New 2005 Ford Mustang Getting Ready for a Dealer Near You

Ford Ups Mustang Quality to a Completely New Level

Ford's Mustang hasn't exactly been the poster child of build quality in recent years, and that's putting it kindly, which makes

Chief Operating Officer for Ford Motor Company, Jim Padilla, was on hand to congratulate the 3,600 AutoAlliance employees Monday, September 27. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada)

what is expected to be a move upward in fit and finish all the more intriguing. Will it rival European marques such as Volkswagen when final production versions arrive? That will remain to be seen, but nevertheless analysts are saying that the domestic automaker would have to get it extremely wrong in order to turn off brewing enthusiasm, which borders on Beatle-like hysteria, for the 2005 model.

Before North America's Ford dealers take delivery of the most anticipated car the domestic automaker has brought to market in decades, the 2005 Mustang's Flat Rock, Michigan AutoAlliance International assembly plant is extremely busy making sure enough will be ready for the official launch next month.

Chief Operating Officer for Ford Motor Company, Jim Padilla, was on hand to congratulate the 3,600 AutoAlliance employees

UAW worker Valerie Stewart completes a final inspection of a 2005 Mustang as the all-new model is launched today at its new home, AutoAlliance International in Flat Rock, Michigan. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada)

Monday, September 27, while the plant officially "opened it's gate for the stampede" of new Mustangs.

"America, your car is ready," Padilla announced to the cheering assembly. "Mustang is the exclamation point of Ford's product onslaught. There is no other car like it. And here at AutoAlliance, the 2005 model has found a great home. This plant, with its all-new flexible system, stands as a world-class plant in advanced automotive manufacturing systems and processes."

Orders are running sixty percent higher than expected, which of course is a problem most automakers wouldn't mind facing. Why such excitement about the new car? Not only does the 2005 Mustang look completely revised on the surface, while at the same time very similar to classic '60s pony cars that so many muscle car collectors adore, but it is also completely new under the skin.