Mustang Production = 192,000 Units This Year!

[MM2004]

Ford Motor Co. says it will build at least 192,000 Mustangs this year as demand for the redesigned pony car surges.

Company executives previously had said its Mazda joint venture plant, Auto Alliance International, in Flat Rock, Mich., could build 160,000 to 194,000 Mustangs. Sources had said Ford would try to push Mustang production close to 200,000, but Ford had not publicly committed to a specific production target for 2005.

Now that the 2005 Mustang has been selling well for five months, Ford says it will schedule overtime at the plant for the rest of the year. Between the extra overtime and quicker-than-expected launches, Ford will be able to make the 192,000 number, spokesman Dave Reuter said.

"We had such a smooth launch for the coupe and the convertible that we got ahead of where we thought we would be," Reuter said.

Ford will not reduce capacity for the Mazda6, also built in Flat Rock, to hit the Mustang target. Flat Rock should build around 75,000 Mazda6 sedans, five-doors and wagons this year. The Flat Rock plant began assembling the 2005 Mustang coupe in September and the convertible in February.

Ford expects to sell up to 165,000 Mustangs in the United States and 10,000 or more in Canada in 2005. The rest will go to build dealer stock.

The build target for this year far surpasses 2004 when Ford made 111,629 Mustangs during eight months of active production. It also will be the most made since 1994, when Ford produced 199,048 of the cars during the first full year of the redesigned 1994 Mustang. Ford has produced an average of 140,000 Mustangs annually for the past few years, Reuter said.

Dealers will welcome the extra production units. Some already have been told that they're at the end of their allotment for V-8 GT models for the 2005 model year. Ford says about 40 percent of Mustang sales are GTs, up from about 35 percent of the historical mix.

[Petrograde]

192,000? ..sheesh! talk about overkill. I really like the look of the new Mustang, but I sure as hell don't wanna drive the same thing as everyone else. That's kinda why I love my Marauder. Seeing another one the road doesn't happen very often at all.

Can you imagine driving your new '05 GT and waving to another one on the road,.. or signal one to pull over so you can talk about your car? You might get shot!

Like I said,.. I love my Marauder! Thank god I don't see them all the time! I hope they don't make any more for another 30 years!

They can keep their 'dime-a-dozen' cookie cutter Mustang. I've never been one to blindly follow the crowd, I'll be damned if I start now.

wow,.. this post totally turned into a rant. ..sorry,. I feel better. I'm gonna go into the garage and hug my MM. :P

[de minimus]

192,000? ..sheesh! talk about overkill. I really like the look of the new Mustang, but I sure as hell don't wanna drive the same thing as everyone else. That's kinda why I love my Marauder. Seeing another one the road doesn't happen very often at all.

So true, but as a Ford fan it's nice to see that they can sell something besides the F150.

[MM2004]

Or better yet,...an SUV!


So true, but as a Ford fan it's nice to see that they can sell something besides the F150.

[de minimus]

Or better yet,...an SUV!
oh yes, I had forgotten about the Escape/ Explorer/ Expedition/ Excursion. With apologies to those who own and drive these fine Ford products, I can't help thinking that those same people don't really enjoy driving. I haven't seen many Explorers laying down some rubber on the tarmac. I think that the Mustang GT may be the car that re-introduces muscle to today's youth, rather than some SUV with low profile tires and a subwoofer the size of a refrigerator (or some tinny sounding Honda Civic with a huge wing and a coffee can exhaust). When I was a kid the noise I wanted was from my huge V8 motor. Kudos to Ford for the Mustang I say.

[JohnnyB]

Just goes to show that if Ford wants to get it right, they can...

[DEFYANT]

I've never been one to blindly follow the crowd, I'll be damned if I start now.
I agree with your entire post. But this quote was this reason why I chose to take my "new mustang" fund and plunk it down on the mods on the MM I (hope to)have (someday).

I look back on recent Mustang history. 95 was better than 94. 97 and 98 was better than 96 (Cobras). And I suspect that 2006/07 will bring better Mustangs.

[Two Hawks]

192,000? ..sheesh! talk about overkill. I really like the look of the new Mustang, but I sure as hell don't wanna drive the same thing as everyone else. That's kinda why I love my Marauder. Seeing another one the road doesn't happen very often at all.

Can you imagine driving your new '05 GT and waving to another one on the road,.. or signal one to pull over so you can talk about your car? You might get shot!

Like I said,.. I love my Marauder! Thank god I don't see them all the time! I hope they don't make any more for another 30 years!

They can keep their 'dime-a-dozen' cookie cutter Mustang. I've never been one to blindly follow the crowd, I'll be damned if I start now.

wow,.. this post totally turned into a rant. ..sorry,. I feel better. I'm gonna go into the garage and hug my MM. :P Well said, Dude. :high5:
Had me a little worried, thought you came awful close to blowin' a gasket. :D :D

[Fourth Horseman]

If the rumors of a n/a 5.4 liter powered Mach 1 come true, I'm going to have to give that some consideration as a second vehicle. I know there's lots of Mustangs out there, but I'd be very tempted by that engine, especially if they get it in at or under $30k.

Hopefully they'll also bump up the interior pieces a bit. I wasn't very impressed with the interior of an '05 GT I sat in at a car show recently.

[Bluerauder]

192,000? ..sheesh! talk about overkill.
Yeah, but I heard that they only made 20,000 Blue ones .... :rofl: :rofl:

[Pat]

I beat Ya.......

[JohnnyB]

If the rumors of a n/a 5.4 liter powered Mach 1 come true, I'm going to have to give that some consideration as a second vehicle. I know there's lots of Mustangs out there, but I'd be very tempted by that engine, especially if they get it in at or under $30k.

Hopefully they'll also bump up the interior pieces a bit. I wasn't very impressed with the interior of an '05 GT I sat in at a car show recently.

The 5.4 would make sense for a Mach 1. Fits nicely between the supercharged Cobra and the Mustang GT....

[black99lightnin]

oh yes, I had forgotten about the Escape/ Explorer/ Expedition/ Excursion. With apologies to those who own and drive these fine Ford products, I can't help thinking that those same people don't really enjoy driving. I haven't seen many Explorers laying down some rubber on the tarmac. I think that the Mustang GT may be the car that re-introduces muscle to today's youth, rather than some SUV with low profile tires and a subwoofer the size of a refrigerator (or some tinny sounding Honda Civic with a huge wing and a coffee can exhaust). When I was a kid the noise I wanted was from my huge V8 motor. Kudos to Ford for the Mustang I say.
The wife's Escape has been down the track a few times. Its fairly quick for a SUV. KB even makes a blower for it.