Ford Mustang 2015 News

Highway patrol officers could soon look like a modern version of Mad Max — roaming our roads in Ford Mustangs.With Ford and Holden ending production of their high performance Falcons and Commodores over the next three years, police forces across Australia are grappling with what to use next to catch high-speed criminals.The Ford Mustang is the only V8 so far confirmed for Ford or Holden showrooms once the homegrown sedans switch to four-cylinder power similar to a Toyota Camry by the end of 2017.The new Mustang due in Australia in 2015 may seem a fanciful choice, but with an estimated price of $50,000 it’s expected to cost about the same as the current highway patrol cars.A statement from Ford Australia said: “We cannot discuss private dealings with our fleet customers but we do plan to remain a leader with law enforcement.”Police have used V8 coupes before: in the 1970s and early ’80s NSW Police used Valiant Chargers and Ford Falcon coupes.Dubbed “Australia’s Mustang” at the time because Ford refused to import the iconic muscle car, the Falcon coupe used by police was the same type used in the original Mad Max movie.Queensland police had a fleet of 10 Holden Monaros in 2005 and now have five high performance HSV Clubsport sedans (after taking delivery of four in 2011).Earlier this month there were reports South Australia police were considering BMWs, but a representative for BMW Australia said “no discussions have taken place”.Even with a Luxury Car Tax exemption BMW sedans would cost more than twice the price of Commodores and Falcons.Victoria police had a HSV GTO coupe in 2003 but, as with most states and territories, it is today heavily reliant on Falcon and Commodore pursuit cars.A Victoria Police spokeswoman said, once the Falcon and Commodore are no longer available “we will canvass all available options in the market for the sustainable supply of vehicles that meet our specific operational needs”.A former police fleet manager told News Corp Australia: “The absence of the Falcon and Commodore is going to pose a problem for the highway patrol.”He said all emergency services have had “massive support” from Ford and Holden to develop vehicles for Australia’s unique requirements, “but that support won’t be there because they won’t want to tailor global cars for such a small market.”A senior NSW highway patrol officer with 20 years’ experience said: “The latest high-performance Falcons and Commodores are probably the best cars we’ve ever had.”He said they act as “a strong deterrent” to high-speed crooks “because they know they’re not going to get away and, anecdotally at least, we don’t have as many pursuits as a result.”The fleet expert said more is demanded of highway patrol cars than any other vehicle in the police force.“The cars carry up to 200kg of emergency equipment and have to be able to accelerate and brake over and over again, shift after shift, without giving up,” said the former police fleet manager, who asked not to be named.“The highway patrol are often the front line for officer safety as the first cars to crime scenes and life-threatening crashes,” he said.The government fleet expert said the highway patrol would probably end up in a variety of cars, including some four-cylinder “hot hatches”.“You might end up with something like a Volkswagen Golf GTI in the city but still have the Mustang or some other high performance car in the greater metro and regional areas, to maintain the deterrent effect,” he said.Germany’s highway patrol mostly drive Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs.UK traffic police drive a wide range of vehicles, including BMWs, Volvos and Skodas, but in some cities they drive scooters and tiny Smart cars.Until recently, a number of regions in the UK used rally-bred Subaru WRXs and Mitsubishi Evo sedans.In the US, Holden has been using a police pack version of the Australian-made Caprice limousine to try to take business away from the iconic Ford Crown Victoria and Dodge Charger.But the Caprice will be axed once the Holden factory closes in late 2017.Police in Italy this week took delivery of the new Lamborghini Huracan supercar, their third Lamborghini since 2004.But police in Dubai are the luckiest in the world, with a multi-million-dollar fleet that includes several Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Aston Martins and Porsches.Meanwhile the fastest police cars in Australia today are the supercharged HSV GTS and Ford Falcon GT in the custody of NSW Police.However, funded by the Motor Accidents Authority, they are mostly used in static displays for road safety campaigns at public events, rather than regular highway patrol work.

