By Richard Read

Looking for a new ride? What car nut isn’t? Like Simon Cowell or Gerard Butler, we’re always looking for the next Best Thing. But just like in any relationship, we have to ditch the old goods before sliding into the new. Thanks to Kelley Blue Book, we now have an easier way to do just that.

Gone are the days of posting notices in the classified section of our local paper. These days, selling a car takes new tactics — ideally, tactics that leverage the many free social media resources at our fingertips. KBB’s new “Seller’s Toolkit” does exactly that, offering a one-stop shop to build your vehicle listing and share it across the interwebs. (And, if you must, in real space.)

Curious? Pop over to the Toolkit area of KBB.com. Tell the nice website a little about your vehicle (make, model, condition, trim level, etc.), and hammer out a brief description. The Toolkit taps KBB’s massive database to determine how much your ride is worth and to build an ad suitable for tweeting to followers, posting on Facebook, or placing on Craigslist (or any other site that allows embedding).

Need to change something about the ad? No problem. Just hop back over to KBB, amend the listing, and details are updated around the web. Quick, easy, and very, very efficient.

The Seller’s Toolkit even works for printed fliers. No, the fliers won’t change, but since each features a QR code, anyone with a smartphone can use that to check the latest details

Here’s a video of the process in action. Watch it, then get out there and start selling! And if you want to offer us a wee commission, we probably wouldn’t say no.

* * * * *

KBB.COM HELPS CONSUMERS SELL THEIR CAR USING SOCIAL MEDIA, OTHER LATEST TECHNOLOGIES WITH ALL-NEW SELLER’S TOOLKIT FEATURING LIVEVALUE^SM

Kelley Blue Book Catapults Traditional Private-Party Sales Methods into 21st Century

Irvine, Calif., July 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ – Kelley Blue Book http://www.kbb.com, the leading provider of new and used car information, today announces the official launch of its Seller’s Toolkit, featuring the all-new LiveValue system, helping consumers sell their car online and in social networks. The first of its kind, Seller’s Toolkit is a fully-integrated sales method with the latest online technologies to help consumers sell their vehicles on high-traffic websites, social networks, via e-mail or even a personal blog. With the all-new Seller’s Toolkit, Kelley Blue Book catapults traditional private-party sales methods into the 21st century. To access the Seller’s Toolkit, users can visit any Private Party Pricing Report on kbb.com.

For more information or to access Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com Seller’s Toolkit, visit www.kbb.com/sellers-toolkit or www.facebook.com/kbb.

By Richard Read

There’s a lot to love about the Ford Fiesta. It’s cute, that’s for sure. It’s compact, which is a bonus for urban-dwellers forever on the prowl for parking spots. It’s also supremely fuel-efficient, and it comes packed with high-tech goodies. Surely no one’s going to complain about that.

But maybe best of all — at least on this Friday, when many of us are trying to slack off — is the Fiesta’s hunky, bearish, YouTube spokesmodel, Craig Benzine, who’s better known to his online fans as Wheezy Waiter. If you’re as desperate to dodge work as we are, put away the expense reports and check out these clips of the man in action.

And hey, if the boss creeps up on you, just tell her you’re doing research for new fleet purchases. She’ll think you’re way ahead of the game, which could earn you a promotion. You can thank us later.

Once upon a time, vibrating things were awesome. There were vibrating mattresses at roadside motels, vibrating chairs at Sharper Image stores, and vibrating…well, other vibrating things. Now, Yale is out to change that.

Associate Professor John Morrell from the Yale School of Engineering has developed a car seat that vibrates when a rear-end collision looms. (Watch it.) Morrell has tricked out a garden-variety driver’s seat with 20 motor tactors — the same devices that cause your mobile phone to vibrate when you’ve turned off the ringer at dinner or the theatre because you’re a thoughtful person and not some knuckle-dragging, loud-mouthed cretin. Then, Morrell attached the seat to a driving simulator that pre-supposes a car with a radar-based safety system like PRE-SAFE setup you’d find in a Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

During test drives, when a car approaches quickly from behind, the tactors in the back of the seat go off, alerting the driver to impending danger. If one sweeps in from the left or right, the relevant side of the driver’s seat vibrates in response. Morrell believes that using tactile stimuli can evoke faster reactions from drivers than forcing them to look at a dashboard or heads-up display.

