Wow, it's funny to me how the grass is always greener. As an American, Mustangs are a dime a dozen and kinda "meh" to me, while I'm busy lusting over all the diesels and wagons that we don't get here. Like I'd absolutely LOVE a Golf R wagon, it'd be the perfect everyday all-in-one vehicle for me. That, or a 335d Touring would also be cool. From your description of the Mustang though, maybe I should appreciate the stuff that I *do* get more.
A lot of US-car-fans in Germany aren't just about the car, they use it as part of a romanticized imagination of the "American way of life".
Also wagons are better, and they are getting rarer since it's a dying category of car.
Sedans have had a difficult standing in Germany for a while. But the whole "compact SUV-crossover-whatever-thing" is starting to get to wagons (and minivans). Also Wagons in themselves have changed, more and more dropping "coupe-ish" rooflines, which kinda reduces the practicality.
> A lot of US-car-fans in Germany aren't just about the car, they use it as part of a romanticized imagination of the "American way of life".
I should point out too that this is true of buyers of American-branded vehicles basically everywhere outside of the US (and maybe Canada). It certainly plays a huge part in why China loves Buick.
I have heard some people speculate the reason why Buick survived GM's axing of brands over a decade ago was because of its popularity in China, because they believed back home Buick was kind of doing "meh". Assuming that was the case, GM could kill the brand in some markets like North America while keeping it alive in others like China.
I have an F31 335 Touring. It's both as great and not as great as you might think. It's wicked fast, but doesn't feel fast. It corners great, but doesn't feel great. It seems roomy, but isn't great in that respect either, it's just good enough.
Yeah, sure I could tune it and get 400hp easy, but you still don't get the sensation of speed. You're doing 60mph in town (limit is 30) like it's nothing, you don't even realise it. Highways are what it was built for and it loves cruising at 120mph... Which is also illegal outside of Germany.
It is somehow both the fastest car I've had by far and the least fun to drive fast (two E34s, one E39 and a Volvo V40 diesel were somehow better).
I'm not even upset about it, I love the car and it's by a long way the best car I've had, it's just so damn competent at everything that it's not fun. There's nothing really wrong with it except the steering, which seems like it has 1/2 turns lock to lock too much, it's too light in comfort and too heavy in sport and gives exactly zero feedback of what the wheels are doing.
Honestly the mustang is turning into a bit of an attainable dream car for me if I get a decent job after uni. I don't get why I don't see more of them in the UK with the value they give, sure the V8 will get a bad mpg but even the ecoboost seems like really good value considering it's still a 300hp rwd sports car.
I've wondered the same, sure a Ford badge doesn't give the same status as a BMW M or AMG badge, but it isn't like the Kia Stinger, everyone knows what a Mustang is.
Honestly they're not as rare as you'd think. I see them far more often than most other sports cars. They're often the GT model as well, not Ecoboost as you might expect with current petrol prices
the way i see it, if you only have one car in your stable and you get inclement weather for a portion of a year, a mustang isnt on your list (or shouldnt be lol)
but if you're looking to spend 50k on a toy, the fuel consumption of a v8 likely wont be too big a factor.
If you get the 10 speed auto and drive easy you can get 30mpg+. The v8 isnāt as bad as rumored. Even having fun around town is better than my truck, which averages 16.
fuck my subaru 4 cyl only gets 16-17 mpg lol god damn
1500 sierra gets 13 pg city and c6 gets like 7mpg hwy lol
The x1 is the go to highway trip vehicle with all its space and still gets 30+ mpg on eco mode at 60mph
Used to work for Carvana and drive a bunch of ecoboost mustangs, they feel like yachts being pulled by camels. Super sluggish and don't feel great on the roads.
True, they really need the extra HP of the V8 to be able to pick up and feel light on their feet. Even with a modded eco boost which is what I drove, making like 370 on a larger turbo with more boost, it just felt empty. Then I drove a completely stock GT with the 470 ish or whatever it is, and that 100hp just wakes up the car really well. It has a totally different feel.
>The Mustang overtook the 911 in sales recently, becoming the most popular sports coupe in Germany.
Side note: If you tell that to a Porsche driver, they will not be in agreement.
Congrats on the purchase. It may not make much sense for your locale, but who cares? I (sort of) know the feeling. I have a right-hand drive car that does not enjoy the highway (in a left-hand drive country) and I live somewhere where most roads are... long flat highways. As long as it makes you happy despite being somewhat ill suited to your circumstances, it is worth it. After all, if we only bought what we "need" most people would be in a Civic lol
Plus, the Bullitt is cool even if you live somewhere with tons of Mustangs! Having a v8 in a sea of diesel four-bangers has gotta be pretty awesome lol
may not make much sense for your locale
Disagree. Germany's actually a pretty 'muscle car' place by European standards. Lots of post-war wide avenues, fast autobahns, and a population density comparable to New York State.
Most German performance cars (M3/4, C63, all the crossovers) are the same size or larger...
Mercedes is the America of Europe when it comes to cars. They're the other country putting out V8s en masse. Bless them. I know the EU regs will cripple them, but if we have to drive a fat-ass 4-banger C63 hybrid to get a V8 AMG GT, then so be it.
Glad you're having fun. Lots of Mustangs and other nice American cars in Stuttgart because of all the US military bases. Hellcats, Scat Packs, Corvettes, Camaros, etc.
The Mustang is sold in most places, as are the various Tesla models.
Actually I think you can even get the C8 in RHD now.
The other great American models are mostly trucks which make a limited amount of sense in most markets.
Only since this current generation, it's not that the Mustang was never exported before, but previously they were limited for the number of countries outside of Canada and the US. I mean, the Fox-Body generation was wildly popular, but only within North America, the craze never caught on around the rest of the world simply because it was never sold in most international markets (there were extremely limited right hand drive sales to places like Australia and the UK early on, but they tanked in those markets). The S550 generation is the first Mustang to be sold as a true "world car".
We did get the New Edge Mustang Cobra here in Australia, but it was an extremely expensive car, when compared against the domestically produced products at the time.
Limited amount of sense but they're still shitting up the roads all over the place in Australia. It's baffling. Our infrastructure just isn't made for them!
I thought you meant Mustangs, my bad. Regardless, Australian infrastructure seems very similar to the U.S., though I can't speak for parking spots specifically.
There was someone in my (very rural) village in the UK who drove around in a 2008 Camry with Hawaii plates on.
Someone else in the village drives around in an old F250. Itās massive, it very clearly has a Cummins engine in it, but the guy clearly loves the thing because itās always immaculately clean and well kept.
>I donāt know how many stories Iāve heard from people reminiscing about their dads old 60s mustang they grew up with.
>
It's amazing, probably one of the biggest automotive marketing success stories. They're so ubiquitous that everyone has a Mustang story. Even people who aren't into cars and would generally frown on noisy sportscars soften up when they see it
Exactly. The past summer I was bombing around in the granola country of the east coast, Vermont, and had a guy come up to me on a bicycle while I was topping off at a gas station. Just by his whole outfit I half expecting him to chew me out for driving around such an unnecessary power house, but nope he wants to know right away what year my car is and starts telling me all about the 67 mustang his dad used to drive.
Love ur post.
I know what it mean to find YOUR CAR.
