Is The 2011 Ford GT Mustang Better Then The BMW M3?

Bmwness? Crackah please. Go peddle your elitism somewhere else.

I bought my Mazdaspeed 3 for the performance. It's a comfortable car. Practical. Gets good gas mileage. But I bought it for the engine and the "Weeeeee!" factor.

I'm not buying a car because of the badge on the grill.

That said I'd consider both cars and make a decision on how they grabbed me. Not some trumped up car version of eugenics.

I think Ford is doing d@mn good stuff these days. It makes me smile real big to see the Mustang tromping on the vaunted M3. I LIVE for that at the track. I laughed out loud when I saw a GT3 getting hassled by a Camaro SS.

I drove a Mustang around Summit Point and it makes a good case for itself but it needs $5k in suspension to handle like the BMW does. Not that you still wouldn't be ahead but out of the box you pay more for the BMW and you get more.

I'd rather have an E36 M3 with 10k worth of work than either of them. They are both pigs IMO.

I'd probably take a used 05-06 GTO for $15k. Do a H,C,E some suspension and tires then save the rest of the money. I like how everyone likes to call the mustangs and GTOs pigs while the BMWs and the like are always right up there in the weight department.

Even with my GTO idea would probably bring me close to 25k at which point the mustang doesn't seem so bad. I am not crazy about the redesign and the fact that everyone and their sixteen year old daughter, grandmother, and cousin owns one.

Greg Voth wrote: I'd probably take a used 05-06 GTO for $15k. Do a H,C,E some suspension and tires then save the rest of the money. I like how everyone likes to call the mustangs and GTOs pigs while the BMWs and the like are always right up there in the weight department. Even with my GTO idea would probably bring me close to 25k at which point the mustang doesn't seem so bad. I am not crazy about the redesign and the fact that everyone and their sixteen year old daughter, grandmother, and cousin owns one.

The nut of it is that even though its a ton of $$ the BMW guys do a really good job of building a car that has great tactile feedback and can maintain good solid mid-corner speed. It really is more than the sum of its parts. Its too heavy and really not my kind of car anymore but it is spectacularly good at going around a racetrack right out of the box.

The Pontiac guys bought a pretty good package from Holden. I have not driven one in anger but I have heard they do OK and for the money it leaves a lot of room to change what you don't like.

The Mustang... I swear Ford just looks at individual components and does not worry about integration testing. The car is a mess on a road course. It CAN be made to handle - Ford sells one (for $120k) that is completely awesome. For the life of me I don't understand why they can't offer a mid-tier car somewhere between the FR race car and the bucket of slap they sell. Its not like they don't know how to do it. It is by far the better looking car (of the M3 & GTO) so it seems like a $50k track package with FR suspension and brakes, some weight reduction and so on... would be a pretty easy win. They even have Grand Am fans now to sell to.

I haven't seen any lateral numbers yet. I'd like to see a couple of laps with the same pro driver, taking each car out on a track.

That said, I'm all over the Mustang!

Ian_F wrote: ...and the M3 won't have the cool sequential rear turn signals. (yes, I know Ford stole it from their own old Tbird...)

Fixed that for you. Sequential tail lights were available on the 65 Tbird. Also available on the 67-68 California Special Mustangs as well as the Cougars of that vintage.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: I drove a Mustang around Summit Point and it makes a good case for itself but it needs $5k in suspension to handle like the BMW does. Not that you still wouldn't be ahead but out of the box you pay more for the BMW and you get more. I'd rather have an E36 M3 with 10k worth of work than either of them. They are both pigs IMO.

Have you driven a '10 or '11 Mustang with the Track Pack on Summit?

I drove a '10 GT on the rough Baltimore streets and it's much nicer than my 7 series is.

The new Mustang (espcially the 5.0) is the only new car under $100k I want. The M3 isn't even on the list of cars I'd own.

Make mine Kona blue with white stripes and the track pack.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Greg Voth wrote: I'd probably take a used 05-06 GTO for $15k. Do a H,C,E some suspension and tires then save the rest of the money. I like how everyone likes to call the mustangs and GTOs pigs while the BMWs and the like are always right up there in the weight department. Even with my GTO idea would probably bring me close to 25k at which point the mustang doesn't seem so bad. I am not crazy about the redesign and the fact that everyone and their sixteen year old daughter, grandmother, and cousin owns one.

