To People In Buffalo Who Drive Ford Mustangs Year-Round

Living in Western New York will test your driving skills, especially in the winter. So why would you ever make this your primary car?

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Who This Letter is For

Let’s set some basic ground rules. This letter is NOT for you if you:

- Own a Mustang for show only.
- You own the new AWD Mustang.
- Only bring out your Mustang on nice days.
- Were handed this car as a freebie and it’s what you have.
- You previously owned a Mustang before, let’s say, 2010 (or just a long time) and simply don’t have money for a new or used car.

If any of this is you, ignore this. It's not for you. Carry on.

This letter is for those who chose to actively go out and buy a Ford Mustang as their year-round, primary car in Buffalo, New York in 2022 or the last decade.

You went to a car lot, new or used, and of all the options that were there you felt the best choice, economically and practically while living in Western New York, was a Ford Mustang?

What is wrong with you?

Ford Mustangs Are Awesome

Look I love a Ford Mustang. Don’t get it twisted. This isn’t a hate letter to Ford Mustangs. Especially the classics. Between that, the Corvette, and the old Challengers I don’t know if there is a more Iconic American car. The old 5.0 was the 80s/early 90s dream car for any kid in high school. The remodel in the 90s was the car I learned stick shift on which, by the way, was not the nicest clutch ever but it was a good learning experience.

Remember how we all fell in love with the “Eleanor” in the film “Gone in 60 Seconds” starring Nic Cage? (The remake anyway). That of course was a 1967 Mustang Shelby GT500, my favorite car next to the ‘67 Shelby Cobra. I love Mustangs and have no issues with Fords, either. So before you go writing your angry Facebook post about how Mustangs are awesome and I suck for not liking them, slow your role. I love them. That’s not what this is about.

To be honest this letter could easily be applied to modern versions of Cameros and Challengers, as well as anyone driving an 80s/90s Firebird too. There’s just something about people who specifically drive Mustangs year-round that I find shocking.

The Mustangs We're Talking About

Around here I find that it’s not a brand new Mustang you see slugging through the slush on Niagara Falls Blvd. in February. It’s always a rusting, paint peeling ‘98 or ‘06 or something very used. Sure, maybe they’ve had the car since then and that’s why they drive it, but see above about who this letter is for and not for.

Cars are expensive and I get it. Let’s be honest that’s probably not the case though because very few people can hold onto a car THAT long. The average length of car ownership in the US is a little over 8 years, according to GermainCars.com. Chances are if you own a used Mustang as your year-round vehicle you made that choice despite many other logical choices being available.

Then there are those who can afford new cars and choose to buy a Ford Mustang (not the new AWD one) as their primary car while living in Western New York. There were SO MANY better options for you. Including buying a nice, older used one to keep in your garage for nice days. Why? Why did you do this?

Why Mustangs Are a Bad Choice As a Year-Round Car in WNY

All of them, again except the new AWD version, are bad in the snow. Don’t sit here and tell me you can weigh down the trunk and add snow tires. They are rear-wheel drive, meaning every tire slip on ice and snow kicks out the back when you push down the gas pedal. Going up a slippery incline? Impossible.

They also get horrendous gas mileage, which is fine… if you have them as a toy. Because then who cares? As a day-to-day car though, you chose one that sucks in snow AND is bad with gas? You could have bought a used truck or SUV with 4 wheel drive or all-wheel drive. They suck at gas mileage too but at least you can drive in the snow and up inclines.

These cars are meant for dry roads to go zipping down on sunny days. Windows down, speakers blasting, having a good time. Not delivering Instacart orders in a driving snowstorm, and that is a true story.

There are two types of people around here that drive mustangs year-round who could have legitimately made a different choice:

1. Dumb People. (Respectfully)
2. Young people trying to impress others who are also dumb. (Somewhat respectfully)

Live in Florida? Be my guest and own a mustang year-round. Live in Western New York? You are not applying your brain before purchasing a vehicle.

Cars That Are Cool But Make More Sense Year-Round in WNY

Used, or even new, cars you could have had that are not only fun and help you “look cool” (which is a bigger conversation about your personal issues but we won’t tackle that here), but also practical in this environment:

The New AWD Electric Mustang (duh)
Subaru WRX (and STI) - The best sports car for WNY IMO.
A Used 4x4 Truck. Any of them.
An Older Audi TT Quatro
Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 (harder to find now, buy nice car)
Ford Focus RS
Used AWD Mercedes and BMWs
Kia Stinger
Mitsubishi Lancer AWD
Some version of the Dodge Challenger
Jeep Wranglers (I’m not a big fan but plenty of people are)
Hyundai Tiburon (Front-wheel drive, still better than rear wheel)

The list can go on and on and on.

Now look, this is big talk from someone who really doesn’t matter. I'm no one. If you’re all mad going something like, “this is America and you can drive whatever you want,” well no kidding. Make whatever decision you want. Just keep this in mind when you can’t get up an on-ramp.

Also to those who have Mustangs as your weekend/show/summer car: let’s see some pics of these beauties! They are AWESOME cars worth investing in and keeping shiny. For example, below are some amazing Ford Mustangs.