Mustang, muscle car or compact car?

[ghostx]

BASICALLY, WHAT DEFINES A MUSCLE CAR AND A COMPACT CAR?
WHY SHOULDN'T THEY COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER?

I recently read one of many complaints about the '05 Mustang competing in drifting events because it's not a "compact car". I also have a complaint about the Stang competing with imports period, still fresh in my memory. This latest Stang hater however couldn't come to terms with the fact that the mustang is not just a "muscle car". It's just as much a SPORTS car as any import out there and it deserves to be in any competition Tom, Dick, Harry, or even Gushi decides to mod it for. Maybe it's just me, but I can't seem to draw a line between muscle cars and compact cars that easily.

[pre98zetec]

compact car usually is fwd-I4 or V6 powered, the mustang however RWD-V8, would be IMO considered a Muscle car.

[del]

how can you NOT call a mustang a musclecar. it's one of the pioneers of the whole musclecar market. when you think of musclecars think mustang, camero, gto's, chevelle's, chargers etc. sport compacts - eclipse, prelude, integra, golfs, 240sx's, etc. i think they're quite distinguishable.

[RedLightning]

I call it a freakin pony car. Gar...

[Dreamspawn]

a compact car is ne 4-6cylinder,ff,hatch back i think. Why wouldn't they want it to compete they only Compact car i know of in D1 is the AE86 with the S2000 engine. I know there are Numerous Silivas,RX7,Viper *with the new crossfire taking its place next year*,the mustang would fit right into the disfunctional family lol. Hey if u can drift it, it deseves to be in a comp.

[kman10587]

Well, they let the GTO compete in D1GP last year, so I don't see why the '05 Mustang shouldn't be allowed in. Anyways, I consider a compact car anything that the EPA classifies as compact, and the Mustang is classified as compact, so I don't see what all the fuss is about.

[drdisque]

the mustang is smaller and weighs less than cars like the Supra, 300ZX, and 3000GT

[NISSANSPDR]

Originally Posted by drdisque

the mustang is smaller and weighs less than cars like the Supra, 300ZX, and 3000GT

Doesnt the Mustang GT weigh around 3400-3500 lbs? The 300ZX is around 3200-3300 lbs, the Supra is 3500-3600 lbs, the VR4 is 3700-3800 lbs...

[kman10587]

The 300ZX TT is 3500+ lbs last I checked. But yes, they are all similarly high weights.

[ghostx]

well, this site calls the mustang a compact
http://www.autosite.com/content/rese.../category/CPCT

and here's the definition of a compact car.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/compact+car

I guess there shouldn't be any more confusion. I guess...... but check this out,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_car

The mustang is a compact that gave rise to a new classification....but i guess it's still a compact

[mustang1718]

I think most people think of compact cars as imports. The Mustang is being hard to classify because it has the after market parts like an import but has the v8 power because it is a domestic car. Some people think that all big engine cars that are built in America are muscle cars but I think that the muscle car thing died off in the late 60's and early 70's and replaced with sports cars. I think of the Mustang as a sports car with power and after market parts to increase it, so I guess it could almost be called a "modern muscle car." This is the mutt of all cars if you think about it

[ghostx]

Originally Posted by mustang1718

I think most people think of compact cars as imports. The Mustang is being hard to classify because it has the after market parts like an import but has the v8 power because it is a domestic car. Some people think that all big engine cars that are built in America are muscle cars but I think that the muscle car thing died off in the late 60's and early 70's and replaced with sports cars. I think of the Mustang as a sports car with power and after market parts to increase it, so I guess it could almost be called a "modern muscle car." This is the mutt of all cars if you think about it

These days, i would call the dodge viper a muscle car. We could go by cylinders or displacement. I'd say a v-10+ or anything with over 6.0 liters is the modern muscle car.

[mustang1718]

I agree with you on the Viper though. Even though Mustangs are my favorite cars, I still don't consider them a modern muscle car. The equivelent of a muscle car from then to now would be about 500 horses, which is where the Viper comes into play.

This is off topic but I'm a noob to AF and how do you put the pics into your sig? I've checked in the options and stuff but don't see a button for pics...

[Muscletang]

Ok people I'm going to lay out what makes a muscle car a muscle car. In the 60's this is how they figured out if your car was a muscle car. If your car made 1 horsepower per every 10 pounds then it was a musclecar.

An example would be the 2004 SVT Coba. It weighs around 3200-3300 pounds and makes 390 horsepower. If you do the math the Cobra has something like 8 pounds per every 1 horsepower so it's a musclecar.

[ghostx]

Originally Posted by Muscletang

Ok people I'm going to lay out what makes a muscle car a muscle car. In the 60's this is how they figured out if your car was a muscle car. If your car made 1 horsepower per every 10 pounds then it was a musclecar.

An example would be the 2004 SVT Coba. It weighs around 3200-3300 pounds and makes 390 horsepower. If you do the math the Cobra has something like 8 pounds per every 1 horsepower so it's a musclecar.

What about the mustang GT? Does it qualify? 3500/300=1hp per 11.7lbs
if my math is correct then I guess it doesn't. don't trust my math though