As some of you may know, my first sports car was a Mustang. I bought it used, a bone-stock 1994 GT Coupe, and quickly decided that it didn’t go fast enough, turn well enough, or look good enough for my tastes. I tore the whole car apart, replacing stock components with a hodgepodge of parts from the Summitt Racing catalog without a single clue what I was doing. In fact, the single biggest factor in deciding to buy a Mustang was the plethora of aftermarket parts available. In 1999, when I had my Mustang, there were so many parts available for the car that I didn’t even know where to start. So I just replaced everything.

Which brings me to the point, and my 2010 Mustang GT test car. From the first second I saw the new Mustang, I knew that the people working on it had their heads in the right place. Unlike the mid-cycle design change that happened in 1999, where the curvaceous body style got all angular and awful, the outgoing model’s facelift leaves the bits that I liked about the old car, replaces the bits I didn’t like so much, and really makes the ’05-’09 Mustang body appear dated. That’s probably a good thing, because by now there have been so many variants on that body, from Saleen, Roush, Shelby, and countless others, that I’m actually getting light-headed trying to think about it. On the other hand, the endless upgrade possibilities give the die-hard Honda fans a reason to buy American.

On the outside, the revisions are evolutionary. I happen to love the new rear end. Not only does the forward-leaning panel give the GT a more aggressive stance, but also the new shape around the tail lights is sophisticated and upscale compared to the outgoing model. One of my favorite modifications for the last-gen cars was the “sequential blinker,” which lit the taillights in sequence from the center of the car outward. Apparently Ford took notice, because sequential blinkers are now standard on the 2010 model. The new hood, with its raised and sculpted cowl, provides a much more aggressive look than the fake “shaker scoop” from the last GT. Note to Ford and other car manufacturers: hood scoops are cool, but only if they are functional. The two most distinct features of the new car are the pinched mouth, which looks like it was copied off a Camaro, and the sculpted rear ¾ line, which looks like it was copied off the Challenger. Original ideas? Maybe not, but at least they chose to copy the best parts of those other cars.

Opening the door and peeking inside truly reveals what this new Mustang is all about. Real leather with custom stitching? Check. Chrome shift knob from the Bullitt? Check. Giant nav touch-screen with SYNC awesomeness? Check. Automatic dual-zone climate controls? Check. Well-finished door panels? Check.
Someone at Ford really put some thought into this interior, and it shows. The center stack is still hard-ish plastic, but the buttons are laid out logically, and the whole setup looks more expensive than it is. The seats are phenomenally comfortable, and my once-repaired, twice rehabbed spine gave the driving position two thumbs up, as even after two hours in awful LA traffic, I wasn’t in pain or fatigued in the least. I do have two gripes concering the interior: the steering wheel buttons, and the trunk. The steering wheel buttons work fine, but they are small and all look and feel the same, so I found myself having to look down at the steering wheel while fumbling for the right button, sort of defeating the purpose of having buttons there in the first place. The trunk’s got plenty of space for myself and a buddy’s stuff for a week in LA, but the restyled rear end makes the trunk opening smaller and more difficult to fit large suitcases through. The solution? Pack smaller bags, and bring more of them.

And the one thing that I’m really glad carried over? The 12V outlet between the vents atop the dash, which is perfect to keep my Valentine One cord from dangling in front of the Nav screen as I double the speed limit on California’s 5 Freeway. I blasted northbound toward Willow Springs Raceway, to find out what this car is really capable of without risking jail.

