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| 20 new 1988 Mustang 5.0s delivered to the Indiana State Police in 1988 |
The year is 1988, the date is June 30th. Summer time. The Indiana State Police just unleashed 20 high performance mustangs on the crossroads of America to catch speeders. Source: 1988: Indiana State Police launch high-performance vehicle fleet with Ford Mustang
Just how high performance were these five-oh edition 5.0L mustangs? Well, in order to answer that let's take a look at the modern day 2018 Mustang equipped with the same (yet very different) 5.0L V8 engine.
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| At $13,119 a piece, or roughly $28,572 in 2018 dollars |
The 1988 Mustang equipped with a 5.0L high output engine, had an MSRP of $13,119 in 1988 dollars. In 2018 dollars, adjusted for inflation, that is equivalent to $28,572. Whereas the brandy new 2018 Mustang, similarly equipped with a 5.0L motor has an MSRP of $36,090. So in today's dollars, the 1988 Mustang is a bargain, almost $8k less expensive.
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| 460 Horsepower for $36,090. A bargain? |
Just out of curiosity, I wanted to see what would happen if that $13,119 MSRP in 1988 was instead invested into the stock market in the S&P500 and let to ride out for 30 years. Well, it looks like the stock market was the better investment. Your $13,119 in 1988 would have turned into $133,026.70 today, of about 3 (three) 2018 5.0L Mustangs. Woof.
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| Instead of buying a 5.0L Mustang in 1988, invest the $13,119 MSRP into the S&P500 and turn it into $133,026.70 |
Okay, okay. So buying a sports car is technically a waste of money, but accelerating to 60 MPH in under 4 seconds is actually bad ass. How did that 1988 'Stang fare when it came to performance specifications like 0-60 times (which you shouldn't quote), 1/4 mile times and traps, and top speed? See below.
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| '88 Mustang 5.0L vs. '18 Mustang 5.0L, who wins? |
The 1988 Mustang 5.0 is slow, painfully slow. Hardly adequate at pulling over horse and buggies in Amish country, maybe. It takes 10 seconds to get to 60, and is only traveling at 85 MPH at the end of the quarter mile. The '18 Mustang could sit at the starting line for almost 4 full seconds and still chase down the '88 Mustang on the big end. That's painful.
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| The 2018 Mustang has more weight, but a lot more win |
The 2018 Mustang has over double the horsepower, 120 more ft-lbs of torque, and hits 60 MPH in under 4 seconds. So which is the smart choice? Simple, I've outlined the correct steps to follow below:
- Travel to 1988 with $13,119
- Don't buy a 1988 Mustang 5.0L
- Invest money in S&P500
- Wait 30 years
- $$$
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