I've seen quite a few amazing rides this week. Yesterday I spotted one of Jack Roush's new propane-fueled ROUSH Mustang drag cars in the Cruisin' Legends area of the SEMA show. Roush says the drag cars are an offshoot of the kits that ROUSH Performance uses to convert gasoline-powered Ford pickups and vans to run on clean-burning propane.

The Mustang uses an all-aluminum 5.4L V8 Ford engine that was originally designed for the Ford GT supercar. It was converted to be naturally-aspirated. Then the compression ratio was altered to 12.5:1. In order to run on liquid propane, the company had to make other changes including CNC ported cylinder heads, high performance camshaft and valvetrain, and a wet sump lubrication system. The end result? Roush says the engine can generate more than 600 horsepower.

This model, the 2005 ROUSH Stage 3 Mustang, will be driven by Donnie Bowles and is set for testing in mid-November. The car will compete for the NMRA championship next season. The ROUSH engineering team is also building a 2010 ROUSH Stage 3 Mustang for Susan Roush-McClenaghan which should debut in February.

Photo © Jonathan P. Lamas

This morning, Saleen Performance Vehicles officially debuted their new 2010 S281 Mustang in front of an eager crowd at the 2009 SEMA Show here in Las Vegas.  When the cover was taken off of the car, the crowd was all cheers.

In a nutshell, the S281 outputs an impressive 485 hp and 460 lb.-ft. of torque courtesy of its 4.6-liter V8 engine, which is equipped with a Saleen Series VI.5 twin-screw supercharger and a dual-stage intercooler. It also features a newly designed Saleen Racecraft suspension system, which includes specially tuned single-rate front and rear springs, nitrogen-pressurized front struts, and rear shocks with a wide range of damping adjustments. It is also equipped with a specially tuned front sway bar with performance pivot bushings.

For photos from this morning's debut, as well as additional specs, check out my Saleen S281 Mustang Profile.

Photo © Jonathan P. Lamas

The SEMA Show is always full of surprises. Take yesterday's announcement that Carroll Shelby is releasing a 550 hp Turbo Package for 2005-2009 Mustang GTs. According to the company, the package can be applied to a 2007-09 Shelby GT or a 2005-09 Mustang GT at the Las Vegas Shelby facility or one of its mod shops.

Price? In all, the installed package costs $22,599, not including the car. Some of the goodies included in the package include Shelby/Turbonetics Turbocharger with 550 HP (at the crank), Shelby Pro-Plus 4 wheel brake system, Performance suspension with Caster/Camber Plates, and 18" X 9" Chrome Aluminum Wheels with Goodyear Eagle F1 275/35/18 tires. If you're willing to go all out, you can opt for things like a Shelby GT-H Front Fascia and Shelby Rear Fascia, Baer 6-Piston Extreme front and rear brake kit, and Eibach Pro-2 Coil-Over Shocks and Struts.

For more info, check out our Shelby Turbo Package Profile.

Photo Courtesy of Shelby Automobiles

Today Ford Motor Company released its October sales figures. This October the company sold 4,789 Mustangs. One year ago, in October of 2008, the company sold 4,686. That, my friends, results in a year-over-year increase of 2.2 percent for the month of October!

Unfortunately, when we look at the year as a whole, Mustang sales are down 32.4 percent for 2009. Last year at this time Ford had sold 83,557 Mustangs. So far this year Ford has moved 56,469 of the iconic pony cars. Nothing for nothing, but this dismal economy has surely had an impact on all automotive sales in 2009. People don't buy cars when they're worried about losing their jobs. I think the Mustang has the goods, especially the new 2010 model. Unfortunately consumer spending has played a major role in the sales decline.

Meanwhile Chevrolet sold 8,082 Camaros in October (47,233 year to date), while Dodge sold 2,398 Challengers (21,276 year to date).