Mustang rises to the challenge

There's nothing like a little competition to bring out the best in us.

And that's what it took for Ford Motor Co. to upgrade the Mustang's V-6 engine, with its paltry 210 horsepower.

Just a few months into sales of the redesigned 2010 Mustang, with a base model that comes with that anemic 4.0-liter V-6, Ford has announced the coming of the 2011 Mustang early next year with a 305-horsepower, 3.7-liter V-6.

Unveiled during this week's media days at the Los Angeles auto show, the yet-again-new Mustang offers the big increase in V-6 horsepower to counter competition from Chevrolet's re-introduced Camaro muscle car, which came to market earlier this year as a 2010 model.

The base Camaro — which costs about the same as a base Mustang — comes with a 304-horsepower V-6 engine. Its V-8-powered SS (Super Sport) model features a 6.2-liter engine with a whopping 426 horsepower. That compares with just 315 horsepower for the standard V-8 in the 2010 Mustang.

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