Muscle car wars 2009

Despite demands for greater fuel economy, there's still a market for big-power performance.

Ford Shelby GT500KR
Ford Shelby GT500KR
Ford Shelby GT500KR
While both the Challenger and Camaro are being brought back for another run, the Ford Mustang needs no re-introduction. It's had its good times and bad, but Ford has never stopped making them.

The reason the Mustang has done so well over more than four decades of production, said Motor Trend Detroit editor Todd Lassa, is that it appeals to a wider audience than its competitors. Mustangs sell to those looking for performance as well as those just looking for an inexpensive cool car.

That's not to say that there isn't a market for extreme performance versions. In 2008, Ford will introduce the GT500KR powered by a 5.4-liter, 540-horsepower, V8 engine. You won't see many of these on the road, though. Ford will only sell 1,000 of them.

Because these cars command high prices, engineers have more freedom to experiment with new ways to reduce weight and get more power out the engine.

"We are using the same tech for performance gain and weight reduction that our smaller cars will use for fuel economy," said Jamal Hameedi, Ford's chief engineer for performance cars.

For instance, the use of lightweight aluminum instead of steel for various parts was pioneered in performance cars. Also, "forced induction" to boost engine power, like the superchargers used in Shelby cars, will become more common as car companies turn to smaller engines to save fuel.


Madness?

Challenger

Camaro

Shelby

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.