"Mustang Mach E" Confirmed, Reservations Begin Immediately After Nov 17 Live-Streamed Reveal

[Trackaholic]

I'm not upset by the decision, but I am surprised by it.

I do think it was idiotic, and am surprised how willingly Ford threw the Mustang brand image away.

Previously, when people said "Mustang" you knew what they were talking about. The car had a clear history and a clear mission going forward. It's always been a car that was meant to be sporty and fun, carefree, with reasonable utility, at a reasonable price. A car you can cruise around in comfortably, take on a twisty mountain road in a spirited fashion, or use to haphazardly take out some peds while leaving cars and coffee.

Now, you have the classic Mustang, plus this totally different vehicle. It shares nothing with the Mustang history, or its mission going forward.

Trying to tie the two together makes no sense to me. I don't think you gain much by trying to force the carefree aspects of the Mustang into a utilitarian vehicle. The reason the Mustang is a strong brand is because it has been consistent over its life. Similar to the 911 or Corvette, or Wrangler. When Porsche came out with the Cayenne, they didn't try to call it a 911X or anything like that, even though it shared similar cosmetic features to the 911 and was meant to be a sporty SUV with excellent road manners.

So, while I don't really care that there is now a different "Mustang" in the stable, it does seem like Ford has just thrown away the meaning of the Mustang. It has nothing to do with tradition, or history, but rather projecting a clear image about what that brand means. That message of the Mustang is now distorted and unclear, and I think that will affect how people think of the car going forward.

I am very surprised that the Ford family let this happen. It really looks like they are chasing short-term trends, rather than using those trends to make informed decisions and forging ahead with their own vision.

The Mach-E name is fine, but trying to glom onto the Mustang brand is a mistake, one I hope Ford can fix.

-T

Sponsored

 

[Interceptor]

The Mustang branding gives me a bellyache, no question about that. But from what I see over the last few days of the product itself and the corporate reasoning here, I'm not inclined to go Chicken Little where Ford is concerned. The future is unknowable by its nature, so we'll just have to wait and see how this plays out.

I'm understanding this vehicle, and I believe it will be successfull. Ready don't understand the badging of Mustang. Seems counter productive to use an old name on a completely new vehicle. Don't entertain the the discussion of business end since the public " don't know jack".
What I do see is a modern vehicle that once it is over the first year bugs will be consumed by many a family. I would seriously consider buying one. Just don't understand trying to make it acceptable by throwing the Mustang name on, it unless the Mustang coupe is done

 

[Cobra Jet]

The 3.5 0-60 is the GT Performance Pack option that won't be available until Spring of 2021 I read this morning. What's that going to cost, probably $70K plus?

Exactly ... and for $70k+, there’s many better options across all Brand platforms - even IF the $7.5k tax credit was applied to it...


Hell, just for discussion sake about prices - I was looking up the new 2020 Explorers, there’s not 1 Explorer that I saw that was below $50k.... and even if you upped the ante and put together an Exp ST package, WOW - the price really jumps.



For crying out loud, Ford used to be affordable...

 

[ohtobbad]

2.5 pages of crap and 8 minutes of my life I won't get back.
leave the politics somewhere else, unless we are talking ford
and there politics, which could be a legitimate part of this, maybe.

 

[Cobra Jet]

I suspect that this was a closely held secret in the upper echelons until late in the game. During the Mach 1 debacle John Clor of Ford Performance wrote strongly against misapplication of Mustang brands in the Mustang Times. It doesn't read like something someone would write if they knew this was coming.

I also read that Hackett sent the designers back to the drawing board to make the design more Mustang-like. It causes me to wonder if they too were told only "Mustang inspired" and not Mustang branded.

If you all want something really interesting to read - here’s why and how the ME came about .... (no BS). This was Hackett’s forced agenda.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/b...rd-gave-mach-e-its-mustang-muscle/4216789002/

 

[BuckeyeBOSS]

Exactly ... and for $70k+, there’s many better options across all Brand platforms - even IF the $7.5k tax credit was applied to it...


Hell, just for discussion sake about prices - I was looking up the new 2020 Explorers, there’s not 1 Explorer that I saw that was below $50k.... and even if you upped the ante and put together an Exp ST package, WOW - the price really jumps.



For crying out loud, Ford used to be affordable...

Most new cars are unaffordable for most Americans. The cost to develop and build cars and therefore the prices just keep skyrocketing b/c auto companies need to stay on the cutting edge of more and more tech to appease worldwide government regs. That costs a lot money, time, engineering, etc from start to finish in the planning and production process.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Most new cars are unaffordable for most Americans. The cost to develop and build cars and therefore the prices just keep skyrocketing b/c auto companies need to stay on the cutting edge of more and more tech to appease worldwide government regs. That costs a lot money, time, engineering, etc from start to finish in the planning and production process.

Oh yea, agree - but when is enough enough already - I mean to the average person who wants a new car from a certain brand - it’s like having a 2nd mortgage, not including any Ins. Premium, or other costs.