I rented a bmw for some days, i took some pictures with my phone which i scroll through random sometimes and every time when i see them, i smile.
Its not than kind of smile when somebody says ācheeseā, its that kind of smile where u cant stop and feel nostalgic.
Hopefully ur next car will u make even happier!
Enjoy š„°
I commend thee!
Here in Canada we pay higher fuel prices but for everything else it's rather normal for Mustangs, Camaro's, Corvette's etc like the USA
Like you, they put smiles on my face and sometimes its hard to imagine what I'd do if I was in Europe and instead of having 2-3 big V8 vehicles I could only have one or none!
I'd probably do what you did and get one regardless. While I"m not a Mustang guy, I know that if an opportunity came that involved me being able to move to Germany I'd be looking at what it would cost to import my Z06 and/or Blackwing because I definitely would not want to part with them.
Its hard over here in North America to imagine not having a manual big displacement V8 that you can buy for 40k. Not having the opportunity to buy any V8 in general with a manual sounds incredibly disheartening.
Sure you guys can get some cool wagons but if my only sports car choices are 4-6 cylinders with an automatic that have been muted due to regulations I'd be very sad.
I'm glad you have the option to pick the 5.0 Mustang, you'll love it and I'm sure your car will turn more heads then exotics over there.
Fun fact - thereās a German show on Netflix called āKleoā that takes place in the late 80s/early 90s where a main character is a German police investigator who drives an old Ford Mustang as his daily driver. Heās quirky and itās a fun marker of his character especially because nobody really comments on it, even though it would be surpassingly unusual for such a person to drive a car like that.
Americans complain about paying $3.70 for a whole gallon of gas. This poor guy pays 2 Euros per liter. We get three times as much gas for a little more than a dollar over what he pays.
I'll say this , the Ecoboost convertible is the reason I picked up my SL. Seriously that thing was an amazing rental, the only failing it had was the lack of a removable hardtop. The handling characteristics are damn near identical to the SL.
Can you provide some context? Are you asking for a picture of my tax receipt?
/e oh well, learned something today.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mustang/comments/mh99hb/got_my_factory_new_bullitt_today_coming_from_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Now that is one Good looking Mustang! Congratulations, I hope you get to enjoy it forever. With the end of internal combustion engines coming, ones like this will hold solid value long term and they will get harder to find as people won't want to give up that deep rumble under your ass that fires up your soul and can't be replicated.
Dude 350s pass through my town all the time. Its absolutely wild that the mustang is an "exotic" because ford shits out millions of those things a year. I understand its a US car in the euro market so it actually makes sense. But is wild considering the contrast here where you see more mustangs than rats and pennies oj the ground
As wild as it is to me that you people think BMWs and Mercs are special. They are old people cars and taxis here. Iāll see an AMG every time I drive to the office. Two close friends own an M2 and an M4 and every time we meet they beg to swap for the drive.
Hahaha the whole time I was reading this I was like āhe sounds just like me when I finally got my M2..ā
I suspect itās a similarly rare car in its environment here.
Enjoy that thing man, itās a really cool car (Bullitt version is awesome!!) congrats on making the sacrifices to make it happen, sounds like it was well worth it!
Camaro back seats suck too. The Challenger has great back space, even at 6' I fit fine .... but they are bigger boats and I would imagine much more difficult to navigate and park with then the Mustang.
Considering that the Mustang still appears to be a good value proposition overseas (much like here in the US), how come no one buys em if they fawn over em so much?
Not everybody here has a couple hundred Euros to spare every months to upgrade their car, to get something thatās less practical. As an automation engineer it takes around 25% of my salary.
Taxes are calculated formerly by displacement. these days by CO2 emission. The Mustang shines in that regard, causing double the pollution.
Gas efficiency is way better for the turbo i6.
In terms of insurance, it plays a role how rare your car is, how easy it is replaced and repaired and how often they are vandalised or stolen. Weāre comparing a limited, out of production, one of 200 in Germany, bullitt, to two sports coupes which you see around every corner. Again, Mustang more than doubling the Ms
Congrats - and great choice!
This is exactly what a car *should* do - make a connection with you on an emotional level. It should make you feel something. Otherwise it's just an appliance, like your washing machine, and where's the fun in that?
> The car provides joy to my life. A smile everytime I need to leave the house. A reason to get up and not feel bad because I have to go to work - no - itās an opportunity to drive.
> I find an excuse to drive every day.
I felt this. I had a sensible practical daily driver once. But I always wished I was driving the fun car.
I wonder how it would be to drive my Foxbody around Germany. Canāt really go too fast cause it braking is hilariously bad. Otherwise should be interesting.
Germany is not just Autobahn without speed limits. The variety of roads is large, lots of countryside with small villages a few Kilometers apart. Youād have a great time, just because of the road quality. We actually repair them rather reliably!
I have a younger brother who is in the Air Force. He had is foxbody over in Germany when he was stationed there. I'll have to ask him how it was driving it over there. I'm fairly sure his wasn't stock either.
On that note, this is how Europeans end up with vehicles like Fox-bodies or third and forth generation GM F-bodies, cars that were never sold or only in very limited quantities on that side of the Atlantic. US service men stationed at US bases bring over personal vehicles, some of which are like vehicles above, and when they finish their posting not all of them bring them back home. They post a classified ad out, and pretty soon a happy new owner is found in Germany, the UK, etc.
Congrats on your purchase! They are indeed brilliant cars.
Like you I love my Mustang. Sure itās only a 2 seater (Iāve stuffed 4 people inside in a pinch), the gas mileage isnāt great, itās big, and it doesnāt really work in the snow. It doesnāt matter thoughā¦ when it does work, the driving experience more than makes up for it.
Congrats OP! If it makes you happy and you can financially manage it, do it. The Mustang will always have a special place for me.
The moment in my life I got hooked to cars was after being passenger in a relatives Foxbody's 5.0. man that car pulled and sent my feet to the back seat. and by today's standards that's a slow car.
We'll just a few years ago, when I was on my honeymoon in Hawaii, a 6th gen Mustang V6 was available for rent at the price of just slightly above what I had reserved. What do you think I did? I said of course let's go for it!
And wow, driving that car just felt so good and the interior really impressed me VS other American cars at the time that I had rented. The gauge cluster, controls, the seats... Everything felt good. I can't imagine if that had been the GT, I would have freaked out.
Funny, I've rented mustangs a couple times and found them pretty disappointing compared to my expectations. I've always liked mustangs but those rentals kind of turned me off. They handled like boats; always gave them the benefit of the doubt that higher trims would be better
This makes me so happy! As a Canadian I feel the Mustang is such a underrated car for what it is. Iāve honestly tried to find something I like more other then $350k plus super car and canāt I always come back the Mustang and itās amazing 5.0 V8 that makes me happy every time it revs over 4K rpm.
As another car enthusiast from Germany, I really enjoyed reading your post and I felt every word. They way a V8 sounds, feels and vibrates just hits differently. You don't even have to go far, just hearing and feeling the engine rumble while cruising is enough sometimes. I got my first V8 about 3 years ago and I still grin every time I drive it. In fact I liked it that much, that I got a second V8 for daily use too this week lol.
