This Is Ford's Plan To Fix The Mustang's Biggest Problem

[Gnatsum21]

.. You'd think the Ecoboost would solve this issue, but unfortunately it doesn't because of the stigma. Hardly anyone will make fun of you for buying a GTI, but buy an Ecoboost and suddenly you don't have a "real" Mustang. It's a big turn off for many even if the car is an excellent performer for the price. ..

I don't agree. I drove an Eco for about 4.5 years. Everyone I know said, oh, nice, you got a Mustang! Not one of them knows the difference between a GT or an Eco, nor does it say on the outside its an "Ecoboost". Yes, people who knew Mustangs know the difference between a Shelby and a "regular" Mustang, but that's it. Only hard core Mustang fans know what an Eco is. If I would ask someone, hey, what's the difference between and Eco and a GT? They would be like.. what? And yes, it was a very responsive and fun car to drive.

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[CJJon]

I'd love to see a stripped down GT. No air conditioning, rubber floor (no carpet), no back seat, none of that lane keeping, collision performance crap, no radio, analog gauges, crank handle windows, mechanical seats...zero creature-comfort type stuff at all actually. Oh, and an actual key that you stick in a hole...not $300 key fob.

Not sure if kids these days would bite though it would be cheaper to purchase that's for sure.

Then maybe Ford can go crazy with customizing options and online ordering. You could go from stripped to riced as budget allows.

 

[Strokerswild]

I'd love to see a stripped down GT. No air conditioning, rubber floor (no carpet), no back seat, none of that lane keeping, collision performance crap, no radio, analog gauges, crank handle windows, mechanical seats...zero creature-comfort type stuff at all actually. Oh, and an actual key that you stick in a hole...not $300 key fob.

Not sure if kids these days would bite though it would be cheaper to purchase that's for sure.

Then maybe Ford can go crazy with customizing options and online ordering. You could go from stripped to riced as budget allows.

Agreed, although you forgot being able to spec the GT500 engine with whatever trans you want outside the DCT (gotta let the Shelby folks have at least some exclusivity).

I'm a dinosaur when it comes to this stuff, but the reality is they'd only sell a handful of a wonderful stripper like this. So I'm afraid it's all boring, overloaded, homogenized fluff from here on out.

Jeep has the ala carte thing down on the Wrangler, no reason Ford can't do it with the Mustang (it seems to understand it with the Bronco). I'm thinking the demand just isn't there.

 

[ice445]

I don't agree. I drove an Eco for about 4.5 years. Everyone I know said, oh, nice, you got a Mustang! Not one of them knows the difference between a GT or an Eco, nor does it say on the outside its an "Ecoboost". Yes, people who knew Mustangs know the difference between a Shelby and a "regular" Mustang, but that's it. Only hard core Mustang fans know what an Eco is. If I would ask someone, hey, what's the difference between and Eco and a GT? They would be like.. what? And yes, it was a very responsive and fun car to drive.

You must live under a rock, lol. It's not a common thing, but happens enough from people who "know better". If you have a large circle of car friends there's always a few who are first in line to make fun of Ecoboost owners. Maybe it's just my age, but pretty much nobody I know is interested in one.

The point isn't that I personally have a problem with the EB (Because I don't, it's fantastic value), it's that by and large hardly any young people want to buy one.

 

[Gnatsum21]

You must live under a rock, lol. It's not a common thing, but happens enough from people who "know better". If you have a large circle of car friends there's always a few who are first in line to make fun of Ecoboost owners. Maybe it's just my age, but pretty much nobody I know is interested in one.

The point isn't that I personally have a problem with the EB (Because I don't, it's fantastic value), it's that by and large hardly any young people want to buy one.

I am from south Florida. When I traded in my F-250 for the "Mustang" I didn't even know what a Ecoboost is/was. I found out later, all I knew when I test drove it, that car was pretty fast and exactly what I needed at that point in time (midlife crises, etc... )

 

[Johnnybee]

I'd love to see a stripped down GT. No air conditioning, rubber floor (no carpet), no back seat, none of that lane keeping, collision performance crap, no radio, analog gauges, crank handle windows, mechanical seats...zero creature-comfort type stuff at all actually. Oh, and an actual key that you stick in a hole...not $300 key fob.

Not sure if kids these days would bite though it would be cheaper to purchase that's for sure.

Then maybe Ford can go crazy with customizing options and online ordering. You could go from stripped to riced as budget allows.

What you’re describing is the F-150 (minus the manual transmission, a/c and crank windows). The thing Ford makes all its money on.

 

[theruleslawyer]

You must live under a rock, lol. It's not a common thing, but happens enough from people who "know better". If you have a large circle of car friends there's always a few who are first in line to make fun of Ecoboost owners. Maybe it's just my age, but pretty much nobody I know is interested in one.

The point isn't that I personally have a problem with the EB (Because I don't, it's fantastic value), it's that by and large hardly any young people want to buy one.

Its kinda funny. People will be more proud of their slow import if it is the top trim than a ecoboost even if its faster. If the v8 didn't exist people would probably be a lot more positive about it. FWIW I caught the same weirdness with my MB from AMG owners because "if it isn't the top model it is trash" elitism is everywhere i guess.

 

[br_an]

Celebrity endorsements, such as from Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Joey Lagano...

Who?

Looked up the first nobody and he claims to be "a professional Fun-Haver".

Well, there you go folks.

I wouldn't say Gittin is a nobody - World Champ Drifter, and if that sport's not on the radar, many know who he is through RTR vehicles

 

[Mike Pfeifer]

I don't agree. I drove an Eco for about 4.5 years. Everyone I know said, oh, nice, you got a Mustang! Not one of them knows the difference between a GT or an Eco, nor does it say on the outside its an "Ecoboost". Yes, people who knew Mustangs know the difference between a Shelby and a "regular" Mustang, but that's it. Only hard core Mustang fans know what an Eco is. If I would ask someone, hey, what's the difference between and Eco and a GT? They would be like.. what? And yes, it was a very responsive and fun car to drive.

People who buy mustangs know, and that’s the part that’s important.

 

[Dfeeds]

I'm a millennial, so they already got me, lol. IMO the main problem is that most of my generation grew up in the age when the Mustang was a performance joke, and clapped GT's were all congregated at the local trailer park. Couple that with fast and furious culture and millennials were never that interested in the domestic pony cars. Plus, none of my generation has any money for nonessential expensive items like sports cars (not here to debate if this is a sports car, its a two door coupe that's impractical for most), so even those that want one are settling for a used one a few years old or not getting one at all.

Good luck to Ford on that issue, it's certainly not likely to change no matter what they do with the car, unless they can magically halve the price of the GT. You'd think the Ecoboost would solve this issue, but unfortunately it doesn't because of the stigma. Hardly anyone will make fun of you for buying a GTI, but buy an Ecoboost and suddenly you don't have a "real" Mustang. It's a big turn off for many even if the car is an excellent performer for the price.

Oh, and as a side note, it's going to be hard to make the S650 better in a way that makes me want to upgrade. The coyote is worth the price of admission alone, even if the rest of the car wasn't what it is. I don't see how they can really top this engine. One of the best driving and auditory experiences that are affordable that I can think of.

Spot on. To this day, in all of my friend groups growing up, I'm the only one who has a v8. Those who didn't know cars didn't know the difference and those that did were more obsessed with that loud blow off valve than the actual performance. Only one other guy owned a mustang (v6) but it was quickly traded in for an old firebird. I guess that's the exception. The firebird had a v8 but it lasted two weeks (literally) before he blew the engine and bought a 350z; so I forget to count it.

But it's also as you said. I4s were cheaper and easier to make quick. Any pony car from the 90s could be had for cheap but if you wanted if to actually be fast you either needed to have the knowledge and put in the work, or money to throw at someone else. Both of which many didn't have because they were just chasing the look and feel of FF.

 

[Gnatsum21]

People who buy mustangs know, and that’s the part that’s important.

I agree. But at that time I needed to lower my monthly payments, the F-250 was killing me. I cut my payments in half by "upgrading" to the Mustang.

 

[GreenS550]

I have had all kinds of Muscle cars in my long past times. The Coyote with the 10R80 is blisteringly fast in stock trim.
If you get it stripped with just the auto using Ford's Build and Price, it costs $38,075 sticker with destination. If you order it and assume about a 9% discount (Zach at Granger Motors) from MSRP, that is a price of $34,648.25. This is the 2021 B&P pricing.
That is for a very good handling car that does the 1/4 in high 11s.
Comfortable seating, good looking and fast.

In a day when guys at Walmart are getting 15-18/hour, it is affordable even for them.

The Mustang with the Coyote is a steal. Easily modded.

Ford's issue with the Mustang has nothing to do with the car. It has to do with younger people that would rather play with their phones, facebook, tiktok, etc, etc. Cultural issues are not easy to fix.

 

[barron64]

How about making good commercials for TV? When was the last time anyone saw a Mustang commercial on television? It sure seems to work to sell every imaginable version of SUV’s and pickups.

 

[boB]

I'd love to see a stripped down GT. No air conditioning, rubber floor (no carpet), no back seat, none of that lane keeping, collision performance crap, no radio, analog gauges, crank handle windows, mechanical seats...zero creature-comfort type stuff at all actually. Oh, and an actual key that you stick in a hole...not $300 key fob.

Not sure if kids these days would bite though it would be cheaper to purchase that's for sure.

Then maybe Ford can go crazy with customizing options and online ordering. You could go from stripped to riced as budget allows.

That was my '67: 289 w 4 bbl; manual steering and brakes (drums all around); 3 speed manual.. it did have an AM radio though. ;) Would I want it now instead of my 2019? Noooooo! ;)

 

[13GetThere]

Lack of car commercials is one thing. When I was young, a long time ago, car commercials were on just about every commercial break on TV. It made me want to buy a car when I was old enough to drive.
The other thing is the cost to buy and own a car not counting maintenance. Lawyers, do gooder groups, and insurance companies have pressured the Government into mandating so many safety nannies, that the cost to build a base model car is beyond the ability of most young people who are in their first career/permanent job. And lets not let the environmentalist off the hook either. All those pollution controls and mileage standards have a lot to do with the cost of cars too.
If Ford wants to sell more Mustangs to Millennials, then they need to come out with cheapest version they can and drop as many electronics and nannies as they can. Hell, the new Maverick is just a modern day model T, and they're just about sold before they're built.

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