![]() With all this, the venerable Fox platform was changed so much that Ford renamed it "Fox-4," the number denoting 1994, the targeted model year. For the same reason, GTs got diagonal bracing between the firewall and front strut towers. For example, coupes replaced open-section roof rails with sturdier closed members, frame rails were beefed up, a hefty inverted-U beam was added to link the B-pillars, and there were reinforcements in a dozen other places.Ĭonvertibles added a transverse beam between the rear wheelhouses and a stout underbody X-brace to reduce twist and shake. This led to numerous under-skin alterations that improved crash performance as well as resistance to squeaks and rattles. The SN95 team naturally relied heavily on the latest computer modeling tools but also common sense, their own considerable experience, and no small measure of trial and error. ![]() By contrast, Ford spent an industry-record $3 billion on the trend-setting 1986 Taurus.ĭespite these impressive improvements, curb weights ended up only some 200 pounds higher than for equivalent '93 models. All reported to Will Boddie, then director for small and midsize cars.Considering the legend entrusted to them, the SN95 team worked on a surprisingly modest budget: $700 million in all, with a mere $200 million earmarked for design and engineering. Key figures included overall manager Mike Zevalkink, business manager John Coletti, designer manager Bud Magaldi, interior designer Emeline King, engineering manager Kurt Achenbach, and powertrain manager John Bicanich. ![]() Topping the wish lists were modern styling with hints of the original, a cheap and easily serviced V-8, rear-wheel drive, a low base price, and plenty of options: In short, a brand-new good old Mustang.Because Ford had become a leaner organization, and with the "team concept" now gospel throughout Detroit, SN95 developed quite differently from earlier Mustangs.The big departure was the formation of a fairly small, independent multi-profession project group. Corporate pride demanded a proper reply, so a new Mustang program was underway by early 1989.Code named SN95, this effort began with a round of consumer clinics per Dearborn tradition, what PR flacks later called "gallop polls." This time, however, unusual weight was given to the views of Mustang owners. Then Ford learned that General Motors was abandoning a planned front-drive Chevrolet Camaro/Pontiac Firebird for a new rear-drive 1993 concept. Besides, Ford had more profitable product fish to fry (the Explorer sport-utility for one), and the old Mustangs were still selling pretty well, so why rush? With that, planning floundered for a good two years. But with demand for "real" pony cars lagging again by the late 1980s, some in Dearborn began to question the need for another new Mustang.
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