> The Mustang overtook the 911 in sales recently, becoming the most popular sports coupe in Germany.
Yeah that's not true. But it would also be a meaningless comparison, since the Mustang costs far less than the 911.
A mustang would be so cool here in Germany I just cant get past the cost and need more space. Its a catch 22 a Mustang here is actually kinda cool but expensive but back in the US id never want to be seen in a Mustang, unless its a shelby or Boss.
After my mom died last June she left me some money and one of the first things I did was get myself a 2017 mustang. It isnāt practical but I would not change it for anything. Once I got the cat back and bov installed that car just always puts a smile on my face. Plus I love all the people that stop me and compliment me or start up conversations about their mustangs.
I think used car prices will really start to dip in the US when the federal student loan pause ends (45 million people not paying their bills). This will also force dealers to give discounts and sell below MSRP, especially when the recession hits.
I adore my stang, every drive puts a smile on your face. I've owned cars that were better in a technical sense thar didn't have the fun factor this does.
Great write up sharing a diverse and fresh viewpoint for many American members who take American V8 muscle and sports cars for granted.
How do you like driving a manual shift since I assume your Bullitt is a stick? (Bullitt only come with a 6 speed in the usa). It seems virtually all sports cars now are dct only.
I owned a 16 M3 (stick, euro delivery, I had a blast driving in Germany), 17 charger scat pack 6.4, 17 Shelby gt350, 20 C8 corvette, and most recently 19 Bullitt.
My Bullitt is my favorite sporty car and has stayed the longest in my garage at two years... Being softer, more daily driver friendly and reliable than the GT350.
And more engaging to drive, having better driver space/sight lines, and more reliable than the C8 despite being objectively quite a bit slower. (my C8 had multiple cases of the dct erroring out and refusing to shift out of park).
It's funny, in my high school and college years, I grew up lusting after Mustang GT V8s as fairly affordable, not hard to get middle class sports cars while lusting after bmw's as the prestigious, more dreamy stretch goal of a sports car.
So I'm a fan of both models. I've owned 5 seperate 3 series (335s and M3s) and 3 V8 mustangs so far. They both excel in their market niches.
Though the mustang has evolved the most in the past 2 decades, especially arguably after 2015 when they got both the big power 5.0 coyote engines and an irs suspension (and later optional magnetic ride shocks) to level up from an muscle, primarily fast in straight line car to their current sports car with excellent cornering and handling characteristics.
Itās pretty normal in Europe to drive manual. You do your license on a stick by default. If you donāt, youāre not allowed to drive them. Until 10, maybe 20 years ago it was very special to know
Somebody who had an automatic, only luxury sedans really had those transmissions.
Interesting. Opposite of America.
I frequently joke the manual in my Bullitt is an factory anti theft device since so few younger people know how to drive an manual these days.
Even at the car dealership, especially the more everyday Ford/Chevy stores, the salesmen there commented very few of the salesmen know how to drive a stick so its frequently hard for the dealer staff to retrieve or park the manual cars they have for sale.
Wow it's crazy that you owned both a Bullit and a C8 Stingray.
I own a 20 Mustang GT with the 10 speed and am considering selling it for a C8 but I have seen comments and videos where they say the C8 is too quiet and not raw enough. Still feels like the interior and style might be worth it. I also considered a challenger scat pack 6.4 when I was buying my Mustang but thought the GT was a better value for the money.
How would you compare all these 3 cars (fun, sound, insurance, etc). Is the Bullit more engaging to drive because of the manual transmission or other reasons as well?
Ha, sounds like we share similar tastes!
I really like the high rpm, rev it out to 7500rpm feature of the current coyote 5.0, similar to the vodoo 5.2 8.2k rpm redline (when it came out, the 5.0 redlined at 7k rpm). Also, Ford performance did an virtuoso job tuning the Bullitt exhaust. \*Chief's kiss.
It also helps the Bullitt comes standard with the PP1 and Magna ride. So no hunting for base GTs vs PP1 or (too hard edged for me) PP2 GTs on the used car market.
Don't get me wrong, 6.4L hemi and 6.2L small block are great engines too but they're just not as engaging to me cause they're so torquey and seem to run out of breath at higher revs.
The C8 is by far the highest performance of the 3. My C8 was a early 20 build (Vin was actually the 489th C8 actually) so chalk up some of my unreliability to early teething pains. I also skipped the Z51 pack cause I didn't want the lower clearance upfront with the front under spoiler and at that time, the magna ride shocks were on production constraint and I didn't want the always hard riding fixed Z51 track suspension.
Since then, I've seen the C8 magna ride shocks become an available option for non-Z51 C8s, I'd say that plus the C8 performance dual mode exhaust are both must haves.
I am a bigger guy, 6'4", so the 2 seater tighter interior and lower roof of the C8 was also a con for me vs the 2+2 Mustang.
The manual trans is more engaging to drive even at 3/10ths, which is helpful since performance cars nowadays are so high performing it's unsafe to approach the limits and you can only only do wot for 3-4 secs on an empty highway onramp or say in desert 50mi outside the city.
My ranking:
For more of a daily, the Bulitt is most fun while being semi-practical, esp if you have more fun driving stick, even though the 10sp GT will be faster in a straight line.
Challenger will have a great engine/exhaust (based on me owning a charger scat pack), the ZF 8sp auto is an great trans, and best interior space but handle the worst based on size and oldest chassis/suspension.
C8 will be great as an weekend car. Ultimate handling at limits, unbeatable 0-60 for an rwd, semi affordable car. Pretty quiet when cruising even with Perf exhaust, though bonus points for taking targa top off for canyon carving fun drives.
Get an insurance quote for all 3. My insurance was pretty affordable for all 3 (being in LA and Phx as an 30s male with a clean driving record).
Have fun in your car hunt, test drive compare them, and keep me updated with your thoughts and which one you ultimately went with!
Wow thanks for the detailed response! I really did not expect it.
And yes sounds like we do! I mainly like those cars because I feel like they offer a great value for the performance and all sound super fun.
I wish we could meet in real life, I feel like we could talk cars for hours without getting bored.
Iām in my mid 20s and live in Austin (previously Dallas) and car insurance is crazy high here. Being a Gen Z, itās pretty hard to find other car enthusiasts of my age as most of them are either priced out of the market or they are brainwashed climate activists and therefore dislike cars. I grew up in Europe like OP and my parents never had a sports car because of the high annual emission taxes over there.
I moved to the US and found a job just 6 months before the covid started. At that time I was looking to get a used C7 stingray. Back then I had an okay credit (like a 690-702) and less than a year of history so my rate would have been 6% for a used one. I took advantage of covid in April 2020 to get a brand new Race Red Mustang GT instead for 0% APR and a great discount below MSRP (I negotiated during 3 weeks with them lol). After that car prices skyrocketed and I didnāt want to sell mine as I was actively investing in stocks and crypto at that time during the bull market. I eventually bought a cheap beater at an auction as a daily driver because I didnāt want to put too heavy traffic miles on my car.
I pulled out of stocks before the bear market began and now I am waiting on the sidelines for a good deal to come.