We love the concept, and if it saves lives, we’re all for it. True, it’s not the sort of “holy crap” response we typically have to vibrating things, but then, the times are clearly a-changin’.

[Gizmag via Autoblog via Marty]

By Richard Read

Need a break from the summer heat? Do you live in Los Angeles, or are you planning to visit soon? Then take our advice and set aside an afternoon to visit the Petersen Automotive Museum for a stroll through its newest exhibition, Automotivated: Streamlined Fashion and Automobiles.

As you might have guessed from the snazzy shot above (or from the show title), Automotivated is all about wheels and wearables, centering largely on vehicles from the Art Deco period. The rides on display include a 1913 Mercer Raceabout, a 1938 Delahaye 135MS Figoni et Falaschi Roadster, and numerous sleek, exotic models made in-between.

Just as important are the sleek, exotic fashions that were inspired by the cars and the Deco aesthetic — fashions made in the ateliers of legendary designers like Nina Ricci, Jeanne Lanvin, and the one, the only, Coco Chanel. (Did you involuntarily clutch your pearls just now? It’s okay, we all did.) Not only the outfits outstanding, but they provide some incentive for your non-gearhead pals to tag along.

If any of you saw the Automotivated exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum in 2007, this is similar — in fact, the two museums are producing the current show together. (We love collaboration.) However, we’d expect this one to be a little larger, given the size of the local donor pool and Los Angeles’ thriving car culture.

For info-starved types, or for anyone needing a distraction this Thursday afternoon, check out the Petersen website and/or skim the full press release below. Automotivated: Streamlined Fashion and Automobiles opens Saturday, July 24 and runs through January 23, 2011.

SEE AUTOMOBILES AND FASHION INTERSECT AT THE PETERSEN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM

Automotivated: Streamlined Fashion and Automobiles opens July 24, 2010

(LOS ANGELES, June 1, 2010)  More attention has been devoted to the design of apparel and automobiles than to any other objects.  To celebrate this important link, The Petersen Automotive Museum and Phoenix Art Museum have collaborated on a new exhibit opening at the Petersen on Saturday, July 24, 2010.

Automotivated: Streamlined Fashion and Automobiles will reach from the early 1900s to the height of the Art Deco era to examine the automobile’s influence on fashion, fashion’s influence on the automobile, and the joint and unexpected influences between both.  Cars ranging from a 1913 Mercer Raceabout to a 1938 Delahaye will be displayed with complementary clothing styles of the era to illustrate how each discipline has been shaped by ongoing innovation, changing tastes, and evolving trends.  Together, they will reveal how style-conscious individuals embraced cars as fashion accessories and how they ultimately came to consider their vehicles to be additional layers of clothing that were as essential to proclaiming their financial and social status as their hats, gowns, and jewels.

Automobiles on exhibition include:

1913 Mercer Raceabout
1923 Mercedes 28/95 Targa Florio
1926 Rolls-Royce Town Landaulet
1937 Jaguar SS-100
1934 LaSalle Series 350 Convertible Coupe
1937 Cord 812 Cabriolet
1937 Delage D8-120 Coupe Aerosport
1938 Delahaye 135MS Figoni et Falaschi Roadster

The automobile-inspired clothing drawn from Phoenix Art Museum’s fashion design collection will range from bulky but protective dusters, hats, gloves and other accoutrements created in the early days of the automobile to the stylish gowns, stoles, capes, dresses and ensembles that developed in the Art Deco period. As the streamlined forms of the automobile came to be highlighted, so did the streamlined forms of the human figure. Undergarments designed to accentuate the human form in order to compliment the clothing that was draped over them will be exhibited to provide an inside look at what it took to streamline society. Automotivated: Streamlined Fashion and Automobiles showcases designs by Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, Sophie Gimbel, Nina Ricci, Hattie Carnegie, and Jeanne Lanvin.

The Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity. The Museum is located at 6060 Wilshire Boulevard (at Fairfax) in Los Angeles.  Admission prices are $10 for general admission adults, $5 for seniors and students with ID, and $3 for children ages 5 to 12. Museum members and children under five are admitted free. Covered parking is available for $2 per half hour with an $8 maximum for Museum visitors. Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 6pm. For general Museum information, call 323/930-CARS or visit the Museum’s Web site at: www.Petersen.org.

Founded in 1966, Phoenix Art Museum’s fashion design collection is notable for its quality and comprehensiveness and is comprised of more than 5,000 objects of American and European men’s, women’s and children’s dress and accessories dating from the late 17th century to the present.  Phoenix Art Museum is one of only a handful of art museums in the country with a long and continuous active fashion program.  To learn more visit www.PhxArt.org.

By Casey Williams

Built in 1954 by architect Morris Lapidus, Miami Beach’s Fontainebleau was once the most luxurious and modern hotel in the country. Its curvy faade and bright blue pools made a perfect backdrop for Frank Sinatra welcoming Elvis Presley home from the Army in 1960 during an ABC television special. You’ve also seen the hotel in Goldfinger, Police Academy 5, and The Bodyguard. It welcomed both the conservatively wealthy and flamboyantly avant-garde down its famed stairway to nowhere. You could make a grand entrance at the Fontainebleau coming from just about anywhere.

No matter your station in life, cruising around in the 2010 MAZDA3 Sedan makes its own grand entrance. Styling is based on Mazda’s Nagare (motion and flow) philosophy. Curvy bodylines, Celestial Blue metallic paint, 17″ alloy wheels, and a high-decked trunklid flaunt the MAZDA3’s flamboyance; body sculpting looks like it was etched by wind, sand, and time. But, the MAZDA3 isn’t just a clone of a crusty old Liberace. Think more like Dennis Rodman: it’s showy, but has the goods to back up its flash.

The powerful used to come and play at the Fontainebleau. With the MAZDA3 Grand Touring’s power, you’ll want to play in the sun, or all night long. Base models come with a 148 hp 2.0-litre engine, but the GT belts it out with a 16-valve 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine that generates 167 hp. Power comes on so smoothly that at first you might think there’s a turbo lurking beneath the car’s creased curves. If God created the Miata’s manual transmission, then his son turned water into the MAZDA3’s six-speed gearbox. Fuel economy ratings of 21/29 mpg city/hwy at least hint at heaven.

A hotel that has lasted a half-century must have good bones under the faade. Same with the MAZDA3’s chassis. Bestowing the feel of an entry-luxury Japanese sport sedan, the four-wheel independent suspension absorbs bumps and bruises like the old hotel soaks up hurricanes. Nothing seems to shake the car’s structure. Even over long stretches of broken downtown pavement, the car just rumbles over without a squeak, rattle, or hint of dissension. The MAZDA3 storms through quick backroads and tight onramps with maturity usually reserved for much more expensive cars. It feels like a Miata was stretched to accommodate four doors and a large trunk. Electronic stability control, traction control, and four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes keep this party under control. Overall behavior reminds me of the last-generation Acura TSX — still one of my favorite cars.

Hotels like the Fontainebleau are known for their grand ballrooms, designed in contemporary style with lighting and drapery to impress. Mazda’s interior designers went all out in the MAZDA3 to give its cabin a comfortable, yet sporting flair. This is a place from which you want to rip through mountain roads, but also relax after a tough day making pay. Bolstered sport seats, huge analog gauges, a leather-wrapped three-spoke steering wheel, close pedals, and leather shift knob get your business done. Heated leather cushions, steering wheel audio controls, and automatic climate control add comfort (and the fab A/C will flat blast your chilled ass out of there).