Taking the GT out of the parking lot and onto an open highway really is quite a joy. The engine, though “just” a SOHC, 3-valve V8 now makes 315 horsepower with 325 lb/ft of torque and sounds every bit the part, with an exhaust note so fine I found myself winding out the car just for the hell of it. Tunnels? Mandatory downshift. The shifter’s chrome knob and slick gearchanges are perfect for cruising, although my test car had a little problem with the second gear synchros, grinding a bit on high-RPM 3-2 downshifts. This could be either a fault with the car, or the fact that Vaughn Gittin Jr. drove my particular test car across the country, no doubt drifting and powershifting several hundred times along the way. I’d say it’s the latter, as I’ve driven lots of Mustangs with this same transmission and never had a problem. On the highway, the GT is a fantastic cruiser, living up to its Grand Touring heritage at 80mph with the engine at 2500 RPM in 5th. Wait, 5th? Yes, the GT still has a five speed. I don’t know why that bothers me, since it really just means less shifting, and the 4.6L engine makes more than enough torque to pull in any gear. I just feel like highway driving would be more fun if 5th were a fun gear and 6th was the economy gear. That, and the Mustang still has a live axle. Antiquated technology aside, the live axle doesn’t bug me nearly as much as it does other people, mostly because despite being antiquated, it works just fine. The GT handles well and is very compliant in all street driving conditions, and never left me wanting more. Clearly, both the transmission and axle issues are the result of wanting to keep the Mustang GT’s base price well away from the ,000 barrier. According to my ass-dyno and Car and Driver’s estimates, the GT will hit 60 mph in 5 seconds flat and run the quarter mile in the mid-low 13’s, very not bad for a 4-seater under grand.

Then I got to the race track. The Streets of Willow Springs is a 1.8 mile road course about 90 miles outside of Los Angeles. I happen to know some uber-pimps in LA who rented out the track for the day, so I intended to take full advantage. Now, changing the entire format of this article, here’s what I learned at the race track:

1)    When you buy a Mustang GT and it comes with the “Track Pack,” take that with a grain of salt. I didn’t have a non-track pack car to test against, but after 7 or 8 laps the brakes got a bit, well, squishy. The good news is a 20-minute cool down session was more than enough to bring them back to normal. Maybe “Track Pack” should be renamed “Drag Pack,” since the upgrades are more suited to a drag strip than a road course.

2)    When tracking a Mustang GT, make sure to turn traction and stability all the way off. The good news is that the electronic babysitters DO work as advertised, and may save your ass on the street. Even better news is they can be put to bed, so those who know what they are doing can have some real fun.

3)    After learning the course at low-speed, I attempted to push the car to its limits and find out where they were. I thought I had found them. Then I handed the keys to 2-time Formula Drift winner and X-Games Gold Medalist Tanner Foust, and hopped in the passenger seat. Turns out  I hadn’t found the GT’s limits. Tanner had. I learned that while going sideways at almost 90mph, yet still totally in control. Sweet……

4)    The Mustang makes a FABULOUS drift car. Unfortunately, I do not make a fabulous drift driver. I’ll leave that to Tanner Foust and Vaughn Gittin Jr.

5)    On the other hand, a good driver (me) in a Mustang GT can easily catch up to a bad driver (unnamed celebrity) in a Porsche 997 GT2.

6)    Though it may not come fully track-ready from the factory, the 2010 Mustang GT really is one of those cars that you can drive to the track in the morning, kick the crap out of all day long with a giant smile on your face, and drive home, no worse for the wear. And THAT, ladies and gentlemen is the quality that I most look for in any sports car.

In conclusion, Ford has done a great job updating the Mustang for 2010. The chassis, body, and interior are screwed together tightly, with higher quality materials than ever used before, and the car looks and sounds very aggressive from every angle. But the reason I like it is because with the GT, as in my 1994 GT, I see real performance potential. The chassis is fantastic; everything else can be bolted on. Add an exhaust, headers, some suspension bits and track-spec brakes (all available through Ford’s Motorsport catalog, with a warranty!), and you’ve got a track monster ready to chase down the best of them. A couple grand more for a supercharger, and now you’re talking about supercar levels of performance for under ,000. And to prove it, I’ll be attending the press launch of the 2010 Shelby GT500 in a couple weeks and I’ll be right here at Garage419.com to tell you all about it!

(Ford provided the car, transportation to and from LAX, and a tank of gas. Some photographs blatantly thefted from Autoblog)

P.S. Someone, anyone, needs to take the 3.5L EcoBoost engine out of the new Taurus SHO and put it in this Mustang, STAT. Anyone there? Shelby?