While I was at the dealership today for the paint, I was chatting w/ the Sales Manager. He told me that the 2013 and on GT's will NOT be available w/ the 3.73 rear end. I asked him why, too fast, supply, MPG, what. He said the FED came to Ford and stated that the 3.73 rear gear will not be offered in any Mustang GT in the future, the largest rear end will be a 3.55 or smaller. I think this is b/c both MPGs and the 0-60 that the new 11-12 GTs are capable of. It's just too quick for some folks.

 

Glad I got my money's worth while they offered them!

 

That's lame. If you're willing to pay for it what the hell does it matter? It's not like it a 3.73 gear is more dangerous than a 3.55 or smaller

 

just means there won't be an OEM offering..so what?

That's what aftermarket is for. Less liability for Ford is all. They have to meet certain CAFE standards which means if they have too many cars sold with higher gears it lowers the overall MPG of the class and as an OEM ther are huge penalties for that. Not to mention it could jeapardize the future of the mustang. I'll stick with some aftermarket options..thanks.

 

Dunno. That's ust what the Sales Manager told me. We were chatting about my options, and I was telling him how much fun it is to drive w/ the 3.73. It's the same ratio as in my 2000 F350 Powerstroke. He commented that my package (Base GT Manual, Brembos, 3.73) is as close to a street legal racecar as I could get below the Boss 302.

 

Wow. I'm glad I got mine while I did. I always question though whether the dealer is telling the most accurate story. I hardly believe that "too fast" is the reason seeing that there are many manufacturers building even faster cars with greater liability. Plus, the Feds aren't going to crack down on safety unless the car doesn't meet safety standards. Since our Mustangs weight upwards or 3,600 lbs, you can bet that much of that weight is for safety.

I do buy the mileage story though. Too me, this makes the most sense since the EPA is always trying to raise the mileage figure. This is another reason why Ford is probably contemplating a turbo 4 cyl for the 2015 Mustang.

 

Too fast so they're getting rid of 3.73s because the government told them to?! THIS MAKES NO SENSE.

Ford already sells the Boss 302, with its 3.73s and more powerful engine. And it sells the GT500 with its 540hp engine and available 3.73s. Not to mention that there are numerous cars faster than mustangs that you can go buy...

 

I'm just shooting in the dark here for ideas. I don't know exactly WHY the fed stepped in. Just going off of the word of ONE Sales Manager at ONE dealership. He said, "2013 and on, the 3.73 will NOT be an option b/c the Fed stepped in. You're lucky you got a 2012. This package is the closest you can get from the factory to a Boss 302, a racecar on the street."

 

Sales managers are generally pretty famous for not knowing a damn thing about the product they sell. That seems far too arbitrary a decision to make.

 

+1


And it doesn't matter what rear end option you get in the car (6 speed manual) the Mustang was certified for the EPA MPG rating with the standard 3.31 gears.

The MPG on the window sticker doesn't change for the gear ratio that is in the car (3.31, 3.55 or 3.73), all of the manual trans GT Mustangs have one rating and all of the automatic trans cars have another rating.