DAY 12 - Just driving

We missed a day, but I didn't really have anything to tell you. Today isn't much different. I didn't do anything special today. Just drove to McDonald's and to the grocery store. It runs so great. I'm loving it. The stories of issues with the MT82 transmission were a bit scary, but mine shifts perfectly, and I love the short throw on it. I'm having no issue with the skip-shift feature, and it's only engaged one time since I picked the car up. I'm very pleased with everything so far. Great job, Ford!

END OF DAY 12 — 278 Miles

DAY 10 - Picked up some Quick Detailer

I didn't do much with the Mustang today. Did make a trip to Walmart for some ice cream and picked up a new bottle of Meguiar's Quick Detailer, since mine was about gone. This is a great product for wiping the car down when you get home from a drive. It removes the road dust and puts a light coat of wax on top. Very handy between washes.

END OF DAY — 264 Miles

DAY 10 - Ambient Lighting Features

We're not actually going into the interior today, but I wanted to share the illuminated doorsills with you. This is part of the Ambient Lighting feature which comes standard on the GT Premium Package. In addition to the footwell lighting, the doorsills light up with the MUSTANG name when you open the doors. Kind of classy.

We didn't drive far today. Only a short trip to Sonic to get some lunch. Engine did reach operating temperature and it drove great. No complaints from this driver.

END OF DAY — 258 Miles

DAY 9 - Interior Details

As I may have mentioned, the interior on the new Mustang is very nice, especially with the Premium Package. The leather seats have the exposed stitching, giving them a quality appearance. They're comfortable, too, and the power seat option will let you set your preferences for that perfect driving position.

My car was equipped with the upgraded interior which adds a contrasting stripe down the center of the seat, changes the seating portion from the perforated and ribbed construction to a solid, non-perforated leather. In addition, the light brushed aluminum dash is changed to a darker, almost bronzed, aluminum finish. Very classy look. The shifter is also changed out from the leather to a solid matte finished chrome ball. The upgraded interior also gives you a beautiful, silver pony on the door panels. You maybe be able to see it in the photo.

So far today, I haven't gotten the bumpers waxed, but we did take a trip to Wally World to pick up a few items. The car seemed to stutter a bit on acceleration on the way home, similar to the way it acted yesterday. I need to figure out what's going on with that. Maybe it was just cold.

END OF DAY — 252 Miles

DAY 8 - Some pictures (Finally)

It was nice and warm today so I took Sally out for a bit of a ride and a trip to Wendy's. We brought home lunch. Before leaving the house, and after backing out of the garage, I snapped a few pics with my iPhone. It doesn't take the best pictures, but at least you can get an idea of what she looks like. You can click the pic to make it larger. The color is Sterling Gray, and it was discontinued for a while because of the tsunami in Japan which caused a shutdown of the factory that supplied some of the paint ingredients.

I did notice a bit of an issue after leaving the driveway and getting out on the road. It's probably something that will go away. At least, it should. If not, a trip to the dealership will be required. Here's what happened: The engine was very cold at the time, the needle hardly off the peg, when I punched the accelerator. The response was immediate. There was no lag like you typically experience with an engine with a turbo installed.

The issue that concerned me was the definite intermittent surging of the power. I'm thinking it was because the engine was cold because I did the same thing on the way home and there was no surging whatsoever. I've been told that the computer goes through a "learning" process as you're breaking it in.

I'm still loving it! So glad I opted to trade the BMW in on this one.

END OF DAY — 244 Miles

DAY 7 - Picture Day (Not)

The sun is shining. Well, sort of. It's actually a bit overcast but it doesn't look like there's any danger of rain. The temperature is almost 50 degrees today, and that's so unlike our typical February here in the Midwest. I'm thinking about backing Sally out of the garage and finishing up the waxing—two doors, two fenders, rear bumper and front bumper.

After that, I can take some photos to share on here, because I know you're all anxious to see what she looks like. So check back a little later and see what's here.

It's later now. I finished up waxing both doors and both front fenders. Still have the front and rear bumpers to do. And I know you're all wanting to see pictures of it, so here's a tease showing the window tint and a little of the waxing. Hopefully, tomorrow I can get her out and take some good shots. It's supposed to be 65 degrees here in KC and no rain. Sounds good to me.

Oh, by the way, I previously mentioned those bubbles that were under the window tinting. You remember? The ones the dealer told me would go away in a couple of days? Well, he was right. They're gone, and the windows look perfect. I'm happy about that.

