MADDOG`

Two different cars with different approaches to motoring joy. One is a sports car, with good power and great handling. One is Amercian iron in a slightly grand touring tradition. It's the evolution of the muscle car for the 21st century.

The Z has less horsepower but handles better, is lighter and, depending on model, probably has better brakes.

The Mustang is HP all the way although Furd has made some strides in the suspension area. It's heaver, but has a V-8 with good torque values to move that weight. But just like all horses, you better be able to make it Whoa as well as go.

Guess ya have to decide what ya want in a car, then go for it. Of course, the Mustang has a rear seat if you need to haul small people (read infants) and small dogs.

itburns

Thanks, what do I win?

I post 3 nights a week and twice on Sundays.

Dettrey766

Good luck even getting the Mustang you ordered. I ordered a gt on Nov.1. As of March it still wasn't scheduled to be built. I cancelled the order and bought my first non-Ford vehicle. I love my 05 Z. So far I'm happy with my decision. The Z certainly turns a lot of heads.

michae1jr6

Z gets more ladies hehehe.....i know

s3fddiZ

iTrader: (4)

Ordered your GT on Nov. and still wasnt ready by March. My friend ordered one in mid Nov. and got it the first week of Dec. First black 05 GT in Cali. He payed for it though, i think it came out to over 30k

rickyj59

I too considered the Mustang although it was the Cobra before I bought My Z. Problem is Mustangs are just too common and I loved the looks of the Z. After my purchase I was very surpised how fast the Z was, it was actually a bonus. I love my Z, its the best car I've ever owned!! You get the looks, the feel, the great exhaust sound, and she just loves to run with just the slightest touch on the gas. Now , in a previous thread someone alerted you to the new GT 500 Shelby Mustang that will be coming out next year. I am eyeing that one myself but there is no current Mustang that is worth your consideration relative to the 350 Z. Test drive them both back to back and you will see what I mean.

pglover

Z all the way. The engine is this car has been voted a top ten engine in the world for almost 15 years running.

All my fords died after 7 or 8 years.....my winter beater is a 15 year old maxima that I simply can not kill, keeps running and running.

Plus, the z rocks to drive, soooo much fun!

ZBoater

I just got a brand new Ford Explorer, and I gotta tell you, Ford has come a looooooong way in terms of quality build.

I'm still keeping my Z though.

imoz

The Z is nice but has a lot of problems and the interior quality is very poor. You will probably be much happier with the Mustang GT interior.

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

Where oh where do you get off saying the mustang has better interior quality? I mean your first statement about the Z has alot of problems i can maybe undertsnad if you believe everything you read on the net but just look at the two cars. The 350z interior isnt up to a 45k car but it certainly is equal or superior to that of the GT. Have you even seen the GT? To get all that fancy aluminum highlights its a $450 option! The interior is bland as always. Seen both and i have to say you are way off. Also nothing in my interior has broken off or stopped working, cant say that for the first year of my 01 SVT cobra lol.

Desimale

The mustang interior makes the Z interior look like genius. The chrome trim is barf inducing

KingOfV6

iTrader: (3)

Hey guys first time posting here, this is what my friend wanted me to post its his words.

First thing, to set the record straight. The Ford Mustang was never affected by the Cruise Control issue, which was caused by a faulty Sensor mounted on the Master Cylinder. The mustang NEVER used this Particular sensor and none were ever reported burned down.

I agree with DSGMach714 "American cars if serviced correctly will be just as reliable and/or last as long as a Japanese car."

This holds truth for any Vehicle in the world. I've Seen 351 Ford engines with 396 Thousand Miles on the Engine on its ORIGIONAL build with not a hint of smoke or a single problem. I've seen 4.6's do amazing things and Have heard very little problems about them, just normal maintenance items. The 3.8 and 4.0 V6 Ford engines used in the Mustang's have no real problems at all.

I've seen Cars that have been beaten and abused, and needless to say, They've all ran like **** and it was amazing some of them Held up to the punishment. I've seen this in Both Imported and Domestic Vehicles. There's some companies that just have their Chronic Problems.. For instance, Having worked at a dodge Dealership before, I noticed Dodges have a lot of cooling and Transmission problems, but if well taken care of they can too be great vehicles.

Having Driven many Mustangs (Cobra's, Saleen's, GT's (5.0, and 4.6's), Coupe and 4 banger) I can honestly say the ride is comfortable, and they're amazing rides as a daily driver.

As for the Issue on which on Resale value, any Car depreciates, the reason why a Mustang Does more so then a Z, is for a reason you guys have been talking about for a while now. The Z is more RARE then a Mustang, and that's why it hold's its value… Think of it, Why do Imported Sports cars and Trucks Hold their value more then Domestic ones? Because you see more Domestic Sports cars and Trucks then you do Imported ones.. That's why They hold their value so well, because no one really wants a V6 Sports car or Underpowered Truck.

So to sum up the last section
The more rare a Car / truck is the more its worth
The more common a car / truck is the least its worth

Hopefully you've all learned Something from this

alright guys, this is all of my friends words, ill be back later to talk more about the Z, P.S. i would take a Z over another S2k or Mustang GT

peace

MovingViolation

My '03 was built in 2002 and guess what....no problems. Dont believe everything you read on the internet.

350z bra

iTrader: (12)

jus a buy the new saleens.

gatti-man

iTrader: (2)

ok king of v6 i agree with all of you said except for the "MUSTANG has an AMAZING RIDE" are you serious? An amazing ride? If amazing is leaving you sore after an hour then ok i guess. It might be amazing in a straight line on perfect roads, lol. I dont really like the saleen mustangs (its like a riced out mustang so to speak) , if i had to buy one id wait for the gt500 coming next year.

