DeluxeStang

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.

Even though it's an entirely different price point, this is a great example of what I have in mind. Having something that still looks like a 60s muscle car with a blocky shape, but more exotic proportions. Something like this with more pronounced hips and dynamic rear end like that original pic I showed. I basically want the mustang to be the best looking front engine coupe on sale.

Agreed. It's not a bad looking car, it just looks too similar to the s550. To be fair, Ford usually does this with mustang, two generations with similar styling followed by a massive change. That's the way it's been at least since the 90s. So if they apply the same approach here, that's ok. I just hope Ford returns to giving us a new mustang generation every 5-7 years instead of having us wait 7-10 years.

In terms of bronco, keeping the boxy, rugged looking, I quite like this sketch even if it looks a bit like a defender.

I'm mostly thinking of bronco and mustang, as those are two of Ford's best passion products at the moment, and both are virtually guaranteed to have a next generation. For mustang, I personally believe they should keep the 60s inspiration, it's a lot more timeless than say mustangs from the 80s or 90s that are fads in one moment, and out the next. 60s styling has always looked good, and always will, that's what mustang should pattern itself after instead of chasing styling trends. These are cars that'll be at car shows in 50 years, make them timeless and striking. In terms of what I'd love to see, it basically boils down to a reduction in visual mass. Lowering the roof by maybe 2 inches, and the beltline by an inch or so, so you have less metal over the wheels. Push the wheels to the corners and really shrink the overhangs, especially in the front. Give the mustang an even longer hood to sell that seductive look. Basically a 1967 Shelby gt 500 in terms of lines, and an Aston Martin in terms of proportions and sexy surfacing would make for a great looking car imo. Something like this image with slightly sharper lines to sell the muscle car look while also looking striking and more exotic. Make the mustang look so good that people stop complaining about paying 60k for a gt, make a design that makes 60k feel like a bargain.

Yep. My 2017 explorer has been basically the most reliable car my family has ever owned, but if someone was just going off the number of recalls, they'd think 2011-19 explorers had a lot of problems. But so many of those recalls are basically for cosmetic issues. Like I had a recall because a few of the clips on the roof rack cover were popping up on the rear. The cover as a whole still seemed to be firmly attached, so it wasn't in danger of flying off, it just didn't look great. Then there are recalls because these decorative black panels on the pillar might come off. Meanwhile Nissan cvts are destroying themselves left and right and to my knowledge, Nissan never issued a definitive fix for them via a recall. Ford's out here recalling over cosmetic issues essentially, and other brands are ignoring their powertrains exploding.

I know I'm probably giving them too much credit, but I think they have a solid plan this time. I think pretty much all of us knew, including people within Ford on an intrinsic level, that these large, heavy, expensive EVs were an interesting experiment, but weren't the play long term. They never made sense. Everything we heard about the 3 row for instance made it sound like a disaster waiting to happen. But offering small, affordable, interesting EVs is a strategy that makes a ton of sense, because it seems like that's where most of the demand is, and the use case that best suits EVs at this moment in time. This mixed strategy of small affordable EVs, larger hybrids and EREVS, and pure ICE for passion products took a lot of ups and downs to get here, but I firmly believe Ford finally has a winning strategy because of it.

I keep seeing this product proposed, and frankly, I don't see the appeal. You're talking about a consumer who wants a smaller, more inexpensive Ford, and likes boxy flex like styling, but doesn't want a used flex, and doesn't want a maverick because it's a truck, thinks the Bronco sport is too small, doesn't like the styling on the escape, and doesn't want a van, but wants a third row, but doesn't want something as big as an explorer or an expedition. Does this person exist? Yeah, but they aren't very common. Most people I know who only need 2 rows want a smaller, more manageable vehicle. Most people I know who genuinely need a third row because they have a lot of kids, or things to move around, want something larger like an explorer. I don't know many people who want to buy a smaller c2 based vehicle and who really demand a 3rd row. It's a product in pursuit of a buyer. I feel like the tiny transit van in Europe would be a better c2 product to bring here. It has boxy styling, and looks rugged and attractive by van standards, the two tone paint makes in funky and unique, and it occupies a segment Ford isn't offering anymore, compact vans. Not only could they sell it to families who want a quirky practical vehicle, but they could also sell a commercial variant very easily. That makes more sense instead of doing some weird maverick bastard suv thing. Bring the c2 based transit here, give it the 2.5 hybrid, give the bronco sport a 2.5 hybrid so it can meet emissions without needing to be stretched and ruining the styling, and give us some sort of edge replacement by bringing the evos or something like it here.

It's a little noisy at times, but that's it. For the price point, it's not a bad interior, especially on things like our 28k XLT hybrid. I actually really like the orange accents with the navy color and white highlights, it shouldn't work, yet it does imo. I'm just happy to see a car interior that's not afraid to be bold and quirky again.

Hypothetically speaking, if Ford did use this platform to bring sedans back to the market, how likely is it that it would be something in a similar style to one of these? They start are around 29k, it's arguably Farley's favorite EV seeing as he drove one for over 6 months and couldn't stop talking about it, and it would mean offering a more compelling aspirational sedan instead of a generic blob.

I know this all too well as a maverick owner. Everyone bitches about the interior being hard plastic on a hybrid truck that I spent 28k on, it's insane. I've said everyone says they want a 20k car, but what they really want is a 50k car a brand can magically sell for 20.

To be fair, that's how it almost always goes in the auto industry. It's not the wait that annoys me, it's the wait with very little information in-between. If they were breaking up the time with teasers, it wouldn't be so bad.

