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The Muscle Car Lives
By: Brandon Dye
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We
have discovered a fail-proof litmus test of
automotive enthusiasm. If you sit behind the wheel
of a Mustang Mach 1 while you blip the aluminum
throttle pedal, watch the shaker hood torque to the
right, listen to the burly exhaust note, and the
hair on your neck does not stand up, you are
dead--or might as well be. That result means you are
one of the millions who prefer a Camry to a Camaro
and there's no point in you reading the rest of this
review because you'll just dismiss the Mustang as
cramped and loud. Now we're the first to admit the
Camry is as near to perfection in automotive
transportation as you can get, but we are part of
that ever-shrinking minority that will trade off a
good chunk of perfection for a big dose of muscular
styling and a throaty V8 to back it up. Call us
old-fashioned, but we'll take a Mustang over a
pocket-rocket any day of the week-especially a
Mustang this good.
Muscle cars are about two things-style and power. The
Mach 1 has both of those and more. Our test car was
painted an impossible-to-miss Azure blue and
featured flat black on the rear wing and hood. Some
would have rather seen a more traditional red in
place of our car's bright blue, but all agreed the
Mustang looked tough and displayed the no-nonsense
attitude necessary for street credibility. Further
drawing attention to the Mach 1 are 17" Heritage
style alloy wheels wrapped in low profile 245/45ZR
Goodyear rubber and twin chromed exhaust tips
playing a wonderfully noticeable and deeply tuned
growl. Undoubtedly the coolest feature on the Mach 1
and one that never failed to raise the pulse of
fellow enthusiasts was the ram air shaker hood. It
simply doesn't get much more retro than that.
Retro touches can be found inside the Mach 1 as well.
The numbering found on the gauges are from the
original Mach 1s and the seats are covered in "comfortweave"
leather. The chairs themselves are well bolstered
and comfortable, especially the driver's seat with
its power operation and lumbar support. The steering
wheel features cruise controls and is wrapped in
seat-matching dark charcoal leather. Climate
controls are operated by an easy to understand
3-knob setup. All Mach 1s come with a 6-disc in-dash
CD changer and Mach speakers. The system was easy to
operate and plenty punchy though it was a bit of a
reach even for long-armed 6 footers like me. Our
particular car had the optional $295 interior
upgrade kit, which basically consists of aluminum
pedals. Below the stereo is the button to turn the
traction control system off, which allows for
smile-inducing burnouts in traditional muscle car
fashion. The trunk has a small opening but is
actually quite sizeable, plus the rear seats fold
down to accommodate long items. We were disappointed
with certain materials in the Mustang cabin. For
instance, the interior door pulls could not have
been finished in a cheaper feeling plastic. You'd
expect Ford to make a surface that is touched every
time you open or close the door feel a little more
like it belongs in a $30,000 car. We suspect Ford
will up the interior materials a notch or five on
the quality pole for the new Mustang set to debut
next year.
There maybe room for improvement inside but under the
hood things are just about perfect. The modified
4.6-liter 32-valve DOHC V8 puts out a strong stream
of power across the entire rev range. It is rated at
305hp at 5,800rpm and 320lb-ft of torque at
4,200rpm. The 281 cubic inch all-aluminum V8
features a dual-bore 57mm throttle body and new
cylinder heads as well as new exhaust manifolds. The
rear axle has also been upgraded with a high torque
differential and 3.55 rear end gear ratio. The Mach
1 is available with either a 5-speed manual or
4-speed heavy duty automatic. Being automotive
journalists who often place a heavy emphasis on
performance, we were certain our press car would
feature the standard manual transmission. Imagine
our surprise when we picked up the car to find out
it featured the optional $815 slushbox. The entire
AT staff, including your author, directed harsh
words at Ford for installing the anti-fun
transmission in our car. At least a manual is
available-you'll have an extra $815 in your pocket
too.
On the road the car immediately impressed us with its
sharp handling and surprisingly good ride quality.
Compared to the GT the Mach 1 features stiffer
springs, better Tokico shocks and a solid rear
stabilizer bar, all of which drop the ride height ½
inch. We will also sing praises about the Mach 1's
brakes. The pedal was firm and modulation was linear
and braking felt extremely strong. No doubt the 13"
front discs squeezed by twin piston Brembo calipers
are to thank for this. We certainly hope this setup
makes its way to the next Mustang.
For a car based on a chassis that debuted more than two
decades ago, this latest special edition Mustang
impressed us. Only 6,500 Mach 1 Mustangs were built
and by now, most, if not all, are probably
comfortably covered in loving garages across the
country. We can tell you that if we had an extra
$30,105 sitting around we'd certainly put one in our
garage. Sure, the Mach 1 is cramped, and yes, it is
loud, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks
to Ford, the muscle car lives. |
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| The
Good: |
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You gotta love that shaker hood, true muscle car
power, great exhaust music, powerful stereo.
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| The
Bad: |
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4-speed AUTOMATIC transmission, Interior would be
unacceptable in 1993, did we mention it had an automatic
transmission?!
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| The
Verdict: |
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Ford proves that the muscle car lives.
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