How Will They Age?

"K-Roll-PorscheTamer" (k-roll390) 12/12/2015 at 16:55 • Filed to: Aging

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Here’s a fun topic to debate: how do we certain cars and their previous generations will age in the ever near yet so far away future. Let’s start with the S197 and S550 Mustangs. How do we think they’ll age? Which one will age better?

It’s a tough one for me, because I think if a design is too aggressive or trying to hard to be aggressive, it won’t age well. I don’t consider the S550 as it is now to be more aggressive, but it’s a flowing and clean design, and the fastback form is always good. The S197 is full retro and in this case, it’s retro done rather well, so I think both will age well.

But I think the S197 will age slightly better with all the throwbacks and nostalgia. The S550 is too “in the moment” if you know what I’m saying. What say you lot?

 V8 Rustler > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 12/12/2015 at 17:09

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I think the new S550 will go the same way as the Sn95. The Sn95 may have looked good in 1994, but due to its aggressive design it looks awful today.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer >  V8 Rustler 12/12/2015 at 17:16

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I’m not so sure. Because I think the 2000-04 SN95s don’t look nearly as good as they did before, and the ‘94-98 cars will age slightly better.

But I totally get your reasoning, I just don’t think the S550 will ever look that bad now and later on. It will go the same way, but to the sam degree.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 12/12/2015 at 17:33

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Well I haven’t liked a single Mustang since 1969, this new one is pretty good looking actually and the only modern one I can say that about. It doesn’t look cheap, all the others looked like they had crap quality or just bad styling, to me. The triple blinker this is annoying in the rain in the city.

Urambo Tauro >  V8 Rustler 12/12/2015 at 17:45

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The 1994-1998 models remain the sleekest, most aerodynamic of the production Mustangs. I think aggressive styling was necessary to overcome all the soft edges and rounded corners. Some say it looked like a contemporary Celica, and I do see where they’re coming from. It needed something to help identify it as a Mustang, and the return of details like the side scoops, tri-bar tail-lamps, and the running horse grille went a long way in helping that happen.

As for the softness, almost all of that disappeared in ‘99 with the New Edge facelift. These later models looked aggressive too, but instead of being there to counter soft edges, it actually marries well with the sharp corners in a way that really seems to work.

Wobbles the Mind > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 12/12/2015 at 17:45

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Like most Mustangs, the facelifted versions will be the ones that age best. So the 2012 to 2014 Stangs will look great across the board. Once the GT350 styling trickles down, plus some updates, the current car will age well. I will say, no matter the gen, the top performance model always ages better than all else.

El Rivinado > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 12/12/2015 at 17:48

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Honestly, I think the S197 is already starting to age a little better. I didn’t like them because, well, I’m just not a mustang fanboy at all. But when the new design came out, the old ones I see are starting to grow on me a little bit. I went airsofting two weeks ago, and I saw an old GT500 drive by and I thought “That’s not bad looking”. Whereas when I see a new mustang, the only feeling I get is aversion and, a little bit of sick in my throat.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Wobbles the Mind 12/12/2015 at 17:48

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I can agree with this. :)

Urambo Tauro > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 12/12/2015 at 17:55

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I like the S550 a lot, but I like the facelifted S197 the best. The 2010 Mustang seemed to reach the peak mix of modern and retro styling, without being too much one or the other. The only thing that could have made the S197 better (in my eyes) would have been a fastback.

The S550 seems to me like they just wanted to do something special for the 50th anniversary. Fastback styling is excellent (and IRS is pretty cool too), but I think they had a really hard time trying to come up with something better style-wise than the outgoing model.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Urambo Tauro 12/12/2015 at 18:02

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I agree with this too. If the S197 was redesigned as a fastback, it would trump the S550, but I think a little nip and tuck was needed on the S197 that the S550 has. The rear and front needed to be a little bit lower but everything else was perfect.

Perhaps the facelifted S550 in the next couple of years will have some surprises.

03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 12/12/2015 at 18:36

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This is a really good question. I kind of have to agree with wobbles, the later models will age the best. As much as I love them early s197’s have started to age a little. But 10-14’s still look pretty good. I think the 15’s should age well, when put next to an S197 it just instantly outdates it. It’s just a great design in general. And with a few modifications they just look amazing. They also seem to have more of a presence on the road. And my dad gets a lot more compliments in his new 15 over his 14.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > 03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST 12/12/2015 at 18:48

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I think the early S197s are more Archaic than the late SN95s.

they-will-know-my-velocity > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 12/12/2015 at 18:50

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I think the S197 will age better than the S550 aesthetically. However, the S550 is pretty much the first mustang with the whole modern package. IRS, 5.0, V6 and 2.3 SVO (it should be called that!) manual6 and auto 6R80 automated manual that won’t eat itself at stock power levels...

I want one.

That being said, I love the S197 and if I had Leno levels of vehicles, I would have at least a couple.

JR1 > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 12/12/2015 at 20:12

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Much like the Fox Bodies of the 80s the s550 will always look like a Ford product. The S197 will look like a Mustang

03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 12/12/2015 at 21:18

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I agree, though I'm a little biased! I still think new edges hold up pretty well today.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 12/13/2015 at 11:49

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The SN95 is aging well. It encapsulates its 90s origins without looking too absurdly dated. It’s round and bubbly and still aggressive.

The “New Edge” SN95 isn’t aging quite as well. The face lifted Cobras and Mach 1 tend to look good but the rest of them just seem like designers tried to add a bunch of angles to a roundish car.

The Pre-facelift S197 is aging like milk. It’s retro and was really hot in the mid-2000s but at best it will turn into cheese.

The post-facelift S197 looks good now but it may wind up like the 71-73 Mustangs. Still really cool, fun to drive, and brutish if you have a Shelby but it just looks too big and its proportions out of whack. Remember that a big fat ass is nice on a lady but a muscle car should be a bit slimmer.

The S550, I believe, will age the best of the Mustangs of this millennium. It’s got clean lines and a classic GT-car look to it. Remember that the 70s Aston Martin v8 was basically copied off of the 67-68 Mustang GT. So it apes Aston Martin and that’s good. The interior is a nice place to be. I think it will age better than any of the others.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 12/13/2015 at 13:35

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Yup, the newer one will age better. More classically beautiful lines.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 12/15/2015 at 14:50

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At the S197’s release in 2005, I immediately felt that it looked dated. The headlamps were clumsy-looking, and the rear lacked texture.

The 2010-2013 facelift will age well. It has the original silhouette but all the modern styling details that the car desperately needed. Exterior elements like lights and air intakes were all fine-tuned. The sequential turn indicators are genius. I’m still not sold on the interior, but I’m sure the 2005 interior was worse.

The S550 is a slight change in philosophy, eschewing some of the retro looks for something more modern. The body shape evolves significantly, but there are good styling details. The 3D texturing on the taillamps is gorgeous. Rather than an entirely retro-themed car, it’s a new sports car with a bunch of retro Mustang styling cues. The main dislike I have is how long the body looks.