well not anymore is it :p
today i went to a friends house, and just so happens he works on all the prototypes at ford! so i pull in his driveway, and i see this small 4 door suv type thing with masks and black tape covering all of it.
ends up its a car like SUV, very small!!!! has 4 doors, but the rear doors open the oppisite way. u get what im sayin? its based on the (YOU GUESSED IT) mazda platform. but interestinly enough, this certain car will have THREE platforms to choose from. a mazda, lincoln, and ford. didnt know they each had there OWN platform of sumthing the same size, but w/e. currently, it has the front end of a crystler minivan, and a rear end of a durango but with those euro taillights from what i could see by pullin some of those masks off. but im positivly sure the style will chance significantly sence the car is slated for a 2007 model. he also said it will replace the a lincoln car.
2 new engines are coming out. a 3.5 liter (we all knew this) v-6 called the Hurricane (bet ya didnt kno that ;) ) is sopposed to be much more powerful, and MAY replace the duretec 3.0 :shakehead
the second engine is a v-8, but size is still secret, and i forgot the name of it :( but it has 518 horses, and will be fitted in the trucks, and mustangs. friend said possibly a "pony package" of some sort.
the 2006 mustang v-6 gets bumped up to 260 horsepower, still using the 4.0. possibly options are a supercharged v-6, as well as a supercharged v-8.
the 2007 cobra is slated to have 580 horsepower (thats right, exact numbers baby) but everythign else he didnt tell me.
i think thats it
The small SUV you saw was likely the replacement for the Lincoln Aviator, or it could be the next-generation Escape. It's an SUV, so who cares :D
As for the engines, from what I have read the Hurricane engine family is the next generation of the modular V8's, making enough power to (finally) shame the Hemi and GM's offerings, and to justify the more complicated OHC design. Let's face it, a 239-horse 4.6 SOHC is a pretty poor argument for OHC engines when GM's 4.8 liter outpowers it by 45 horses. The upcoming 3.5 (that should've been in the 500 from the start) is supposedly just going to be called a "Duratec". Prolly won't replace the 3.0 version, it'll likely be added as an optional engine (kinda like GM offering a 3.5 and 3.9 engine in the G6).
I can't see a supercharged V6 in the Mustang's future, what with V8 options already available. The T-Bird SC is proof enough that a supercharged V6 will not sell well when a simpler and cheaper V8 is available for much less $$. A supercharged V8 is almost a certainty, though...
So if they come out with a new modular v8 engine, what sort of cubic inch are we talkin' here? Have they leaked that info yet? I'm a firm believer that bigger is better and 4.6 just isn't doing it for me anymore. Mustangs need more motor now that the performance car market is starting to get more competitive. On a sidenote, I have a f-150 with the 5.4, and they definatley need to do something to make those things more competitive with what GM and Dodge have to offer. I've been smoked countless times by Silverado's and Ram's in my F-150!