Since going on sale in late 2014, the sixth-generation Mustang->ke428 has been a massive sales success for Ford,->ke31 and for the first time six years, sales have surpassed the Chevrolet Camaro.->ke248 It wasn’t even close either. In the first five months of 2015, Ford moved 56,571 2015 Ford Mustangs, an increase of 56 percent, while Chevrolet->ke199 sold 33,982 2014-2015 Chevrolet Camaros. Dodge,->ke28 meanwhile, came in third with 30,166 2015 Dodge Challengers.

Detroit News says the success can be attributed to its ground-up redesign, which, for the first time, includes independent rear suspension and the new 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine option, which is appealing to millennials who value fuel economy. Ford says millennials make up 35 percent of nationwide sales, while in the all-important Southern California market, where sales have increased by 117 percent, that number jumps to 40 percent.

If the Mustang stays on its current sales trajectory, it will finish out 2015 on top of both the Camaro and Challenger,->ke249 though that might be easier said than done. The sixth generation 2016 Chevrolet Camaro goes on sale later this year, and, like the Mustang, it will also have a turbocharged four-cylinder engine option.

However, Ford says V-8s still make up 40 percent of Mustang sales, and reinforcements are on the way in the form of the new 2016 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350 and 2016 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R, which both get a race-bred chassis and an incredible new, 5.2-liter flat-plane-crank V-8 that revs to 8,250 and puts down 526 horsepower. Chevy, of course, will counter with a sixth-generation-based Z28 soon after.

Continue reading for the full story.

Why it matters

Young buyers will be key to future sales success for both the Camaro and Mustang, and it should be interesting to see how Chevy and Ford continue to appeal to this demographic. Both have gotten smaller and lighter to the point that they’re now pretty much muscle car-shaped->ke507 sports cars.->ke506 This tight competition has sparked a development war that has resulted in some truly excellent cars that no longer have to make excuses or apologies. And when that happens, the consumer wins.

2015 Ford Mustang

Read our full review here.