2013 Ford Mustang: An American Classic with a 21st Century Design

Jonathan Matteson English 202C 10/22/2012

Audience and Scope

The purpose of this description is to inform potential car buyers about the 2013 Ford Mustang. This description will highlight many key features that people consider when buying a car, such as styling options, safety features, engine specifications/models, fuel economy, and comparisons to similar cars. The goal of this article is give the buyer a complete picture of what the 2013 Mustang has to offer, and to educate the buyer about its most important features. By the end of this article the buyer should see that the 2013 Ford Mustang is the clear choice when buying a sports car.

Introduction
The 2013 Mustang is the most recent version of Fords classic pony car. The 2013 mustang combines the classic American sports car look from the 1960s with the latest technology available in automobiles. This car appeals to a wide variety of car buyers but tends to be most popular among teenagers looking for speed and style, and with retirees looking to reconnect with the muscle cars of their youth. The unique thing about the 2013 Mustang is that it isnt just for drivers looking to maximize their horsepower, providing the best gas mileage among muscle cars also makes it a practical choice for your daily driver. When comparing its options and features to similar vehicles, the 2013 Mustang becomes the best choice when looking to buy a muscle car of your own.

Mustang Styling

Figure 1: 2013 Ford Mustang GT500 Image from Johnny Markus via Flickr

Exterior:
The 2013 Ford Mustang is modeled similarly to the Mustangs of the late 1960s featuring 2-doors, rear quarter windows, long hoods, short back ends, large spoilers, and aggressive front end/grille styling. While this look is standard to every Mustang, the thing that makes it special is the ability to customize your Mustang to fit your unique preferences. Available Exterior Styling Options on the 2013 ford Mustang: 10 Different Colors 7 Different Hoods Featuring Various Scoops 33 Different Wheel Styles Optional Side and Racing Stripes Fender Badges 12 Different Rear Spoilers Chin Spoilers 8 Different Grille/Fog Light Combinations
Figure 2: Customized 2013 Ford Mustang from www.ford.com

Do it Yourself Styling: In addition to these standard options available at all Ford dealers there are a wide variety of do-ityourself styling upgrades that you can purchase for your car. Many Mustang owners prefer to customize their ride with a variety of aftermarket options available online. Websites such as www.americanmuscle.com offer a variety of options that allow you to customize your 2013 Mustang even after youve driven it off the lot.

Interior:

Figure 3: Mustang Interior

Figure 4: Mustang Dashboard

The 2013 Mustangs interior is a combination of luxury and sportiness. You have the option of upgrading to leather seats as well as to the in car navigation system. The interior will seat two comfortably while also offering a small back seat for extra cargo storage. As you can see Figure 3, silver lines much of the interior giving the interior that sporty feel. The dashboard, as shown in Figure 4, is an upgrade over 2

many of the past. This state of the art system offers your choice of color, and features an accelerometer in addition to your typical gauge cluster. The dashboard can also calculate certain performance statistics such as the 0-60 mph time or the mile time, making it a must have for every car guy out there.

Safety Features
Standard Safety Features: Front and Side Airbags Seatbelt Pre-tensioners Antilock Brakes and Stability Control Security System Blind Spot Monitoring and Backup Sensors
Figure 5: Mustang Crash Test

Most people associate sports cars with being unsafe, but the 2013 Mustang has a long list of safety features to put even the most nervous parent at ease. It comes standard with front and side air bags as well as seatbelt pre-tensioners to ensure maximum driver and passenger safety during a crash. Additionally, the Mustang comes with antilock brakes and stability control. Having stability control allows the car to sense when it has exceeded its handling limits and automatically reduces engine power as well as assists the driver with braking. A state of the art security system can also sense when a different key is trying to be used in the ignition and will prevent the engine from starting without the original manufacturers key. The Mustang features blind spot monitoring technology as wells as backup sensors that alarm when you are getting too close to objects behind you. Scoring high marks from car safety experts, the 2013 Mustang received 4 out of 5 stars in federal NCAP testing. The IIHS gave the Mustang its top rating of good for frontal and side impacts, as well as a rating of acceptable for side impacts. Combining the Mustangs state of the art safety features with its high crash test ratings makes it a safe choice for any driver.

Engine Specifications/Models

Figure 6: Shelby GT500 Engine

Similar to other cars on the market today, the 2013 Mustang has different engine specifications to choose from. These differences in engine and performance specs paired with different standard features categorize the 2013 Mustang into 4 specific models. Each model is available in either the coupe (hard top) or convertible version. The most basic model Mustang comes with the standard V6 engine and puts out 305 HP, while the most expensive version is a supercharged V8 engine cranking out an unbelievable 650 HP. The performance options available in the 2013 Mustang are enough to satisfy both your average driver and the power obsessed hobbyist. In Figure 7 one can see some of the differences in these motor specs and their resulting performance. Model: Engine Type: Displacement: Horsepower (@rpm): Torque (lb-ft @rpm): Gas Mileage (city/hwy): Mustang V6 V-6 3.6 L 305 @ 6,500 280 @ 4,250 Mustang GT V-8 5.0 L 420 @ 6,500 390 @ 4,250 Mustang Boss 302 Hi-Po V-8 5.0 L 444 @ 6,500 380 @ 4,500 Shelby GT500 Supercharged V-8 5.8 L 650 @ 6,250 600 @ 4,000 15 / 24 manual

19 / 29 manual 15 / 26 manual 15 / 26 manual 19 / 31 automatic 18 / 25 automatic Figure 7: Model Engine and Performance Spec Comparison

Fuel Economy
Contrary to popular belief, the Ford Mustang gets very respectable gas mileage. Most people like to characterize muscle cars as gas guzzling machines. This may have been true five years ago, but the gas mileage of the 2013 is above todays national average. The average gas mileage of a vehicle as of 4

February 2012 was 21.5 mpg. According to Figure 7 shown above, the Mustangs V6 engine gets 19 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway for an average of 25 mpg. This is a large improvement over the national average and could save you lots of money over the life of your car. The larger V8 engines do have slightly worse gas mileage more along the lines of the national average, but that it the price you pay for higher performance. Even the high performance Boss 302 still gets a combined 20.5 mpg, which is only slightly lower than the national average.

Muscle Car Comparison

The Ford Mustang will forever be compared to its fellow American made muscle cars the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger. When comparing the performance, gas mileage, and pricing of these cars it really isnt a contest. Model: MSRP: Engine: Horsepower: Displacement: Torque(lb-ft @rpm): Fuel Economy (city/hwy): Ford Mustang $22,200 V6 305 3.7 L 280 @ 4,250 19 / 31 Chevrolet Camaro $23,345 V6 323 3.6 L 278 @ 4,800 17 / 28 Figure 8: Muscle Car Comparison Comparing these 3 similar muscle cars we see that while the Mustang might only put out 18 less horsepower than the Camaro, it is better in every other category. The 2013 Mustang is cheaper by over $1,000, it gets better gas mileage, and even has better torque than both of its closest competitors. So why pay more for less when you could have the best with a new 2013 Ford Mustang. Dodge Challenger $25,795 V6 305 3.6 L 268 @ 4,800 18 / 27

Conclusion
It is clear that when buying a muscle car, the 2013 Ford Mustang is the car for you. It offers a multitude of features that allow you to customize the car to fit your style, quality safety features, and a variety of models to meet your performance needs. When compared to similar muscle cars, the Ford Mustang has an advantage in almost every category. So dont settle for less, go buy your own 2013 Ford Mustang today.

References:
Images that werent originally created were borrowed from the following websites: Cover photo: http://www.edmunds.com/ford/shelby-gt500/2013/road-test.html Figure 1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnbadovinac/6857145150/sizes/m/in/photostream/ Figures 2+3: http://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/gallery/photos/ Figure 4: http://luxuriantcar.com/2013-ford-mustang-unveiled-5-0-v8-420-hp/ford-mustang-gt-2013dashboard/ Figure 5: http://www.stangtv.com/news/video-a-collection-of-brief-2013-mustang-crash-tests/ Figure 6: http://mustangs.about.com/od/modelyearprofiles/ig/2013-Shelby-GT500-PhotoGallery/2013-Shelby-GT500-Engine.htm

Information for this description was gathered from the following websites: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1072701_in-4-years-average-gas-mileage-of-new-cars-hasrisen-by-3mpg http://www.automobilemag.com/am/2013/ford/mustang/compare.html http://autos.aol.com/cars-Ford-Mustang-2013/safety-ratings/ http://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/specifications/ http://www.thecarconnection.com/review/1074206_2013-ford-mustang_safety_5