2011 Ford Mustang may get up to 30 mpg

[DynoTom]

New high-powered engine will give model nearly GT muscle
Scott Burgess / The Detroit News
The base model of the 2011 Ford Mustang will come with nearly GT power and could get up to 30 miles per gallon in highway driving, Ford Motor Co. announced today.

Ford will debut a new V-6 engine for the sports car this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show and says it will give the basic Mustang power to rival the performance-oriented Mustang GT, which has a V-8 under its hood.

The 3.7-liter powerplant, which replaces the 4-liter V-6 now in Mustangs, will produce 305 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque while also offering better gas mileage.


Ford projects the engine will get 19 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway. The 2010 Mustang's 4-liter engine creates 210 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque, while achieving 18 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway.

The new Mustangs will be available at dealerships in the spring.

Stephanie Brinley, an automotive analyst at Southfield-based consulting firm AutoPacific Inc., said the additional power catches the Mustang up to the V-6 Chevrolet Camaro and should help it stay at the top in pony car sales next year.

"The V-6 Mustang is Ford's best-selling Mustang and this is a lighter car, so it should feel faster," she said. "For people looking for these kinds of cars, Mustang is still the place to go."

According to Autodata Corp., which compiles car sales statistics, Ford sold 56,469 Mustangs through October, down 32.4 percent from the same period last year.

The Mustang remains about 8,000 units ahead of the Camaro, which was reintroduced this year by General Motors Co.

The new powertrain suggests that the GT will have to show some big improvements soon, Brinley added.

The 2010 GT with a 4.6-liter V-8 produces 315 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. It gets 16 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway.

By raising the base model's vitals and performance level, Ford likely will have to do the same to the 2011 GT, though the carmaker has not announced a new powertrain for that car.

The V-6 Mustang will come with a six-speed automatic or manual transmission, dropping its well-used five-speed.

Ford has promised to include six-speed transmissions on 90 percent of its vehicles by 2013 in another effort to make its vehicles more fuel efficient.

The new Mustang V-6 engine, built in Cleveland, boasts a number of high-tech features such as variable camshaft timing and variable valve overlap to improve the car's emissions, fuel economy and power. Ford has dubbed the system Ti-VCT.

"Drivers are going to notice improved low-speed torque and increased fuel economy and peak horsepower," Jim Mazuchowski, Ford's manager of V-6 powertrain operations, said in a news release. "Plus, there are benefits they won't notice, too, such as reduced emissions overall, especially at part-throttle."

Ti-VCT can lower the engine's emissions by controlling the NOx -- nitrogen oxide -- and hydrocarbons.

Ford will also announce at the Los Angeles show that it will introduce a performance package for the V-6 Mustang.

It will include a different rear axle for faster off-the-line acceleration, struts, stabilizer bars and brakes from the GT, unique badges and other features.

The performance V-6 Mustang will be available at dealers in the summer.

[GTSLOW]

Well that had to come up with some kind of V6 to compete with the 305HP version in the Camaro. 2010 V6 Camaro would RAPE a 2010 V6 Mustang.

[Reverend Cooper]

^ True but for isn't owned by Obarfma either,Touche'

[07ROUSHSTG3]

i wanted to see the ecoboost.

[Irish]

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[Reverend Cooper]

You say tomato ^ I say Obarfma

[STANMAN]

Well that had to come up with some kind of V6 to compete with the 305HP version in the Camaro. 2010 V6 Camaro would RAPE a 2010 V6 Mustang.

How did the 2003-2009 V6 Camaro's do against same year V6 Mustangs

[Irish]

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[STANMAN]

Another mustang owner

I know, others are likely to read this thread, and whenever I can get a jab in on Camaro owners, I take it. Just like Camaro owners take every jab at Mustang owners they can, it's all in fun.

[STANMAN]

What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?

What does your comment have to do with my post? Can you answer the question I posted? If so, maybe you can dictate the price of tea in China, wouldn't that be dandy?

[Irish]

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[STANMAN]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_High_Feature_engine

That should answer your question(s).

You sound like a dick in your post.

I don't see a 2003-2009 Camaro in the link you posted?

[Reverend Cooper]

Again Irish its all moot when the gubment owns da shizzy now

[Irish]

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[Reverend Cooper]

^ you say tomato I say correct.

[wrath]

How did the 2003-2009 V6 Camaro's do against same year V6 Mustangs

Didn't need any such thing, from 2005-2009 Pontiac G6s were beating V6 Mustangs.

[1320PNY]

The Mustang is always better stock. You can always mod a Chevy cheaper to kill a Ford. Now that the gov't owns GM it will be fun to see if they make a play in the horsepower wars or turn to mileage numbers and legislate to get the advantage in the market.

I still can't say the Camaro has grown on me yet. I still think the Mustang body style looks better, but if they ever made the Trans AM I saw at SEMA I would have to buy it!

[STANMAN]

Are you going to cry about what you "take" in almost every fucking thread that you post in? Frankly I am tired of reading it. Maybe if you let whatever "it" is go, "they" will let it go to. You proliferate 99.9% of what you get on yourself. Kinda sound like a kid that got burned after their parent already told them not to play with fire.

To answer your first question, it was to illustrate the life of the 3.6 that currently resides in the camaro. So you can see that it, for the most part, has been out for a while.

I didn't ask about GM's V6 vs. Fords V6 in those years. I was very specific, how did the 2003-2009 V6 Camaro stack up against the same year V6 Mustang. Again, it's the oldest joke in the book between Camaro and Mustang owners. Just like they rip on 2 valve non PI 4.6's being, well, 2 valve non PI 4.6's

[Waver]

This is defanatly the beginning of the remedy to the camaro problem for Ford....First come out with a high horsepower v6 and then come out with a high horse v8 (5.0 modmotor 420hp?) for the gt, and then stick a variant of the 6.2 that is comming out in the raptor this spring into the gt500, but boost it.....that gt500, with irs, WILL be the zr-1 killer

[Irish]

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