#PonyCars

Are we in the last hurrah of the all-American muscle car? The end of high horsepower at low costs?

Imagine a world without muscle cars.

Our regular Ask AutoGuide feature is all about helping distressed shoppers find the perfect vehicle, be it a cavernous crossover, a sensible sedan or something else entirely. Patrons send us a list of what they need and we get to work separating gold nuggets from gravel to generate a list of recommendations. But this week things are a little different. James forwarded us a message asking for guidance choosing between two different vehicles. Making things easy for us he’s done all the hard work, now all we have to do is share our opinion.

Given that a coupe version of the 650 horsepower supercharged, 200 mph capable monster was revealed at the 2011 LA Auto Show, plus the fact that archrival Chevrolet chose that venue to introduce a convertible version of it’s 580 hp Camaro ZL1, there’s every indication that a drop top version of the Shelby could make it’s debut at NAIAS 2012 in Detroit next month.

Considering that many rumors have been circulating about the future of the Chevrolet Camaro, ranging from the fact that it might be axed, to it being based on a version of the same platform that will underpin the Cadillac ATS (which would essentially mean no V8 option, due to lack of space under the hood),  it now appears that through the end of the decade at least, the Camaro won’t likely change too much.

We were teased with some pictures of it prior to the car’s official debut at the LA Auto Show, yet with the emphasis on the 650 hp Shelby GT500, it was perhaps understandable that the Boss 302, which has been hogging the limelight as of late, took a step back.

We’ve been hearing rumors about improvements to Ford‘s current Mustang for the 2013 model year, now the Blue Oval has officially given us the scoop.

Although a major re-design of Ford‘s pony car is scheduled for 2014, possibly as a ’15 model, the Blue Oval isn’t letting weeds grow beneath the current car. For 2013, it’s promising a few changes, including styling updates and a bump in power on GT models.

In stock form, the 412 hp Ford Mustang 5.0 GT is indeed a quick car, but now thanks to the efforts of NASCAR driver Dave Ragan and Ford Racing Performance Parts, it has now set the world record for production cars.

Motor Trend has all but confirmed one of the car world’s worst kept secrets; the Chevrolet Camaro will return in Z28 trim for 2012, likely packing the 556-horsepower LSA supercharged V8 used in the Cadillac CTS-V. The LSA engine makes just a touch more horsepower than a comparable Shelby GT500 (which has to make do with only 540 horsepower), and will be backed by a 6-speed manual gearbox.

It’s official: after several broken embargoes, Ford has officially released all the details on the new 2011 Mustang GT. The return of the 5.0-liter brings with it 412-hp at 6500 rpm and 390 ft-lbs of torque at 4250 rpm, a far cry from the 175-hp 302 cubic inch motor found in the 1983 model.

***UPDATE*** For full details and photos of the 2011 Mustang GT see here ***UPDATE***

With the new Mustang V6 now boasting an impressive 305-hp thanks to an all-new 3.7-liter engine, Ford has decided to launch a new Performance Package for the car aimed at improving handling, braking and acceleration.

Ford has officially announced that it will debut an all-new V6 engine for the 2011 Mustang at the LA Auto Show later this week. The new engine is smaller, displacing just 3.7-liters compared to the old 4.0-liter mill, but power is up significantly. In fact, power is way up with the new motor getting a bump from 210-hp to 305-hp! Torque is up too, by 40 ticks to 280 ft-lbs. Full power comes on at 6500 rpm with full torque at 4250 rpm. Plus, Ford says the new engine will deliver 19/30 mpg (city/highway) with a six-speed automatic or 18/29 mpg with a six-speed manual. Yup, finally a six-speed for the Mustang.

Rather than the more traditional venue of Detroit, the Ford Motor Company will use the LA Auto Show to debut its new lineup of 2011 Mustang models. Just last year the car was significantly revised with a modernized exterior and a significantly improved interior that is now well beyond what the competition is offering. There’s only one problem, with just mild updates to the engine, both the V6 and V8 are lagging well behind in the horsepower war.