My 'Dark Horse'

Ford Motor Company’s Mustang model, dubbed as America’s favorite muscle automobile will be celebrating its 45th anniversary in the automotive market. As a part of the celebration, Ford will answer the needs of consumers who want more natural light in their automobiles when driving by providing them a third roof option.

For the 2009 model year, Ford will add up the Ford Glass Roof Mustang in the company’s product lineup. This new roof option will be acquirable over the V6 powered Mustang as well as the high performance Mustang GT model starting at the summer of 2008. In addition, Ford offers the Glass Roof Mustang because of the increasing production of sunroofs in North USA by about 200 percent.

According Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president, Global Product Development:

“Mustang is an picture in our product lineup, and we are committed to keeping Mustang news fresh each year. As the automotive landscape becomes increasingly competitive, features such as a panoramic glass roof will help differentiate our products from the competition.”

With a manufacturer’s recommended retail price (MSRP) of $1,995, the new glass roof is expected to wage customers with a less costly option that a convertible model without compromising the versatility and climate-controlled environment of the coupe, according to Ford. The Glass roof of the Ford Mustang is prefabricated of tinted privacy glass. This grants the glass roof to reduce infrared rays and car cool-down time by about 50 percent. The glass roof is also equipped with a built in manual roller blind that grants owners to further control exposure on the sun. Moreover, according to Ford, the glass roof also “protects interior artifact material from solar irradiation deterioration and discoloration by reducing solar light transmittance” and “features a layer of vinyl that reduces noise, vibration and harshness.”

Assembled at the Automotive Alliance International plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, the glass roof for the Ford Mustang is a country glass, which means it will not shatter with sharp and toothed edges unlike other typical glasses used in the automotive industry.

Paul Randle, chief nameplate engineer also commented: “Quality is a continuous process. The whole team is passionate about it, which results in our paying attention to the smallest details. Our owners have high expectations, and we always want to meet them – with strong features like this new roof option, calibre and performance.”

Other upcoming Ford Mustang models next year include the Mustang Bullitt and the powerful Shelby GT500KR, which will arrive in dealerships to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original Shelby Cobra GT500KR. Anyway, customers can also get Acura models like the CL equipped with Acura CL cold air intake while inactivity for these Mustang models to arrive in showrooms.