From the moment in 1964 when the Ford Mustang established the ponycar, convertibles have been an integral element of the genre. Except for a few dark years in the 1970s and early ’80s, there has always been a Mustang convertible.
Today’s Mustang faces more serious competition than it has in years, with the return of the Chevy Camaro and the Dodge Challenger, but neither of its rivals offers a convertible. Chrysler has already confirmed that there won’t be a Challenger softtop. GM does plan to produce a Camaro convertible, but all that nasty bankruptcy business has pushed off the likely arrival date until 2012, although there have been recently rumblings that the company may try to get the car out a little sooner, perhaps in 2011.
For now, anyway, the Mustang convertible is the only game in town. And its level of play is better than you might think, judging from the screaming-peacock blue GT convertible I recently had for a week. Actually, the color is called Grabber Blue, and the non-metallic hue is a repeat of a 1970 Mustang color; in today’s sea of silver blobs it sure makes heads swivel. On the Premium trim level, the blue also repeats as a thin accent strip in the center of the seats, spicing up the black leather interior without being too garish. In fact, the cabin overall is well-executed. The front buckets are fairly comfortable, and the rear seats at least can accommodate kids—say, twelve and under. The dash combines modern elements—aluminum trim, Sync, and navigation (that latter not on my test car)—with two large, retro-styled gauges directly in front of the driver.
One not-so-charming retro element in the Mustang is its solid rear axle (both the Challenger and the Camaro use an independent rear suspension). I was expecting plenty of axle hop over bumps, perhaps exacerbated by an overly stiff suspension trying to compensate for a convertible’s less stiff body structure. But while New York City’s worst bumps did set off some cowl shake, the rear end behaved itself, and the GT handled the curvy country roads of suburban Westchester County—generally in better shape but by no means perfect—with aplomb. Nor did the wide tires negatively affect the steering, as tramlining was conspicuous by its absence and the GT steered with welcome precision.
The Mustang also trails its competitors in engine output. The GT’s 315-hp, 4.6-liter V-8 barely out-muscles the Camaro’s 304-hp V-6 (while the Mustang’s six musters only 215 hp); and 4.6-liter’s number also look pretty puny compared to Chevy’s base V-8 at 400 hp, and Dodge’s at 372 hp. But a convertible is really not the bodystyle of choice for a truly hardcore performance machine, so while the 4.6-liter is no screamer, it does have the relaxed power delivery that perfectly suits the car’s mission. It helps that it’s mated to a five-speed manual with well-spaced ratios and solid throws; and the clutch is easy to modulate with reasonable efforts that don’t become a drag in stop-and-go traffic.
Cynics may regard the Mustang as an all-style, no-substance throwback that can’t even put up numbers to match its competitors. But while the Mustang’s engineering is far from cutting edge, the car has been polished to the point where it works surprisingly well. And though the Mustang convertible concept may be in its fifth decade, it’s one whose appeal endures.
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