Why are the yanks scared of performance figures?

[Ari]

Just been all over the Ford Mustang web site and even downloaded the ebrochure. Unless I'm going blind, not a whiff of 0-60 or top speed anywhere!

http://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/

http://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/specifications/vi...

http://assets.forddirect.fordvehicles.com/assets/N...

Detailed enough to go into compression ratios and valve lifters, just afraid to say what that translates to.

If anyone knows, I'd be ever so interested to know what the standard Mustang does 0-60 in. I know it's American, but it's got over 300hp so it can't be that bad. Can it?

[thinfourth2]

Scared of them?

They positively bloody worship them

[v8will]

thinfourth2 said:

Scared of them?

They positively bloody worship them

Very focused lot where driving dynamics are concerned, even if alot of their domestic cars are questionable when compared to Euro/Jap stuff.

[Ari]

thinfourth2 said:

Scared of them?

They positively bloody worship them

From a distance then presumably? Since they won't flipping publish them!

[mackie1]

Autoblog reckons about 5.5s, maybe a bit better. Seems about right to me.

[Deva Link]

Ari said:

From a distance then presumably? Since they won't flipping publish them!

I've noticed that, and assume it must be something similar to out Advertising Standards in case it encourages fast driving!

It used to be the case in the US that the maximum speed allowed to be marked on speedos was 85MPH.

[300bhp/ton]

Ari said:

Just been all over the Ford Mustang web site and even downloaded the ebrochure. Unless I'm going blind, not a whiff of 0-60 or top speed anywhere!

http://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/

http://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/specifications/vi...

http://assets.forddirect.fordvehicles.com/assets/N...

Detailed enough to go into compression ratios and valve lifters, just afraid to say what that translates to.

If anyone knows, I'd be ever so interested to know what the standard Mustang does 0-60 in. I know it's American, but it's got over 300hp so it can't be that bad. Can it?

They don't care about top speed really. And in truth apart from on the salt flats where in America is it even remotely relevant?

0-60 you will see quoted but again it's a bit of a pointless measurement. 1/4 miles are more their mainstay, but often left to the media.

At the end of the some drag radials or different gearing or surface for testing on can seriously affect 0-60mph times. If you want stats head over to Motor Trend, Car & Driver or Muscle Mustang & Fast Ford.

[rallycross]

I recently got a Jeep 4.0 manual.

It reminds me of driving a Morris Marina 1.8. Only its even slower.

What is wrong with their engines that a nice low mileage 4.0 petrol offers zero performance?!

[TheInternet]

rallycross said:

I recently got a Jeep 4.0 manual.

It reminds me of driving a Morris Marina 1.8. Only its even slower.

What is wrong with their engines that a nice low mileage 4.0 petrol offers zero performance?!

Is yours one of the ones with a badge on the back saying 'High Output', when what they really mean is 'High Input'?

[Gixer]

300bhp/ton said:

hey don't care about top speed really. And in truth apart from on the salt flats where in America is it even remotely relevant?

0-60 you will see quoted but again it's a bit of a pointless measurement. 1/4 miles are more their mainstay, but often left to the media.

At the end of the some drag radials or different gearing or surface for testing on can seriously affect 0-60mph times. If you want stats head over to Motor Trend, Car & Driver or Muscle Mustang & Fast Ford.

Where in the UK is top speed relevant.? In many places they have a faster speed limit than us ie 75mph as opposed to 70mph. In many places they have much emptier roads than us;)

[XitUp]

rallycross said:

I recently got a Jeep 4.0 manual.

It reminds me of driving a Morris Marina 1.8. Only its even slower.

What is wrong with their engines that a nice low mileage 4.0 petrol offers zero performance?!

Yeah, you'd think a 4x4 would be designed for top speed wouldn't you...

[Gixer]

I hired a jeep on hols once. Horrid to drive on the road. However off road on sand dunes and also up mountains on dirt tracks and then up the mountains during a flash flood it was nothing short of amazing. Way better than the Land Rover I learnt to drive in. Mind that was slow and awful on the road from memory.

I get it, maybe real 4x4's are designed for off road use?

[XitUp]

OMG, I think we may have cracked it.

[Fire99]

rallycross said:

I recently got a Jeep 4.0 manual.

It reminds me of driving a Morris Marina 1.8. Only its even slower.

What is wrong with their engines that a nice low mileage 4.0 petrol offers zero performance?!

Mine is an Auto but it goes great.. (for what it is)

[AlexiusG55]

Deva Link said:

I've noticed that, and assume it must be something similar to out Advertising Standards in case it encourages fast driving!

It used to be the case in the US that the maximum speed allowed to be marked on speedos was 85MPH.

Yeah, any American adverts that feature the car being driven in a spirited manner (and even one I can remember where it was stationary!) have the disclaimer "Professional Driver, Closed Course, Do Not Attempt".

The 85 mph thing means that the DeLorean used in Back to the Future had to be fitted with a UK-market speedo so they could tell when they were doing 88.

The strangest thing I've seen about Americans and advertising, though, relates to another sort of performance figure- it used to be illegal to label beer with its alcohol content!

[Dracoro]

Ask the average driver here (note, NOT people like us, you know, "normal" people ) and half of them can probably quote the, albeit meaningless, 0-60 on their car.

Do half the average yanks (or any other nation for that matter) know their cars' 0-60?

[anonymous-user]

AlexiusG55 said:

The 85 mph thing means that the DeLorean used in Back to the Future had to be fitted with a UK-market speedo so they could tell when they were doing 88.

That's old hat and went out of date years ago. However, as the OP's detailed research has identified, American cars are much slower than european equivalents. I mean, just look at these two Corvettes, the European car can do 320 but the American car only goes 200 mph!

Euro


USA

[Deva Link]

5 USA said:

I mean, just look at these two Corvettes, the European car can do 320 but the American car only goes 200 mph!

That'll be due to the difference in weight between the typical driver in each continent.

[rallycross]

A lex said:

Are you sure its not knackered?

Also, are you SURE its a 4.0 with the manual box - only the very, very early Cherokees were offered with the 4.0 manual, later on I think the 2.5 petrol was quite common with the manual box.

(However my Jeep beard could be letting me down completely, and this is presuming you have got a Cherokee?).

The 4.0 in my GC wasnt slow and TBH the 4.0 is an excellent engine and has a reputation for being pretty swift in the Cherokee body shell.

It's 4.0' litre wrangler and the engine is running perfectly it just offers very little for it's size.

[Liquid Tuna]

Deva Link said:

That'll be due to the difference in weight between the typical driver in each continent.

Not for long!