I love my beer can on wheels
Has anyone seen the June 2005 issue of 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords? I checked it out at a local book store when the cover article "The $5,000 question. Is the '05 convertible worth the cash?" caught my eye. What I didn't expect was the side bar article on prior Mustang convertibles. It includes a picture of the '92 Feature car but that's not what is so interesting about it and caused me to buy the issue. It totally dumps on our beloved fox bodies, especially the convertibles. And, it's not just one or two jabs but it goes on for six whole paragraphs. It uses statements like "the fox bodied cars [are] beer cans on wheels", "fox convertibles were as loose as a 300,000 mile Manhattan taxi" and "the Fox Mustang was the best 7/8 finished car ever built". Those are some of the more clever criticisms. As I was first reading it in the store, I actually went back to the cover to see what magazine I was reading convinced that I had picked up one of the big three car mags and not a magazine that caters to the 5.0 Mustang crowd. Most 5.0 Mustangs are fox bodies. Geesh, there's no need to be so rough on such a large percentage of your readership.
I realize that the fox cars were not the best quality Mustangs ever built, but, my hope is that the article was intended to be tongue in cheek. Unfortunately, that's not how it comes across. At least to me. They could have made it really humorous. I can't wait to read next month's reader letters.
Overall, it's a pretty decent issue, otherwise. Pick it up if you get a chance and need a good laugh.
I realize that the fox cars were not the best quality Mustangs ever built, but, my hope is that the article was intended to be tongue in cheek. Unfortunately, that's not how it comes across. At least to me. They could have made it really humorous. I can't wait to read next month's reader letters.
Overall, it's a pretty decent issue, otherwise. Pick it up if you get a chance and need a good laugh.
Comments
Also, we shouldn't forget that the fox convertible was developed at a time when convertibles were not in favor so I can understand the conservative approach of Ford to take a sedan and convert it rather than design one from the ground up. After the 70's crushed most of what was good about cars with its focus on safety and fuel economy, the Mustang was one of the first cars to return to market with a convertible model and, in my opinion, was a key contributor to the renewal of interest in them. There weren't too many other convertibles available back in 1983. Today they will make a convertible version of just about anything (like the PT Cruiser).