With competition rolling the streets, the 2010 Mustang press drives are very important to the Blue Oval boys. Last week Ford Motor Company held a press drive of the 2010 Shelby GT500 at Infineon Raceway in scenic Sonoma California. Sonoma sounds like a great location to showcase the cars newly found horsepower, especially since Infineon has a NHRA sanctioned drag strip. Several enthusiast publications and websites are already reporting their drive impressions for the 2010 GT500, we thought we would share a few with you.

Autoblog Review: GT500 First Drive: Autoblog’s Jonathon Ramsey loved the new 2010 styling but was concerned with the handling and road manners. “Regrettably, few of those improvements got our attention on the first stretch of road we drove. We spent most of our time thinking about that long-lived piece of equipment out back: the live axle. Wrenching, bumpy twists of road strung along California’s oceanfront cliffs had quickly exposed the car’s vulnerability – the car jumped all over everywhere, so much so that it felt like our choices were slow down or risk taking a 1,000-foot cliff dive into the Pacific.” The next day at the dragstrip, Jonathon found a true appreciation for the GT500 as journalist were running the quarter in the 12.5 second zone. Not bad for a car that weighs so much and runs street tires.

Autoblog Second Day Drive: “Ford knows its audience. The down-and-dirty Mustang guy is taking his car to the track – specifically, the drag strip. Drag strip guys like their solid rear axles and Mustang buyers have made sure to let Ford know the Mustang should stick to that formula. And in the Shelby, that solid axle is an asset when you pass through the raceway gates: you put 540 horsepower down on the ground and the car behaves the way you want it to. It’s Heaven. And this is where the GT500 overwhelmingly wins its case.”

Jalopnik: GT500 Coupe First Drive: Wes Siler with Jalopnik tolerated the coupe, but had reservations about the lack of refinement on the suspension: “But it was a one trick pony, floating with dangerous imprecision around corners and offering very little feel on its way to spinning at the slightest provocation. Driving that car was an exercise in point and shoot: slam on the brakes, drive slowly around the corner, then stomp on the gas once the steering’s pointed straight. According to both Ray and Ford representatives, I’m the only person in the world who actually liked its kill-you-at-the-slightest-mistake personality.”

Jalopnik: Convertible First Drive: Mr. Siler had less than stellar things to say about the 2010 GT500 convertible. “Where the coupe gains larger, 19″ wheels, firmer damping, stiffer springs, a smaller front anti-roll bar and a stiffened steering, the convertible doesn’t and still floats with dangerous imprecision and, with the new AdvanceTrac stability control system off, still wants to spin and kill you. It also suffers from the usual convertible issues of scuttle shake and chassis flex thanks to the roof getting lopped off. It runs the smaller wheels in an attempt to mitigate the effect bumps have on stability. Basically, it’s the old car with new styling and 40 more horsepower. And as you remember, the old GT500 was an exercise in praying to whatever god you may believe in that the car would hold on to the road if it hit even the slightest bump, gulley or pothole.”

Left Lane News: First Drive: Left Lane drove the car and had nothing but praise for the 2010 GT500 model. They really liked the improved clutch feel, driveability, and value. “Like the proverbial bat out of Hell, the 2010 Shelby GT500 is a rocket that strikes with the speed and ferocity of its Cobra namesake. Donning our Pyrotect helmets (required with any on-track activities at Infineon), we were ready to see what this snake could do. With its supercharged and intercooled 540-horsepower V8 pumping out 510 lb-ft. of torque, the GT500 is able to rip mid-12-second runs down the dragstrip at Infineon time after time with speeds in the range of 113-115 mph – on street tires, no less. With a base price of $46,325 the 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 stands out as one of the least-expensive and most enjoyable ways to raise your insurance rates and use lots of tires. Unlike its predecessor, hours upon hours of seat time didn’t beat us up, meaning this GT500 finally makes a decent daily driver. Credit the smoother clutch, the more refined ride – or maybe just the raw power. We like it.”

Autoweek: 2010 GT500 Drive Review: AW’s road test editor Mark Vaughn enjoyed driving the GT500 around the twisties at Infineon but had trouble with the car on the dragstrip. “It appears that the previous editors had given the twin disc clutch quite a workout and it was starting to slip. “Then it was off to the drags (Infineon has everything). The key to success there was to launch at 2,500 rpm with an even clutch take-up. So they said. Clutch take-up and engagement also is surprisingly smooth for a 540-hp muscle car. Pedal effort is easily manageable and engagement is smooth, once you try it out several times. If you really hammer it, you have to be deft with the pedal uptake or the car will do the axle tramp at launch in first gear. Do it too slowly at launch and the Valeo friction plates spin, followed by smoke and cursing. If you’re too quick on the 1-2 shift, it’ll lurch forward and bog on engagement.”

Popular Mechanics: Larry Webster liked the 2010 GT500’s ride quality and power. He also expanded on the tire selection for the car. “The tires are Goodyear Eagle F1’s specifically designed for the car. The rear tires use two belts instead of three to maximize the contact patch during acceleration and revised the tread pattern for larger, stiffer blocks. They also specified two different suspension calibrations for the coupe and convertible versions. Thinking that the drop-top buyer would favor cruising comfort over outright performance, the engineers equipped the soft-top model with slightly softer suspension and it uses 18-inch wheels instead of the coupe’s 19-inchers.”

Sounds like most of the editors that drove the car thought the 2010 GT500 was an improvement over the 2007-2009 model. It appears that some editors still have issues with the handling and weight of the car. The cast iron block has been in the Cobra since 2003 and has quite a reputation as a “muscle” motor. I doubt Ford has any plans to develop an aluminum 5.4L engine package for a more balanced car. It will be interesting to see how well the 2010 GT500 sells in this market. We’ll know by mid-summer how well the 2010 Shelby GT500 moves for Ford.