Ford previews 4-door Mustang hybrid sedan (Mach-4) to dealers

[RocketGuy3]

That kind of reasoning didn't seem to work so well when they tried to make a FWD Mustang. In the end they had to concede that sometimes the market can have a say in the matter.
But it's true that times have changed. Back then customers' opinions used to matter. Today they don't.

Ford has the legal right to call anything a Mustang, even a bicycle or a bottle opener if they so wish. But no one gets to tell us what we should consider to be a proper Mustang. You can call a goat a fish if you're its owner, but to us it's still a goat.

Consumers ostensibly matter just as much today as they did then... The problem is that not many high-spending consumers today want to drive a RWD V8 coupe, but many of them still kinda like "Mustang" as a brand.

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[Anyone3505]

The Mach E sucks

Fords naming is terrible. Two Broncos? Using the Lighting name on that flop of a truck?

Four door Mustang just waters the name down some more.​

​

We're just waiting for GM to follow suit and make Corvette SUV​

https://autos.yahoo.com/new-vehicle...suv-really-happening-chevrolet-151100779.html

Corvette SUV Is Really Happening as Chevrolet Teases Radical C9 Future, Mon, May 25, 2026 at 11:11 AM EDT

Mustang and Bronco are already sub-brands (Mach-E and Bronco Sport) and GM is likely turning Corvette into one, too.

I don't like that the Mach-E is a "Mustang" because it doesn't have the same philosophy or ethos as the real Mustang (despite being an awesome vehicle), but if the Mach-4 has an available V8 and manual in RWD i'm 100% for it. I also want a Lincoln version!

 

[HoldenSSVandGT350]

Fully aware of that. Too bad you don't have that one! And still way slower than a Tesla.

Unlike you, and possibly Dom Turetto, I don’t live my life a 1/4 mile at a time . If I did, I’d have an GT500 instead of an 350 anyway. And, the Mach E 4X is the wife’s car. She’s happy with a 4.8 to 60 and the 13.3 1/4, so all is well. Sitting on 20” OZ Gran Turismo HLTs it shits on any Tesla looks wise, I’ll tell you that much.

 

[HoldenSSVandGT350]

I think Ford missed a golden opportunity to call this a GT4D. Say it out loud and you will get it.

Ford is using the Mustang name because the name sells. Nobody will buy this if it called the Taurus, 500, Crown Vic, etc. Am I disappointed they are diluting the "Mach" name again? Yes. But if the car is equipped with a 5.0 hybrid powertrain, offered in A10 and manual, AWD or RWD, then Ford will open up options to MANY more buyers. I had to wait until my kid was big enough to safely sit in the front seat before I got into a Mustang again. Imagine how many late 20-early 30 dads will love having one of these as their primary DD and not have to compromise. They will be one of the coolest dads dropping their kids off at the car rider line at school. No more admitting you have accepted mediocrity by buying a boring mid size SUV. This thing, especially if offered as some type of hatch back like the Audi A7, would be an amazing DD.

Sorry, but this is automotive evolution.

The peanut gallery can’t hear you making perfect sense.

 

[Vlad Soare]

Consumers ostensibly matter just as much today as they did then... The problem is that not many high-spending consumers today want to drive a RWD V8 coupe, but many of them still kinda like "Mustang" as a brand.

Consumers still matter, because Ford must still be able to sell their products. But they matter in a completely different way than they did back then.

Back then they used to ask themselves what customers wanted, so they could give it to them.
Today they ask themslves, "what could we manipulate potential customers into thinking they want?"
Back then they stopped the FWD Mustang project because their traditional customers opposed it. Today they would make it anyway, and would hope that aggressive marketing might convince enough people that they do actually want it.
Today they care about their traditional clientele to a much lesser degree than they used to, because they realized that for each traditional customer they might lose there are ten philistines to be won over with just a shiny name badge. Low-hanging fruits.

Yes, consumers still matter, but not the way they used to.

 

[PVAMT]

Not too long ago I was on the highway with my Mach 1, and a Mach E GT came up beside me, in the front passenger seat was a young boy, guessing 10-12. He was pointing and saying something to his dad. Popped the car in track mode, down shift and ran it up to 90, then backed off back down to 60. They came up beside me again, both with thumbs up and big smiles. I don't mind the Mach E too much, but that's the only way I refer to it as, but it's still a microwave and not a Mustang.

I refer to it as a kitchen appliance. No gas engine no Mustang.

