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Ford announced that a new restyled and re-engineered Mustang goes on sale early next year. And because everyone’s main concern is to make cars more efficient and with lower CO2 emissions, the company decided to make the car look smaller.

"We have a car which I think is more suitable for the times than the Challenger and the Camaro," said Peter Horbury, Ford Motor’s North American design director. "Especially the Challenger — it is a huge car when you see it on the road."

The Challenger is 10.1 inches longer and 1.8 inches wider than the 2008 Mustang. The dimensions of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro have not been released, but the Camaro concept is 1.4 inches shorter and 5.7 inches wider than the 2008 Mustang.

"By cleverness in design, we’ve been able to make it look like the wheels are further out, further forward and further rearward," Horbury said during an interview at a Ford event last month in New York.

"The center line is the longest part" of the next Mustang, he said, "and the widest part of the car is the middle. From there on, you can tuck it in and bring the apparent size down.