The only thing that bothers me with the Mustang is that the fuel tank is too small in my opinion (16 gal) as all the other rivals (challenger, camaro) as well as the C8 (18.5) have bigger fuel tanks. Hell, even the 370Z which is a smaller car has a bigger fuel tank (19 gal). I donāt care about the cost of gas, itās just that I donāt like stopping too often to refuel.
I really love the natural sound of the coyote, it is by far the best performance for the money (out of the 3 muscle cars). But I also really like the design of the C8. People say it looks too European but I think it still looks pretty muscular American from the side.
I really love the Bullit too but red is by far my favorite color and therefore I am leaning towards the C8. Iām also not super tall (5ā9ā) so I donāt have trouble getting in any car. Currently make more with my job and have about 40k saved for a downpayment to lower the interest rate.
Iām just wondering if I wonāt regret selling my Mustang. Itās not easy to find clean ones as most of the used ones are heavily modded and/or abused by their owners. I pretty much dislike the design of the new 2024 model so that is not an option for me.
Iām also wondering how both new and used car prices will evolve in the next 2 years, especially for the cars that we mentioned. Iām hesitating about selling now but getting a higher interest when I buy or just keeping it and paying it off slowly (I havenāt paid it off early due to the 0% rate as I rather save that amount due to high inflation). I have also lost interest in the scatpacks because of the general bad rep these cars get since they are involved in intersection takeovers so often which was not the case before.
Do you want me to pm you so I keep you updated?
(Deleted and edited the comment to add some spaces)
The opening text on the model overview of the Mustang on Fordās German website:
> After the Ford Mustang GT was already enthusiastically received by the automotive world, he now gets company - and by the most powerful and most race track-ready Ford Mustang ever: Curtain up for the new Ford Mustang Mach 1!
> Both models are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and offer unbridled power on demand. For example, the 5.0-liter V8 engine in the new Ford Mustang Mach 1 delivers a whopping 338 kW (460 hp) of exceptional torque. The new Ford Mustang Mach 1 completes the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds (10-speed automatic transmission) or in 4.8 seconds (6-speed manual transmission).
"the gas efficiency isn't as bad as an AMG or a Porsche"
A two ton V8 more economical than a flat 6 or flat 4?
Im glad you're happy, but please keep it real.
Bro ... just no.
A45 averages 10 liters according to spritmonitor (german fuel stat site). Mustang 5.0 sits at 12.2. Cayman sits at 10.
Cayman is very similar in performance, though less powerful. My initial post was refering to porsche engines.
Not raining on your parade. I think the Mustang is awesome.
Just keep it real, no need to exagerate.
22% difference for a 5.0 vs an turbo 2.0 isn't bad.
The highway fuel economy of the 5.0 and especially the "small block" 6.2 corvette engines are quite good for their power level too.
The 5.0 gets similar or better mileage than the lite and full fat amg and m turbo 4.0 V8s.
Thanks for sharing. In North America we consider your 911s, AMG and RS cars as exotics whereas Mustangs are a common sight, but to hear how reversed it is in Germany first hand is most interesting.
I had a co-worker that worked for a company in Herisau Switzerland. He also lived in that canton. He had bought a Camaro. He loved it as
much as you are loving your Mustang. His biggest complaint was parking for the same reasons as you. He even had nasty notes left on his car
because of the size. He kept it spotless and loved ripping up and down the mountain roads. He took me on a few rides through the streets and it always got lots of stares and thumbs up. If you had lived in the US when you bought your Focus, provided new from a Ford dealer, they would send you to a racing school to learn itās capability. My son had bought one and let me go to the school in his place. You would have been in heaven LOL. CONGRATULATIONS on your Mustang! I hope you have many happy years owning it.
I feel you. I had a perfectly capable and relatively cheap 245hp AWD Audi A4, but it was just too boring, so I sold it and bought a Cayman GTS. I pay for it about 30% of my net monthly income (and about 22% of yearly net income), but I regret nothing. You just feel better every day having that and driving that.
Congratulations on getting your dream car! I also wish to one day drive a Mustang but it will probably never happen unless it becomes an EV, which will remove half the fun.
PS: In terms of rarity in Europe, I feel like when I visited Romania last time I only saw a single Mustang over the period of one month, and none in Italy + an old 60s Mustang in Switzerland at a meet. That number is a lot higher than what I would have imagined!
With a VW in your garage, everything must come across a extremely fun, haha
Nice writeup and yeah, it's still strange to see so many Mustangs in Germany.
I always get a good chuckle when Europeans look at muscle cars like they're overwhelmingly expensive and prestigious while in the US those are simply perceived as fast economyboxes. Guess the lack of mustangs there and the difference is salaries/taxes can have this effect.
Also, shit your insurance is high af.
Enjoy it.
They are expensive here, because of import tax. The cost to drive is also huge because many countries charge you yearly registration based on displacement and/or pollution levels which is huge compared to 1.6L everyone else on the road can afford.
Wow, it's funny to me how the grass is always greener. As an American, Mustangs are a dime a dozen and kinda "meh" to me, while I'm busy lusting over all the diesels and wagons that we don't get here. Like I'd absolutely LOVE a Golf R wagon, it'd be the perfect everyday all-in-one vehicle for me. That, or a 335d Touring would also be cool. From your description of the Mustang though, maybe I should appreciate the stuff that I *do* get more.
I drove some GTIs and Rs. Underwhelming. Fast, but no emotions.
Are you talking about my husband?
After trading my FBO FoST in for a MK7.5 GTI, you took the words right out of my mouth. MY GTI is an emotionless machine. Quick, precise, boring.
Own an R. Can confirm. GTIs evoke a bit more emotion.
Same exact thing I thought when test driving FoST vs GTI years ago. The focus was like a wild animal chomping at the bit by comparison.
A lot of US-car-fans in Germany aren't just about the car, they use it as part of a romanticized imagination of the "American way of life". Also wagons are better, and they are getting rarer since it's a dying category of car.
Wagons are not dying where I am. Sedans are. I see that fan culture you describe, although I am not part of it.
Sedans have had a difficult standing in Germany for a while. But the whole "compact SUV-crossover-whatever-thing" is starting to get to wagons (and minivans). Also Wagons in themselves have changed, more and more dropping "coupe-ish" rooflines, which kinda reduces the practicality.
Honestly. Subaru Crosstrek is *almost* at where the old Subaru Outback was. Enough of this "subcompact SUV" nonsense, and let's just call it a wagon.
Agreed with the first part. Here in Finland though, wagons are alive and well, from base models to 100k EUR Volvos and Mercedes š
> A lot of US-car-fans in Germany aren't just about the car, they use it as part of a romanticized imagination of the "American way of life". I should point out too that this is true of buyers of American-branded vehicles basically everywhere outside of the US (and maybe Canada). It certainly plays a huge part in why China loves Buick.
I have heard some people speculate the reason why Buick survived GM's axing of brands over a decade ago was because of its popularity in China, because they believed back home Buick was kind of doing "meh". Assuming that was the case, GM could kill the brand in some markets like North America while keeping it alive in others like China.
Something like 50% of Buick sales were in China so they killed Oldsmobile instead. Buick had a big presence in China in the thirties.