RPM_204

Don't believe everything your friend says, he/she is on crack. We can all voice our opinions about which vehicles we think are the most reliable, based on our own personal experiences with them. But what we must all understand is that one or maybe even a few personal experiences that an individual may have is far from being an accurate depiction of a specific car's reliability. Open up a Consumer Reports, or any other reputable 3rd party source and take a look at the reliability ratings. And we're not just talking about engines specifically, but every aspect of the vehicle's reliability should be taken into account.

It is not possible for American built cars as a whole to rival the reliability or quality of Japanese built vehicles. The engineering standards, R&D, and time/money/resources invested by companies like Toyota and Honda are the reason why they build better cars. You can't just manufacture a car looking to cut costs and expect to build an equally reliable car. That being said, the domestic manufacturers have begun to realize that incentives, "0%" financing (here in Canada), etc. aren't going to win over as many customers as they once would have. Consumers nowadays value their time more than anything and do not want to be bringing their vehicle in for service every other week. That's why Toyota has broken the big 3, and Honda isn't far behind. Hence even the reliability and engineering standards of domestic vehicles seem to be getting better, which is better for the consumers.

As for the resale value, same idea. Being a more rare car is certainly a factor, but so is the documented 3rd party data for being a more reliable car. The more reliable a car is, the more people will look for that vehicle second hand, and therefore the more it's worth. And vice versa.

Again, my argument is not regarding the Z vs. Mustang debate, but import vs. domestic in general (in which case, there is no argument, just look at the facts).

Sly_Z

iTrader: (18)

I would NEVER want to own RUSTANG!!!

KingOfV6

iTrader: (3)

i agree with RPM, my friend also hates imports, but wanted to comment on this thread

Also the the Z is alsmost close to same HP and TQ as a GT, and it is obvisouly a V6 and with that power it makes, my point being it is the more reliable one is most cases.

tmb

Not to mention that Ford engines are very common in Marine use.
Last fall I got rid of my 12 year old 5 Liter Ford 302 Powered 22' Runabout and that was because the wood and other stuff was starting to rot - not the Engine.

The engine had 1000 hours and still going strong.




Funny how I keep reading in this thread about the Z vs Mustang decision in regards to which one is a better head turner.
That's a dumb reason to buy a car. If you are going to use that logic, buy an exotic looking kit car with a 4 cylinder.

I buy cars based on a novel concept - performance that I can afford
I want a car that handles like a go cart, goes from 0 to Fast really,really quick, is a lot of fun to drive and can STOP.

To the original poster - make your decision based on the above.

BTW, I did test drive the '05 GT with the potential idea of getting rid of the Z.
My sig tells what my decision ultimately was but that is incidental to the disciussion.
Only you can decide but don't buy a car based on the 'coolness' factor. That wears off in a year or so and then you are stuck with it.

Tackett

Ive been lurking in this thread for a while now and here is my two cents.

I will NEVER EVER own another american car again. American car manufacturers have gone the way of the american people's point of view of "I want something but I dont want to do anything to get it." They drop a tiny bit of money into something that they know people will buy and crank the price of it up. Remember the hoopla over the thunderbirds when they came out and the guy who designed the thing quit GM over it? How about the new GTO? , or the new charger? wanna take a look at trucks? what about dodge rams? more problems than I care to mention. same with dakotas, new 1500 chevy's and Ford full sizes. My cousin just bought a new chevy 1500 and after only 1500 miles, his engine seals blew, and his block cracked. That and the fact that hes not the only one that had that problem with the new engines. Though granted I will give them some leway because every first year vehicle has their issues. But wait... didnt the old chevy full sizes have the same problem along with others? I seem to remember a full size chevy my mom owned a few years ago throwing a rod...and I also remember a few ENGINE recalls from chevy concerning that very problem. I used to work for a coal mine consulting agency and we had a dodge dakota and a bunch of other american trucks for a while. Trust me when I say we put our off road vehicles to the test. Mud up over the tires, bouncing through track marks from rock trucks with wheels bigger than my house, and sliding down 70% slopes to get to sludge ponds. EVERY american vehicle bit the dust, every, last, one of them. we have had the following vehicles: a dodge ram, a dakota, 1500 chevy, f150, avalanche, colorado, Toyota Tundra, and Toyota 4 runner. Guess what two vehicles are left? the 4 runner, which now has 260,000 miles on it and has been through hell and back, and the tundra, which I personally used to pull the Dodge ram OUT of a mud pit with. This is not to say that either the 4 runner or the tundra ran without difficulty. Both had differential problems due to mud aspiration, and brake problems due to mud seizing the calipers. However, the fact still remains that both of these vehicles still stand while every single american vehicle STOPPED totally. Coincidence? maybe. Then why is every single consulting company around here running with toyotas, hondas, nissans, and mazdas? and look where I live, HICKVILLE USE. I can count the number of imports on the road with my right hand. Though I will give the Ranger its props man, I know people that are running those things in the ground and are still going strong. It wasnt always like this though, I remember when american cars were the essence of reliability and imports were dead on the side of the road. Personally I bought a 2001 mercury cougar zn, that went through 16, I repeat, 16 fuel pumps. Some of those were even the recalled fuel pumps that were supposed to be fixed. Not to mention 8 million other problems. Though granted the thing made it to 100000 miles before trade in, despite being in the shop 1 million times. My own personal experiences as data probably do not qualify as actual data, but from my own perspective, I will never own another american car again, and from my other friends experinces, if they werent so brainwashed, I dont think they would either.

I am probably going to get castrated for posting something like this, so...flame retardent suit is being zipped up.

flame away.