Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site eneevax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!bellcore!decvax!decwrl!amdcad!lll-crg!gymble!umcp-cs!eneevax!hsu From: hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu) Newsgroups: net.auto Subject: First impressions: Mustang GT [long] Message-ID: <503@eneevax.UUCP> Date: Sun, 2-Feb-86 23:00:10 EST Article-I.D.: eneevax.503 Posted: Sun Feb 2 23:00:10 1986 Date-Received: Wed, 5-Feb-86 00:55:39 EST Reply-To: hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu) Organization: Imperial Widget Research Center, Kingdom of Maryland Lines: 83 Eli didn't want to write it up himself, so here I am with the long-ignored review of his shiny new car. Flames to eli@cvl. After 126 arduous days of waiting, the Mustang finally arrived last Friday. And here are our joint impressions after three days of blasting about. 1986 Mustang GT 3-door hatchback; silver exterior, red interior; A/C, premium sound system, power windows, power door locks & convenience group, rear-window defogger, tinted glass, sunroof (all options except two-tone paint, auto-trans, and engine block heater); 5.0 L SFI V8 (sequential injection, tuned-intake, true-dual low-restriction stainless steel tuned exhaust, EEC-IV control) Price: ~12,600 (base sticker ~10,500., sugg. price ~13,600) Mileage: Can't remember exactly but the EPA figures were about 18 and 25. Under hard acceleration, the numbers drop like a rock to about 12 in mixed driving. Expect 17 typical. Caveats: somewhat plastic inside. seat bolsters have a tiny amount of play in them. upshift light (hah!) doesn't work. there are two do-nothing tubes in the firewall one of which serves only to slowly drip runoff water onto the exhaust manifold, creating periodic hissing sounds. Overall impressions: unbelievable what 285 ft-lbs of torque can do in a sub-compact. Handling is a bit tail-happy; otherwise neutral. Acceleration: after figuring out how to control the awesome wheelspin this thing can produce, first normal run, two passengers + driver, regular unleaded, shifting early (we're still in break in!) 0-60 in 6.7 sec. 6.0 looks very achievable with no passengers, premium unleaded, a broken-in engine, and if we shift late. Curious how it'll perform with 50-series tires. Handling: Goodyear Eagles don't seem to be up to par with this car. Back end is too easy to cut loose around turns. The lateral forces just build up and give out all at once, making you wish it wouldn't ever rain so you could hang Yokohamas on it and be done with. Thanks to quadra-shocks, the car refuses to squat down under hard acceleration; you simply feel pinned to your seat. (for you Wabbit owners who are more curious about this feeling, lie down on the floor and try to reach your chandelier. And you Saab people who've been feebly cutting off Eli's dying Oldsmobile, you'd better defend yourselves :-)) And now some quick notes about the rest of the car. Steering: much tighter than any other power steering I've ever driven. Makes my T-bird feel like a boat. Responds instantly. Transmission: self-adjusting clutch pedal has a very strong spring on it. This is more than offset by the fact that my bloodstream has a lot of adrenaline in it. T-5 shifter has incredibly short throws; you never know what gear you're in unless you try to shift one way and find that neutral is the other way. We think this car builds upper-body strength in its drivers...you feel this urge to leave your right hand on the stick. If you're sloppy, you can easily miss third and end up in fifth. Not that the engine cares...it just pulls you right along. In fact, not realizing that it wasn't in first, Eli got the thing moving in third and didn't find out until he tried to shift into fourth. Uh, make that he tried to shift into second. No, wait, uh, you get the picture. Power. Overall, the engine is unbelievable. Unbelievably loud, too. The passenger compartment is filled with both the throaty sound of the exhaust, as well as with the humming of the engine trying to escape its mountings. Pure joy to a driver, it makes you wonder if a radio is useful at all. On the down side, the engine sound is so penetrating, it makes you feel like you're crawling along even when you've long since pinned the needle. I kid you not. 35 and 85 sound and feel about the same. And if the top speed is really over 135 as they say, you just can't help but be curious what that feels like. The little plastic pieces everywhere make it feel cheap inside, somehow, and the whole thing is somewhat front-heavy and tail-happy. But passing people climbing a steep incline in second gear AND STILL ACCELERATING HARD is the kind of thing that will keep cubic inches alive. No, it's not the next-door neighbor's Charger R/T which can uproot buildings, but it's a terribly nice package for the price and it corners somewhat better, too. dying to drive about again, -dave -- David Hsu Communication & Signal Processing Lab, EE Department University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 hsu@eneevax.umd.edu {seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!eneevax!hsu CF522@UMDD.BITNET "Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern, you've done it now, buddy..." -Ernest P. Worrell