 

[Hack]

Most new cars are unaffordable for most Americans. The cost to develop and build cars and therefore the prices just keep skyrocketing b/c auto companies need to stay on the cutting edge of more and more tech to appease worldwide government regs. That costs a lot money, time, engineering, etc from start to finish in the planning and production process.

True, but people don't seem to want the cheap cars. They would rather be deep in debt and have something cooler. I bought a base Fiesta in 2011 and a Fiesta ST recently. Both were really easy to find in dealer inventory. Heck, I just bought a 2018 Fiesta ST and it was practically new. It hadn't been purchased by a customer, just traded from dealer to dealer.

There was a 2019 GT350 grabber lime car near here - it sold really quickly even though the new owner won't be able to drive it for the next 4-6 months due to cold temperatures.

 

[Bikeman315]

Carbon Wheels...wish list

Nice.

If you all want something really interesting to read - here’s why and how the ME came about .... (no BS). This was Hackett’s forced agenda.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/b...rd-gave-mach-e-its-mustang-muscle/4216789002/

Thanks CJ for posting this. It certainly doesn't make me feel any better about how this went down. I was mistaken however. I thought this was on Bill Ford. Wrong, it was Hackett all along.
"I said to Jim that it's not good enough," the CEO said. "He already knew that. But then he came back and he goes, 'What if,' long pause, 'it's a Mustang?'"

What gets me is Bill Ford's comment.
"I've always been very protective of the Mustang," Bill Ford told The News. "I was very skeptical. But people will be really surprised. They'll love this car. It accomplishes so much for one vehicle. This product will end up speaking for itself."

That really hurts. They could have picked a new unique name and let the product succeed/fail on its own merits. They took the easy way out. I'm just hoping with all the backlash on social media and the press they at least reconsider. There is time and precedent to do this.

 

[ohtobbad]

Ford can put the latest Mustang up against these next spring

 

[DRB]

Note that as the Detroit News article tells the story it's Jim Farley - not Hackett - who proposes the Mustang branding:

"I see the thing, and it was like a Prius," said Farley, a former Toyota Motor Corp. executive recalling his first impressions in 2017 of the Ford EV's design. The original design prioritized aerodynamics over design: "It's our first BEV! Why did we delegate it to the wind? We're going to delegate our whole future to the wind?"

Hackett agreed.

"I said to Jim that it's not good enough," the CEO said. "He already knew that. But then he came back and he goes, 'What if,' long pause, 'it's a Mustang?'"

"Jim" in that narrative would have to be Farley, as "the CEO" speaking would have to be Hackett.

From what I'm reading in the Detroit News article and elsewhere, the Mustang branding was neither preordained - there were folks who really argued for it and those who were unsure - nor done frivolously. This is more a matter of Ford pushing all its chips into the center of the table - not as drastic as mortgaging the Blue Oval, but nearly as consequential to their future.

Volkswagen, Porsche, Ford - Musk can only keep congratulating his competitors for so long without showing some sweat.

 

[Bikeman315]

True, but people don't seem to want the cheap cars. They would rather be deep in debt and have something cooler. I bought a base Fiesta in 2011 and a Fiesta ST recently. Both were really easy to find in dealer inventory. Heck, I just bought a 2018 Fiesta ST and it was practically new. It hadn't been purchased by a customer, just traded from dealer to dealer.

There was a 2019 GT350 grabber lime car near here - it sold really quickly even though the new owner won't be able to drive it for the next 4-6 months due to cold temperatures.

It does seem people gravitate to more expensive cars. People like nice things. Nice things cost more. To each his/her own. As far as debt, not everyone leases or buys on credit. Not everyone who finances go in deep debt although many do. Hopefully most will incur only the debt they can afford. In my case Ford gave me free money for 6 years. I took it. i'm leaving my money in the bank growing. If i decide I want to pay it off, I will.

 

[lacanteen]

Technically, I don't think that the Mach EW is an S550 and therefore shouldn't be on this subforum. My .02

 

[Bikeman315]

Technically, I don't think that the Mach EW is an S550 and therefore shouldn't be on this subforum. My .02

Agreed, it looks like most of the other threads were rolled into this one. I can handle one but it should be moved.

 

[ohtobbad]

Note that as the Detroit News article tells the story it's Jim Farley - not Hackett - who proposes the Mustang branding:


"Jim" in that narrative would have to be Farley, as "the CEO" speaking would have to be Hackett.

From what I'm reading in the Detroit News article and elsewhere, the Mustang branding was neither preordained - there were folks who really argued for it and those who were unsure - nor done frivolously. This is more a matter of Ford pushing all its chips into the center of the table - not as drastic as mortgaging the Blue Oval, but nearly as consequential to their future.

Volkswagen, Porsche, Ford - Musk can only keep congratulating his competitors for so long without showing some sweat.

watch the Ford versus Ferrari storey and its not the first time Bill Ford 2 was snookered or pushed into something.
It will likely be a year or 2 before we see the true feelings about this EV. but you can bet, now that its been named a Mustang,
anything can and will be branded with Mustang name. Bets on how long before we see the first F-150 Mustang edition,
slippery slope I say.

Sponsored