2007 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

May 19, 2006 (Press Release) -- Rank: 9
Previous Rank: 13
Base MSRP: Low $40,000s (estimated)

Sometimes advertising hype works. Other times a product is truly so

eagerly anticipated that fans flood Internet sites in search for more

information. And every now and then, the above come together to create, in

this case, more of a neigh and a snort than a buzz.

The reason that the Ford Mustang cracked our list after just coming short

last time around is likely a combination of both the power of Madison

Avenue and the well-earned fanaticism of auto enthusiasts.

Ford advertised the Mustang during the 2006 Super Bowl, held during the

first quarter of this year, when these rankings were compiled. That likely

produced a marketing push.

And even though the 2007 Shelby Cobra GT500 — as in the 500-hp, most

powerful production Pony car yet — hadn't been formally introduced during

the first quarter of the year, word had already spread on gearhead sites,

and surely in garages and car clubs, about this supercharged 5.4-liter V8.

The Shelby in the name stands, of course, for Carroll Shelby, the

octogenarian fast-car builder who rolls into auto shows in an 18-wheeler

with his picture and outsized signature painted on the trailer. Shelby,

ever clad in black, knows power, and anytime a hopped-up Ford shows up

bearing a signature pair of Le Mans stripes — those broad, thick,

aggressive paint lines running from head to toe — it's always a good sign

for enthusiasts.

Less powerful, less expensive, less showy 2006 Mustangs in the Ford line

operate via V6 engines — not the GT500's V8 — and are available as

coupes and convertibles, with a base MSRP starting at just under $20,000.

Mustangs have been running strong, with occasional exceptions, since 1963.

The model name was taken not directly from the obvious equine source but

from a U.S.-made fighter plane of the same name.


Source: http://search.msn.com
Posted by Jeremy Rosenberg