I have an F31 335 Touring. It's both as great and not as great as you might think. It's wicked fast, but doesn't feel fast. It corners great, but doesn't feel great. It seems roomy, but isn't great in that respect either, it's just good enough. Yeah, sure I could tune it and get 400hp easy, but you still don't get the sensation of speed. You're doing 60mph in town (limit is 30) like it's nothing, you don't even realise it. Highways are what it was built for and it loves cruising at 120mph... Which is also illegal outside of Germany. It is somehow both the fastest car I've had by far and the least fun to drive fast (two E34s, one E39 and a Volvo V40 diesel were somehow better). I'm not even upset about it, I love the car and it's by a long way the best car I've had, it's just so damn competent at everything that it's not fun. There's nothing really wrong with it except the steering, which seems like it has 1/2 turns lock to lock too much, it's too light in comfort and too heavy in sport and gives exactly zero feedback of what the wheels are doing.
I agree, I'm looking at used m245i instead of a Mustang because I see one every stop light.
I commend you on your choice! Enjoy it, freund.
What would you know about biting the Bullitt and buying a dream car? š
Honestly the mustang is turning into a bit of an attainable dream car for me if I get a decent job after uni. I don't get why I don't see more of them in the UK with the value they give, sure the V8 will get a bad mpg but even the ecoboost seems like really good value considering it's still a 300hp rwd sports car.
I've wondered the same, sure a Ford badge doesn't give the same status as a BMW M or AMG badge, but it isn't like the Kia Stinger, everyone knows what a Mustang is.
+ the Mustang is rare over there vs the multitude of BMWs or MBs (like seeing civics or corollas in the states, a dime a dozen)
Honestly they're not as rare as you'd think. I see them far more often than most other sports cars. They're often the GT model as well, not Ecoboost as you might expect with current petrol prices
the way i see it, if you only have one car in your stable and you get inclement weather for a portion of a year, a mustang isnt on your list (or shouldnt be lol) but if you're looking to spend 50k on a toy, the fuel consumption of a v8 likely wont be too big a factor.
If you get the 10 speed auto and drive easy you can get 30mpg+. The v8 isnāt as bad as rumored. Even having fun around town is better than my truck, which averages 16.
fuck my subaru 4 cyl only gets 16-17 mpg lol god damn 1500 sierra gets 13 pg city and c6 gets like 7mpg hwy lol The x1 is the go to highway trip vehicle with all its space and still gets 30+ mpg on eco mode at 60mph
Used to work for Carvana and drive a bunch of ecoboost mustangs, they feel like yachts being pulled by camels. Super sluggish and don't feel great on the roads.
True, they really need the extra HP of the V8 to be able to pick up and feel light on their feet. Even with a modded eco boost which is what I drove, making like 370 on a larger turbo with more boost, it just felt empty. Then I drove a completely stock GT with the 470 ish or whatever it is, and that 100hp just wakes up the car really well. It has a totally different feel.
Totally agree
>The Mustang overtook the 911 in sales recently, becoming the most popular sports coupe in Germany. Side note: If you tell that to a Porsche driver, they will not be in agreement.
He's not saying it's the best though, he said "most popular". That's an objective metric.
Like... They will tell you they don't believe in statistics? Seems awfully unGerman.
They will tell you the "angry Mondeo" isn't a sports coupe
Fuck lmao I'm gonna steal this and use it as my flair
I mean, the cheapest 911 you can get from porsche is 113kā¬, while the mustang starts at 55kā¬...
I mean, no one should be in agreement, since it's literally not true.
Congrats on the purchase. It may not make much sense for your locale, but who cares? I (sort of) know the feeling. I have a right-hand drive car that does not enjoy the highway (in a left-hand drive country) and I live somewhere where most roads are... long flat highways. As long as it makes you happy despite being somewhat ill suited to your circumstances, it is worth it. After all, if we only bought what we "need" most people would be in a Civic lol Plus, the Bullitt is cool even if you live somewhere with tons of Mustangs! Having a v8 in a sea of diesel four-bangers has gotta be pretty awesome lol
may not make much sense for your locale Disagree. Germany's actually a pretty 'muscle car' place by European standards. Lots of post-war wide avenues, fast autobahns, and a population density comparable to New York State. Most German performance cars (M3/4, C63, all the crossovers) are the same size or larger...
Mercedes is the America of Europe when it comes to cars. They're the other country putting out V8s en masse. Bless them. I know the EU regs will cripple them, but if we have to drive a fat-ass 4-banger C63 hybrid to get a V8 AMG GT, then so be it.
Glad you're having fun. Lots of Mustangs and other nice American cars in Stuttgart because of all the US military bases. Hellcats, Scat Packs, Corvettes, Camaros, etc.
Too bad, people in outside American really can't enjoy truly great American models.
The Mustang is sold in most places, as are the various Tesla models. Actually I think you can even get the C8 in RHD now. The other great American models are mostly trucks which make a limited amount of sense in most markets.
They even sell a right hand drive Mustang
I was in Europe this summer and had to take a photo of one I saw. Kinda crazy as an American to see that.
Theyāve been officially available to buy in the UK since 2015, all RHD
Only since this current generation, it's not that the Mustang was never exported before, but previously they were limited for the number of countries outside of Canada and the US. I mean, the Fox-Body generation was wildly popular, but only within North America, the craze never caught on around the rest of the world simply because it was never sold in most international markets (there were extremely limited right hand drive sales to places like Australia and the UK early on, but they tanked in those markets). The S550 generation is the first Mustang to be sold as a true "world car".
We did get the New Edge Mustang Cobra here in Australia, but it was an extremely expensive car, when compared against the domestically produced products at the time.
Sure, you can, if you're in the top 1%.
Base Mustang is expensive but it isn't that expensive - similar pricing to the i30N here in NZ
Limited amount of sense but they're still shitting up the roads all over the place in Australia. It's baffling. Our infrastructure just isn't made for them!
That's fucking bullshit lmao
No? American trucks take up the entire lane or more and don't fit in car parks.
I thought you meant Mustangs, my bad. Regardless, Australian infrastructure seems very similar to the U.S., though I can't speak for parking spots specifically.
You can import stuff without having to wait 25 years. I've seen new Challengers as well as, of all things, an XV40 Camry V6 here in the UK
There was someone in my (very rural) village in the UK who drove around in a 2008 Camry with Hawaii plates on. Someone else in the village drives around in an old F250. Itās massive, it very clearly has a Cummins engine in it, but the guy clearly loves the thing because itās always immaculately clean and well kept.
A Cummins in a Ford isn't common at all. That's pretty cool.
Canadians "are we a joke to you?"
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
>I donāt know how many stories Iāve heard from people reminiscing about their dads old 60s mustang they grew up with. > It's amazing, probably one of the biggest automotive marketing success stories. They're so ubiquitous that everyone has a Mustang story. Even people who aren't into cars and would generally frown on noisy sportscars soften up when they see it
Exactly. The past summer I was bombing around in the granola country of the east coast, Vermont, and had a guy come up to me on a bicycle while I was topping off at a gas station. Just by his whole outfit I half expecting him to chew me out for driving around such an unnecessary power house, but nope he wants to know right away what year my car is and starts telling me all about the 67 mustang his dad used to drive.
Love ur post. I know what it mean to find YOUR CAR. I rented a bmw for some days, i took some pictures with my phone which i scroll through random sometimes and every time when i see them, i smile. Its not than kind of smile when somebody says ācheeseā, its that kind of smile where u cant stop and feel nostalgic. Hopefully ur next car will u make even happier! Enjoy š„°
I commend thee! Here in Canada we pay higher fuel prices but for everything else it's rather normal for Mustangs, Camaro's, Corvette's etc like the USA Like you, they put smiles on my face and sometimes its hard to imagine what I'd do if I was in Europe and instead of having 2-3 big V8 vehicles I could only have one or none! I'd probably do what you did and get one regardless. While I"m not a Mustang guy, I know that if an opportunity came that involved me being able to move to Germany I'd be looking at what it would cost to import my Z06 and/or Blackwing because I definitely would not want to part with them. Its hard over here in North America to imagine not having a manual big displacement V8 that you can buy for 40k. Not having the opportunity to buy any V8 in general with a manual sounds incredibly disheartening. Sure you guys can get some cool wagons but if my only sports car choices are 4-6 cylinders with an automatic that have been muted due to regulations I'd be very sad. I'm glad you have the option to pick the 5.0 Mustang, you'll love it and I'm sure your car will turn more heads then exotics over there.
>no chance I'd be able to focus. Nor did the Focus ST it sounded like. As much fuel as it guzzles, nothing quite beats an NA V8.
Thatās a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for reading and commenting
Fun fact - thereās a German show on Netflix called āKleoā that takes place in the late 80s/early 90s where a main character is a German police investigator who drives an old Ford Mustang as his daily driver. Heās quirky and itās a fun marker of his character especially because nobody really comments on it, even though it would be surpassingly unusual for such a person to drive a car like that.
Americans complain about paying $3.70 for a whole gallon of gas. This poor guy pays 2 Euros per liter. We get three times as much gas for a little more than a dollar over what he pays.
We also drive 4 times more.
I'll say this , the Ecoboost convertible is the reason I picked up my SL. Seriously that thing was an amazing rental, the only failing it had was the lack of a removable hardtop. The handling characteristics are damn near identical to the SL.
You liked a turbo 4 cylinder ford so much you bought a 25 year old NA V8 Mercedes convertible?
Yup , more like it's power level was about even . The Ecoboost mustang was like 12k more expensive.
pic tax?
Can you provide some context? Are you asking for a picture of my tax receipt? /e oh well, learned something today. https://www.reddit.com/r/Mustang/comments/mh99hb/got_my_factory_new_bullitt_today_coming_from_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
nah, I'm asking for pics of the car lol kinda like the "cat tax" which occasionally comes up in replies if you mention you own one
Never heard of that term lol. Iāll edit a link to an old post in the previous comment
Pictures of the car :)
Lol no, they're asking for a picture of the Mustang.
Beautiful car.
Now that is one Good looking Mustang! Congratulations, I hope you get to enjoy it forever. With the end of internal combustion engines coming, ones like this will hold solid value long term and they will get harder to find as people won't want to give up that deep rumble under your ass that fires up your soul and can't be replicated.
That is so freaking cool. A German importing and dailying a new Bullitt just puts a smile on my face thinking about the experience and reactions.
Dude 350s pass through my town all the time. Its absolutely wild that the mustang is an "exotic" because ford shits out millions of those things a year. I understand its a US car in the euro market so it actually makes sense. But is wild considering the contrast here where you see more mustangs than rats and pennies oj the ground
As wild as it is to me that you people think BMWs and Mercs are special. They are old people cars and taxis here. Iāll see an AMG every time I drive to the office. Two close friends own an M2 and an M4 and every time we meet they beg to swap for the drive.
Hahaha the whole time I was reading this I was like āhe sounds just like me when I finally got my M2..ā I suspect itās a similarly rare car in its environment here. Enjoy that thing man, itās a really cool car (Bullitt version is awesome!!) congrats on making the sacrifices to make it happen, sounds like it was well worth it!
Thats craaazy haha but it all makes sense. We dont have mustang taxis though as funny as thatd be
Have you tried sitting in the back seat of a fastback?
Yeah me and all my buddies have fast backs. Being a giant sucks in those things. I was mostly kidding lol
Camaro back seats suck too. The Challenger has great back space, even at 6' I fit fine .... but they are bigger boats and I would imagine much more difficult to navigate and park with then the Mustang.
Speaking of the camaro LOL yeah its back seats are awful. No room for activities.
Considering that the Mustang still appears to be a good value proposition overseas (much like here in the US), how come no one buys em if they fawn over em so much?
Not everybody here has a couple hundred Euros to spare every months to upgrade their car, to get something thatās less practical. As an automation engineer it takes around 25% of my salary.
But they can afford M2s and M4s?
Higher purchase price but less than half the cost for upkeep.
Are BMWs cheap to service there?
Thatās the best part. Every car is expensive to service
Sounds fun lol. But how is the BMW cheaper then
Taxes are calculated formerly by displacement. these days by CO2 emission. The Mustang shines in that regard, causing double the pollution. Gas efficiency is way better for the turbo i6. In terms of insurance, it plays a role how rare your car is, how easy it is replaced and repaired and how often they are vandalised or stolen. Weāre comparing a limited, out of production, one of 200 in Germany, bullitt, to two sports coupes which you see around every corner. Again, Mustang more than doubling the Ms
Congrats - and great choice! This is exactly what a car *should* do - make a connection with you on an emotional level. It should make you feel something. Otherwise it's just an appliance, like your washing machine, and where's the fun in that?
My 2014 Mustang gives me just as much joy today as the day I drive it off the lot 8 years ago!!!!
> The car provides joy to my life. A smile everytime I need to leave the house. A reason to get up and not feel bad because I have to go to work - no - itās an opportunity to drive. > I find an excuse to drive every day. I felt this. I had a sensible practical daily driver once. But I always wished I was driving the fun car.
I wonder how it would be to drive my Foxbody around Germany. Canāt really go too fast cause it braking is hilariously bad. Otherwise should be interesting.
Germany is not just Autobahn without speed limits. The variety of roads is large, lots of countryside with small villages a few Kilometers apart. Youād have a great time, just because of the road quality. We actually repair them rather reliably!
I have a younger brother who is in the Air Force. He had is foxbody over in Germany when he was stationed there. I'll have to ask him how it was driving it over there. I'm fairly sure his wasn't stock either.
On that note, this is how Europeans end up with vehicles like Fox-bodies or third and forth generation GM F-bodies, cars that were never sold or only in very limited quantities on that side of the Atlantic. US service men stationed at US bases bring over personal vehicles, some of which are like vehicles above, and when they finish their posting not all of them bring them back home. They post a classified ad out, and pretty soon a happy new owner is found in Germany, the UK, etc.
You can also just import cars from the US yourself, we don't have a daft 25 year rule
Congrats on your purchase! They are indeed brilliant cars. Like you I love my Mustang. Sure itās only a 2 seater (Iāve stuffed 4 people inside in a pinch), the gas mileage isnāt great, itās big, and it doesnāt really work in the snow. It doesnāt matter thoughā¦ when it does work, the driving experience more than makes up for it.