Designers cleverly wrapped the dash from behind the instruments down into the center console, creating a cove for the navigation screen and audio read-outs. All you need is easily-accessible, but there is an incredible amount of technology ready for the asking. Keyless entry and push-button starting are but two examples. Your more raucous side could listen to a symphony on the Bose audio system, but that would probably bounce the neighbors’ flower pots right off their porches.

Current owners of the Fontainebleau have concluded recent renovations without ruining anything that makes the hotel spectacular. Sure, they added a new tower, upgraded the cabanas, and probably planted a few more palm trees. But, the essence of what makes the hotel great can be easily found. Since the Mazda GLC evolved into the 323, which begat the Protege and the MAZDA3, Mazda’s small cars have had soul, durability, and a revered place among the compact faithful. ZOOM-ZOOM still means something, even with all of the freshness pumped into this latest rendition.

High-finned Cadillacs may never again grace the Fontainebleau’s driveways, but the MAZDA3 is nothing if not a fontaine of bleu. The hotel was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008, and given proper maintenance, you just might drive your MAZDA3 long enough to qualify for a set of Historic Vehicle plates. It has enough electronic tricks to impress James Bond, ample power to entangle a police force, and sufficient safety to guard five of your family’s bodies. While the Fontainebleau may have fought with the neighboring Eden Roc hotel over air rights, the MAZDA3 will do battle with the Honda Civic, Kia Forte, Ford Focus, and upcoming Chevy Cruze. Price as tested came to $24,840.

2010 MAZDA3 Grand Touring

Five-passenger, FWD Sedan
Powertrain: 167 hp 2.5-litre I4, six-speed manual transmission
Suspension f/r: Ind./Ind.
Wheels: 17″/17″ f/r.
Brakes: Disc fr/rr with ABS

By Nick Kurczewski

The 2011 Mazda MAZDA2 four-door hatchback brings a cute new face to an increasingly crowded sub-compact market currently dominated by the Nissan Versa, Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris. Low-running costs and a bargain price-tag are the key ingredients in this company. And while it doesn’t have the same “zoom zoom” driving excitement you’ll find in a sporty Mazda Miata roadster, or the slightly larger and more powerful MAZDA3, the MAZDA2 does have some nice moves of its own.

For a base price of $14,730, the 2011 MAZDA2 does many things well and, in some cases, much better than the competition. In terms of exterior design, the MAZDA2 is a huge improvement on the frumpy Versa and potato-shaped Yaris. Mazda officials said they wanted to instill a coupe-like profile, to avoid the “mini-minivan” (Mazda’s terminology) look of the Honda Fit. Cute without being faddish, the MAZDA2 is one of the best looking subcompacts — though the 2011 Ford Fiesta is probably tops in the looks department.

However, if the Ford is a little too pricey (the base Fiesta is more than $15,000), the MAZDA2 is worth serious consideration. Remember, this is 2010, a time when excess and vanity is out of style; sorry to those outdated divas in Sex and the City 2, along with every HUMMER owner, but being frugal is now cool. For many car buyers, fuel mileage has become as much a bragging point as heavy-hitting horsepower and rapid 0-to-60 times. This is good news for the MAZDA2, which sips fuel and has loads of standard features, but doesn’t suffer from any excess of horsepower.

The standard Sport model comes with air conditioning, power windows and locks, anti-lock brakes, and safety features like stability control and traction control. The Touring model ($16,185) adds fog-lights, alloy wheels, sportier seating with red piping, and audio controls on the steering wheel. There is no ’stripper’ model (as in, no frills or features, not pasties and pole dances). But unless you get cheap thrills from winding up your own windows, there’s really no reason to complain.

However, a few extra ponies under the hood would be nice. With its 100-horsepower 1.5-liter four-cylinder, the MAZDA2 is one of the least powerful cars on sale. You’d need the reflexes of a three-toed sloth to somehow get this front-wheel drive hatch slipping and sliding to engage the stability and traction control. Still, they’re nice safety features to have. And none of the MAZDA2’s competitors are exactly what we’d call pocket rockets.

