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.  

I don’t think Ford needs to be overly concerned about specific competitors.  They need to focus on keeping costs as low as possible with appealing designs similar to what they did with Maverick and Bronco Sport.  What works for one company may not work as well for another due to differences in infrastructure costs, intellectual property, factory capacity and market appeal.   I’m ok with skunkworks taking longer IF the end result is as good as Ford has touted in cost, design and performance.  If it ends up just being average in any of those areas it will be a swing and a miss - again.

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.