Ford Mustang Timeline: The Good, The Bad, and The Muscly
The Ford Mustang is one of a handful of cars rightfully called icons. Since its first spin on a car-show turntable at the World's Fair in 1964, it's been the auto industry's standard measure of overnight success. And for at least some of its wild youth, it was the cautionary tale of what happens when a celebrity hits the skids.
This month we're celebrating the arrival of a new Mustang with a look back at the past--before our first test drives of the 2011 pony car.
As we spin back through 46 years and 47 model years of Mustangs, it's easy to pinpoint the highlights--and the low-water marks--that have shaped the Mustang's history as much as a stylist's pen, or an engineer's slide rule. Or their MacBook Pros, for that matter.
That sounds like a timeline to us.
For those of you still writing on paper, reading books and still thinking of the Ford Mustang as a timeworn cliche, it's time for a crash course. (Not that kind.) And for those of you unabashed about your Mustang love, online and elsewhere, we're going to be tweaking the 'Stangs that history hasn't treated too kindly. Bear with us.
Thankfully, there's never been a better Mustang than the 2011 Mustang we're getting ready to drive--and to show you top to bottom, inside and out across the High Gear Media universe. We're marking the arrival of the 2011 Mustang with a month of new stories, and there's one place to find everything we have in store for you today, in two weeks' time, and after.
Right now, you can find a big index of stories over at one of our newest sites, NASCAR AutoGuide--it's built in partnership with NASCAR.com and AutoTrader, specifically to deliver our huge RSS feed of daily auto reviews, news and features to a whole new audience. That page shows you just about everything we've written on the 2011 Mustang from our "Big Three" destinations--TheCarConnection, MotorAuthority and GreenCarReports--as well as posts from other growing sites in our community, from MustangBlog to SportsCarMonitor to AllSmallCars.
Set your Google Alerts now: in two weeks, we'll bring you the first drive of the 2011 Ford Mustang both here at TheCarConnection and at MotorAuthority as well. We'll post our review of the reborn 5.0 Mustang, live from Los Angeles at 12:01 a.m., Monday, March 29th. Then in April, we'll bring it all home with a wrap-up on the day the Mustang was born, April 17.
While you wait, you know the drill--you'll find a comprehensive set of Ford Mustang research and shopping tools right here at TheCarConnection:
- Ford Mustang vehicle page
- 2011 Ford Mustang preview
- 2011 Ford Mustang photos
- 2011 Ford Mustang videos
- Ford Mustang prices from TrueCar
- 2011 Ford Mustang dealer pricing
- Used Ford Mustang classified ads
- Twitter feed for #2011 #Ford #Mustang
So...are you ready to turn back time? Turn to the next page:
Honda Element Says ‘Bow Wow Wow Yippie Yo Yippie Yay’
Honda today kept things fun in New York, announcing Dog Friendly components fitted to its 2009 Element small SUV. Changes were made to a 2009 Element in order to make it a safer place for you pooch as well as lessening the chances of you colliding with your canine in the cabin.
The Dog Friendly components were designed specifically for the Element, they say, and "demonstrate the potential for a dedicated pet restraint system designed to meet the needs of dog owners." A production version of the Dog Friendly Element is slated for this fall.
Major features of the Dog Friendly Element include:
- a cushioned pet bed in the cargo area with an elevated platform
- second row and cargo area pet restraint systems
- an extendable cargo area load-in ramp
- a 12V DC rear ventilation fan
- second-row seat covers with a dog pattern design (matches the bed fabric)
- all-season rubber floor mats with a toy bone pattern
- a spill-resistant water bowl
- Dog Friendly exterior emblems
The Element had already been awarded Dogcars.com's "Dog Car of the Year" award in 2007 by virtue of its easy-to-clean urethane floor, flat cargo area, wide-opening side cargo doors, low lift-in height, and ready acceptance of tall items.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