Mazda has chosen a less-is-more approach, shedding weight from the MAZDA2 wherever and whenever possible. From the suspension components, to the chassis and wiring harness, every gram of extra poundage has been trimmed down. Even the door-speakers weigh roughly half of what they did in the last generation MAZDA2. Strange then that Mazda decided on a doughnut stop only 45 minutes into the test drive. After two jelly-filled and a large coffee, I’d probably undone some poor Mazda engineer’s hard work.

On sale since 2007, the previous MAZDA2 never made it to the U.S. Yet while living in Europe, I had the chance to drive the outgoing MAZDA2 in several trim levels, with a variety of gasoline and diesel engines. Nimble and easy to drive, Mazda was smart to leave the best attributes alone in the new model. Climbing behind the wheel of a MAZDA2 Sport, with optional 4-speed automatic ($800), I immediately felt at home and ready to dice with traffic.

The cabin is dominated by black and grey plastic, but the quality of the materials is good for the price-point and the controls are logically positioned. Too bad the cloth seats in the Sport model never did feel quite right. No matter where I positioned them, or how I wiggled around, my lower back started to ache after only a few miles. The vent for air recirculation also felt surprisingly cheap as I slid it back and forth, grimacing at the clunky feel and sound it made.

But you can’t argue with spacious seating for four (five in a pinch) combined with a 35 mile per gallon average during highway driving (with the 5-speed manual). This drops by a couple mpg with the four-speed automatic, but the trade-off is worth it if you’re routinely dealing with stop-and-go traffic. Mazda expects that nearly 80-percent of buyers will opt for the automatic — it’d be my choice, too.

After all the talk about approximately 200 lbs being shaved from the new MAZDA2, I probably expected a little too much from the steering. It’s precise and nicely weighted, especially for city driving. And for a sub-compact there’s much more driving pleasure here than you’d expect. Yet it didn’t feel much different from the MAZDA2s I drove in Europe which, to be fair, were always nice cars to zip around in.

So where does that leave the 2011 MAZDA2? It’s not a game-changer, though its cute looks and zippy handling offer lots of charm — along with a rare dose of driving pleasure in the sub-compact market. There is some actual soul under this car’s sheet-metal, even if some interior controls feel cheap and the stingy luggage space trails many competitors. The sub-compact market is heating up, economy is definitely in, and the MAZDA2 is a worthy addition to the field.

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By Nick Kurczewski

General Motors presented its “Designing Women” exhibition, a look back at the influence of female automotive designers within the American automotive giant, on Monday, June 28, at the Museum of the City of New York.

From post-WWII North America, through the era of horn-rimmed glasses and tail fins, and up to modern-day machines like the Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept, the event offered a candid take on the female influence within the halls of the GM design world.

The presenters included Teckla Rhoads, GM director of global industrial design; Susan Skarsgard, a former GM designer (the Saturn brand’s logo was her creation) and lead archivist for the project; and Christine Park, creative designer at Cadillac.

Interspersed with fantastically campy footage of corporate videos dating to the 50s and 60s, you’d have to be suffering the effects of one too many liquid lunches not to have been fascinated with the story of the GM’s first 11 female automotive designers.

Hired soon after the end of WWII by GM’s then head of design, Harley Earl, the influence women could bring to car design rapidly became apparent. GM’s PR department dubbed them the company’s “Damsels of Design.”

Below, you’ll find a selection of photos of auto design masters past and present:

You’ve been warned. There’s an invasion of battery-powered electric cars approaching. Tesla already carved out its niche at the top of the market with its Lotus Elise-based Roadster. Nissan is preparing to launch its American-built Leaf electric car this fall; Automotive News and several other publications recently had the chance to drive one of four production Leafs in existence. smart will lease an all-electric version of its tiny fortwo this fall, and I’m one of very few journalists who’s driven it.

