Ford Mustang Glass Roof (2009)

andykhol23's picture
Categories: andykhol23 - June 5, 2008 - 1:47pm.

http://www.jus­tmorecars.com/…_glas­s_roof/

http://www.jus­tmorecars.com/…pa­per_01.jpg http://www.jus­tmorecars.com/…pa­per_02.jpg http://www.jus­tmorecars.com/…pa­per_03.jpg

Ford Mustang Glass Roof The 2009 Ford Glass Roof Mustang provides a third roof option for customers and responds to their growing desire for more natural light. Production of large sunroofs has increased nearly 200 percent in North America since 2003, according to Just-auto. The growth is driven, in part, by consumers' daily commute time. The number of consumers with commutes lasting more than 60 minutes grew by almost 50 percent between 1990 and 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The new glass roof will be available as an option on both the V-6 Mustang and Mustang GT beginning next summer.

At $1,995, the new roof provides customers a less expensive option than a convertible, without compromising the coupe's versa­tility, headroom or climate-controlled environment.

„Mustang is an icon in our product lineup, and we are committed to keeping Mustang news fresh every year,“ said Derrick Kuzak, Ford's group vice president, Global Product Development. „As the automotive landscape becomes increasingly competitive, features such as a panoramic glass roof will help differentiate our products from the competition.“

Nearly one out of every two sports cars sold in America is a Mustang, and it remains the best-selling convertible. The new glass roof addresses the fact that 62 percent of buyers in the sports car segment are interested in a sunroof or moonroof on their next vehicle, according to J.D. Power and Associates research.

Mustang's Glass Roof is made of tinted privacy glass, which reduces both infrared rays and vehicle cool-down time by 50 percent. A manual roller blind is built in, allowing owners to further control exposure on sunny days.

The specially formulated glass also protects interior fabric material from solar radiation deterioration and discoloration by reducing solar light transmittance. To help improve acoustics and Mustang's interior quietness, the glass also features a layer of vinyl that reduces noise, vibration and harshness.

The glass roof Mustang is built like a coupe and has been developed to maintain the structural integrity of Mustang. The glass itself is safety glass, meaning that it shatters without sharp or jagged edges, like other automotive glass.

Glass Roof Mustangs will be assembled at the Automotive Alliance International plant in Flat Rock, Mich. The unique glass is installed at Ford's adjacent vehicle personalization facility.

Like its coupe and convertible counterparts, the Glass Roof Mustang has endured a battery of tests measuring quality and craftsmanship.

During the development phase, production-level prototypes ran through a rigorous prove-out, including various water, air leakage, durability, squeak and rattle and vehicle dynamics tests. Top quality drives the development team – as evidenced by Mustang's first-in-its segment ranking in the 2007 J.D. Power and Associates IQS, VDS and APEAL studies.

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



I think the more I look

alan's picture
alan - August 11, 2008 - 11:56am.

I think the more I look at the pictures the little more I am less hesitant to say maybe its okay. It looks nice but I might still worry about how much sun would be getting into my car and ruin my interior too.

It's an interesting option

racybroad's picture
racybroad - July 14, 2008 - 10:02am.

I would prefer the full-fledged convertible but this is a neat option for those who want more light. I like that they built in protection from UV rays for both the driver/passengers and the interior of the car. I would think the vinyl coating would help make the roof even safer as it should act to hold it together more, I should think.

I definitely wouldn't want

chris's picture
chris - July 14, 2008 - 7:52am.

I definitely wouldn't want to be in any kind of wreck in a car with a glass roof. I'm sure they have built some kind of safety feature into the car so it doesn't explode or something on impact but the thought of a glass roof and a rollover would keep me away from this option.

Chris

Exactly Chris, this would

Embark's picture
Embark - August 12, 2008 - 4:21pm.

Exactly Chris, this would be a huge concern for me. I see that it's not a huge thing, I mean you are already surrounded on all sides by glass but still, why add to the risks to the passengers and drivers?

I agree Canti. I would

George13's picture
George13 - July 9, 2008 - 5:00pm.

I agree Canti. I would think that much glass would end up being a safety hazard. I don't think you'd even have to roll it as any side impact or hard enough one front or back is going to cause it to break. Hopefully they have it worked out that it will pop out if that happens.

That is really interesting

escape's picture
escape - June 29, 2008 - 11:35pm.

That is really interesting looking. Not something I'd like I don't think but if it catches on it could provide some unique possibilities for the future. I'm not really sure a glass roof is an alternative to a convertible but if they say so.

I kind of dont like the

canti's picture
canti - July 1, 2008 - 1:08pm.

I kind of dont like the ideas of convert's just for the fact what if there is a freak accident and it rolls? I am thinking a glass top would be even more on the scale to make me worry. :(

I used to worry about this

purple's picture
purple - August 11, 2008 - 3:44pm.

I used to worry about this in my high school boyfriend's car. It was some teeny sports car with t-tops and convertible. I mean it was the size of a gnat to start with, let alone if we got in a wreck. There are some decent roll bar reinforcements in the tops though. I'm sure they would have to use some type of super safety glass.