The new dashboard is a big mistake IMO

[Deleted member 7136]

The new car has a night mode.
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Must be your social bubble. Generation Y has a huge span, 1981 - 1996. I would like to see 40 year olds that are still fed by their parents, lol. Even most of 1996 millenials ended university by now. Of course it takes many years of work to be able to buy (new) car like Dark Horse, instead of dealing with own home, marriage, kids and other lot more important things than a car. But with S650 being here for next decade, millenials will definitely be a target.

I'm 36, so millenial, and on my own for more than a decade which allowed me to build a house with mortgage and pay for Mach 1 with my own money. I bought used Mini Cooper S when I was still in college (2010), never got a car from parents. I was lucky but also worked hard.

40% of my city is rental property and most of the millennials in my neighborhood are renting houses or duplexes. Most of them have vehicles 10 years old or older.

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[Dave2013M3]

I like what I've seen of the new dash so far. "No Mustang owner wants" is the old "No true Scotsman" fallacy.

I'm with you, and you and I aren't the youngest of this group. I also like the new dash.

 

[Stonehauler]

I am going to be honest here...What I see is a bunch of old guys sitting around complaining about "it used to be better in our day"

The fact of the matter is, it's different. I suspect it's also lighter overall - weight being something mustang owners have been complaining online about since...well, probably since the advent of BBS forums, if not before.

I am no spring chicken, rapidly approaching 50, but I see these screens as being able to do things no factory set of gauges can do. They can (probably) display all the information you might want. I am hoping that this will allow you to choose and select what you want to see. Oil Temps, transmission temp, boost level, coolant temp, etc. Not just what gauges the person at the factory selects for you.

I am also hoping they allow you to display the systems as you want to see them. Dials, bars, even changing colors, so that it can start alerting you to when you start getting to an out of normal condition. Temp to whatever. It should allow you to present the information you need so that it is of most use to you.

Honestly, instead of complaining about the gauge cluster going digital, we need to push Ford to actually make use of that type of system and allow us to actually edit the content and location of the information, including the ability to make alerts and conditions easier to see and more useful to use as drivers. This goes not just for a daily driver, but it would be extremely useful for people who track their cars.

 

[Ericc B]

My beef is not with what's being displayed on the screens, I think that is actually pretty cool. The abundance of animations are a bit of a waste of development time, but I don't mind them, they are nicely done.

My beef is with the elimination of physical switches and above all with the horrible lack of integration of the screens in the dash. It completely destroys what makes a Mustang dash a Mustang dash and turns it into whatever generic SUV you can think of.

Going with the times can also be done in a Mustang fitting way, but Ford completely dropped the ball here.

 

[Burnin' Rubber]

I do not like the look of the exposed tablets either. It appears not as much effort was put into designing the interior.

It seems the trend now is to equip all vehicles with a two-dimensional digital instrumentation display. I wonder how bad are they for dealing with light glare and fingerprints. Another annoying drawback is that every passenger in the vehicle can now see and comment on the speed that the driver is maintaining. These faults were not so evident with a concealed instrument cluster.

One article I read mentioned the dual-cowl dashboard restricted the designers in terms of how large they can make the displays. From the photos of the S650, I see a lot of unused surface on those panels.

I have seen photos of the "non-premium" display set-up on the S650 with the separate screens. At first I thought it was just a prototype or design iteration, but further reading indicates the wraparound display is a "premium" option. The fact that they would offer such an obviously inferior interior option is disappointing.

The main advantage of digital displays for the consumer is the ability to reconfigure them. I think it is great if there are "skins" that can be downloaded to change the font of the gauges to look more retro or modern depending on how you like it.

Mechanical watches are still being made. What Ford should do is offer an interior option with quality analog instrumentation and let consumers decide which they prefer.

 

[Bikeman315]

It appears not as much effort was put into designing the interior.

I've spoken with interior designers of these cars before. Trust me, the amount of effort is huge. Do not disparage their work just because you do not like something.

Another annoying drawback is that every passenger in the vehicle can now see and comment on the speed that the driver is maintaining.

If this is really a concern get a Prius.

The fact that they would offer such an obviously inferior interior option is disappointing

What makes it inferior? If it bothers you that much just get a premium model. Problem solved.

