Why Ford is keeping the Mustang

[Loki-GT]

*cough*

Probe....

Exactly, the Mustang that wasn't, thanks to millions of pissed off people like me who told Ford not to screw this up.

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[Nameless]

*cough*

Probe....

Exactly, the Mustang that wasn't, thanks to millions of pissed off people like me who told Ford not to screw this up.

Actually the Probe was never intended to "replace" the original mustang, but to be an additional variant. As far as I remember (it was explained to me a few years ago by someone that was really close to that). There was a plan to sell both Mustang Foxbody and Probe as "Mustangs", but different kind of "mustangs". Lets take the "Range Rover" nameplate as an example:

The Probe would have been to the Mustang the same thing that the Range Rover Evoque is to the original "Range Rover". Maybe the Probe's name was going to be "Mustang Sport" or something like that (Maybe "Mustang II" hahahaha)

 

[Fatguy]

Actually the Probe was never intended to "replace" the original mustang, but to be an additional variant. As far as I remember (it was explained to me a few years ago by someone that was really close to that). There was a plan to sell both Mustang Foxbody and Probe as "Mustangs", but different kind of "mustangs". Lets take the "Range Rover" nameplate as an example:

The Probe would have been to the Mustang the same thing that the Range Rover Evoque is to the original "Range Rover". Maybe the Probe's name was going to be "Mustang Sport" or something like that (Maybe "Mustang II" hahahaha)

Unlike many of you I was driving fox body 5.0s then and was horrified the Mustang was to become what is now called the Probe. Not some variant. Never heard of that. I kept all my car mags and may still have them. That's not how I remember. It just hit the mags and the outcry was loud and clear and that was that!

 

[Carbon Addict]

They are keeping the same old platform that it is on now. They are spending the least amount of money they can on improving the Mustang. They think it will keep selling well while not investing any money into it. THAT is why they are keeping it.

 

[michail71]

Actually the Probe was never intended to "replace" the original mustang, but to be an additional variant. As far as I remember (it was explained to me a few years ago by someone that was really close to that). There was a plan to sell both Mustang Foxbody and Probe as "Mustangs", but different kind of "mustangs". Lets take the "Range Rover" nameplate as an example:

The Probe would have been to the Mustang the same thing that the Range Rover Evoque is to the original "Range Rover". Maybe the Probe's name was going to be "Mustang Sport" or something like that (Maybe "Mustang II" hahahaha)

I had a '95 Probe GT I really loved.

 

[dgc333]

Most of the early cars were six cylinder. In the early days the V8 mainia hadn’t really started yet so... Man I’m so old I was there for the start. If you get the collecting itch remember most V8s got wrecked. Many of the six cylinders were converted to eight and sold to unsuspecting collectors.

Some sixes are more desirable than the eights. It all depends...

Over the history of the Mustang, 4 and 6 cyl Mustangs have always out sold the v8 variants.

Another interesting thing about the story. They say that the name Mustang and the Ford oval do not appear on the car. That is not quite true, both my 15 and 17 Mustang s have the Ford oval at the top of the windshield above the mirror.

 

[Less Weight]

idk about brand loyalty. I am not loyal at all - I buy the whatever is the best bang for the buck. Many people my age do this with everything. Money is tight, we have to make sure we are getting something that will last. I want the absolute best quality, you will not find that at Ford, or really any of the big 3 unfortunately. I have a Mustang now, but I doubt I will in 10 years. I want to be able to buy things that last a lifetime, like my grandparents were able to do. Whomever brings that quality back to America will earn a customer for life.

With all due respect, you're operating under a false assumption. You want to buy things that last a lifetime like your grandparents? If your grandparents are still alive, ask them how many miles they got out of their automobiles before they went kapoot. The answer is likely 1/4th or a 1/3rd of what the modern car will get. Nothing built now, or in years past, lasts forever so you should erase that from your expectations.

And regarding you saying that you will not find the absolute best quality at Ford, the simple fact is that you will not find an "absolute best" anywhere. Every manufacturer has their positives and negatives and if I was using past experiences as a way to dictate "absolute best quality" Ford would be at the pinnacle of quality compared to other manufacturers. My father's 2001 Ford Escape? Still runs perfectly after 17 years with NO repairs other than a new muffler. My Ford work van? I absolutely beat the living s**t out of that thing and it just keeps on kicking with no issues. My past Honda and BMW on the other hand? Had to have the Honda's motor rebuilt with only 79,000 miles on it and the BMW had ENDLESS electrical issues and transmission issues.

You bring up a really important point. With Hyundai and Kia stepping up in their quality space, I think a lot of us are still waiting for the American quality piece to arrive at some point.

One of the reasons my father never went away from Honda. Told me as a kid in the early 90's, "They just don't make cars like the Japanese do". I still find that true to this day and a lot of it has to do with the QA programs that the onshore American workers do for the Japanese cars.

Not from my experience, as evidenced above or from many experiences from family and friends.

Now, I'm under no illusion that Ford is producing a better quality product that other manufactures but I only speak from my experience. However, to put any manufacturer, or country of origin, for that matter, on a pedestal is a bit foolish.

 

[BrettT]

I had a '95 Probe GT I really loved.

