Poll- Do you like the new interior?

[DRB]

Of all the crazy things written on this forum, this might be the craziest. Washington fans? Still?????

I know, I know. We suffer from a hopelessly hopeful condition of mind...But, the season's young. We're not yet mathematically eliminated from the playoffs!

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[MustangMac67]

The market and sales of the car will decide how people feel about it. People ultimately vote with their wallets, which is all Ford cares about.

For me, it would be an absolute, non-negotiable deal-breaker. There is no way in Earth I would ever consider buying the car with that instrument panel, regardless of how much power it had, how 'good' it might be in other details, or the price. I'd hate myself every time I got into the car.

I'm just a sample of one, though I am in Ford's traditional Mustang demographic (and have owned 5 of them in my life). I think Ford is taking a big risk in abandoning its traditional buyers, in hopes that 'younger generations' raised on video games will like, or at least tolerate and overlook, the new instrument panel. Maybe they're looking at it as a transition to an EV Mustang, a bridge from the past to the future.

For me (and my wallet), it's a shame what is likely the last gas-powered ICE Mustang goes out not with a bang, but a nausea-inducing whimper.

It is going out with a bang. It shot itself in the foot (hoof?).

 

[MustangMac67]

The door panels on the S650 are new not carryover despite being very similar. The door and grab handles look carryover though.. why is no one asking if this mustang is finally coming with hydraulic hood struts and not a cheap lame prop rod?

People did, just in a different thread

 

[analogman]

Ford is following the market at large. If it does not it will die. A few recent examples: Blackberry, did not embrace touch screen phones. Blockbuster, did not embrace streaming and passed on a chance to buy Netflix. Nobody can argue they chose poorly.

On the other hand Corvette (a nameplate older than Mustang, perceived as an old man's car) has embraced modern-day tech (and yes, mid engine). Now demand is up 3 years into the C8.

Boomers are at retirement age. Milineals are entering prime earning years. Gen Z will quickly follow. It's simple demographics. No amount of differing opinions will stop time from marching on.

I don't know about Ford 'dying' if it didn't follow the other automotive lemmings into the digital dash dumpster fire.

Of course time marches on. But not all changes are good. Most definitions of 'progress' usually involve improvements and enhancements, making things better. If one's definition of progress is increasing the profit margins of Ford Corp. then the digital dash is progress. But if the criteria are making the driving experience easier, safer, more fulfilling, not so much.

Several studies have shown that digital dashes in cars are more difficult to use, take more time than analog knobs and buttons, and are disliked by consumers:

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2022/0...y-are-worse-than-buttons-in-cars-study-finds/

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/23/opinion/touch-screens-cars.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/22/why-some-people-hate-touch-screens-in-cars.html

It's not rocket science. It takes longer and is more difficult to take your eyes off the road and peck at a screen to make something happen in a car, compared with being able to operate physical knobs and buttons by feel. In a smart phone a digital screen is progress, and likewise for a GPS mapping display. But for other operations it's less intuitive, and less safe. Traveling down the highway at 90 ft/sec, taking your eyes off the road for even a couple of seconds, a lot of distance is covered (a football field every 3 seconds) and a lot can happen in that time - like hitting something.

Even Jony Ive, the former Apple design chief responsible for the iPhone, iMac, iPad, and iPod, thinks more physical buttons should return to cars:

https://www.drive.com.au/news/former-apple-design-boss-physical-buttons-return-to-car-interiors/

There is only one reason the car companies are moving to screen interfaces: it's cheaper than physical knobs and buttons. It costs less to hot-glue a screen to the dash and program all the controls into software than to actually manufacture knobs and switches. My highest priority in buying a car is for a fun and safe driving experience, not to maximize the company's profits. If digital interfaces weren't cheaper, the companies wouldn't be putting them in. They're not doing it because it makes driving better, but to make more money for themselves. Plain and simple.

Ford can spin the marketing BS about the 'bold new immersive digital cockpit experience', but that's only because it sounds slicker than the truth - 'it's cheaper than knobs and buttons and we're all about the bottom line.'

Demand is certainly strong for the C8, but I think the backlog in orders has a lot to do with supply chain constraints and limitations in production volumes. If capacity wasn't limited by key components it might be like just a few years ago, with cars in stock on dealer lots available to be bought.

Jim Farley has talked about wanting to decrease Ford's unit production but increase profit margins on each vehicle sold. Ford, and dealers, have learned they make more money by selling fewer cars and charging more for each one. The digital screen instrument panel in the Mustang fits in with that strategy - sell fewer of them and make more money on each one.

That's clearly a win for Ford, but maybe not for a lot of buyers (so far about 45% of respondents to this poll say the dash is atrocious).

I would think a company staying with knob and button controls would have an advantage over the others who are cramming everything onto touch screens.

 

[Patio208]

@analogman I'm not debating the virtues of the current "digital" trend. That's for each Individual consumer to decide. I'm just naming some examples of what happens when corporations fail to follow the larger trends or join too late. This forum is an extremely small sample size and not diverse enough in opinions to draw any real conclusions from any poll posted here. Not to mention those that disapprove have been extremely vocal as evidenced by 3 separate threads on the same topic.