Green wheels, mirrors, and exposed safety cell around the passenger compartment are clues this is not your normal smart. Open the gas cap and you’ll find a multi-pronged receptor that connects to 110v or 220v outlets, the latter for a quick charge. Cords are stored in the tailgate. Inside, the car is outfitted with green trim and the Pure edition’s steering wheel, since the car uses a continuously-variable transmission instead of the gasoline version’s five-speed paddle-shift automatic. Charge meters occupy the dashtop bug-eyes.

Making the electric drive possible are high-capacity Lithium-Ion batteries and regenerative brakes that charge the batteries when decelerating. The electrical system is engineered by smart’s partner, Tesla. Plugged to a 220v outlet, the car can be charged in 4 – 6 hours; fully topped off, it’s good for a 100-mile driving range.

Like all electric cars, nothing really happens when you turn the smart electric drive’s key. It goes into stand-by mode until you press the throttle, whereupon the car gently and quietly whirs away. Having driven many miles in gasoline-powered smarts with their sometimes-hesitant transmissions and mechanical engines, it’s eerie to step on the throttle, hear nothing, and feel nothing but smooth acceleration.

Making electric cars viable is going to take a concerted effort by automakers, dealers, drivers, and utility companies. Local dealers are actively involved in convincing power companies, state lawmakers, and the federal government to offer incentives for electric cars. These incentives will be necessary to lower the cars’ prices to something competitive with hybrids like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight.

The smart won’t be alone when it debuts. Nissan will launch the five-door Leaf from its plant in Tennessee with a price presumably similar to smart. One level up in sophistication, Chevrolet will offer the 2011 Volt extended-range electric car that can travel 40 miles on a charge, then continue about 300 miles with an auxiliary gas engine charging the batteries.

This feels vaguely familiar since I drove the GM EV1 in 1996. That car was a dream, quick as a Camaro, but was conceived two decades too early and failed because of limited range and a high price. Better batteries promise different results for the Volt. Prices are still being finalized, but expect to pay about $25,000 for a smart or Leaf (after incentives). Chevy Volts will begin around $40,000.

Let the electric invasion begin!

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By Richard Read & Joe Tralongo

Here at Gaywheels, we tend to get a little punchy on Wednesdays, and that goes double for Wednesdays that fall before long holiday weekends. So although we are working on a couple of great car reviews at the moment, we’re feeling a little too giddy to talk sensibly about trannies and driveshafts.

Well, you know what we mean.

Instead, we’re going to share some humpday humor — specifically, outtakes from car commercials that were a smidge too raunchy for primetime. We should warn you that unless you work in a bar or an adult bookstore or on the set of Treme, both of these clips are NSFW. So, you know, wear headphones.

First, a clip of the late Robert Ridgely shilling Monroe shock absorbers, courtesy of our colleagues at Jalopnik. Ridgely was a Hollywood fixture, known for his work on camera (in Boogie Nights, for example) and as a voiceover actor (he performed Thundarr the Barbarian AND the Purple Pieman from Strawberry Shortcake). Clearly, he should’ve also been cast in Boys in the Band. Check it:

And then, for balance, we have an unknown spokesman (well, unknown to us) pitching for Ralph Williams Bayshore Chrysler-Plymouth in San Francisco. Rumor has it that Ralph fired this firecracker shortly before the commercial went into production. Obviously, it was shot on film, but we like to think it was done as a live broadcast, too. Because, really: could you imagine?

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Wednesday afternoon, already in progress.

By Casey Williams

From the available red-and-white-striped seats to the wind it puts in your face, the 2011 Ford Mustang GT Convertible is like a big kid’s Schwinn Stingray. I had one in yellow and red when I turned five. About five minutes after it came home, I weebled it into my mom’s Pontiac Phoenix and dented both the car and my chin. The car survived the incursion (although it later shed its transmission and every other part not deemed essential by itself). My chin, however, required five stitches to be put whole. Buy a 2011 Mustang GT and you’ll have a lot of fun – hopefully without a trip to the emergency room.