What Ford should do is offer an interior option with quality analog instrumentation and let consumers decide which they prefer.

Ford has already done this from 2018 to 2023. The 201A and 401A packages were very popular primarily for the digital dash. It's a digital world now, there is no need for the expense of an analog dash that the majority on regular (non forum) owners will not order.

 

[Burnin' Rubber]

Oh, so that's what's going on here. Another generational gap thing.

This is the interior I've been nostalgic for: (Though I do like a center console).

I prefer tactile switches even on newer cars, but that classic interior looks seriously devoid of switchgear compared to more recent vehicle interiors.

The HVAC settings limited to the touch panel will be less of an issue with the availability of automatic climate controls.

 

[Burnin' Rubber]

I've spoken with interior designers of these cars before. Trust me, the amount of effort is huge. Do not disparage their work just because you do not like something.

Not disparaging, just constructive criticism. As others have posted, many vehicles have digital dash panels that are integrated extremely well. So, it can be done.

If this is really a concern get a Prius.

I meant in terms of speeding, but it can also apply to going excessively slow, I suppose.

What makes it inferior? If it bothers you that much just get a premium model. Problem solved.

To my point, Ford tries to fix their inferior two-piece display by offering an improved one-piece display as a premium option. They are admitting the two-piece display is less premium, hence inferior.

Ford has already done this from 2018 to 2023. The 201A and 401A packages were very popular primarily for the digital dash. It's a digital world now, there is no need for the expense of an analog dash that the majority on regular (non forum) owners will not order.

The packages did not exactly keep everything the same except for the instrumentation. Ford decontented the packages with the analog instruments enough to make it not an equal comparison with the digital instruments.

 

[Ericc B]

I've spoken with interior designers of these cars before. Trust me, the amount of effort is huge. Do not disparage their work just because you do not like something.

You can spend huge amounts of time, money and effort on what is an essentially wrong concept to begin with.

Whoever designed this has no clue about Mustang heritage and neither has all management above him/her. Which is no surprise because in the end of the day these are the same people who approved the idea of naming Mach-E a Mustang.

 

[65ffr]

I was so excited watching the reveal. Then I saw the dash. I'll hold final judgement till I see one in person, but 99% sure it's a dealbreaker.

Not against digital (well I am, but can live with it). It's the Ipad look, without any kind of cowl around it. Ridiculously awful.

 

[BoostRabbitGT]

At this point I'm more impressed digital screens are standard in this Mustang in the first place. The HVAC controls being relegated to the touchscreen will take time to get used to for me, but not a deal breaker. And frankly I still don't know why the volume knob is now on the passenger side (Why not incorporate it somewhere on the driver side of the touchscreen? Regardless, glad there's volume controls on the steering wheel.). But overall I like it, if not particularly blown away by the new tech.

 

[DRB]

At this point I'm more impressed digital screens are standard in this Mustang in the first place. The HVAC controls being relegated to the touchscreen will take time to get used to for me, but not a deal breaker. And frankly I still don't know why the volume knob is now on the passenger side (Why not incorporate it somewhere on the driver side of the touchscreen? Regardless, glad there's volume controls on the steering wheel.). But overall I like it, if not particularly blown away by the new tech.

Well, if there are volume controls on the steering wheel, who needs the other volume knob?

Oh, yeah - the passenger.

 

[Redcruzer]

After looking at the interior photos for a few days now, I feel like I’d have to drive it to really understand whether the dash would be a deal breaker or not. However, it seems clear that the dash lacks any sort of cohesive flow and that the steering wheel has a large tumor growing out of the center of it that I just can’t unsee. The dash might have flash and some flair, but no art.

 

[BoostRabbitGT]

Well, if there are volume controls on the steering wheel, who needs the other volume knob?

Oh, yeah - the passenger.

But can I trust the passenger not to mess with the volume while I'm driving?

 

[kws6000]

Interior is a dealbreaker for me.
Not interested in a video game dash.
Zero integration of screens into rest
of dash .
Agree with some of the others here,
that it looks like someone stuck a couple of ipads in front of the dashboard.

Taking away the physical hvac, heated
seats, steering wheel controls is a big step
backwards.

This design will appeal mainly to a
younger audience who can’t afford the
car, in GT form.

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