The world scored its first look at the 2015 Mustang via five simultaneous unveilings in December, but Ford is gearing up for an even bigger bash as we approach the 50th anniversary of the first model on April 17.A range of celebrations are expected for the iconic badge’s half-century, and one element will be a re-enactment of the first-generation’s famous stunt atop New York City’s Empire State Building in 1965.Eighteen months after the original model’s April 17 public debut at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, Ford displayed the revised 1966 model on the 86th floor observation deck of what was then the world’s tallest building.The use of helicopters to hoist the Mustang convertible to the 86th floor was deemed too risky at the time, so Ford carefully split the car into four sections that would fit in the Empire State Building’s lift, before reassembling the car at the top.Teased in a single ‘in progress’ image for now, Ford will once again use a white convertible to recreate the stunt – fragmented in a similar fashion to squeeze into the Empire State’s lift. According to Ford, the helicopter option is still too risky and no portable crane can reach the 86th floor, so shoehorning the 18cm longer and 10cm wider sixth-generation model into the lift will be a greater achievement than the original.One advantage the crew has over the previous feat is the use of computer aided design, which no doubt will help with the six-hour reassembly window once transported up the building. “We’re thrilled to be visiting the architectural landmark that has been the heart of the Manhattan skyline for 83 years with the newest generation of the car that is the soul of Ford Motor Company,” Ford chief operating officer Mark Fields says.The original Empire State Mustang was on display for several months, but the new model will only be present at the famous tourist attraction for 54 hours, from April 16-17. The 2015 Ford Mustang goes on sale in the US later this year, before arriving in local showrooms in 2015. Watch the 2015 Mustang’s Sydney global unveiling video here. This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn  

Ford has secured some prime product placement with their new Mustang winning a starring role in the coming Need for Speed film. And we're already getting a taste of the action with the car's commercial. "Do you really think that when you've been set up, accused and convicted, a new car can put it all behind you?" the ad asks, before giving the answer you've already guessed... "Depends on the car".Ford tapped Need for Speed director Scott Waugh for the ad, which shows the movie's star Aaron Paul going to prison and then racing along a desert road in the new Mustang.According to Motor Authority Waugh describes the Ford as being perfect as the hero car. "The best movie cars combine tons of power, rear-wheel drive, great handling and the ability to be easily flung around corners,” he says. “As we’ve seen hundreds of times over the years -- from ‘Bullitt’ to ‘Gone in Sixty Seconds’ -- Mustang fits the bill perfectly."Ford is using the new ad to launch the social media hashtag #InaMustang, which fans will be urged to use in sharing their own pony car stories and wishlists, with the carmaker intending to use the content to seed more storytelling via a dedicated website.The rear-wheel drive Ford Mustang will arrive in Australia by the end of next year in two versions. The entry level priced from about $45,000 will be powered by a 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder developing 227kW of power at 5500rpm and 407Nm of torque at 2500 to 4500rpm. The Mustang V8 will be priced from about $55,000 and carry a 5.0-litre engine developing 313kW at 6500rpm and 529Nm at 4250rpm. Both versions will have transmission choices of a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic.Watch the desktop version of the Ford Mustang ad taps Need for Speed video here.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

You don't often see a Ferrari used as a camera car. In front of the camera, yes. But fitting one out with a camera rig to film other cars ... that's rare. But it's also one of the choices the production crew of Need for Speed is tinkering with, as they prepare to start shooting high-speed scenes.This footage takes you behind the scenes, where chase vehicles for the upcoming movie are being built. In addition to the Ferrari, they're modifying an Audi A6 and a Ford GT Mustang with a supercharger that boosts it to deliver 466kW of power, plus uprated high-performance gears and brakes.Because when you're filming something like a Bugatti Veyron at high speed, you have to rig up a vehicle that can keep pace without too much effort, and handle deftly, allowing the camera team to concentrate on getting the best footage. Or, as one of the production crew simply puts it: "you need a badass car".The only question we'd like answered is what happens to the chase cars after the filming is done. It seems like some of the crew would be volunteering to give them good homes.Watch the Need for Speed - the chase cars video here.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Ford is remaining annoyingly cagey with the outputs and performance of the new 2015 Mustang

We already knew that the upcoming Need for Speed movie would feature a specially-modified version of the fifth-generation Mustang, but now it’s been confirmed that the all-new 2015 sixth-generation Mu

Some of the biggest names in motoring have been renewed at this year's Detroit motor show.

