• Ford Mustang 2005

• Ford Mustang Overview

The Mustang’s entirely new architecture sounds reminiscent of every Mustang of the past, but with the assistance of a clean sheet of paper (okay, probably a clean hard drive and a DVD+RW), it promises to be the best-handling, most capable Mustang ever. Not an astonishing feat in a CAD/CAM-changed world, but since the ’Stang hasn’t been fully worked over since many of you were in elementary school, vast improvements were there for the making.

Among the standard features on either Mustang are one-touch up/down power windows, power mirrors, keyless entry and power locks, a heated rear window and interval wipers. Sound systems include a standard CD player and an optional 1000-watt Shaker Audiophile system.

But maybe the most important standard feature is the floating pony on the grille — the first new grille in a generation or two. And for Mustang enthusiasts, there isn’t anything more important than that.

The long-deck, short-rear silhouette of every Mustang in history returns with the new shape, and it’s far more authentic-looking than in the 1994-2004 edition of the Fox-based Mustang. Three-piece tail lamps, C-shaped side scoops, circular headlights and a forward-angled nose establish the character of the ’Stang, like fins give flight to Fifties Cadillac's and a split rear window evokes the finest Sting Ray Corvettes.