2010 Ford Mustang GT

The best thing about this car is the heavy-metal exhaust note when you floor it. The round, billet-aluminum gearshift knob is pretty sweet, and its short throws are a big improvement over the last Mustang GT's shifter. It also feels good in the hand. (Well, let me amend that: this morning it was freezing cold.) Power delivery is impressive. I was hustling along a two-lane hilly road and thought I was doing about 70 mph but looked down to discover that the needle was hovering at the 100-mph mark. I walked up to our test car in the darkening 8 p.m. light of our parking structure's second floor, and the bright blue paint made it stand out like a beacon. I opened the door for more blue: the illuminated rocker-panel uses blue lighting, and the interior ambient lighting was also set to blue, including the blue cup holders. This was all very cool, even if it's a gimmick. I also noted the blue stripe running through the black leather seats, and the blue stitching. The brake pedal was too spongy for my tastes, although with repeated applications it seemed to warm up and pedal travel was reduced. With the live rear axle, the ride can, of course, become quite choppy, although I realize that a lot of Mustang fans love that characteristic of the car. The car hops like crazy over the speed bumps in our parking structure. Grip is very good, although I was fairly cautious due to temperatures in the 40s and roads that were only semi-dry. Got home, got out of the car, and looked at the handsome nineteen-inch aluminum wheels, discovering that they were shod with Pirelli PZeros; if I had realized that the GT has such premium rubber, I might have pushed it a bit more. But that can wait for another day. Overall, although the Mustang feels freshened, it still feels really old, and I suspect it's gonna feel even older once I've experienced the new Chevrolet Camaro SS. Joe DeMatio, Executive Editor