While I may be out shooting multi-million dollar cars at car shows and listening to the rumbles of high-performance V12s, I can't forget the cars that I actually have access to. While I may be able to see LaFerraris and 918s, these are not my cars. I have no claim or right to them. Instead, my bonds lie with the cars I can drive and that I do have claims to. My personal car, a 2008 Honda Accord sedan (V6 5AT), will get a spot here soon, but in the mean time, here are some photos of my father's 2014 Ford Mustang GT that I took way back in the beginning of March.
When my father said he was interested in the Mustang, I thought he was joking. He never liked American cars, and I knew that when it came to "retirement" cars, a muscle car was never on the list. But sure enough, my family and I went to the Ford dealership one day and test drove a Mustang GT. I have to say, on the test drive, even though it was a base model Mustang, I was impressed. So was my father and mother. All of my experiences with US cars have been rental cars, which meant the best I sampled was a 4 cylinder Malibu, which I was not impressed with at all compared to my Accord, to the echoes of why GM and Chrysler went into bankruptcy, a la PT Cruiser and Dodge Caliber- the less said about those cars, the better. However, the Mustang showed me that US cars had improved greatly. The quality of materials in the cabin were very good, comparable to Japanese cars, and the ride and seats were comfortable. The driving feel was great, and, of course, a huge V8 meant power, which the salesman encouraged us to use by flooring it on the freeway on-ramp.
I also got to test drive a Focus ST, which was also a very fun car. The salesman, who was also a manager, knew I have only had around 40 minutes of manual experience and was teaching me about it. But, we did not purchase the Focus as well, which the salesman was expecting anyways. So, talks returned to the Mustang.
After some paperwork and other discussions (I was not paying attention as I was messing around with the other display cars), my mother and I went home in the afternoon after all of the test drives, leaving my father at the dealership. Would he actually buy it?
Sure enough, that evening, he came home with one: a white 2014 Mustang GT Premium coupe. And I have to say, I love how it looks. The white color, which can look plain on some cars, looks great on the Mustang. I especially love how the white contrasts with the black on the back, and how in turn the black contrasts with the taillights. For some reason, it kind of reminds me of a raccoon, since it looks like a black mask over a pair of eyes.
I also love the overall design of the Mustang. The previous generation went with the "modern retro" look, but it never appealed to me. However, stretching around the dimensions and shapes on that design resulted in this one, and all of the minute details, from shortening but elongating the headlights and adding HIDs and DRLs, to rounding out the back, to making the car appear to be shorter and squatter, all make the car look fantastic to me.
And boy, it drives well. The V8 is super responsive and can either act tame and quiet when cruising, or can absolutely yell when floored. Plus, with the added Shelby exhaust and engine remapping (and cold-air intake, not that it's the +50hp contributor, we all know that comes from red paint), this Mustang sounds superb. The only drawback is that my father hates manual transmissions, so there are only two pedals. Still, that does not draw too much back from driving this car, since I can only tear it around the local freeways and streets. I hope to take it to the track one day and let it loose.
When I get the chance to take more photos of this car with a feature as the end goal, I will upload a better post about this car. Until then, enjoy the photos of this stallion roaming around the Wild West.