I’ve always believed that Ford grabbed the top trump card when they chose to name one of their products the “Mustang”. Yes, I know that one or two others have played a fair hand. Names like the Dodge Charger/Challenger, the Buick Wildcat, and the Ford Thunderbird spring instantly to mind, yet the Mustang has always been number one in my book as it perfectly portrays what is good about the good old U.S. of A.

Of course, growing up in the UK, I had to make do with such delightful sounding rides as the Hillman Imp/Minx, the Morris Minor/Marina/Oxford, and Ford didn’t do us any favors by naming the Cortina/Corsair/Prefect. Even the great British automaker Jaguar couldn’t manage anymore creativity than a handful of letters and numbers, the Mk1/Mk2/Mk10/XJ6, and Rolls Royce products sounded more like up-market bed linen than they did automobiles (The Silver Cloud/Phantom). Come to think about it, probably the best name the Brits could muster at that time was the Sunbeam Tiger and they plonked that on the back of a car which although boasted a V8, better resembled my Aunt’s cuddly torteshell kitten than some ferocious beast of the jungle.

No, whichever way you look at it, the Americans not only single-handedly won every war (I know, because I watch the History Channel), but they’ve picked up just about every prize for automotive nameplates ever dished out.

Now that must be quite thrilling for them, but fame and fortune as they say, always comes with a price. After all, you can’t wow the motoring public with some rip-snorting iron-man brew worthy of Steve McQueen one minute, and then because everyone’s gone lean & green, serve up some dishwater-tasting beverage the next (Besides, the American brewery industry got there first).

Anyway, back to the plot...so what’s the new 2010 Ford Mustang like? Or rather, as my press vehicle was the V8 GT version, what’s that particular beast like?

Well, let’s just say that the original pony may have sired a few offspring over the years, but the gene pool is still intact as far as I can tell.

The all-new 2010 Mustang GT shows its linage rather well. In fact, in my opinion, the latest version resembles the famous Boss mustang better than any previous offering. When you think about it, the designers must have a tough time with vehicles like this. After all, they can’t exactly go wild and crazy with the exterior because the basic shape of the original still needs to shine through. That said, I like the new, somewhat more aggressive face of the Mustang, and even the rounded rear which I’d first frowned upon started to appeal to me after a while.

Stepping inside the car, I was immediately impressed. To be honest, I found the interior of the previous version a tad plain-Jane, and I particularly disliked those smiley face air vents. I’m therefore happy to say that they’ve done a disappearing trick worthy of “America’s Got Talent” and the interior now seems much more grown-up and inviting. Now I know that purists will tell me that the original pony car was all about muscle, and that the interior was meant to take second place to the performance. Yes, I get that. In fact, my father owned a 70s Mach 1 Ram-air convertible, so I grew up accustomed to plastic seats sticking to my posterior on warm days and fingernails slipping from the hard-as-nails plastic door panels as he laid rubber from every traffic light (And you wonder where I get it from). Alas, I’m happy to say that I’ve almost grown up now, and so I find myself enjoying those types of experiences less and less. Classic cars are wonderful (I even own a few of them myself), but we’re in the 21^st century now and I believe that the car buying public expect a little more in the way of creature comforts and amenities today.

Speaking of that, you should see what they’ve managed to jam into this car!  The first thing you’ll notice is the quality of the materials used. For sure, this is no basic powerhouse ride anymore. In fact, even my wife was taken with the contrasting stitching on the leather-wrapped steering wheel and seats, and she doesn’t notice much, well, unless it involves yours truly doing something to upset her. Then there’s the soft-touch skin which wraps itself nicely around the retro styled instrument gauges. It’s certainly a major improvement on the previous offering, and the glow of the ice-blue instrument cluster makes you want to drive the vehicle as much at night as you do during the day. Of course, if blue’s not your color, by utilizing Ford’s new My Color system, you can change that. With a choice of 125 differing color variations and selectable colors for the main display and the Halo ring surrounding the gauges, you’re certain to find one which strikes your fancy. That one feature is, as they say, “worth the price of admission” because it really does change the way we view instrument lighting. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that this is quite possibly my favorite new feature on any new vehicle I’ve driven this year!