Electric Mustang to debut in November

[Bryster]

This is where the Ford Evos part of the S550 comes into play
https://www-motor1-com.cdn.ampproje...1/mustang-ev-crossover-teased-november-debut/

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[KahnBB6]

Meh... it's a crossover "Mustang" but not actually a Mustang at all. I am interested in what Ford might do with a hybrid or EV powertrain in the actual next-gen Mustang chassis (to be shared with the future standard RWD Explorer no less which will make it bigger unfortunately) but a crossover "Mustang"... not so much.

It's just very hard to get excited by this category of vehicle no matter what they're called, no matter how they're styled and no matter what their drivelines are made up of.

This will probably have a much better result than the depressing Mitsubishi "Eclipse" Cross (as in crossover) but it's still the same basic vehicle category and marketing approach: take a storied enthusiast high performance vehicle with properly sporty base models and spawn off a completely different upright, "urban" and "family friendly" variant that has neither the performance capability of the sports car it is drawing from or the allure that drew buyers to the original inspiration performance car in the first place.

But because it will be styled kind-of-sort-of like a Mustang and might even be branded with some variant of the name "Mustang" it will surely sell.

I do get excited by what Ford will do in the performance EV space but another crossover/CUV thing, especially one that waters down what a Mustang is, just makes me want to bang my head into a wall.

 

[Bryster]

Meh... it's a crossover "Mustang" but not actually a Mustang at all. I am interested in what Ford might do with a hybrid or EV powertrain in the actual next-gen Mustang chassis (to be shared with the future standard RWD Explorer no less which will make it bigger unfortunately) but a crossover "Mustang"... not so much.

It's just very hard to get excited by this category of vehicle no matter what they're called, no matter how they're styled and no matter what their drivelines are made up of.

This will probably have a much better result than the depressing Mitsubishi "Eclipse" Cross (as in crossover) but it's still the same basic vehicle category and marketing approach: take a storied enthusiast high performance vehicle with properly sporty base models and spawn off a completely different upright, "urban" and "family friendly" variant that has neither the performance capability of the sports car it is drawing from or the allure that drew buyers to the original inspiration performance car in the first place.

But because it will be styled kind-of-sort-of like a Mustang and might even be branded with some variant of the name "Mustang" it will surely sell.

I do get excited by what Ford will do in the performance EV space but another crossover/CUV thing, especially one that waters down what a Mustang is, just makes me want to bang my head into a wall.

Funny thing is, it shares design cues with the Mustang II

 

[KahnBB6]

Hmm.... the Mustang II was not a very loved series. More a time capsule of the 70's more than a timeless Mustang to draw inspiration from.

 

[KahnBB6]

And here it is folks:

https://jalopnik.com/this-is-the-ford-mustang-inspired-suv-caught-almost-tot-1839701061

It looks nothing like a Mustang other than the ripped tail lights and vague front end treatment. And that chassis definitely has nothing to do with a Mustang. A RWD layout this will not have most likely.

It's just a regular old boring crossover/CUV thing. It will probably come in a FWD layout in base trim. An off-the-shelf "family" CUV that just happens to be fully electric.

 

[KahnBB6]

This is WAY more interesting even if it's just a one-off to gauge interest. 900hp electric (it doesn't even need that much power) bolted to a beefed up MT82 6-speed manual with a Torsen T-2 mechanical diff. Now that's how you do a "fun" electric Mustang. Do electric vehicles NEED manual transmissions? Nope. Are they still fun with them? Absolutely, and that should be the whole point more than anything else.

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2...orsepower-entirely-electric-six-speed-manual/

https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/5/...anual-prototype-stick-shift-lithium-sema-2019

 

[Bryster]

https://www-foxbusiness-com.cdn.amp...ils-mustang-mach-e-its-first-all-electric-suv

 

[KahnBB6]

^^ Personally I could care less for ugly family/"lifestyle" crossover CUV/SUVs over wagons/estates but they sell a lot for some confounding reason so given that and Ford working hard to deliver that formula as a full electric with 230-300 miles of range and 250-500+ horsepower in RWD and AWD... hard to find fault within that vehicle type and market. Other than the giant screen that looks bolted onto the dash as an afterthought.

...but this is NOT a Mustang. Some headlights and tail light shapes and designs lifted from one do not make an average looking crossover thing into the same thing as an iconic high performance RWD personal coupe that is actually a true "coupe" with only two doors and that is very low to the ground.

They can release a production hybrid or fully electric *actual* Mustang chassis and I would be fine with it within that sub-brand/model range because it just diversifies the many variants the actual Mustang has to offer buyers.

But this thing... call it a "Ford Mach-E" or "Ford Fusion Mach-E" or even "Ford Maverick Mach-E" (although in all honesty I like vintage Mavericks and would hate to see that nameplate also reduced to a middling crossover design) and be done with it and it would be perfectly fine. But badging this thing as a "Mustang Mach-E" is pretty terrible.

Ford has to be envisioning this as going either go one of two ways:

1) This was a calculated effort to, for the first time, pad the actual 2-door low to the ground coupe Mustang's bottom line with both an SUV and electric variant in one so that sub-brand sales and fleet emission numbers can help keep their beloved sportscar/musclecar brand name more financially and environmentally viable in an era where sports car and muscle car sales are going down. And that way Ford does for the actual Mustang what Porsche did to keep the 911 range alive within their brand (and later Boxter and even later the Cayman) when they started designing and selling their own SUVs and now the Taycan EV sedan.

Or....

2) Ford doesn't have the gamble in #1 in mind at all and just sees one of their most iconic, beloved and fiercely upheld high performance cars (really their only remaining CAR) as just fair game in their long term plan to kill off all their cars and sell only SUVs. And in the Mustang's case, perhaps that means just turning it into an SUV and eventually phasing out the actual Mustang (rather than electrifying that in ways that enthusiasts and fans will go for) altogether. I mean... they killed off the Focus ST, Focus RS and Fiesta ST and now expect the Edge ST crossover/SUV to be accepted as the suitable replacement for those so why would this be any different in boardroom discussions?

Personally I hope Ford's thinking goes firmly with #1 on this. If this move helps keep the actual 2-door coupe RWD Mustang alive and in the black and a chance to remain true to its roots well into the time when it goes performance hybrid and then later fully electric AS the type and appeal of performance vehicle that it is... then a Ford "Mustang" crossover that everyone knows obviously isn't a Mustang is tolerable.

It makes me roll my eyes but if the company's plan with this is generally what scenario #1 entails then OK.

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