Not so special editions

The Ford Mustang is a great car, but is it possible to have too much of a good thing? I’m not saying that Ford should build fewer ‘Stangs, but maybe it could stop making so many “limited” or “special” editions.

Car companies love special editions because they encourage people to buy cars without really thinking. Buyers assume the cars are collectible and purchase them with the assumption that a return on their investment will come in 20 or 30 years. They treat cars like V8 baseball cards.

Some cars (many of them Mustangs) are collectible, but that’s because they are rare. That’s where Ford may have a problem. There are so many limited edition Mustangs that there numbers may rival bog standard GTs and V6s.

You can actually buy a Shelby Mustang from Ford or Shelby. Ford will sell you an SVT Shelby GT500, while Shelby has a full menu of souped-up Mustangs, from the GT 350 to the 1000. The company is also selling 50th Anniversary and Carroll Shelby Tribute cars.

Some of these special cars have a purpose. The GT500 is by far the fastest, with a claimed top speed of 200 mph, and the Boss 302 emphasizes handling. At this rate, Ford could end up with a Mustang for every market niche, but buyers will need a spotter’s guide to keep up.

The more Mustangs Ford, Shelby, and everyone else keep making, the harder it will get to tell them apart, and the more superfluous some will seem. With the 200 mph GT 500 and 1,000 hp Shelby 1000, why bother with the Shelby Super Snake that falls in between?

Maybe Ford and Shelby’s intent is to confuse customers into buying a car by giving them too many choices, or to provoke indiscriminate collectors into spending their life savings on a garage full of “investments.”

Anyone who buys a car just to seal it away in a garage probably deserves to be ripped off, but the Mustang’s loyal fans don’t. Ford should concentrate on developing its core models instead of wasting time with special editions.

Having a stable full of performance Mustangs is great, as long as each car has its own character and its own purpose. The GT500 and Boss 302 do this, and Ford should be commended for bringing them both into the world. Hopefully a company with such good judgment will know when to quit. We don’t need another Mustang King Cobra.