Trade in for a Boss 302?

[LeifW]

Originally Posted by xG35guy

Once again I say the 135 and the mustang are both really great rides!

Brian

+1

Leif W.

[Rawhide]

Originally Posted by LeifW

+1

Leif W.

++1

Raw H.

[leftyone]

Yes....we can just get along...The 135, and the Mustang...2 very enjoyable cars.

[MikeinAlexandria]

Having owned two Mustangs over the years, and six BMWs, you can see where I stand about this. No matter how great someone says a Mustang is, it is still a muscle car, vs. the BMW, which is a luxury sport sedan. For me personally, it is all about the engineering. US engineers at the top end of car design still are not designing a car I want. Sure, there is the Ford GT, but, I don't want it, because I want a mid-forties priced (or thirties) car that I can drive places, that still handles better than almost anything and is a little unique. IMHO the 1 Series does this very nicely.

The new Boss Mustang will be a great car, for a Ford. Probably one of the best Mustangs out from the factory. But in the end, one has to ask, do you want to hear that V8 growl all the time, and be reminded of how much the gas is going to cost you, not to mention the rear tires? If none of that is important, jump in one and see if you like it. The feel of the steering, the way the gears shift, the brakes, the seating position. These are all excellent in every BMW model sold in the US, even the base model 128i coupe. Can we say that about the Mustang? Lastly, how is the car going to look and drive when it has 80k miles on it? My Mustangs both rusted out, and looked like crap after about six years. Even with 80k miles my BMW 3 and Z cars looked like new, and drove better than most new cars at the time.

I think this is a subject best resolved by people going out driving! Test drive and then see what works for for oneself. For me, no car does it quite like a BMW, even if I do need to install a coilover suspension!

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by GO135i007

I just wouldn't want a car that I see every 5 minutes and they have not had the best track record. I've seen first hand how mustangs fall apart over the years. Dodge took the Neon and made the SRT out of it. It had good performance for the money but I would never buy one and drive it.

And yes, I do care what kind of image my car brings across and obviously a lot of others do to or no one would care what they drove.

Image and performance are exclusive attributes.
You don't have to like the looks of the Mustang, but using that as a basis to judge it's performance or reliability is...well...narrow in scope and logic.

Your experience that Mustangs fall apart is anecdotal. It's valid for your opinion formation.
But, many other Mustang owners experience would disagree with your assessment.

As far as falling apart, there are many stories on this very forum of 1 series having all sorts of falling apart issues like worn seats, cracked brake lights, tail lights going bad, faulty wastegates, failed HPFP's, etc...
And these cars have only been in the US since the 2008 model year.

Using looks and design as a factor in making a decision is not synonymous with caring about what image the car may portray.
You're connecting things that don't logically follow.

For me, I could care less what image a car portrays, or what someone may think about me.
Those who do care about such things, I happen to think are insecure and/or need constant assurance about who they are. It's more common with younger people.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by Rawhide

This is all subjective anyway. Not like any of us can point to laboratory tests proving what makes a "true" car enthusiast.

True.
What is or makes a "car enthusiast", or "driving enthusiast" is not a quantifiable term.
Therefore, there aren't any lab tests, or hard data to support the idea.

These terms are subjective, yet they do have some definition, which can be extrapolated from the terms used, such a "car" or "auto" or "driving", along with the term "enthusiast'.

An automotive "driving enthusiast" is enthusiastic about a cars performance, how it feels to drive, how it functions while driving, etc...

From dictionary.com:
en·thu·si·ast  /ɛnˈθuziˌæst, -ɪst/ Show Spel[en-thoo-zee-ast, -ist] Show IPA


–noun 1. a person who is filled with enthusiasm for some principle, pursuit, etc.; a person of ardent zeal: a sports enthusiast.

2. a religious visionary or fanatic.



Use enthusiast in a Sentence

See images of enthusiast

Search enthusiast on the Web

Origin:
1600–10; < Gk enthousiastḗs one inspired, equiv. to enthousi- ( see enthusiasm) + -astēs, var. of -istēs -ist after i

—Related forms an·ti·en·thu·si·ast, noun

—Synonyms
1. zealot, devotee, fan.

So, it's difficult to define without some argument from the other side.
A Mustang owner is as much a car and driving enthusiast as any BMW driver, using the definitions we do have.