I get these brands want to be secretive, but I've been saying for some time I'd like it if Ford openly revealed design sketches, and concepts to the public years in advance instead of revealing them right before production. Give designers time to change styling cues if they aren't well received by the public instead of only revealing something once the design is locked in.

I'm very excited to see what the "None obvious" body styles could be. By obvious, I mean we all know Ford is gonna offer a truck, a utility, and maybe a van. But what are the other 5 form factors? Is it possible we ever see like a fun hatchback, or even some sort of smaller fun coupe based on this platform? Probably not, but just let me dream damn it 😂.

I actually firmly believe Ford is gonna develop a next gen Ford gt to align with the timeline of them going back to le mans in 2027 for the overall win. Now whatever road car they make won't be as close to the road car, seeing as GT3 style race cars are basically modified road cars, and prototype hypercars are far more radical and harder to translate to a road car. But I could totally see Ford taking the powertrain from their le mans hypercar, which we now know is gonna be a hybrid V8, and tweaking that to make it work well in a road car, and then maybe taking some styling cues from the prototype racer as well. So I don't believe Ford is giving up on the idea of doing a next gt, or investing in the mustang, they're just doing it where it makes the most sense. If Ford goes back to le mans, and especially if they take the overall win, it would be insane not to make a new gt to cash in on that.

Which is insane.

I feel like Ford needs to respond. With a GTD R with like 1,000 hp, or some sort of next gen Ford GT, some sort of halo model that really takes the fight to GM here. The c8 seems like it's been a massive win for GM's pocketbook, and it's reputation. The GTD is awesome, but I believe Ford can go even further.

Well on the plus side, the price on Ford GT's seems like it's gradually coming down. For a few years, it felt like you wouldn't see a GT sell for under a million on the used car market. You're starting to see some of them sell for high 700, low 800k in recent months. If the release of insane mid-engine cars like this results in other used mid-engine high performance cars like the gt becoming more obtainable, you won't see me complaining.

To each their own, I personally believe the model 3 was their best looking product, especially the refreshed model. But that's not saying much. I can't believe the guy who leads Tesla styling used to work at Mazda, talk about going downhill.

Yep. It'll be interesting to see what sort of icons ford ends up creating in the near future as well.

True, and that's why Ford gradually distancing themselves from those buyers could end up being a smart strategy. I don't believe Ford should ever stop selling affordable vehicles, but I fully support Ford leaning more heavily into the affordable aspirational vehicle market like they are now with things like maverick, BS, and the Ecoboost mustang. If you ask me, I firmly believe Ford is the best automotive brand when it comes to make those aspirational affordable models, the types of dream cars you can realistically afford, that's where Ford excels as a brand.

It really is a smart strategy, because what it's doing is getting consumers to fall in love with Ford, and Ford's passion products. Whereas Toyota, Kia, Nissan, a lot of those buyers don't love those brands directly, they're in love with the idea of low cost reliable transportation pods to get them from A to B. Once the Chinese show up in our market and they can undercut all of those brands on price, and offer vehicles with comparable quality, I genuinely believe brands like Nissan and Kia will really be hurting, because they built their brand on attributes their competitors could easily copy. Whereas Ford is leaning into passion and heritage, which is a lot harder to compete with. I'm stunned more people can't see this.

Respectfully, I disagree. The full width light bar thing is played out. It's not terrible by default, it can look good on some models. But I like seeing the unique look they went for here of having lights stretch out across the front, but with gaps in-between. Its not a one for one comparison, but the lights in the grille also vaguely remind me of the bronco r from back in the day.

I think it'll depend on the application. Engineers are always finding a way to get more power out of electric motors. So if Ford can bump the power rating of the 2.5 hybrid from like 190-200 hp to about 250 hp, it would be faster off the line than a 2.0 Ecoboost, while getting much better fuel economy, and being much more reliable long term. If Ford can get up the power, I can see the 2.5 hybrid being a really solid choice for a next gen bronco sport, maybe even the only powertrain offering. It'll make it a lot easier for the BS to meet future emissions targets, the improved fuel economy will make the BS a more aspirational and desirable product, and the 2.5 is basically indestructible, so it'll help reduce Ford's warranty costs by bringing it into other models.

The vibe I'm getting is Ford is done with engineering their own 1.5 3 cylinders because no-one cares about those engines, and the lifespan of them is very limited, so it's hard to justify future investment in developing them any further. EVs, especially affordable EVs, are gonna become the go to option in the future for people who just want easy, reliable, low hassle transportation. That's all the people currently buying crossovers with sewing machine engines. If I put an electric compact crossover in front of someone that looks better than an escape, is cheaper and more reliable to own long term, is more refined, and quieter inside, and better to drive, most people are gonna buy the electric escape. I personally believe Fords future is gonna be a lot of it's icons still using gas engines, but hybridized, think a 5.0 mustang hybrid in a decade, or a 2.7 hybrid bronco. Then you'll have buyers that want EVs like CE1 because they're just better options for the people who want reliable transportation pods. Then you'll have a third, relatively small group, that doesn't want aspirational products like mustang, but also isn't ready to go EV yet. That's the crowd who Ford will outsource engines for. People who still want a gas engine, but don't care what kind it is, and are just waiting a few more years until buying an EV. It makes a lot of sense to have this strategy. Invest in powertrains where people actually care out them, outsource the work to another company to save a ton of money for vehicles where buyers don't care. It's a win-win as long as the quality of those powertrains is world class.