When I got the assignment to attend the press preview of the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 for About.com's Mustangs site, I vowed I was going to treat the Boss 302 like any other review. Never mind that this is the most anticipated Mustang to come along in years; if it was crap, I was going to say so. Understand that our Mustangs site is written for Mustang enthusiasts, and I'm sure that a negative review wouldn't go over well with the readers. But I wasn't going to lower my standards -- especially when Jonathan Lamas, who runs the site, would have to deal with the fall-out and not me. (Snicker.)
But the Boss 302 wasn't crap. In fact, it was amazingly, overwhelmingly good, and my review is amazingly, overwhelmingly positive. I'm telling you this because I want you to know that I'm not just pandering to Mustang fans -- I really do think the Boss 302 is brilliant car and a testament to engineering brainpower at Ford. (Now if they'd only set those same brains loose on the Taurus SHO...) Why did I love the Boss so much? Find out in my 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 review. -- Aaron Gold
Photo © Aaron Gold
Did they provide an old M3? You mentioned that the Boss sounded better than the straight 6 in the M3. BMW has been making the M3s with 8 cylinder engines since about 2008.
It was a new M3, and that was a typo — should be corrected soon. — Aaron
I’ve always said that if I were to be buried (not alive, please!) in a car, it would be in a 1970 Boss 302. Now I have a quandary. Thanks a lot guys!!!
Take what everybody says is a great car and dress it up like a clown car. I dont get it. Add the cost of paint and new wheels to the overall cost.
Jeff, I don’t know how old you are, but for us gray hairs the 1970 Boss 302 represented the one hot car that could do one thing that all the other straight line hot cars like the Cudas, Yenko Camaros, Chargers, Chevelles GTO’s couldn’t do…handle like a true sports car. It gave a dimension that till then virtually was unknown to the American Street Rod scene. It showed us that handling wasn’t just the dominion of the GT6+’s, Spitfires, Lotus’ and other affordable imports. The Vettes and the Jaguars lived in the rarefied air of the spoiled rich kids. But the Boss 302 brought it all down to a level playing field. It ran with the Jags and Vettes, but it was still buyable, if you worked two jobs. In short it was an icon to the regular guy who could appreciate more than 0-60 performance and I loved it.
As to this new Boss…it only pays homage to the most exciting vehicle in a lost and much lamented era. It seems to do that job very well indeed!
I get the nostalgia and the memories it brings back. I’m 42 and love muscle cars. I had a “69 GTO in the late 80’s for a time and my only problem with the new one is the paint and the wheels. Although I understand the paint is pretty much the same style, to me, it doesn’t work like it does on the ‘70. And I think they made a terrible choice with the wheels. Ugly. To each his own I guess. Otherwise, according to every article I’ve read, it’s a kick ass car. Or, pun intended, it’s boss(that’s dope for the real young ones).
Nice to see that Ford is doing this one right. I have a friend who has a new GT 500 and he loves it. It’s a really great car. This Boss should be equally as nice.