2010 Ford Mustang Gets 0% Plus Cash Back

In the excitement about the all-new Chevrolet Camaro hitting the streets, many people have overlooked the 2010 Ford Mustang’s significant overhaul. While new engine offerings may be in the pipeline for later next year, the 2010 still beat out the Camaro and the Dodge Challenger in our recent face-off.

For some reason, folks have forgotten about the ‘Stang, so Ford has put a nice incentive on it to help grab peoples’ attention. You can get 0% financing for 36 months, plus $1,000 cash back. If you opt for the more popular 60-month option, the financing rate is 1.9%. The deal is good through Nov. 2.

Prius Sales Outmuscle Muscle Cars in August

It would probably be best if while reading this blog post you listen to something clichéd like Bob Dylan’s “The Times They are A-Changin’.”

While muscle-car enthusiasts will comb over the meaning behind the Chevy Camaro beating the Ford Mustang in sales for the third straight month, we couldn’t help but notice that the Toyota Prius beat the August sales for the three staple muscle cars — including the Dodge Challenger — combined.

With an assist from Cash for Clunkers, the 50-mpg Prius moved 18,886 units in August compared to 8,680 Camaros, 6,289 Mustangs and 1,132 Challengers (a total of 16,101 units).

The Prius also outsold the reliably robust Dodge Ram (17,514 units in August).

Overall, the market share of hybrids reached 4.5% in August, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. That’s up from 3% of all vehicle sales for June 2009 before Clunkers began.

2010|Toyota|Prius

2010 Ford Lineup 20% More Efficient; Turbo Four-Cylinder Confirmed

Today, Ford took the wraps off its 2010 model lineup and made some pretty significant announcements, despite most models not seeing major changes. The biggest news that will grab headlines is the fact that the 2010 Ford lineup is 20% more fuel-efficient than the 2009 lineup. And this is without dropping any large vehicles from the lineup.

Significant chunks of that mileage improvement come from the Ford Fusion family of cars, including the 2010 Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ. The base Fusion and Milan, for example, see their combined mileage increase from 23 mpg to 25 mpg. Even a base 2010 Mustang now gets 21 mpg combined, compared with 20 mpg in 2009. The V-8s also add 1 mpg. The Edge crossover also adds 1 mpg in combined mileage. Even the 2010 F-150’s V-8 adds 1 more mpg to its highway or city rating, depending on transmission.

Big news on the new-product side of things is confirmation from Ford of a new turbo four-cylinder engine.  

Affordable Convertibles Put to the Test

Some highly anticipated new luxury convertibles will hit the market this summer in the Lexus IS and Infiniti G37, but what about droptops for the masses? Isn’t everyone entitled to some wind in their hair?

With the sun shining and the breeze cool, we took three popular, affordable convertibles out for a spin to see how they’d fare as a chariot for a weekend getaway. The cars tested were the 2009 Mazda MX-5 Miata, 2010 Ford Mustang and 2009 Volkswagen Beetle convertible. We considered cargo space, comfort and cool factor. Check out the video above to see how they fared in those categories, and read on to see how we felt about these topless wonders as driving machines.

In the end, our five staffers arrived at a split decision, but not before some heavily spirited debate. What follows is the conversation that ensued after a day of driving the three vehicles over a large chunk of northern Illinois:

Through Ian's Lens: 2009 Muscle Car FaceOff

If your ear is to the ground concerning all things automotive, you’ll already know Detroit now offers up three V-8 muscle cars. Per my wishes and dreams, the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T, the 2010 Ford Mustang GT and the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS showed up at the office last week. As my colleagues at Cars.com decided to put these three to the test on the road, I decided it was time for a proper photo showdown. After two years of gawking at them individually, I finally put them all in the same pasture just to see how they looked together. And, oh man, did they look pretty.

As an homage to the era that spawned the original muscle cars (the 1970s) — and a tip of the cap to the newly departed late, great film, Kodachrome — these photos were color-corrected to match the bright cyans and saturated oranges that made Kodachrome ISO 64 film and its prints so spectacular. Enjoy.

Let me know what you think in the comments section below. As always, feel free to use the full-screen mode on the photo browser.

Cars.com Faceoff Takes on New Mustang, Camaro, Challenger

Could there be a better way to head into the Fourth of July holiday than with a three-way horse race — excuse the pun — between new yet classic American muscle cars? Cars.com lined up the 2010 Ford Mustang GT, 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T and 2010 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS to see which pony car would come out on top. We compared them in every category, from styling and performance to exhaust sound (and you can listen to recordings of each). Check out the story to see which muscle car drove off the winner in all the categories. If you want to see how they stack up as daily drivers, watch the video above.

Cars.comparison: American Muscle Cars (Cars.com)

Glass Roof Option Returns for 2010 Mustang

Ford has kept the glass roof option for the 2010 Mustang.

Besides being wicked cool, the glass pane stops 90% of UV rays and reduces cabin temperature so the A/C doesn’t have to work overtime to keep the vehicle’s interior cool. In fact, according to Ford, the glass’ sun-protection factor is equal to SPF 50 — better than your dermatologist-recommended sunscreen!

Keeping out UV rays serves another purpose, which is protecting the interior from deterioration. The glass top is also engineered to reduce noise and vibration.

The glass roof option is available in the V6 and the 4.6-liter V8 GT, but it will cost you $1,995. A surprising amount of Mustang buyers — roughly 10% — opt for the panoramic glass roof with the manual roller blind.

Mustang, Challenger Coming to NASCAR

It seems hardcore NASCAR fans have the same complaint as casual fans: The cars being raced don't resemble the nameplates they represent. That's about to change, at least in the sport’s Nationwide Series for 2010. The Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger will be submitted to the NASCAR Rule Book for approval later this month.

That doesn't mean the cars will be the same as what you get from a showroom, but the designs will be much more in tune with the real thing, unlike the generic cars in the top-tier Sprint Cup division.

GM is not joining in on the act with its Camaro, so it and Toyota will run their current Malibu and Camry in the Nationwide Series next year.

Pony cars coming to NASCAR (Fox Sports)

Cars.com Reviews the 2010 Ford Mustang

Cars.com’s Kelsey Mays will no doubt tick off Mustang fans when he calls the Ford pony “Detroit’s least-appealing muscle car.” Nevertheless, Mays notes several surprising victories for the 2010 Ford Mustang. Will these victories be enough, in Mays’ estimation, to vault the Mustang over the Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro? Read his full review to find out.

2010 Ford Mustang Review

2010 Ford Mustang Video

Where does the 2010 Ford Mustang stand in the pony wars? With the Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro standing by, the Mustang has some serious competition. Cars.com reviewer Kelsey Mays steps into Ford’s iconic muscle car to detail the driving experience meticulously. How does the ‘Stang handle coming out of corners? How’s the torque around 2,000-3,000 rpm? These are just a few of the questions Mays answers in this video.

2010|Ford|Mustang