<< the techniques vary by car. it's mainly up to you as the driver how to handle it, there's no golden rule.
your maximum power is at redline, right after you hit that point you lose power the longer you stay in gear. you have 2 options, you can shift at redline where you get the max power, but once you hit the next gear you're going to fall out of your top power. the other school will tell you to wait until after redline, just before the fuel cut, that way you'll fall right back into your max power when you shift. experiment with both. a good launch can make up for the difference though, make sure you work on that.
as for who would win, i would put my money on the accord. it's not as torquey or has as much power, but i'm betting that it's lighter and quicker. it would at least take em from the line. heh, i'd say it was up to driver but they're both autos, wtf ;P
good luck, drive safe >>
That's not true. The redline is where you start to risk breaking something. It has NOTHING to do with the amount of power being produced. Pushing the car past redline (I'm talknig about a stock car) will usually be pushing you out of the power band, and is definitely not good for the car.
Mustangs redline at about 6000 rpm (depending on the model). Most of them make max power around 5000.