The automatic transmission felt a bit like the one used in the Ford Fairlane GT/A of our “Super Car” test, but better on part-throttle acceleration. Shelby American modifies this transmission to shift at 5500 rpm at full throttle, although the driver can hold it in each of the three gears with the shifter. Our shifts were made at 6000 rpm, and the acceleration times compare favorably with those for the 4-speed. Starting without wheelspin, the automatic actually has an edge on the 4-speed up to about 45 mph. Wheelspin can be induced by “pumping up” the converter (using brake and throttle simultaneously), but even then the tires have the situation well in hand—there’s no fishtailing or useless clouds of smoke. Shifts are crisp and clean, probably faster than anybody but a drag racer could achieve with a manual. Fuel economy doesn’t seem to suffer much, and it loses only two miles an hour of top speed. Flat-out, the car has a high, hammering note. At highway speeds, the changing pitch of the automatic shift jangled some people’s nerves. The idle is lumpy, but in a way that promises good things to come.
Good things do come for the driver of a GT 350. Its cornering ability is a lovely mixture of the beast getting the better of you and you keeping hold of the tiger’s tail. The taut suspension, well-controlled geometry, and big tires suffice to keep it on the road at insane speeds, and when it starts to slide, you can wrestle the slide in the direction of your choice. Its steering characteristic is pretty neutral, tending toward understeer. Driven too deep and too fast into a corner, the car can be “saved” by backing off (which scrubs off speed), by giving it part throttle (which squats the tail down for a better bite), or by full throttle (which gets the tail out and tighten up the turning radius). If steering with your right foot gets boring, you can always give the steering wheel a wrench to make the front end perform appropriate maneuvers Needless to say, the GT 350 is more fun to drive than anything since the Mini-Cooper S. Maybe more fun than the Mini; at least when you floor the Mustang, it moves.
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The level of creature comfort on long trips is amazingly high. There is a screw adjustment for the seat back rake angle, which we unbolted to let the seat flop as far backward as it would go. Head-, foot-, and hip-room are good, but the door is a little close to the shoulder. The trunk space would be pitifully inadequate, except that the rear seats fold down to provide a huge luggage platform. Even with the seat up, there’s a shelf under the rear window, like the VW’s. Vision all around is excellent, as is the heater (it was one of the few cars in recent memory that could warm up its occupants on a sub-zero morning within five minutes of starting) but there was one thing we worried about constantly: the NASCAR-style hood pins. The normal latching mechanism is removed, so the pins are the only thing holding the lid down. When some little brat steals the pins as souvenirs, you have to start looking for a 3/8-inch twig. Moral: When driving a GT 350 through treeless country, run over any kid who even looks at your automobile with envy. And for sure, they all will.
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