THE NEW FORD MUSTANG CONVERTIBLE IS HERE - 11 PICTURES

A more detailed overview of the 2010 Mustang is here, concentrating on the coupe that will garner more sales in northern climes. What you see here is the 2010 Ford Mustang convertible, vehicle of all wealthy high school quarterbacks in SoCal. 

Ford's inability to hide the Mustang's roof when its down is disappointing. Let me check the calendar.... alright, this is late 2008 and Ford has, in other places, learned to hide a FOLDING HARDTOP. Apparently, the Mustang's soft-top wants to reveal itself annoyingly.

Apart from that, Ford is serving up fairly standard fare here. More power, revised appearance, updated interior. Only because this is a Mustang do we pay so much attention. Revised musclecars don't come along very often and this 2010 Mustang convertible is truly exciting compared with facelifted midsize sedans from Asia. All eleven pictures are in the gallery below.

THE NEW FORD MUSTANG IS HERE - 72 PICTURES

Let's start the day off honestly: the new-for-'10 Ford Mustang looks like it was facelifted. That's not a bad thing; facelifts can work wonders. As for a completely refreshing take, this new Mustang evolved from the previous-generation about as slowly as the Porsche 911 moved from 996 to 997 and about as swiftly as the Jaguar XJ8 of the early 2000s moved on to the completely new-for-'03.

In other words, the new Mustang doesn't look all that different. Face the facts, the Mustang is 50% looks and 50% muscle, creating a situation where, um... looks matter. In profile, the Mustang still rides too high at the rear. As a new Mustang drives away from you, the rear end won't look too terribly new at all even if it is a cooler design. Stand in your upstairs window looking down at the 2010 Mustang in your driveway and you'll start to believe it's a tidier, tightened, tenser, and tauter design. There's something about that angle that reveals an almost European influence; slightly delicate and assuredly tenacious at the same time.

Certainly the front end is where the revitilization was most successful and most noticeable. Appearing lower and meaner, the grille is far and away the most telling feature that proves this is the 2010 Mustang.

Ford had been making lots of noise about improving the interior. At first glance, that was just a bunch of noise. The cockpit still looks like a mish-mash of cheap and expensive. Not to worry, underhood, a V8 is still available. Are you not paying pennies for fuel again?

Ford's 4.6L is now a 315-horsepower mill. Wheels start at 17-inches in diameter and creep up to 19-inches at the max. Front-end lift for the V8 GT was reduced 23%, which, when teamed with a 7% slipperier body, should significantly aid steering and handling.

Does the Mustang have the Challenger's presence or the Camaro's eye-catching allure? Nope. Actually, it's not even close. On the other hand, the Mustang will almost certainly be less expensive across the board and doesn't scream mid-life crisis like the two competitors. The full gallery of 72 pictures is below. Click here for the convertible gallery.

2010 FORD FIESTA SEDAN - CHINA AND USA WILL LOVE IT

If you're a betting auto watcher, place your money in these three places: Europeans snicker at the thought of a new Fiesta sedan, Chinese and American customers suck up Fiesta sedans like reinvented sliced bread, and Canadians are a little bit interested but prefer the hatchback that many customers south of the border fear.

When Ford releases the 2010 Fiesta, you'll hear plenty of positive reviews. Expect the Fiesta to make the Chevrolet Aveo feel like tin pie plate. Meanwhile, the Toyota Yaris will become blander than ever in the light of Ford's Fiesta, and the Dodge..... oh wait, Chrysler/Dodge doesn't have a car in this segment. 

However, one can hope not too much praise is lavished upon the Fiesta sedan. Oh, it'll drive as well as its hatchback brother(s), and the interior fit and finish will likely be top notch. But man, look at that thing. True, the picture you see here is the absolute worst angle possible - that's why The Good Car Guy picked it; to make a point - but still, she ain't pretty.

They say she's got a nice personality, though. Fortunately, the hatchback mixes personality and looks.

NOT FULLY RECANTING, THE GOOD CAR GUY SEES LINCOLN MKS AND VW PASSAT CC AND RE-THINKS POSITION

Countless dozens of cars have appeared at dealerships in the lifetime of The Good Car Guy that forced a complete turn around of previous beliefs. 

The first sighting of a Lamborghini Countach resulted in a, "I still want one, but man, she ain't pretty". Unless painted black, the latest Chevrolet Malibu isn't nearly as handsome and classy as first believed. BMW's latest M3 is still a little too soft, but a whole lot more aggressive in the flesh than in photos. Chevrolet's first-generation Avalanche wasn't good to begin with but became absolutely wretched during a drive-by.

Two of the most recent examples are positives, however. With great love for the Mercedes-Benz CLS, The Good Car Guy wanted to love the Volkswagen Passat CC, too. The CC is, after all, a Mercedes CLS on the cheap. Alas, in pictures, the Passat CC was bloated and disappointing. Considering the Passat wagon was a better starting point than the Passat sedan anyway, one couldn't be too surprised.

Likewise, the Lincoln MKS was such a departure from the direction GoodCarBadCar.net believed Lincoln should go.  That direction? The Lincoln Continental concept of 2002 was all-American goodness. The MKS is a Euro-Japanese amalgam of ideas mixed with a nasty grille.

However, in hindsight The Good Car Guy wishes a little more softeness had been used in describing these two vehicles. After witnessing a few MKSs drive by in urban situations (without being able to see the front end), the Lincoln has some serious presence and looks expensive. Will the MKS manage to garner a Good 12 spot? No, but it's far from The Bad 8.

The story is similar for Volkswagen's Passat CC. Looking long, low, and lean in real life, the CC actually fulfills its Benz-CLS-on-the-cheap mandate rather well. Nah, it's not a recommended purchase - there's just too much better stuff available for the price - but the CC isn't ugly in the metal. It's quite nice.

A QUESTION FROM THE GOOD CAR GUY

Condemnation directed at the Detroit Three is running rampant. "They build the wrong vehicles", says America. "New leadership is required," say the analysts. "Why not sell us their better Euro-market cars?" inquires the umm.... auto bloggers. 

Valid points; these are, with a few problems. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler may build the "wrong" vehicles, but Americans still buys plenty of them. In fact, only in recent years has the Detroit Three's hold on the majority of their domestic market fallen away. No, that's not good news, but perhaps we should all stop acting like General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler don't sell any cars whatsoever.

And while we accuse the Detroit Three - especially Chrysler - of being too truck-heavy in their offering list, let us remember that selling a bunch of $13,487 Calibers in Canada isn't likely as lucrative as selling a handful of Rams at a $10,000 discount. Sure, that's not an appropriate long-term view, and it is in long-term perspectives that the Detroit Three has been found wanting, but still.... GM, Ford, and Chrysler were manufacturing the vehicles Americans wanted and making serious coin doing so. For a while.

As one-shot contrarian examples show, what analysts called for wasn't always the answer. Everybody was excited to see the Opel Astra heading across the Atlantic to become the Saturn Astra until we saw the price that GM needed to set in order not to lose money. Of course, furthering that argument is a third point that says Honda can build a better car and sell it at a better price soooo; why can't GM?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending the Detroit Three's short-sighted views on trucks and SUVs. I just can't cease to wonder at America's collective hatred for Detroit's business methods when America collectively supported those business methods. Judging by polls that suggest American citizens don't want to throw good money after bad in Detroit's direction, I also wonder why so many Americans are willing to see large chunks of their friends and family lose their jobs. 

Acknowledging that GM's business models were - and perhaps continue to be - terribly reactionary and overwhelmingly astigmatic, one must also wonder if any federal rejection of aid is the complete opposite in a negative praxis. It's wonderful to act wise and suggest that throwing billions more dollars Detroit's way wouldn't be good for future generations and likely wouldn't help for long anyway, but that wisdom comes at a cost: jobs, jobs, jobs, and more jobs.

WHY DOESN'T MAZDA UPGRADE THE RX-8? NISSAN'S 370Z LOOKING MIGHTY

Horsepower isn't everything. It's just.... mostly everything. 

Steering feel, a Mazda RX-8 hallmark, along with incredible balance (another RX-8 trait) and spectacular shift quality - something Mazda always offers - helps make a sporting car great. Indeed, the Mazda RX-8 is a quick car with wonderful steering, incredible balance, and a near-perfect transmission. But the torqueless rotary is not only weak compared to the RX-8's most avid foe; it's also terribly inefficient.

In a year where Nissan is completely overhauling the 350Z and turning it into the 332-horsepower Nissan 370Z, a car that may be lighter and will definitely be faster with better-handling, Mazda tinkered with the RX-8. The horsepower differential stands at 100. Torque figures for the $31,930 RX-8 R3 are 13 lb-ft lower than that of the 370Z's little brother, the Sentra SE-R. No, not the Sentra SE-R Spec V, just the piddling SE-R. 

Despite a great degree of admiration for the RX-8 then, The Good Car Guy must speak out before the RX-8 becomes a quaint section of all the new car buyer's guides for the next four years. Something must be done. Horsepower isn't everything; but it's awfully vital. And while every RX-8 owner surely enjoys everything about their car (fuel efficiency excepted), potential RX-8 owners will surely be turned on by the 370Z's amazingly powerful V6 and two impressive transmission choices.

CNN MONEY AND MSNBC TAKE DEEP LOOK AT AUTO BAILOUT

Sources of information regarding the possibility of a bailout for Detroit are everywhere, some misleading; some not. Depending on the avenue you take in searcing for information, you'll get a different set of facts. CNN Money and MSNBC's recent articles might help. General Motors is in deep, Good Car Nation. Without help you, your friends, or many of your friends' friends are going to lose your job. By the way, CNBC has an interesting article related to gas prices and why their drop isn't making anybody feel better.