I had a 1993 Probe GT in silver. It was a fun car.... I remember it came with Goodyear Eagle VR50's. I thought that was pretty cool....

 

[Fatguy]

With all due respect, you're operating under a false assumption. You want to buy things that last a lifetime like your grandparents? If your grandparents are still alive, ask them how many miles they got out of their automobiles before they went kapoot. The answer is likely 1/4th or a 1/3rd of what the modern car will get. Nothing built now, or in years past, lasts forever so you should erase that from your expectations.

And regarding you saying that you will not find the absolute best quality at Ford, the simple fact is that you will not find an "absolute best" anywhere. Every manufacturer has their positives and negatives and if I was using past experiences as a way to dictate "absolute best quality" Ford would be at the pinnacle of quality compared to other manufacturers. My father's 2001 Ford Escape? Still runs perfectly after 17 years with NO repairs other than a new muffler. My Ford work van? I absolutely beat the living s**t out of that thing and it just keeps on kicking with no issues. My past Honda and BMW on the other hand? Had to have the Honda's motor rebuilt with only 79,000 miles on it and the BMW had ENDLESS electrical issues and transmission issues.

Not from my experience, as evidenced above or from many experiences from family and friends.

Now, I'm under no illusion that Ford is producing a better quality product that other manufactures but I only speak from my experience. However, to put any manufacturer, or country of origin, for that matter, on a pedestal is a bit foolish.

The original push rod engines like the Windsor were designed to last a quarter of a million miles. The last 5.0 lasted me 18 years and 234,000 miles (375,000km). Best car I ever had. This V6 had given me absolutely zero issues over the past year and so already is the most reliable car I have ever owned.



.

 

[SlaughterOfTheSoul]

The mustang is selling great and the most R&D probably went into this platform.

 

[Twin Turbo]

They are keeping the same old platform that it is on now. They are spending the least amount of money they can on improving the Mustang. They think it will keep selling well while not investing any money into it. THAT is why they are keeping it.

S650 will utilise the CD6 architecture, which is the basis for the new Lincoln Aviator and next-gen Explorer. Sure, I suspect it's not a "clean sheet" design, and there may be carry-over from S550, but why reinvent the wheel? It'll be updated as and where necessary

 

[Zelek]

With all due respect, you're operating under a false assumption. You want to buy things that last a lifetime like your grandparents? If your grandparents are still alive, ask them how many miles they got out of their automobiles before they went kapoot. The answer is likely 1/4th or a 1/3rd of what the modern car will get. Nothing built now, or in years past, lasts forever so you should erase that from your expectations.

And regarding you saying that you will not find the absolute best quality at Ford, the simple fact is that you will not find an "absolute best" anywhere. Every manufacturer has their positives and negatives and if I was using past experiences as a way to dictate "absolute best quality" Ford would be at the pinnacle of quality compared to other manufacturers. My father's 2001 Ford Escape? Still runs perfectly after 17 years with NO repairs other than a new muffler. My Ford work van? I absolutely beat the living s**t out of that thing and it just keeps on kicking with no issues. My past Honda and BMW on the other hand? Had to have the Honda's motor rebuilt with only 79,000 miles on it and the BMW had ENDLESS electrical issues and transmission issues.



Not from my experience, as evidenced above or from many experiences from family and friends.

Now, I'm under no illusion that Ford is producing a better quality product that other manufactures but I only speak from my experience. However, to put any manufacturer, or country of origin, for that matter, on a pedestal is a bit foolish.

Well, it's definitely a YMMV. My first car at 16 was a 1991 Honda Accord with 210,000 miles. I ended up selling it to a family that lost everything to the floods in Houston at the time. Now that was a bullet proof car.

Based on the % of failures or repairs done overall though, the Japanese are doing much better... The numbers don't lie. Just because you got a winner of the pick means you got a good one. There's just a higher chance of running into an issue overall.

If this wasn't the case, then Toyota wouldn't be outselling the hell out of everyone with their boring cars.

 

[EcoVert]

Actually the Probe was never intended to "replace" the original mustang, but to be an additional variant.

Not true this was happening at the time when Ford starting to shift away from the fox platform. Also the Mustangs styling was dated even with the 1987 update it still looked like a 1979 model. And with Ford using more of the Mazda platforms I E the Mercury Tracer and then the Escort. Also this was at the time when the import front drive performance cars were coming on strong and taking sales from traditional sports cars like Mustang and camaro. What became the Probe would have replaced the Fox body rear drive Mustang if we Mustang enthusiast hadn't spoken up.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Why Ford is keeping the Mustang:

Because a Taurus, Focus, Fiesta, or Fusion is not and has never been an iconic image of a Ford vehicle that has held its ground through all of it’s revisions in over 50yrs - and has THE absolute largest automotive enthusiast following next to a Ferrari or Corvette.

(Besides, a Fiesta just wouldn’t look right as the iconic Bullitt)

 

[EcoVert]

Why Ford is keeping the Mustang:

Because a Taurus, Focus, Fiesta, or Fusion is not and has never been an iconic image of a Ford vehicle that has held its ground through all of it’s revisions in over 50yrs - and has THE absolute largest automotive enthusiast following next to a Ferrari or Corvette.

Mustang also has the largest automotive aftermarket of any car ever PERIOD.

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