The nut of it is that even though its a ton of $$ the BMW guys do a really good job of building a car that has great tactile feedback and can maintain good solid mid-corner speed. It really is more than the sum of its parts. Its too heavy and really not my kind of car anymore but it is spectacularly good at going around a racetrack right out of the box. The Pontiac guys bought a pretty good package from Holden. I have not driven one in anger but I have heard they do OK and for the money it leaves a lot of room to change what you don't like. The Mustang... I swear Ford just looks at individual components and does not worry about integration testing. The car is a mess on a road course. It CAN be made to handle - Ford sells one (for $120k) that is completely awesome. For the life of me I don't understand why they can't offer a mid-tier car somewhere between the FR race car and the bucket of slap they sell. Its not like they don't know how to do it. It is by far the better looking car (of the M3 & GTO) so it seems like a $50k track package with FR suspension and brakes, some weight reduction and so on... would be a pretty easy win. They even have Grand Am fans now to sell to.

They have really sorted out the suspension issues that plagued the first 5 years of S197 chassis cars.

I'm sure Autoweek, C&D, Motortrend, etc. will all do compare-Os on these, they'd be dumb not too.

I just don't like stuff that's "gerry" rigged together, plus I like Merican muscle, and bang for the buck value like a true GRMer, which would make me choose the Mustang over the M3. Plus I wouldn't want to be associated with "BMWness" or toolbag tags that plague BMW owners across the states.

In reply to Greg Voth:

I'll say it: they both are pigs! h-e-a-v-y

Joey

i stand by my original statement, and agree with the ///mness statement. i like the new mustang ALOT, i would gladly trade aaalll of my star wars figurines for one, including the fet-man. as others said before me, bmws are just bmws and nothing can compare. jalopnik may aswell be comparing apples and cats

I do think BMW manages to build cars that are more than the sum of their parts.

How is the interior on the new Mustang? the old new Mustang interior was still E36 M3ty hard-plastic crap.

Actually from the GRM point of view a comparison is easy, (slow chat) "Stig, Stig, Stig, Stig"

A mustang and an M3 go through a radar trap at 82 MPH . Who gets the ticket ?

joey48442 wrote: In reply to Greg Voth: I'll say it: they both are pigs! h-e-a-v-y Joey

I totally agree. I just think its funny that the american cars get labeled as such while with other cars its usually ignored.

footinmouth wrote: A mustang and an M3 go through a radar trap at 82 MPH . Who gets the ticket ?

Well the Mustang driver will be doing it on a 65mph-limit highway, the Bimmer will be doing it through a school zone while yakking on their cellphone (it's okay! They're using bluetooth!) and sucking half-caf soy machiatto latte.

Infer sarchasm if you're a fanboi of another color

The problem with the new M to me is this: Its not a drivers car anymore, its a numb over weight status symbol. I'll stick to my E36.

I'd love the have a new 5.0 Mustang

footinmouth wrote: A mustang and an M3 go through a radar trap at 82 MPH . Who gets the ticket ?

The Mustang. The VDO speedo in the BMW reads about 3 MPH high so he would only be going 79.

Here's a question: Which one will last longer? Another one: Lower maintenance cost? Another juan: More parts available? And one last one: Which one would pull you a nice low maintenance woman?

DirtyBird222 wrote: Here's a question: Which one will last longer? Another one: Lower maintenance cost? Another juan: More parts available? And one last one: Which one would pull you a nice low maintenance woman?

LMAO @ the last one

"nice low maintenance woman" Another unicorn.

My take: This is an easy case of paper-racing. On paper, they look similar. In reality, they drive very different. I like M3s and Mustangs, but if I could have my choice of either, I'd pick older versions of each. And they're both pigs.

Greg is absolutely right. For a long time now, people have been calling GTOs, G8s, Camaros, Vipers, Corvettes and Mustangs heavy, while making no mention of non-American cars that weight almost the exact same or even higher. Same goes for size. I'll see an American car called huge, while a German one within .2 inches of the same dimensions won't, in the same comparison article. It's just bias.

And I'm the kind of person who would cross-shop an M3 and a Mustang, but only after they're used and more than a few years old. 2011 marks the first year I would ever consider a GT500, as they dropped that iron-block lump and replaced it with an aluminum block. Still a heavy car, though

The new M3 is heavy, no doubt. But I have to infer that those of you calling "a numb pig" simply haven't driven one.

Greg Voth wrote:

joey48442 wrote: In reply to Greg Voth: I'll say it: they both are pigs! h-e-a-v-y Joey

I totally agree. I just think its funny that the american cars get labeled as such while with other cars its usually ignored.

I think it is because American cars look heavier and it is a left over feeling from the Muscle car days.

Any way I wouldn't take either. For the money of either, there are a bunch of cars I would rather have including (for no good reason) the Dodge Challenger.

z31maniac wrote: The new M3 is heavy, no doubt. But I have to infer that those of you calling "a numb pig" simply haven't driven one.

I, for one, never said numb. But it is a pig. It might be a very responsive and impressive pig, but it still goes "oink oink" when you beep the horn. Needs weight watchers.

footinmouth wrote: A mustang and an M3 go through a radar trap at 82 MPH . Who gets the ticket ?

The Mustang, because the M3 looks like a Camry!