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I think you make valid points, as I think one and three are most likely the biggest culprits. Though the front fascia is acceptable I don’t think it is particularly good looking. I personally think it is bad enough that it should be redesigned for 2026. The current design does not feel cohesive to me and the leading edge of the hood is too flat. With the discontinuation of the Camaro and the Charger/Challenger, the Mustang should have seen a sales increase, not a decline. Not every person in that segment is brand loyal, and since you are the only kid on the block now there really isn’t an excuse.

I like your line of thinking here. The image you provided is very appealing.

I understand your point, that it is 171 units, but it is yet another headline and not good for business.

Bingo! So now you are just getting a cheap ass piece of glass in the pano’s place since it’s probable they are using the same shade setup. So it’s reasonable to assume it’s Ford “cheapening out” as you had suggested above. Brilliant move to improve sales!

I think you meant to say 20 years older unless you're 10 lol. But yeah, I see where you're coming from.

The Federal Tax credit for EVs is dead as of yesterday, so should be interesting how that all shakes out.

Number of vehicles affected: 171

The V6 is being driven by CAFE IMO. But who knows how that is gonna work out. Plus wasn't their rumors of the Explorer getting an EREV setup? I'm wondering if that is why the Bronco and Ranger haven't been marked to get PHEVs in the next 2-3 years-they might all share a EREV setup instead?

Uh it depends? The Explorer EOL isn't till middle of next decade and well they do sell a decent amount of PIUs to keep Chicago busy. The other thing is that apparently it is going to get another major update in a few years, so it might be short term thing (36 months or so) why some options might be getting dropped because of that major refresh that is coming.

While I'm about 20 years younger then you, I wouldn't mind seeing a good modern take on the post 1986 Mustang GT...sans the cheese grater tail lights, which can stay in the in 1980s. I really hated the New Edge Mustang-I had a 1998 Mustang GT which most likely didn't help, but my issue was that it was done on the cheap and it just didn't look that good. The Focus, Contour and Cougar (esp the Cougar) was best looking products of that generation. The first gen SN95 had a good retro vibe while being in the post jellybean era of Ford. The 2005 Mustang nailed the retro thing, but it fell out of favor within a few years.

So it could be somewhat close in appearance to something like this in coupe form with a lower, more rounded off front end? I don't hate it, but it kinda kills the muscle car look.

Thats 2 more than I’ve seen, and I live in the land of a-plan

Sometimes it has a to be spelled out because a lot of folks still don’t understand this “Ford logic” progressively eliminating the V6 from Explorer, then call it a commodity vehicle like the old Crown Vic.

Agreed. It would be foolish to throw it away now.

I don’t know that is entirely true anymore. With the pull back on EV’s, I think there is development potential for Ford with this platform to underpin next generation Explorer and maybe midsize crossover. Ford certainly isn’t going to pay develop another non-EV platform.

I think that’s a given.

Sadly, for Explorer (and Aviator) it sits on an orphaned chassis.....This eras Panther chassis all over again.

Yeah, a good idea to temper expectations. IIRC Farley mentioned skunkworks team was very successful in lowering R&D costs (30 cents on the dollar), but I don’t recall much detail suggesting the new vehicles would be that much cheaper than competition.

Because they hired a lot of outside talent from Tesla, Luckd, Rivian and Apple. These aren’t typical Ford engineers.

Having an all-new Mustang inspired by early models is not to say it must be retro per se.. Not to me anyway, though I can see some not differentiating. To me it’s more about capturing the original’s essence. To be honest, I don’t normally like cars that are retro-looking, so not looking for a 65 convertible knockoff.

Oh God lol. Even as someone born in '94 who's early childhood was influenced by the new edge, I want to get past those days lol. I get the 90s are the trendy thing right now, but once you get past nostalgia, it wasn't a good period for mustang design compared to 2005-present and 1965-1970. I firmly believe mustang is one of those cars where designers need to ask themselves "Will these still look great at a car show decades from now?" 60s styling does, 80s and 90s styling, not so much lol.

My question is can Ford deliver on what they are promising. I remember the promises made in past that didn't pan out, how will this be different.

But for every potential buyer that wants retro styling there is at least one that wants modern. You can’t please everyone. Personally I love the 930 but I don’t want a modern 911 that looks like that. I would just buy a 930. I feel most retro Mustang fans would do the same. The one area I agree with is making enough changes to keep repeat buyers, especially lease customers. Bit that doesn’t mean wholesale changes.

Just wait for the additional doors to join the pack. Also heard the “New Edge” styling of the 1999-2004 Mustang might make a subtle reappearance at some point.

Three reasons - Price, Price and a continued market shift away from coupes. Current design is not bad enough to turn away serious buyers especially with almost no competition.