An Out of the Park Home Run!

Some things just dont need a lot of deep, introspective thought to be figured out. Take the new Mustang Convertible, for instance. Do you need a degree in marketing to figure out whether or not its going to be a number one hit? Hardly!

The sexy new drop-top is priced lower than some compact cars, seats four comfortably, includes a powerful V6 in base trim and a rumbling V8 when the GT badge replaces the pony on the faux gas cap at the rear of the car, plus most importantly, it looks fabulous!

I had the opportunity to test a few examples out for myself during a road and track event in la belle province, Quebec, Canada, on a warm spring day recently,

You wouldnt have needed a marketing degree to have figured out that the new Mustang Convertible was going to be a number one hit. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

The first car at my disposal was a nicely upgraded V6 model, sporting a conservative coat of gray metallic paint and a rather spicy hot-red leather interior. Not only did the sporty

I had the opportunity to test a few Mustangs out for myself during a road and track event in la belle province on a warm spring day recently. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

Actually, despite bearing a great deal of its weight on a live rear axle, a pretty sophisticated three-link version with a Panhard rod, mind you, but still not an independent setup,

Despite bearing a great deal of its weight on a live rear axle, the car is wonderfully stable at high speed, only getting ruffled when a particularly large bump on the road would raise its ugly head. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

At 210-horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque my testers 4.0-liter SOHC V6 offered plenty of fun in the sun driving enjoyment. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

The supercharged Jaguar will be quicker, however, at least when comparing it to the base Mustang convertible. Still, at 210-horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque my testers 4.0-liter SOHC V6 offered plenty of fun in the sun driving enjoyment. Actually, the burble emanating from the twin exhaust

Alex Tagliani was on hand for the track portion of the Mustang event, of which only 300-horsepower V8-powered GTs were used. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

Another reason the V6-equipped Mustang convertible sped away so quickly from stop signs has to do with its five-speed automatic transmission, benefiting performance and fuel economy due to shorter shift intervals, and greater opportunity for the engine to remain revving in its sweet spot - or more specifically, where it makes the most power and torque in its rev range. I wouldnt go so far to say that the Mustangs five-speed automatic is the smoothest and most refined five-speed automatic on the market,

Alex Tagliani offered his services for a hair-raising fast lap or three. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

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