In April 1964, Gail Brown was 22 year old elementary school teacher and getting to work in her mother's '57 Ford Fairlane 500 convertible. She wanted a car of her own. It had to be cool and it had to be a convertible. Gail went to Johnson Ford in Chicago on April 15th, 1964. After looking at all of cars in the showroom she told the sales representative that nothing appealed to her. With a grin, he said, "I've got something in the back that's really new." In a storeroom, still under a cover, was a brand-new Ford Mustang convertible in Skylight Blue, with a 260-cubic-inch V8 engine and Rally Pac instrumentation. "That's what I want!" Gail said. It cost her $3,419. What makes Gail Brown unique is that she bought her Mustang on April 15th, two days before the car was set to go on sale, by chance becoming the first known retail buyer of an American icon. Today, Gail recalls with a great deal of fondness those early days of Mustang ownership: "I was the coolest teacher in the school that year and the boys fawned over the Mustang" she said "I felt like a movie star everywhere I went for the first few months," said Gail. "I remember everyone waving and flagging me down and giving me high-fives." In 1966, Gail married longtime sweetheart Tom Wise. The Mustang first became the family car and was then it was relegated into being the backup car for the growing family. Fifteen years of Chicago winters and everything four kids could throw at it eventually started to catch up with the car. By 1979 the mudguards were rusting, the floors were giving way and mechanical gremlins were making it difficult to rely on . So it was pushed into the garage and spent the next 27 years there. When Tom retired he began a restoration project and by 2007 all of the rust was cut out, a new top installed, the body repainted and all of the mechanicals repaired. Now their children have children, and as you can imagine the car is very popular in the family. "The grandkids love it, everybody loves it," says Gail. "We all go for rides around town". David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au  

While Ford has revealed the new Mustang coupe and convertible we'll see here in 2015, they've been holding back a few details for the car's official showcase at Detroit motor show. However, yesterday reports started to surface about Ford hinting at a 'secret feature' in the Mustang. Today we have confirmation via Motor Authority that the secret technology is an electronic system to help the driver perform a perfect, smokescreen-creating burnout. The report doesn't have details of how the technology works, but suggests that it could either put a line-lock on the front brakes while disabling traction control. And there's no indication of whether this would be a standard feature, or an option -- and perhaps only offered on the V8 models. But you can bet there will be some grumbling if a burnout feature arrives on the cars headed for Australian showrooms. Much of the complaint will be from anti-hoon crusaders who will see the function as encouraging hooniganism. And the rest of it will likely be from purists, who prefer to execute their burnouts while relying solely on their own skills. There's more new technology on the way with the Mustang, and you can get all the lastest news at our dedicated Mustang mini-site.   This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott      

Ford is still keeping back some details of the new Mustang that will arrive in Australia in 2015, but this new video at least gives an idea of what it might sound like.The one you're hearing rev is the 5.0-litre V8, which we're told develops more than 313kW of power at 6500rpm, and 529Nm of torque at 4250rpm -- mated to the choice of a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic driving the rear wheels. It's estimated to go on sale for around $55,000, and we're yet to be told the weight, fuel economy and 0-100km/h time.Also on the way is the 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder version, which is tipped to go on sale at around $45,000, and offer outputs of 227kW of power at 5500rpm and 407Nm of torque between 2500-4500rpm. Like the V8, there is still some information coming to fill in the blanks.In the meantime, check out our dedicated Ford Mustang hub for more details, background and some great -- and fun -- features from the world of the pony car. Watch the desktop version of the new Mustang revving video here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott