Ford Working on Radical New Mustang

[RichardJensen]

Mustang sales in 2006: 166,530

 

Mustang sales in 2010: 70,438

 

How much more sensing is needed?

Well, in fairness, 2006 was the first full year for the new body style.

 

A more fair comparison would be 2007 vs. 2011, factoring in the overall decrease in the market... The Mustang is nearing the end of its life, regardless, but I don't think it's as bad as all that.

 

I mean, shoot, you don't want to compare Mustang sales with previous years, given the number of them that rolled off the lines in '65!

[NickF1011]

Well, in fairness, 2006 was the first full year for the new body style.

 

I thought that was 2005?

[BORG]

Somehow I doubt the next Mustang won't look like a Mustang.

 

The Mustang could use a more athletic architecture, right now the Mustang design is fairly practical for a sports car; blocky and bulky (which improved with the 2010 and 2013 updates).

[timmm55]

Hummm, shark nosed grill and round headlights? Back to chopping!

 

[RichardJensen]

I thought that was 2005?

No, wait, you're right.

 

So yeah. You're looking at roughly a 30% decline in Mustang volume from '06 to present, apart from the overall decline of the market.

 

I wonder what a five year rolling average looks like, as the 2005/2006 years were definitely anomalous, as the '05 Mustang really was that big of a hit.

[97svtgoin05gt]

I am confident that the entire management team at Ford knows how important this is. This will probably be the most significant product redesign they will do perhaps for the next 5 years. I can't imagine the ball will be dropped. While I love my '05 and think that they've done a nice job evolving it since that introduction, I believe the sales numbers dictate that something needs to be done. As much as I thought people would revolt against the design of the new Camaro, I believe for whatever reason that people seem to like it. I personally feel it got bashed with the ugly stick but numbers are numbers. Ford has noticed how people have warmed up to that train wreck of a design and I'm sure will be swinging for the fences when they put this thing into action. I have faith.

[97svtgoin05gt]

I thought that was 2005?

 

It was.

[Project-Fairmont]

Think of the cars that still look good designed back in the Eighties. Traditional and "safe" was the unispiring Chevy Celebrity, while the Ford Tauraus and T-Bird had daring good looks. Chevy got it right with the Gen III Camaro of '82 though, it still cuts a dashing prfile (without the tackiness of the Gen II ). Rx7's, Supra/Celica, Porsche 944, and double wishbone Accords still look good too.

 

The '79 Fox body was the last Mustang that had Continental (Euro) inspiration. Not only did it look forward, with an airy feeling amount of glass, it was also practical. I say bring on a higher level of Best practises, I for one do not care for the overwrought S197 or the ergonomically challenged SN95.

 

A 3300 lb, IRS, Coyote powered chariot that says; "the future looks good" - I am down for it!

Edited April 16, 2012 by Project-Fairmont

[TomServo92]

Tweak the nose of the 2013 SHO and you'd be very close to a modern looking Mustang.

 

[RichardJensen]

Chevy got it right with the Gen III Camaro of '82 though

 

the overwrought S197

How can one person say both of these things in the same post?

 

The '82 Camaro was far less simple, stylistically, than its F-body counterpart, or GM's crowning achievement of that period (and, IMO, the last beautiful car they built) the '84 'Vette. There are only two thematic elements on the F-Body Firebird: the horizontal grillwork that was adapted from the previous generation's taillights and applied to the air intakes up front, and the angles of the Pontiac arrowhead.

 

The Corvette is even more simple, especially in contrast to the Rococo excess of the '82.

[Anthony]

The Mustang has been an easy vehicle for designers to get stylistically comfortable with. It has been using variations of the same theme since 1994 and while it has worked for the most part, it has not given anything for new buyers to get excited about (outside the powertrains).

 

I applaud Ford for taking a taking a gamble on what has been a historically evolutionary vehicle. If done right, this could really be what brings people into dealerships who would not normally consider a Mustang.

[SoonerLS]

Mustang sales in 2006: 166,530

 

Mustang sales in 2010: 70,438

 

How much more sensing is needed?

Apples and oranges. In 2006, the Mustang was the only car in that market, but now the Camaro and Challenger are both in that arena, and the Camaro, at least, is selling quite well. It also doesn't help that the over-all market tanked in 2008, and the 7-MY-old Mustang is competing with much newer designs.

Edited April 17, 2012 by SoonerLS

[SoonerLS]

The Evos was a great looking concept car. Contrary to what the accountant (in the article) thinks, the Evos with Mustang styling queues will look very much like a Mustang, in my opinion.

The Evos doesn't really look like a Mustang, but one of the first pictures I saw of it (from low in the front, maybe) evoked it very strongly--when I first saw it, I thought, "that's a Mustang." It was subtly obvious, IMHO.

[BORG]

I remember when the 2013 Taurus SHO debuted at around the same time the 2013 Malibu showed up, and it was apparent to me that both cars started taking on design traits of their neighboring muscle cars. Really, I think the current design trend is partially influenced and/or merging with the Mustang.

Edited April 17, 2012 by BORG

[BlackHorse]

What's really going to be hilarious is the uproar that happens when they put a 4 banger in the new car and the GT is sporting a V6.

[Mark B. Morrow]

To clarify for grbeck. he's talking about Lincolns and Cadillacs having design cues that date to the 30s, and attempting to evoke that era:

 

 

(There were sundry other more blatant and more disco-ey and more appalling attempts to trade off the Art Deco era, but for the sake of your eyeballs I will refrain from showing them. If you would like one example, google "Bustleback Seville")

 

 

You can add the '73 Monte Carlo and Grand Prix to the Neo-Classical fad. The overlap with Disco is amusing. I always thought the Chrysler Cordoba was the ultimate Disco Car with the hood ornament medalion that would not have looked out of place hanging from a gold chain over the hairy chest of a guy with an open polyester shirt, pastel bell bottom pants and platform shoes.

[TBirdStangSkyliner]

I'm for it. Retro was nice, but Ford eventually has to look forward.

 

I think retro can be done very well and very poorly. The Mini comes to mind as a successful attempt and it is best to not get any mental picture of the PT Cruiser. I prefer cars which are contemporary or leading edge, but can still evoke proportions and design themes from earlier models.

 

That said, the Evos seems to carry quite a few Mustang cues already. The profile of the doors in cross-section is spot-on Mustang, as is the top of the front fenders. Look at the kick-up in the rear fender-line, it is also Mustang-like. With a reshaped grille and the proper trim, this car could very easily be ultra-modern and still be instantly recognizable as a Mustang.

[TBirdStangSkyliner]

As for the Mustang not attracting enough younger buyers, style just might be one of the least important bottlenecks. Purchase, fuel and insurance prices are fairly prohibitive for many younger buyers. By the time many younger buyers get old-enough to see a decline in their insurance rates, and a raise in their pay to help with the feeding, they are starting to have kids. Child seats and Mustangs are just not a good mix.

[BlackHorse]

As for the Mustang not attracting enough younger buyers, style just might be one of the least important bottlenecks. Purchase, fuel and insurance prices are fairly prohibitive for many younger buyers. By the time many younger buyers get old-enough to see a decline in their insurance rates, and a raise in their pay to help with the feeding, they are starting to have kids. Child seats and Mustangs are just not a good mix.

 

I think it should not be overlooked that the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, etc etc sports coupe in general doesn't sell well to "younger buyers" because they are priced out of the range of those buyers. Take the soon to be released FR-S for instance that Toyota has put under the Scion flag. Scion is the brand intended to bring "younger buyers" into the Toyota family. But the car is going to have a base price of 25 grand and the reality is that most of your early twenty-somethings simply can't afford a car in that price range. If they even consider buying a new car it is most likely going to be something in the 17 to 20K range and that rules out almost everything with the exception of maybe a Forte Koup or a based out Scion tC. As a general rule, the youngest buyers you will see with a car like the Mustang or Camaro is probably going to be people in their early to mid thirties that don't have kids. A buyer in their twenties for this car will be the exception and not the rule. So unless Ford plans to drastically reduce the price of the Mustang (which we know isn't going to happen) then I don't see the car making any dramatic improvement in the number of younger buyers that it attracts. It's not that those buyers wouldn't like to have a Mustang, it's simply a matter of economic realities. They can't afford it.

[RichardJensen]

it has not given anything for new buyers to get excited about (outside the powertrains)

Hmm? The '05 Mustang is the reason why GM relaunched the Camaro and Chrysler the Challenger (ironically replicating the effect the first Mustang had on GM & Chrysler). As far as 'new buyers' go, I think it clearly brought new people into the "Mustang family."

[RichardJensen]

What's really going to be hilarious is the uproar that happens when they put a 4 banger in the new car and the GT is sporting a V6.

4-banger was the base motor in the Mustang for like 20 years. I don't think that's going to cause a major uproar.

 

And the GT will have a V8 because people who can afford $35k for a toy can afford a V8---and the V8 is basically free courtesy of all that F150 volume.

[BlackHorse]

4-banger was the base motor in the Mustang for like 20 years. I don't think that's going to cause a major uproar.

 

And the GT will have a V8 because people who can afford $35k for a toy can afford a V8---and the V8 is basically free courtesy of all that F150 volume.

 

I recall some news articles discussing putting the turbo charged 4 cylinder in the new Mustang several months back. They probably will keep the V8 even though they can put a V6 in the car that will get the same performance they currently get with the V8 and the V6 would be more efficient. But God forbid you don't have a V8 option in the Mustang.

[RichardJensen]

Like I said, they get the V8s for free from the F150, so why wouldn't you offer it? They can absorb the hit to CAFE.

 

And I'm sure you'll see the turbo V6 for the same reason as the V8: The F150 provides so much volume for that engine that the Mustang gets it for nothing (well, that's not exactly how it works, but the engine has very little per unit cost devoted to development)

[jpd80]

. So unless Ford plans to drastically reduce the price of the Mustang (which we know isn't going to happen) then I don't see the car making any dramatic improvement in the number of younger buyers that it attracts. It's not that those buyers wouldn't like to have a Mustang, it's simply a matter of economic realities. They can't afford it.

An even bigger hurdle for young buyers is that they can't afford the insurance on a 5.0 V8 Mustang.

Let's face it, $30,000 is not much for a V8 sports car and anyone who really wants one will save up and buy it.

[NickF1011]

I recall some news articles discussing putting the turbo charged 4 cylinder in the new Mustang several months back. They probably will keep the V8 even though they can put a V6 in the car that will get the same performance they currently get with the V8 and the V6 would be more efficient. But God forbid you don't have a V8 option in the Mustang.

 

Eh, I wouldn't be surprised to see a mix of 4's, 6's, and 8's, all with some form or another of forced induction, at some point in the next gen Mustang's lifecycle. Wouldn't be at all inappropriate given past powertrains. I think the only ways Ford could really cause an uproar would be eliminating manual transmissions or adding an extra pair of doors (or, of course, making it FWD).