Yep. Got my first door ding, and it's a dandy. We were out at the Bass Pro Shop, having a great time looking at the fish and the boats and the guns. And when we left, I spotted the ding in the right rear quarter panel. Naturally, my heart rate increased.
It settled down a bit when I recalled that I had purchased the PDR option at the dealership when I bought the car. I called when we got home and they're supposed to come to the house in the next few days and return my GT to its former perfection. I will post a photo of it when they get finished so you can see the result.
END OF DAY 163 - 3,788 MILES - 17.9 AVG MGP
My gas mileage is increasing. That may be because I'm driving a bit more sensibly, or it may be because we've taken a few longer trips on the highway.
When I picked the car up, the average miles per gallon on the computer showed 16.1. Not great, but it only had 11 miles on it at the time. Now that it has over 3,000 miles, it's currently moved up to 19.4. That's a good increase. On the highway, it typically averages out to about 26 mpg which is very good for a V8 with the displacement this one has.
Fortunately, I have not experienced any issues with the car so far. I'm glad that I have NOT noticed any of the problems that some buyers are having with the MT82 6 speed transmission. Mine shifts great with no notchiness. I hope it stays that way.
END OF DAY 138 - 3,026 MILES - 19.4 AVG MPG
Yes, I still love it. In fact, I can't remember the last car that I enjoyed as much as I'm loving this Mustang. It must have been my 1964 Chevy Impala SS that I drove when I was in high school. (William Chrisman Class of 1967 - Go Bears!).
If you're not a Mustang owner, you're probably wondering what it is about this car that I find so captivating. Explaining my enjoyment of this car is sort of like describing what a good cup of French roast coffee tastes like. But let me give it my best shot...
It begins with the looks—captivating. The Mustang has always had a great look, but the body on the 2012 is a classic blend of high-end (Made in USA) sports performance and sleek elegance that competes in style with any European import, all wrapped up in an affordable package that will keep a smile on your face every time you drive it.
And since we're talking about driving—it drives like the wind. The V8 5.0L Coyote engine puts out 412hp with a stock tune. And when you punch the accelerator, it goes. I mean, it GOES! And it's a great feeling being in control of all that power.
So, in the 2012 Mustang GT, Ford has combined a classy and classic exterior with one of the best power plants in the pony car arena. If that wasn't enough, they've topped it off with one of the nicest interiors in this price bracket. The layout is perfect, the leather is soft and rich, and the visibility is better than any car I've owned in years.
Being a perfectionist, you would think that after four months of living with this car, I would have found something, anything, that irritated me or that I didn't like. Well, there is one thing that bothers me about it: I regret the fact that I didn't buy one sooner. Simply put, I really do love this car. If you've ever considered a Mustang, I'll offer a prediction. If you buy one, you will love it.
And there's more to love than we've covered here, but we'll talk about some of those things on another day. I need to go for a drive.
END OF DAY 114 - 2,245 miles - 16.5 avg mpg
The first photo is the left hand side of the steering wheel. You'll notice a tiny chip or scratch in the surface finish. Naturally, I didn't want to live with that imperfection, so I decided to fix it.
The second photo shows the product I used. This is a transparent water-based acrylic paint that you can find online or at most art supply stores. There are several brands, but I've used this one in my wildlife paintings to create shadows. It works great because it's transparent and doesn't cover the detail below it.
Look at the third photo and check out how it worked for this application. It appears that Number 12 Medium Gray is a perfect Mustang match.
That's it. The scratch is gone and life is good once again.
It's been 20 days since my last update, and I have some new information. I may have mentioned before that I was experiencing a bit of, for lack of a better term, "stammering" when I punched the accelerator. It was hardly noticeable to anyone but the driver. But it was there. And it bugged me.
After two months of living with it, I think I may have solved the problem. I believe it was the gasoline I was using. Since taking delivery on the car, I've been filling up with Shell gas. And beginning with the first fill up after I used the dealer-supplied full tank, I've been noticing this little "stuttering or stammering" when punching it.
The last time my fuel light came on, I pulled into my local Phillips 66. After filling the tank and driving away, the difference was immediately noticeable. The car seemed to have more power and a more sure-footed takeoff. I know what you're thinking, but the Shell and the Phillips were both 91 octane. I continued to the highway and punched it hard on the entry ramp. Perfect response from the 412 horses. Not a single horsie tripped or faltered. It was like the difference between night and day.
And if you're a betting man (or woman) betting that I'm going to be using Phillips 66 gasoline from now on is a sure win. If you're having any similar issues, give the Phillips 66 brand a try and see if it makes a difference.
END OF DAY 78 - 1,508 miles - 16.8 avg mpg
We are supposed to get some really bad storms tomorrow and tomorrow evening here in the Kansas City area. They're predicting the possibility of tornado activity. I'm not planning on taking the Mustang out into that maelstrom, but I may spend some time in the garage with the RainX that I bought several months ago but never took the time to use on any of our vehicles.
The GT continues to run great. I love the power, and the MT82 6-speed manual transmission is quiet and shifts very smoothly. I do need to check with the dealership to see if they switched out the transmission fluid after the TSB came out from Ford regarding the change over. I'm guessing that was done at the factory, because I haven't had any issues yet. Thank goodness.
END OF DAY 58 — 1,065 Miles — 16.5 avg mpg
I was cleaning the bug juice off my front bumper today and discovered something that I didn't realize was there. It's no wonder I'd never seen it before because it's hiding very low in the lowest portion of the front bumper cut out area.
After a bit of research on my two favorite sites for all things Mustang, the Mustang Source forum and the All Ford Mustang forum, I discovered that this interesting little space-age device is the ambient temperature sensor, which tells the car what the outside temperature is. Kind of interesting, but I wonder where this device was located on my Lexus. Or my BMW. Or my Corvette. I've never seen one of these until this one popped into my view.
END OF DAY 51 — 960 Miles — 16.7 avg mpg
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