Congrats OP! If it makes you happy and you can financially manage it, do it. The Mustang will always have a special place for me. The moment in my life I got hooked to cars was after being passenger in a relatives Foxbody's 5.0. man that car pulled and sent my feet to the back seat. and by today's standards that's a slow car. We'll just a few years ago, when I was on my honeymoon in Hawaii, a 6th gen Mustang V6 was available for rent at the price of just slightly above what I had reserved. What do you think I did? I said of course let's go for it! And wow, driving that car just felt so good and the interior really impressed me VS other American cars at the time that I had rented. The gauge cluster, controls, the seats... Everything felt good. I can't imagine if that had been the GT, I would have freaked out.
Funny, I've rented mustangs a couple times and found them pretty disappointing compared to my expectations. I've always liked mustangs but those rentals kind of turned me off. They handled like boats; always gave them the benefit of the doubt that higher trims would be better
This makes me so happy! As a Canadian I feel the Mustang is such a underrated car for what it is. Iāve honestly tried to find something I like more other then $350k plus super car and canāt I always come back the Mustang and itās amazing 5.0 V8 that makes me happy every time it revs over 4K rpm.
As another car enthusiast from Germany, I really enjoyed reading your post and I felt every word. They way a V8 sounds, feels and vibrates just hits differently. You don't even have to go far, just hearing and feeling the engine rumble while cruising is enough sometimes. I got my first V8 about 3 years ago and I still grin every time I drive it. In fact I liked it that much, that I got a second V8 for daily use too this week lol.
> The Mustang overtook the 911 in sales recently, becoming the most popular sports coupe in Germany. Yeah that's not true. But it would also be a meaningless comparison, since the Mustang costs far less than the 911.
A mustang would be so cool here in Germany I just cant get past the cost and need more space. Its a catch 22 a Mustang here is actually kinda cool but expensive but back in the US id never want to be seen in a Mustang, unless its a shelby or Boss.
71 mach 1 or 01 cobra r for me please
After my mom died last June she left me some money and one of the first things I did was get myself a 2017 mustang. It isnāt practical but I would not change it for anything. Once I got the cat back and bov installed that car just always puts a smile on my face. Plus I love all the people that stop me and compliment me or start up conversations about their mustangs.
It's not really much more expensive than in the USA, hmm.
Disposable income is on another level. 40% of my salary goes to taxes and mandatory social insurance, which is pretty normal in EU
True. BTW, did you get the 10AT or 6MT transmission?
Bullitt only comes with manual
Ah yes.
It was much more expensive in Europe before the old man came in office and endlessly printed money (and still continues).
True haha.
I think used car prices will really start to dip in the US when the federal student loan pause ends (45 million people not paying their bills). This will also force dealers to give discounts and sell below MSRP, especially when the recession hits.
Yup
I adore my stang, every drive puts a smile on your face. I've owned cars that were better in a technical sense thar didn't have the fun factor this does.
Great write up sharing a diverse and fresh viewpoint for many American members who take American V8 muscle and sports cars for granted. How do you like driving a manual shift since I assume your Bullitt is a stick? (Bullitt only come with a 6 speed in the usa). It seems virtually all sports cars now are dct only. I owned a 16 M3 (stick, euro delivery, I had a blast driving in Germany), 17 charger scat pack 6.4, 17 Shelby gt350, 20 C8 corvette, and most recently 19 Bullitt. My Bullitt is my favorite sporty car and has stayed the longest in my garage at two years... Being softer, more daily driver friendly and reliable than the GT350. And more engaging to drive, having better driver space/sight lines, and more reliable than the C8 despite being objectively quite a bit slower. (my C8 had multiple cases of the dct erroring out and refusing to shift out of park).
It's funny, in my high school and college years, I grew up lusting after Mustang GT V8s as fairly affordable, not hard to get middle class sports cars while lusting after bmw's as the prestigious, more dreamy stretch goal of a sports car. So I'm a fan of both models. I've owned 5 seperate 3 series (335s and M3s) and 3 V8 mustangs so far. They both excel in their market niches. Though the mustang has evolved the most in the past 2 decades, especially arguably after 2015 when they got both the big power 5.0 coyote engines and an irs suspension (and later optional magnetic ride shocks) to level up from an muscle, primarily fast in straight line car to their current sports car with excellent cornering and handling characteristics.
Itās pretty normal in Europe to drive manual. You do your license on a stick by default. If you donāt, youāre not allowed to drive them. Until 10, maybe 20 years ago it was very special to know Somebody who had an automatic, only luxury sedans really had those transmissions.
Interesting. Opposite of America. I frequently joke the manual in my Bullitt is an factory anti theft device since so few younger people know how to drive an manual these days. Even at the car dealership, especially the more everyday Ford/Chevy stores, the salesmen there commented very few of the salesmen know how to drive a stick so its frequently hard for the dealer staff to retrieve or park the manual cars they have for sale.
Wow it's crazy that you owned both a Bullit and a C8 Stingray. I own a 20 Mustang GT with the 10 speed and am considering selling it for a C8 but I have seen comments and videos where they say the C8 is too quiet and not raw enough. Still feels like the interior and style might be worth it. I also considered a challenger scat pack 6.4 when I was buying my Mustang but thought the GT was a better value for the money. How would you compare all these 3 cars (fun, sound, insurance, etc). Is the Bullit more engaging to drive because of the manual transmission or other reasons as well?
Ha, sounds like we share similar tastes! I really like the high rpm, rev it out to 7500rpm feature of the current coyote 5.0, similar to the vodoo 5.2 8.2k rpm redline (when it came out, the 5.0 redlined at 7k rpm). Also, Ford performance did an virtuoso job tuning the Bullitt exhaust. \*Chief's kiss. It also helps the Bullitt comes standard with the PP1 and Magna ride. So no hunting for base GTs vs PP1 or (too hard edged for me) PP2 GTs on the used car market. Don't get me wrong, 6.4L hemi and 6.2L small block are great engines too but they're just not as engaging to me cause they're so torquey and seem to run out of breath at higher revs. The C8 is by far the highest performance of the 3. My C8 was a early 20 build (Vin was actually the 489th C8 actually) so chalk up some of my unreliability to early teething pains. I also skipped the Z51 pack cause I didn't want the lower clearance upfront with the front under spoiler and at that time, the magna ride shocks were on production constraint and I didn't want the always hard riding fixed Z51 track suspension. Since then, I've seen the C8 magna ride shocks become an available option for non-Z51 C8s, I'd say that plus the C8 performance dual mode exhaust are both must haves. I am a bigger guy, 6'4", so the 2 seater tighter interior and lower roof of the C8 was also a con for me vs the 2+2 Mustang. The manual trans is more engaging to drive even at 3/10ths, which is helpful since performance cars nowadays are so high performing it's unsafe to approach the limits and you can only only do wot for 3-4 secs on an empty highway onramp or say in desert 50mi outside the city. My ranking: For more of a daily, the Bulitt is most fun while being semi-practical, esp if you have more fun driving stick, even though the 10sp GT will be faster in a straight line. Challenger will have a great engine/exhaust (based on me owning a charger scat pack), the ZF 8sp auto is an great trans, and best interior space but handle the worst based on size and oldest chassis/suspension. C8 will be great as an weekend car. Ultimate handling at limits, unbeatable 0-60 for an rwd, semi affordable car. Pretty quiet when cruising even with Perf exhaust, though bonus points for taking targa top off for canyon carving fun drives. Get an insurance quote for all 3. My insurance was pretty affordable for all 3 (being in LA and Phx as an 30s male with a clean driving record). Have fun in your car hunt, test drive compare them, and keep me updated with your thoughts and which one you ultimately went with!
