The Ford Mustang , Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger haven’t been on the same block since 1974, but all three will have to relearn how to coexist again early next year. However, the biggest challenge that will likely face the reborn muscle cars will not be competition from each other, but rather the stigma of their fuel-inefficient pasts.
To combat the preconceived image of a fuel-gulping muscle car, Ford designers and engineers have actually given the all-new 2010 the look of a much smaller car. In today’s economic environment, consumers typical equate smaller cars to better fuel mileage, so Ford really wanted to take advantage of that mentality.
“We have a car which I think is more suitable for the times than the Challenger and the Camaro,” Peter Horbury, Ford Motor’s North American design director, told Automotive News. “Especially the Challenger — it is a huge car when you see it on the road.”
Compared to the 2008 Mustang, the 2008 Challenger is 10.1 inches longer and 1.8 inches wider. Chevrolet has yet to give officially dimensions on its upcoming Camaro, but the concept was 1.4 shorter and 5.7 inches wider than the current Mustang. Horbury says the 2010 Mustang will be comparable in dimensions to the 2008 model.
“By cleverness in design, we’ve been able to make it look like the wheels are further out, further forward and further rearward,” Horbury said. He added the middle of the Mustang is the widest part, allowing designers to taper the design inward toward the wheels.
It remains unclear if the look of a smaller car will give the Mustang the green credentials it needs to survive in the $4 a gallon world we live in today, but we will find out shortly as the 2010 Mustang is slated to hit the market in the early part of 2009.