END OF DAY 7 — 239 Miles

DAY 6 - Staying inside

It's a rainy, drizzly day. My wife has given the new GT a name. She calls her Sally (as in Mustang Sally). So from now on, that's the name we'll use. The point of this post it to let you know that Sally stayed in the garage today, safe and sound, dry and clean, partially waxed. I need to get the waxing finished. Maybe I can do that later today.

END OF DAY 6 — 239 Miles

Day 5 - A back seat passenger

Edmunds calls the rear seat of the Mustang "cramped." I'll admit, there's not a great deal of room back there. We decided to give it a road test today. My granddaughter was the guinea pig. She's fourteen years old, a cheerleader, (see photo) and about my height at 5'-9". I wasn't sure we could stuff her lanky frame into the back seat without a shoehorn.

My petite little wife is 5 feet tall. By the time we moved the passenger seat forward, our granddaughter slipped easily into position and told her Nana that she could move the seat back if she needed to. There's that much room back there! It wasn't cramped at all, either in front or in back.

END OF DAY 5 — 239 Miles

Day 4 - Wax on Wax off

It was a warm day, so I decided it was time to wash the Mustang (again) before giving her the first waxing. One thing I have noticed about the body and paint work on this car in the short time I've had it is that it seems like a higher quality than what I found with the BMW. The metal in the Mustang's body panels seems to be thicker as well. Plus, I had the BMW for almost a year, and I never fell in love with it. And at the price I paid for it, I darned well should have adored it. I know the Bimmer fans are probably going to say, "Yeah, but it's still a Ford." That's not a problem for me. Ford has stepped up their quality to a world class level, in my opinion. I enjoy driving an American product with the great look and power of the Muscle Cars of the 60s.

Anyway, enough of this nostalgia. Let's get back to the subject at hand. Those of you who have read any of my other auto blogs know that I'm a die-hard Meguier's fan. I love their products. So I started in on the Mustang with my favorite, the Gold Class Wax. And, in case you're a newbie to the auto care and detailing world, always use microfiber towels to prevent getting any of those pesky paint swirls in your beautiful paint job.

I'm a slow waxer, and I sometimes go over the area twice, so by the time I had finished for the day, I had gotten the roof, the trunk lid, and the rear quarter panels waxed. I considered clay barring it first, but there didn't seem to be a need. I remember the BMW was terribly in need of the clay bar when I got it. But not the Mustang. That saved me some time.

END OF DAY 4 — 219 Miles

Day 3 - Stealth Mode

I drove the Mustang back to the dealership today for the window tinting. The after-market guy convinced me to go with the 20% tint. The car was gone for two hours, and when it arrived back at the dealership the windows looked great.

However, when I got in it to drive home, I noticed a lot of bubbles under the film. I asked the salesman about that and he told me those would all go away in two or three days after the moisture evaporated from under the film. I'm hoping he's right. I really like the look of it now.

END OF DAY 3 — 203 Miles

Day 2 - Cool Runnings

When I got the Mustang home and safely in the garage last night and turned off the engine, one of the first differences I noticed was that the hood was not nearly as hot as the hood of the BMW always was. Even two or three hours after killing the motor, the hood of the BMW remained uncomfortably hot when I touched it.

However, the hood of the Mustang was barely warm, even after immediately turn off the key. I like that characteristic, because I do not like an engine that overheats. I have heard some tales of the BMW 3 series going into limp mode on the track when the engines overheat. I give the Mustang a big PLUS ONE on that score.

We took it for a ride today. Actually did quite a bit of driving. Rosie drove it, too, and was able to shift through the manual transmission with no problem whatsoever.

END OF DAY 2 — 147 Miles

Day 1 - New Mustang Arrives

After conducting a couple of months of research on various cars, I made the decision to trade in the 2011 BMW 335ix for a 2012 Mustang GT. I found one en route to a local dealer and reserved it. It had the options I was looking for and was in my preferred color. Here are the details.

If you'd like to read the details, just click on the window sicker for an enlarged view. The interesting thing is that you can determine the build date from the sicker. This particular car was built on 1/31/2012.

The car had 28 miles showing on the odometer when I picked the car up today and drove it home. It was raining, naturally, so the beautiful Sterling Gray paint now has a white, dusty cover of road dirt that I'll need to remove before photographing it and placing the pictures on this site. I hope you'll come back and see what it looks like. And if you're a Mustang owner, I'll be calling for photos of your cars to feature on here as well.

END OF DAY 1 — 68 Miles