Check the front fender and you’ll see a classic element we used to love: a chrome 5.0 badge. Raise the hood and you’ll find much more. An all-aluminum 32-valve V8 engine generates 412 horsepower, directed to the rear wheels through — God forbid anything else — a solid rear axle. You can option a six-speed auto transmission, but the crisp six-speed manual is the one to own. Fuel economy for the manual GT is rated 17/26 mpg city/highway. If that sounds like too much excitement, there’s no shame in choosing the base Mustang with its 305 hp 3.7-litre V6 that achieves 31 mpg!

One gets the feeling by looking at the Mustang that V.P. of Design, J. Mays and his team aimed to imbue just a bit more European flair to the latest pony. Exterior styling could be mistaken for nothing other than Ford’s flagship sport coupe, but it seems more finely tailored. An aggressive grille, canted taillamps with progressive turn signals, and a hip bump in the shoulderline update the classic. I like the 19″ alloy wheels on our test car, but would go for a more dramatic color than basic silver.

Back to those clay red leather seats with creamy white stripe: they look great, fashionable, and complement the red leather steering wheel and charcoal metallic-look dash inserts. Padded dash materials cover a twin-cockpit design that echoes past Mustangs. Large analog gauges with changeable light colors, a big aluminum shift knob, and freeze-cold climate control make the car even more enjoyable. Mustang is also available with SYNC, Ford’s voice-activated audio and navigation system. You can summon restaurant directions, view weather forecasts, or access your iPod’s menus (via USB port) on command.

Mustang’s key competitors – the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger – sauntered out of the last decade underpinned by independent rear suspensions. Well, we would have none of that advanced technology under the Mustang. Ford sticks with a solid rear axle, but has significantly enhanced the car’s handling with new rear lower control arms and stiffer rear stabilizer bar bushings. The car still dances its tail over very rough pavement, but the behavior is ages ahead of anything that came before. Purists will argue the rear axle allows hot rodders to more aggressively modify the Mustang. Who am I to argue? It certainly hasn’t hurt sales, and Ford enthusiasts seem perfectly pleased.

That’s not where the under-skin changes stopped their molting. Engineers replaced the traditional belt-driven power steering system with electric assist that is quieter, uses less energy, and allows for variable-assist to best balance light low-speed effort with heavier high-speed feel. Drift-Pull Compensation automatically adjusts the steering to compensate for crosswinds and road crowning. Nibble Control filters out vibrations from out-of-balance wheels. Electronic Stability Control, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, and traction-control keep this powerful stallion in the corral. Available Brembo brakes halt the rampage from ridiculous speeds without drama.

Driving the Mustang GT is believing. The car is noticeably more refined, separated from squeaks and rattles, and behaves itself even over rough roads. It feels sportier, tighter, and much more mature than any Mustang before. It is a car that remembers its raucous roots, but steps up with a level of sophistication that would be a great compliment for many European-brand sport coupes. I was more than pleasantly surprised. Mustang enthusiasts have much for which they should be thankful.

I could quibble about the solid rear axle, tight cockpit, and old-school powertrain. However, there is no debating how well Ford knows its customers that keep the Mustang in the pony car sales race. They evolve what needs to evolve and leave the rest the heck alone. That seems to keep the tribe happy, giving the rest of us plenty of eye candy on the highway and boulevards. One certainly can not dismiss 45 years of success.

The classic styling of the Schwinn and the power of a modern day supercar put the Mustang GT at the top of any kid’s wish list. Now available with the iconic 5.0 on the front fender, this may be the best overall Mustang yet. Put down the top, slip into the striped seats, and take a ride through your Schwinned childhood. (Just watch out for parked Pontiacs.) Mustang GT Convertibles start at an incredible $34,645.

2011 Ford Mustang GT Convertible
Four-passenger, RWD convertible
Powertrain: 412-HP 5.0-litre V8,six-speed, manual transmission
Suspension f/r: Independent/Solid axle.
Wheels: 19″/19″ f/r.
Brakes: Disc fr/rr with ABS.
Must-have feature: Style, speed.
Fuel economy: 17/26 mpg city/hwy.
Assembly: Flat Rock, MI
Base price: $34,645

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