Mustang to end in 2029 [LOCKED DUE TO POLITICS]

[analogman]

(Wasn't sure where to post this, it might already be elsewhere, but since I have a S550 thought I'd put it here)

In CarrBuzz today, an article saying that the S650 Mustang will be in production until 2029, at which time it will be replaced by an all-electric battery Mustang (basically a Mach-E Coupe?):

https://carbuzz.com/news/fords-all-electric-mustang-will-begin-production-in-2029

As an 'old school' (and just plain old) gear head, I'm sad to see the end of the ICE Mustang. Both because for me no battery powered EV could ever be as much fun and have the same soul as an IC car, and because I think the lemming-like blind rush to EVs is premature, and driven by politics and lack of understanding and not sound science. Ford seems to have drunk the EV KoolAid a bit more enthusiastically than most, though not all car company executives are so blindly smitten with rainbow-colored visions of a battery powered future -

https://carbuzz.com/news/auto-executives-are-losing-confidence-in-ev-adoption

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/02/toyota-ceo-akio-toyoda-electric-vehicles-happy-dance.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/toyota...as-doubts-about-pursuing-only-evs-11671372223

https://jalopnik.com/auto-executives-are-losing-confidence-in-ev-adoption-1849920171

https://artdiamondblog.com/archives...are-afraid-so-they-cant-speak-out-loudly.html

It's frustrating to watch, and rarely works out well when governments take a 'field of dreams' approach and try to legislate something into existence just because they feel like it and not because the fundamental science, engineering, and economics support it. But it is what it is, ICE's are going away and soulless, anodyne, boring, battery-powered transportation pods are coming.

I don't care about the 'numbers' and how EV's have 'maximum torque at zero rpm.' So does my washing machine, and I don't think it would be much fun to drive. I care about how a car feels to drive in the seat of my pants, about its soul and personality, about how it makes me feel and not some arbitrary numbers to brag about to people I don't care about.

Regardless of where one stands on EVs, the passing of the gas engine Mustang will be a very sad day. It will be the end of the line for one of the most storied, legendary enthusiast's cars in history, a car that created an entirely new class of performance car, the Pony Car. It captured the hearts, dreams, and imaginations of generations of car fans. Songs were written about it. Probably no other car has inspired so much passion as the Mustang. It was unique in being an aspirational car, but one that was also affordable. Once it's gone it will be gone for good. The ICE Mustang won't be coming back. Enjoy it now while we still can. Take it out and go for a drive just for the hell of it, to row through the gears along a winding road, and hear the sound of an old-school V8 rumble one more time.

Raise a glass and toast the Mustang, the car that brought so much fun to literally millions of car enthusiasts everywhere. Time for some nostalgia and a beer...

https://mailchi.mp/29e07fba8897/ant...-of-an-american-icon-antique-cars-were-better

https://mailchi.mp/a31cf9a15857/antique-autos-the-original-mustangs-potent-ponies

https://mailchi.mp/e7d462b50327/antique-autos-mustang-grows-up-1950s-winter-driving

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[MAGS1]

Still a long way to go and while there is some good information that AutoForecast uses, it’s not gospel by any means. And Farley is on record for saying that a V8 ICE is possible beyond the S650 if there’s enough consumer demand for it. I’ll take the words of the CEO over a forecast rag any day. Now, it’s quite possible Farley won’t be the CEO or he’ll change his tune (either by consumer demand or by govt demand) but it’s still a good 6 years away. BUT, if the S650 is the last hurrah, let’s hope they send it out with some really awesome variants/special editions because I for sure will get in on that action.

 

[Excelerater]

Ford is doing its best to alienate its loyal customer base
Go woke get broke...

 

[XFactor7889]

because I think the lemming-like blind rush to EVs is premature, and driven by politics and lack of understanding and not sound science.

Ford is doing its best to alienate its loyal customer base
Go woke get broke...

I'm not saying I'm eager to see cool ICE cars go. My dad was a mechanic and passed his enthusiasm for cars to my siblings and me. BUT, I'm just going to drop this here:

https://www.motortrend.com/features/truth-about-electric-cars-ad-why-you-are-being-lied-to/amp/

 

[analogman]

I'm not saying I'm eager to see cool ICE cars go. My dad was a mechanic and passed his enthusiasm for cars to my siblings and me. BUT, I'm just going to drop this here:

https://www.motortrend.com/features/truth-about-electric-cars-ad-why-you-are-being-lied-to/amp/

If we want to save the planet and ourselves as a species we need to stop burning things to generate power. As a scientist, I believe global warming is being caused by human activities and burning carbon-based fuels for power. It's the only planet we have, so it would be a good idea to not kill it, and ourselves in the process.

But EVs alone are not a panacea. There are a number of more important issues. One key thing the MT article overlooks is how electricity is generated. A EV might return a greater portion of the power in the battery to the wheels than a comparable ICE car, but how the electricity was generated is a major factor.

How clean an EV is depends on how the electricity is generated. In this country almost 2/3 still comes from fossil fuels:

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us.php

If fossil fuels were used to generate the electricity, then only about 30-40% of the energy contained in the natural gas (or oil, coal, etc.) can be converted into electricity. In addition to that, about 10-15% will be lost in transmission lines (waste heat). Plus some additional losses in conversion from A/C to D/C to charge a battery. Meaning net, less than 1/4 of the energy originally contained in the fossil fuel ends up as charge in a EV battery.

Which means, in many places an EV generates comparable net emissions to a gas car:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/electric-cars-are-not-necessarily-clean/

If we really want to save the planet, the first thing that must be done is transform the electric generating grid to renewables – which will cost >$5 trillion.

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/renewable-us-grid-for-4-5-trillion

That study is now a few years old, so with recent inflation, and the inevitable bureaucracy involved in building major power plants, maybe a nice round $10 trillion to transform the power grid? Who will pay for that? There is no such thing as 'government' money. It's tax dollars, collected from people. Utilities also won't 'pay' for the costs of conversion, because their shareholders won't allow lower profit margins. Ultimately it must be consumers. How easy will it be to convince people to pay big money for the long-term investment of clean energy for future generations?

Plus the need to dramatically upgrade the transmission grid, which is already strained in places like California to handle existing EVs.

https://fortune.com/2022/09/01/california-electric-cars-charge-newsom/

This must be a global endeavor. It’s irrelevant if the U.S. was totally green if China, India, and the rest of the world still burn fossil fuels for power.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/03/climate/japan-coal-fukushima.html

Another issue is lithium. We can’t exclusively rely on China. So instead we take away and pollute Native American Paiute and Shoshone land for it:

https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news...ing-nevada-boom-car-battery-us-climate-crisis

From a tribal member: “Will turn what is left of my ancestral homelands into a sacrifice zone for electric car batteries.”

There are likely solutions for most of these issues - given enough time, money, and research. Science and engineering should dictate the pace of development and readiness, when it truly makes sense to convert transportation to EVs based on science and economics. Not disingenuous, self-serving politicians or well-meaning but sanctimonious zealotry.

As Neil deGrasse Tyson said, 'The thing about science is, it's true whether you choose to believe it or not.' Ignoring reality doesn't change reality.

I'll just put this out there, purely for fun (though there are many truths in it as well):

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