 

[PVAMT]

Update - more info at:
https://www.mustang7g.com/forums/threads/ford-shows-4-door-mustang-hybrid-to-dealers.178298/


https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/ford-plans-a-new-four-door-version-of-mustang-023cbf28

Ford Plans a Four-Door Version of Mustang
The design would be a first for the automaker’s ‘pony car’ and possibly broaden its consumer appeal[/
"Ford Motor has told car dealers it intends to produce a four-door, gas-powered version of the Mustang for the first time, adding a variant to the “pony car” that has sold in the millions since 1964, according to people familiar with the matter.

The four-door Mustang was shown at a dealer event this week, the people said. It could go on sale before the close of this decade and resembles the current two-door Mustang, one of the people said. Two of the people said the car would have hybrid power; one of the people said it would be a hybrid"

Another attempt to bastardize the Mustang name. They have had so many models of cars in the past that they could choose from. It’s almost as if they don’t have any confidence that it could ever sell on its own so they call it a Mustang.

 

[MAGS1]

Here’s a different way to think about it. We’re all enthusiasts in this forum, so we have a certain way of thinking when it comes to cars. We know all the nameplates Ford has used over the years and what types of cars they were. Most people do not and do not care. We are an extreme minority in the overall car market. Most non-enthusiasts know the Mustang name. They may not know much more than the name (and some may not even know who actually manufactures it), but Mustang is a name known worldwide. Ford is trying to tap into that segment of buyers with a sport sedan with a Mustang badge. Using the Mustang as a brand will have a certain appeal as SBR70.3 pointed out that other names simply won’t have.

Using Mustang as a brand will absolutely help sell more cars, and last I checked that’s what Ford is in the business of doing. Selling cars. Names like Falcon, Fairlane, Taurus, etc. may be recognizable to us car folks, but for the general public, especially the younger generations that weren’t around for those cars, those names are not as recognizable and mean nothing. Mustang might actually mean something to those potential buyers.

Take your enthusiast hat off for a few moments and think about it, maybe then it will make sense. Maybe not, continue to whine about it but it’s not changing anything.

 

[robvas]

Short term thinking that leads to long term damage to the brand

 

[Gman7176]

So consumers don’t want expensive rear drive 4 door sedans?
Tell me then, exactly who MB and BMW are marketing to. Oh and Cadillac
If Ford wants to really make an entry into this market again I will state it again. Mid range cost 40 to 50k and room for 6’ adults in rear seat and golf clubs in the trunk. This will cut into MB/BMW full size sedans at entry level market pricing for all of us who are not mid six figure earners giving us an alternate choice to a SUV.

 

[robvas]

So consumers don’t want expensive rear drive 4 door sedans?
Tell me then, exactly who MB and BMW are marketing to. Oh and Cadillac

They want expensive brands like BMW and Mercedes, not Ford.

And Cadillac barely sells any cars at all...

 

[HoldenSSVandGT350]

Short term thinking that leads to long term damage to the brand

Long term damage occurs when you don’t adapt and secure younger/new buyer demographics.

Mercury says hello!

 

[HoldenSSVandGT350]

They want expensive brands like BMW and Mercedes, not Ford.

And Cadillac barely sells any cars at all...

CT4 got axed, too small. Even though the BW version was likely the best driving (not fastest) sports sedan in existence. CT5 sales average was 15-18K units last gen. Ford can easily sell more than that annually by a good margin leveraging the Mach 4 moniker. I’d wager they can hit 40-50K units/yr because there are lots of Mustang coupe wanters that just can’t because they must have 4 doors and a real backseat.

The S650 platform already exists so costs are largely amortized, now just need a wheelbase stretch from 107” to maybe 115”, same as my SS Sedan at 114.8 with a shitton of rear leg room. Huge trunk too.

 

[robvas]

The S650 platform already exists so costs are largely amortized, now just need a wheelbase stretch from 107” to maybe 115”, same as my SS Sedan at 114.8 with a shitton of rear leg room. Huge trunk too.

S650 will be dead by the time this car comes out.

 

[HoldenSSVandGT350]

What can I say? 4 door vehicles are garbage to me compared to 2 doors. Mustang originally was a cheap, fun car. It's definitely evolved since then.

Sales for 2026 so far of Mustang 32,000. Sales for the electric thing Ford also calls Mustang in 2026 so far were 13,495.

The Mach E sales are not even close to the ICE Mustang sales.

I disagree that Falcon doesn't have name appeal. I think Crown Vic has name appeal as well. The only reason not to like those names is because you didn't like the cars that used to be attached to them. That same evolution can happen to the Mustang name, where people associate it with a big, crappy family car that stodgy old fellers park in the fast lane rather than something sporty that young people want to buy and drive.

AWD and hybrid would be even worse than 4 doors. Lets turn Mustang into a bloated, $90,000 SUV.

Hey, @Hack, was that you? lol, j/k

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