 

[Stam616]

You need a 4th choice - “Eh”. Not a fan of the stuck on screens, I’d have liked it to be connected with a trim piece that goes all the way over them so they look inset of the dash. I assume the two screens are the “base” version but I’d still like the dash to look better, sportier and more luxurious. Tesla is over- new cars are much better looking and feel right. The stuck on iPad dash is simply outdated and uninspired looking.

 

[Hack]

I could care less, but not much less. I have never purchased a Mustang (or any other car) because I liked the interior. I hope I never get to that point in my life where the interior is that important to me. If I do, I'll probably end up in a BMW or Porsche or something.

Interior changes I have seen will definitely not make or break my purchase decision. The single screen is acceptable. The dual screens are terrible looking, but I might still consider the car. I think their only true function is to try to push more buyers to the premium interior.

The lack of changes to various interior areas - I don't really care.

Physical controls gone? I don't like that idea. I would have to try it to be sure. I have no idea if I'll even have an opportunity to drive a new Mustang without buying.

Bottom line for me is still a wait and see attitude. I haven't seen anything that says for sure I will buy. Right now it's looking like a pass.

 

[MustangMac67]

I just noticed some shades of maverick (the mini truck for those not versed)in the passenger side dash.

 

[Ericc B]

I would think a company staying with knob and button controls would have an advantage over the others who are cramming everything onto touch screens.

Exactly.

With a heritage dashboard they will not lose a single sale to a millennial or zoomer who's going "like dude, like where's the touch screen dude, you know like how am I going to you know like operate this thing you know?".

Whereas the demographic that can actually afford a 60K car is seriously annoyed by this crap.

If anything this decision is just plain right stupid. But then again, Ford names electric minivans Mustangs as well these days, so at least they are consistent in their attempts to destroy Mustang.

 

[SINBUSTER007]

I just noticed some shades of maverick (the mini truck for those not versed)in the passenger side dash.

i have been in the maverick and to me yes all the screens but its not as BOLD as what the mustang is....look at the driver console area...its integrated into the dash. that is what i have been saying all along, its not that i dont like digital...that is the way things are going but for our sakes just make it so it looks like it belongs there, not an after-thought of "oh we forgot something" then just stuck it on. that is how it looks in the mustang now. maverick, escape, bronco, etc....integrated in the dash and it works just fine! i just dont want 2 GIANT ipads looking at me while driving...i think im doing i-racing or something.

 

[Patio208]

Whereas the demographic that can actually afford a 60K car is seriously annoyed by this crap.

You really shouldn't generalize an entire group of people based on your very limited experience. I'll be 41 next month, born in 1981. Technically that makes me a millennial. I've purchased a 2002 GT, 2005 GT, 2016 GT350, and currently a 2020 GT500.

 

[because_murica]

Whereas the demographic that can actually afford a 60K car is seriously annoyed by this crap.

Yea, no.

S650 clearly isn't for you. Move on already.

 

[Hack]

You really shouldn't generalize an entire group of people based on your very limited experience. I'll be 41 next month, born in 1981. Technically that makes me a millennial. I've purchased a 2002 GT, 2005 GT, 2016 GT350, and currently a 2020 GT500.

So are you saying that you've been waiting for this change and you love it? Or just hate generalizations of any kind?

 

[spectremotorsports]

So are you saying that you've been waiting for this change and you love it? Or just hate generalizations of any kind?

Can't speak for the other guy but it's definitely the latter for me. Painting with a broad brush is annoying and occasionally insulting. especially comments like"the demographic that can actually afford a 60K car" and the assumption that every millennial and zoomers syntax is all "like dude, like where's the touch screen dude, you know like how am I going to you know like operate this thing you know?" Conversely it's also a two way street, I don't think all boomers are tech averse

My girlfriends stepfather (61) constantly did this to us with that same dismissive mentality that younger people couldn't possibly have money or any sort of valuable perspective. It grated me to the point I had to remind him that regardless of age, everyone has some sort of valuable or different perspective to offer and furthermore that despite being young I'm in the 93rd percentile of HH incomes, and many of my peers are the same.

 

[Patio208]

So are you saying that you've been waiting for this change and you love it? Or just hate generalizations of any kind?

Just to be clear I'm no "snow flake". anyone here is free to express their opinion without being canceled. But it can be done without being an ass. If you chose to be an ass expect to be called out. My whole argument for Ford following the demographics is in a sense a form of generalization. But it's based on facts and large sample sizes free off one individuals personal bias or negative connotations. The individual I'm referring to comes across as entitled (you know, like they say about Milineals). He's basically playing the victim because the car isn't aimed directly at his wheelhouse of wants or needs. Just express your dislike then move on.

As far as my opinion on the interior. I'm all for digital but I do agree it could've been integrated better. I like the function more than the form. IMO it's just an average looking interior now. Where as the S550 was a modern classic. The best of both worlds.

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