2014.5 and 2015 Mustang Production Schedule Details

GTsquid said:

Just to shell out an extra thousand or so for a 50th badge and some colors? No thanks. I 'm willing to bet they also have an anniversary package for the S550.

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Yes, who would wait until next year to buy some badged up 2014.5 on the old S197, when the 2015s would be right around the corner.

I don't believe this rumor.

StangFX said:

He also stated that there's a lot more influence from the Evos concept vehicle that hasn't been revealed yet.

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MORE Evos influence? What else is there besides maybe an invisible B pillar window.

The rear on the Evos is hideous IMO. They better not adopt that look. Those skinny tail lights made it into the Fusion. I can overlook some resemblance in the front end, but no triple tail lights is an absolute deal breaker for me.

- I'm expecting that Ford will start producing the 2014.5 MY "50th Anniversary" Mustangs in February sometime so that the vehicles will be on the ground at dealers by the April 17th anniversary date.

- If Ford's Sales Operations Manager is telling me that the changeover won't happen until next summer, I'd expect that the plant will do the retooling during the annual July vacation shutdown with a 2015 Job #1 date of mid-July with the all-new 2015 Mustang possibly arriving at dealers in late August/early September.

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The 1964.5 nickname made sense because it was made 5 months before the start of normal production. If this is about nostalgia it makes more sense to offer these around November/Dec.

I say kick it off in LA, open up sales in January and have that carry into April when the S550 is revealed. There should be nothing stopping them - they can build these straight off the same line right now.

Someone on another forum I read mentioned that a Ford source told him about a delay in the car, and that it would be July before it came generally available. After the prototype cars showed up, I thought maybe that was a ruse to throw people off the trail. Perhaps it was true after all.

Isn't it far too early to be seeing these test cars if retooling isn't until July 2014 and Job #1 in July/August?

Sure the front doesn't look finished but they are doing substantial prototype testing a year before retooling. I can't remember that ever happening so far in advance.

Mriley said:

Something doesn't add up for me.

If this is just a swan song for the remaining S197s and it will be a badged and striped 50th anniversary editions, why wait until February of next year? I don't think any of us are expecting any major body changes or re-engineering that could explain a delay.

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Agreed. IF the 14.5 is going to happen and IF its going to be a last of the line S197 then there's no reason to wait until Detroit (or any other big show) to release it. Launch it before the end of the year (Oct/Nov??).......that'll generate a few thousand extra sales...... then show a 95% ready S550 at Detroit (rather like how BMW have just shown their "Concept" M4 prior to the production car coming in 6 months)......then S550 deliveries can happen by July.

Man, this has me all confused lol I had my mind set on purchasing a '15 in the time spand of April-May..I hope it's available May at the latest

I dont buy the 'it must be ready by summer' thing. There's enough excitement that it won't matter when it's available. Sure they would probably sell a few more in summer but if they show it in NY or even Detroit by then I think most people who have been interested enough to wait until the auto shows will have no choice (even if they're not thrilled) but to wait until July or later.

Five Oh Brian is a stand up guy (and Ford dealer) on TMS...........

I can't name my sources for this info, so you'll just have to trust me on this. Ford will start filling the order banks with 2015 Mustang orders in May 2014, scheduling will start in June 2014, and production starts in July 2014. That makes 2014 Mustang production very long running from February 2013 through July 2014.

There are still some unknowns, such as the date the 2015 order banks open and when 2015 Job 1 is, but it's safe to say that 2015's won't start showing up on dealer lots until August 2014 at the very earliest or maybe even September if there are production or quality control issues at the onset of 2015 production.

For those who are expecting some sort of 50th anniversary model by April 17th, 2014, the production timing above tells me that a 50th anniversary model will more than likely have to be on the outgoing S197 platform (2014) instead of the all-new S550 platform (2015). Rumors persist that there will be a 2014-1/2 50th anniversary edition built in very limited numbers to finish off S197 production to keep sales strong right to the end of the current body style. Again, just a rumor about the anniversary car.

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That basically says the same thing as OP's source.

No bueno. This is going to be a much longer wait than I expected if it's true. I can't imagine a S197 anniversary edition this late in the game to generate any real excitement.

Pathetic is the word which comes first to mind when reading that they will not have the new design ready for the 50th anniversary. That would be just throwing away all of the free publicity and buyer interest such a rare anniversary for a car would generate.

Sure, they (or more precisely the dealers) can probably find plenty of suckers with more money than brains to pay a bundle for the old model with some medallions and stripes or what-not on it. Would such a thing have even be 30% of the unit sales of a brand new 50th anniversary model?

So the S550 won't have any anniversary badging. Seems ridiculous. But 3 independent sources are saying production in July.

Either ford is releasing these rumors to throw people off (5% chance)
Or
This is real information and we won't be taking our cars home until 1 year from now. Just in time for half the country to throw it in storage.

Errr... what if these mules and prototypes we're seeing are the anniversary cars, built on the S197 but with "special" styling (maybe too look like the S550)? Would explain why it looks "larger" than expected. (Overhang etc.)

gojensen said:

Errr... what if these mules and prototypes we're seeing are the anniversary cars, built on the S197 but with "special" styling (maybe too look like the S550)? Would explain why it looks "larger" than expected. (Overhang etc.)

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Yikes. You scared me with this thought when I first read it but then I remembered all the things we've seen and there is no way.

The best clue is the IRS which is visible on the prototypes. You can see it in the last pics too. Also all that testing equipment. They wouldn't need to do that for a S197 with just some body changes. Whewww. :headbonk:

FStephenMasek said:

Pathetic is the word which comes first to mind when reading that they will not have the new design ready for the 50th anniversary. That would be just throwing away all of the free publicity and buyer interest such a rare anniversary for a car would generate.

Sure, they (or more precisely the dealers) can probably find plenty of suckers with more money than brains to pay a bundle for the old model with some medallions and stripes or what-not on it. Would such a thing have even be 30% of the unit sales of a brand new 50th anniversary model?

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I hear ya. However, Ford has had so many botched up launches lately they are probably shell shocked by now with quality control ect..... I will tell you flat out I dont trust them on new stuff. About the 3rd year seems to be the breaking point where you are relatively safe. The good news is the five oh and 3.7 are carry overs so they are pretty solid. I would like to think the MT82s are ok also by now and the autos are rock solid.

I vividly remember the 2010 Camaro introduction and it was a total fuster cluck. Ford does not need to duplicate this. I dont like the delay either but if it helps them work out some issues then so be it.

FStephenMasek said:

Pathetic is the word which comes first to mind when reading that they will not have the new design ready for the 50th anniversary. That would be just throwing away all of the free publicity and buyer interest such a rare anniversary for a car would generate.

Sure, they (or more precisely the dealers) can probably find plenty of suckers with more money than brains to pay a bundle for the old model with some medallions and stripes or what-not on it. Would such a thing have even be 30% of the unit sales of a brand new 50th anniversary model?

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Obviously I have the time to burn as I was expecting to possibly order a 2015 around April, but for delivery to possibly be into September? This is really killing my buzz for this car. I'm sure we'll know more by early next year, but this is crap news.

Instead of getting a car so late in the season I think I would rather wait for the model year end in Spring for some savings/rebates and maybe they can work out a few minor bugs from the Job 1 cars. I can't hardly imagine waiting a year and a half longer for this car.

I really hope these rumors are wrong. :frusty: