know that the Ford vs GM debate has been raging on forever .. I jus dont wanna wrinkle any feathers or stir the hornets nest on this one. My point was that Regardless of the effort Ford puts forth to compete with the Camaro its already a few years too late ... They have had enough time to pump up their GT model 315 HP etc etc ... only now that there is some competition they feel it necessary ... they should have felt it necessary when customers and Ford faithfuls moaned about the lack of "nut sack" on the GT model. Yes Ive driven the GT too. Co worker owns one and the only complaint he has had with it was the horrible wheels and the lack of more HP. Plz feel free to tell me im full of it etc ... I like hearing others opinions.

 

Wow, I didn't know that the Camaro had been out for a few years.............. I thought it was a bit less than 1 year.

Also, I didn't know that Ford was able to develop the brand new 5.0 in less than a year. Wow, that is pretty remarkable.

Engine development is long term. Ford frequently releases a new product, and then releases the new engines the next year. Should they have had the 5.0 in development sooner?? Sure. However, much had to change with the fundamentals of Ford, before they could have "fun." The turn around of this company has been a work in progress for many years............ even before Mulally came in (the quality improvements were implimented by Bill Ford). So, while we would like to have all the new stuff TODAY, it often doesn't work that way.

Jason D, wescoent on GMI is where the info on the Z28 came from. He has much inside information on both Ford and GM, due to his contacts in the financial industry (he does risk management analysis for JP Morgan). Pretty much any product information will be known about in advance, due to financials. I was just looking for confirmation, because he usually posts in a winky winky, read between the lines way, to not get his sources in trouble.

 

Actually the 5th gen timeframe has been, as you point out, best decribed in months.

What will be forthcoming will either interest buyers or it will not.

It's good to see that Ford will up the levels of what they offer. Competition is an important factor with cars that vie for some folks who fall in the middle in their loyalties.

As for the new 5.0? Likely been in the works for some time. It was something Ford really needed to address. NA HP hasn't been one of their electrifying feature factors and it's good to see they have done some head work which is paying dividends.

The Mustang is being outsold on a month to month basis and Ford is responding. Just as they should.

On another note, I'm interested in how the 5.5 liter smallblock performs at Sebring in the spring.

Did anyone catch the Auto Extremeist article a few months back regarding Ferrari and Porsche whining until the D.I. package had to be removed from the Corvettes?

Oh...here it is...:

"Ferrari, Porsche. Well, that didn't take long. The Direct Injection package on the new Corvette C6.R GT2 cars is being removed for the Petit Le Mans later this month and the season-ending ALMS finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in October at the request of the ACO, the sanctioning body for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It seems that Ferrari and Porsche were upset about the Corvettes running the system this year, according to our European sources - even though it will be legal in 2010 (albeit on a new, smaller displacement engine package that Corvette Racing is developing to comply with the new specifications that come into effect next season for the "Global GT" classification) - and the two sports car manufacturers applied pressure to have it removed. Something tells us that Ferrari and Porsche should be careful what they wished for, because the last thing Corvette Racing needed was more motivaton to kick their asses this year and in 2010."

I really liked Doug Fehan's statement regarding the removal of D.I. on last years engines:

"Consequently GM Powertrain has made a monumental effort to prepare the engines for this race," Fehan said. "In less than three weeks, they completely disassembled the engines, reconfigured the cylinder heads, and changed the fueling systems. The change from direct injection to port injection affects our fuel mileage to some extent, but it has had a negligible impact on performance. Among the top-five GT2 qualifiers, Corvette Racing has the only car that hasn't been granted a larger restrictor, a bigger splitter, or a larger wing under performance balancing. We offer our congratulations to our rivals for their qualifying performances today, and we salute the job that the GM Powertrain staff has done for Corvette Racing."

So as my personal opinion on whether GM will respond to the power question?

Well, Maybe.

I find it amusing to hear anyone think GM is "done" when it comes to vehicle engines or handling.

 

Me too Paul. I simply can't wait to see some specs on this motor.

BTW, will you be in Chicago tomorrow?

 

2 years...as opposed to the regular 3 year cycle for a brand new engine (barring any problems)

The 5L was a reaction to canning the 5.8L BOSS/Hurricane that was supposed to be put in the Mustang.
In reality the 5.8/6.2 are truck engines, and should stay in the truck.
The 5L was built (in short order) for all the right reasons.