"When I was young and naïve, I believed that important people took positions based on careful consideration of the options. Now I know better. Much of what Serious People believe rests on prejudices, not analysis. And these prejudices are subject to fads and fashions."
Paul Krugman began his financial column in the NYT with that quote this morning, and I thought it applied rather nicely to this thread. ;-)
Speeder: I've owned a 997 before, and I'm not so sure there is such a huge delta between
quality and construction of a Porsche and a new Mustang. I think there is a huge
engineering gap between the two—but not so much in the quality of the construction. These things are both built by robots, and both have acres of plastic in them.
That said, I'll probably end up with the 997 for all kinds of reasons that have little to do with the merits or fun factor of these two cars. I mean crickey, what about all my mates who drive Porsches or better? I'd have to find a whole new circle of friends with that Mustang—and they're all hooligans, right? And what about those lovely PCA wine and cheese parties?
And, as Paul points out, I'd need to have a mullet if I'm to have any credibility with the Mustang crowd.
And then, finally, there is my wife. "It's a slippery slope" she said to me. "First you'll buy a Mustang, then you'll start shopping at Tommy Bahama and then you'll book us a vacation in Las Vegas for Christs sake." And she's usually right.
So the cards are stacked against the 'Stang. That may change in a couple of years, when word filters through the ranks about just how good the new 5.0 liter GT is. I mean, when word gets out, Mustangs may actually become as fashionable as Coach handbags. Meanwhile do yourself a favour, go to your local dealer and drive the manual V8 version. And drive it hard. It's a revelation of sorts.