SlowHand

Black-on-black coupe, I'm going to lower it, add flowmaster exhaust and a K and N intake. I'm hoping these mods will increase my confidence in taking corners reasonably fast, accurately and with some positive control of under/oversteer.

I'm excited about my new car. I like sports cars and was lucky enough to own a new Lotus Elan Turbo (now that's a car built for cornering) when it was introduced here in the US in the nineties but it was almost a kit car, so eccentric was the build quality and mid-life service support. Taking advantage of an executive car program to which I no longer belong, I then bought a BMW 540i, a fantastically engineered beast, sophisticated, luxurious and so fantastic on the freeways that you could be doing 110 mph and not have to raise your voice to talk to someone in the back seat. Anyway, after ten years and the news that I'd need to spring for a new catalytic converter at $1700, I began to yearn for the more hairy-chested (and less ruinously expensive) pleasures of a classic American V8 and, with two children and a fatwah from the wife on two-seaters, the pretty Mustang fits the bill...

Anyway, thank you for your hospitality on this great forum for Mustang enthusiasts. I'd love to read comments from anyone with the Mustang CS, modded or not, or just those in general who own a new GT and who'd like to report their experiences with it, especially anyone with as extreme a range of previous automobile ownership experiences as I have had.

I have a question about the wisdom (or otherwise) of the maintenance and wear insurance plan I'm being offered by my Ford dealership (I have to decide today or tomorrow) but I'm posting that in the more relevant forum.

Thanks again for your hospitality.

TwotoneVert

Welcome to the board, please post a few pics when you can.

SlowHand

Thanks. Will do. Taking delivery after I get back from vacation Jan 1st; I'll post pics then.

BakoLuke

welcome to the forums! looking forward to those pics!

TPony

Welcome to the forums!

SikGT

Welcome. Would like to see your car. I'm too lazy to drive to the Ford dealership and then the damn vultures (salesmen) begin attacking you.

MACH1MANIAC

Anyone know what all the california special comes with... This is the first time i've heard or read about it...

SlowHand

OK, here goes. People will tell you it's a package of cosmetic exterior modifications: non-functional hood scoop and side air intakes, rolled chrome tailpipes, larger front vent with chin spoiler 1 1/2" lower than regular GT, a "GT/CS" side-stripe halfway up the door, CS center fake fuel cap badge and 18" rims. So...let me preempt the skeptics -- sorry if I sound defensive, but's it's my brand new baby -- by acknowledging that, with the exception of the bigger wheels and small aerodynamic gains, there are no performance benefits. However, I'm getting mine lowered, exhaust-tuned and fitted with a larger cold air intake so that I can claim my "Special Edition" to be something more than a GT with a cosmetic makeover.

The benefits to the buyer of the CS is that it's one-stop shopping for the more aggresive, purposeful look that you could otherwise pay for with a package of body upgrades for the regular GT. The lower chin spoiler and the side vents give the car a more wedge-like shape and the rims make a huge difference. If I'd have gone for the standard GT I'd have got the bigger rims without hesitation. Same thing goes for the interior. Instead of piecemeal upgrades, you get the Shaker 500, the brushed chrome panel, black leather racing seats with a unique gray inset, the psychadelic instrument lighting option and all the other goodies in one package.

The odd thing is that Ford did themselves no favors at all by publishing pics of a white CS in its press release and these are all over the Web. It looks awful in white because the vents stand out like black bunions and the black stripe looks really tacky on a white background. The black front intake looks awkward and unaerodynamic on a white car, too. Whoever perpetrated this should be fired! In black or dark gray, with the vents and stripe noticeable but camouflaged, the car looks great and justifies itself for me both on account of its appearance and as a one-stop package of exterior refinements that I would otherwise have had to get for a GT without the CS distinction. My wife hasn't seen the car yet. She'll laugh at the hood scoop and I can't really blame her but I wanted a muscle car and this thing looks like it's on steroids. I'll post a pic of it (black-on-black) when I take delivery Jan 2nd...

Arwing

Welcome![sm=groupwave.gif]

Stang562

Welcome to MF it sound nice