Why did Ford rush the 2018 facelift?

[Elvis67]

If somebody hadn't posted images of the 2016 and 2020 side by side, I would never have known there was a difference. I always thought the A10 and 460hp was the only change from 2017 to 2018.

Wow..nothing gets past you .

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[Vlad Soare]

I used to think the same, but there seems to be a reason for that, which only became apparent after I replaced my bulbs with LEDs. If you reverse at night under very, very low ambient lighting, when your reversing lamps are providing most, or perhaps all, of the light, then the camera flickers badly. There are trembling horizontal stripes all over the image. The reversing camera doesn't seem to be compatible with LED light.

 

[WD Pro]

I used to think the same, but there seems to be a reason for that, which only became apparent after I replaced my bulbs with LEDs. If you reverse at night under very, very low ambient lighting, when your reversing lamps are providing most, or perhaps all, of the light, then the camera flickers badly. There are trembling horizontal stripes all over the image. The reversing camera doesn't seem to be compatible with LED light.

Thanks @Vlad Soare, you have saved me a few £’s as this mod had just got on my radar.

I was only considering it for the light output, it’s not like it’s a good aesthetics mod as the car is rarely viewed with them on

WD

 

[Vlad Soare]

The light output is indeed higher, and despite the stripes I'm still glad I did it. When I reversed into my yard at night I could barely see anything on the camera before, whereas now I can see a fairly clear (albeit trembly) image. It's not a massive improvement, mind you, but an improvement nonetheless. The stripes are a small price to pay, in my opinion.

 

[traktrbeam]

I used to think the same, but there seems to be a reason for that, which only became apparent after I replaced my bulbs with LEDs. If you reverse at night under very, very low ambient lighting, when your reversing lamps are providing most, or perhaps all, of the light, then the camera flickers badly. There are trembling horizontal stripes all over the image. The reversing camera doesn't seem to be compatible with LED light.

I also replaced the reverse bulb with LED...no camera issues, crystal clear in light or dark.

 

[Mike K.]

I think they did the refresh for 2 reasons,

1. They did want to advertise the new engine etc, facelift is an easy way to recognize hey this is a DI , maybe A10.

2. They wanted to set it apart from the gt350 and gt500 both of which use the older style front.

The rear is near identical except the quads definitely look cooler imo.

 

[Balr14]

Wow..nothing gets past you .

Well, I know my car is white, it's a Mustang and has a nice interior and dash layout. That's enough for me. I don't really like the styling of any current car models... too angular and busy.

 

[Semp1]

Anyone else think the facelift was rushed way too much? After 3 years, the styling of the Mustang was fine, and the facelift did absolutely nothing for sales other than hold them steady for a couple of years. Personally, I'm not a fan of the facelift at all, but regardless of whether or not you like it, it can't be argued against that it creates an unfair balance in favour of the facelift model, which will now be on the market for 5 years, vs. 3 years for the pre-facelift. In the past, Ford always let their models run for much longer before making sheetmetal changes, such as the 94-98 Mustang, where only the tail lights were changed, and the 99-04 saw no body changes for 6 years. As an owner of a 2017 model, I feel it's a bit unfair that Ford changed the styling so soon, as we are now seen as having outdated cars (even though they look better!).

1. Unfortunately life’s not fair.
2. its more serious how much faster the 18+ is, especially 10 speed auto version.
3. I don’t know why you think the “fusion“ front looks better. It’s all subjective though, as you can see from my pic posted the 18+ front just looks much meaner, unlike that sad face headlight on the 15-17.
4. The stock hoods are much nicer on the 18+.
5. The GT500 keeps the 15-17 fronts relevant.

 

[Mike K.]

1. Unfortunately life’s not fair.
2. its more serious how much faster the 18+ is, especially 10 speed auto version.
3. I don’t know why you think the “fusion“ front looks better. It’s all subjective though, as you can see from my pic posted the 18+ front just looks much meaner, unlike that sad face headlight on the 15-17.
4. The stock hoods are much nicer on the 18+.
5. The GT500 keeps the 15-17 fronts relevant.

I was sooo happy that they kept the older style front end because of that relevancy! Fusion also is a cool looking car man come on ! Styled after an Aston Martin even, . It’s not like they are Camaros or something.

 

[ORRadtech]

I used to think the same, but there seems to be a reason for that, which only became apparent after I replaced my bulbs with LEDs. If you reverse at night under very, very low ambient lighting, when your reversing lamps are providing most, or perhaps all, of the light, then the camera flickers badly. There are trembling horizontal stripes all over the image. The reversing camera doesn't seem to be compatible with LED light.

My results have been different. I changed it to an LED and it's much better with zero flickering or any other camera anomalies. It's a great inexpensive mod with no downside for me at all.
I will NOT be replacing vanity or interior lights with LEDs. It just too harsh a light for me.
I did put a bunch of LEDs on the trunk roof to light up that dark hole.

 

[e30og]

Facelift was partially for crash regulations (pedestrian struck), esp in Europe. The '18 refresh was also a pretty significant one considering there were upgrades & updates across the board; engine, trans, suspension, and a few new toys. And that leads into the strategy of keeping the product fresh. If sales remained the same after a refresh, thats a huge win! Usually sales start to let off and dip after a few years, especially on a lower volume car

I hated the '18 front end until I saw it in person, it looks sooooo good. Very aggressive, easier to see out of the front and place the front wheels, ended up trading up (pics below, next to a fusion too)

Not at all knocking the 15-17, very good looking

 

[e30og]

(okay a little more reminiscing over these ladies he he)

 

[Balr14]

Wrong again! Oxford White is actually...slight gray!

I can live with that.

 

[WildHorse]

I like the 18-20 facelift, it grows on you

If that's the case, then it wasn't very appealing in the first place.

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