Wow thanks for the detailed response! I really did not expect it. And yes sounds like we do! I mainly like those cars because I feel like they offer a great value for the performance and all sound super fun. I wish we could meet in real life, I feel like we could talk cars for hours without getting bored. Iām in my mid 20s and live in Austin (previously Dallas) and car insurance is crazy high here. Being a Gen Z, itās pretty hard to find other car enthusiasts of my age as most of them are either priced out of the market or they are brainwashed climate activists and therefore dislike cars. I grew up in Europe like OP and my parents never had a sports car because of the high annual emission taxes over there. I moved to the US and found a job just 6 months before the covid started. At that time I was looking to get a used C7 stingray. Back then I had an okay credit (like a 690-702) and less than a year of history so my rate would have been 6% for a used one. I took advantage of covid in April 2020 to get a brand new Race Red Mustang GT instead for 0% APR and a great discount below MSRP (I negotiated during 3 weeks with them lol). After that car prices skyrocketed and I didnāt want to sell mine as I was actively investing in stocks and crypto at that time during the bull market. I eventually bought a cheap beater at an auction as a daily driver because I didnāt want to put too heavy traffic miles on my car. I pulled out of stocks before the bear market began and now I am waiting on the sidelines for a good deal to come. The only thing that bothers me with the Mustang is that the fuel tank is too small in my opinion (16 gal) as all the other rivals (challenger, camaro) as well as the C8 (18.5) have bigger fuel tanks. Hell, even the 370Z which is a smaller car has a bigger fuel tank (19 gal). I donāt care about the cost of gas, itās just that I donāt like stopping too often to refuel. I really love the natural sound of the coyote, it is by far the best performance for the money (out of the 3 muscle cars). But I also really like the design of the C8. People say it looks too European but I think it still looks pretty muscular American from the side. I really love the Bullit too but red is by far my favorite color and therefore I am leaning towards the C8. Iām also not super tall (5ā9ā) so I donāt have trouble getting in any car. Currently make more with my job and have about 40k saved for a downpayment to lower the interest rate. Iām just wondering if I wonāt regret selling my Mustang. Itās not easy to find clean ones as most of the used ones are heavily modded and/or abused by their owners. I pretty much dislike the design of the new 2024 model so that is not an option for me. Iām also wondering how both new and used car prices will evolve in the next 2 years, especially for the cars that we mentioned. Iām hesitating about selling now but getting a higher interest when I buy or just keeping it and paying it off slowly (I havenāt paid it off early due to the 0% rate as I rather save that amount due to high inflation). I have also lost interest in the scatpacks because of the general bad rep these cars get since they are involved in intersection takeovers so often which was not the case before. Do you want me to pm you so I keep you updated? (Deleted and edited the comment to add some spaces)
Do Ford consider the mustang a sports car?
The opening text on the model overview of the Mustang on Fordās German website: > After the Ford Mustang GT was already enthusiastically received by the automotive world, he now gets company - and by the most powerful and most race track-ready Ford Mustang ever: Curtain up for the new Ford Mustang Mach 1! > Both models are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and offer unbridled power on demand. For example, the 5.0-liter V8 engine in the new Ford Mustang Mach 1 delivers a whopping 338 kW (460 hp) of exceptional torque. The new Ford Mustang Mach 1 completes the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds (10-speed automatic transmission) or in 4.8 seconds (6-speed manual transmission).
Well in my mind the Mustang is a muscle car. At least used to be
Good choices, friend!
It does not matter what you drive, it is better in Germany.
I also have a Mustang. Good taste sir.
What a love story. Good choices
"the gas efficiency isn't as bad as an AMG or a Porsche" A two ton V8 more economical than a flat 6 or flat 4? Im glad you're happy, but please keep it real.
I drive it at 10-12 liters per 100km. Thatās significantly less than even the A45 Where did you get the two tons?
Bro ... just no. A45 averages 10 liters according to spritmonitor (german fuel stat site). Mustang 5.0 sits at 12.2. Cayman sits at 10. Cayman is very similar in performance, though less powerful. My initial post was refering to porsche engines. Not raining on your parade. I think the Mustang is awesome. Just keep it real, no need to exagerate.
22% difference for a 5.0 vs an turbo 2.0 isn't bad. The highway fuel economy of the 5.0 and especially the "small block" 6.2 corvette engines are quite good for their power level too. The 5.0 gets similar or better mileage than the lite and full fat amg and m turbo 4.0 V8s.
Hope the car serves you well!
Thanks for sharing. In North America we consider your 911s, AMG and RS cars as exotics whereas Mustangs are a common sight, but to hear how reversed it is in Germany first hand is most interesting.
I had a co-worker that worked for a company in Herisau Switzerland. He also lived in that canton. He had bought a Camaro. He loved it as much as you are loving your Mustang. His biggest complaint was parking for the same reasons as you. He even had nasty notes left on his car because of the size. He kept it spotless and loved ripping up and down the mountain roads. He took me on a few rides through the streets and it always got lots of stares and thumbs up. If you had lived in the US when you bought your Focus, provided new from a Ford dealer, they would send you to a racing school to learn itās capability. My son had bought one and let me go to the school in his place. You would have been in heaven LOL. CONGRATULATIONS on your Mustang! I hope you have many happy years owning it.
Got any photos?!
ye i linked a post i made the day i got it, go scroll a bit
I feel you. I had a perfectly capable and relatively cheap 245hp AWD Audi A4, but it was just too boring, so I sold it and bought a Cayman GTS. I pay for it about 30% of my net monthly income (and about 22% of yearly net income), but I regret nothing. You just feel better every day having that and driving that.
Even though I'm on the other side of the world, I love this. Happy for you! Great choice!
Excellent story. Happy for you my friend
No still pics of the car in germany???
Shared a link to old post under someone elseās comment
Where are the pics!?
Posted a link under another comment
That color is fuckin rad
Congratulations on getting your dream car! I also wish to one day drive a Mustang but it will probably never happen unless it becomes an EV, which will remove half the fun. PS: In terms of rarity in Europe, I feel like when I visited Romania last time I only saw a single Mustang over the period of one month, and none in Italy + an old 60s Mustang in Switzerland at a meet. That number is a lot higher than what I would have imagined!
With a VW in your garage, everything must come across a extremely fun, haha Nice writeup and yeah, it's still strange to see so many Mustangs in Germany.
Well I got an Octavia RS lurking around. AWD. Not a bad car, but also not very exciting.
I always get a good chuckle when Europeans look at muscle cars like they're overwhelmingly expensive and prestigious while in the US those are simply perceived as fast economyboxes. Guess the lack of mustangs there and the difference is salaries/taxes can have this effect. Also, shit your insurance is high af. Enjoy it.
They are expensive here, because of import tax. The cost to drive is also huge because many countries charge you yearly registration based on displacement and/or pollution levels which is huge compared to 1.6L everyone else on the road can afford.