The new dashboard is a big mistake IMO

[ay1820]

A small sampling of a much larger one? Lol that's not how statistics work. Your circle of friends and family may not like it, but I'd be willing to bet the greater market does and Ford has calculated that

Having been in the consumer goods industry for over 16 years, I do know that marketing focus groups can get it wrong. BUT, I will bet that on something as critical as this, Ford did a pretty broad study with multiple focus groups and they have strong reason to believe that the concept will be a success with their overall target market.

Where things can (and often do) go wrong is AFTER a winning concept is selected, the bean counters force changes in the name of cost cutting that end up ruining key aspects of the original design.

Like it or not (and I know most here - including myself - do NOT), the tablet style dash is "in" right now (thank you Tesla and Elon Musk ), I suspect we will see more and more of it over the next few years until the next "new" thing comes along.

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[OppoLock]

Having been in the consumer goods industry for over 16 years, I do know that marketing focus groups can get it wrong. BUT, I will bet that on something as critical as this, Ford did a pretty broad study with multiple focus groups and they have strong reason to believe that the concept will be a success with their overall target market.

Where things can (and often do) go wrong is AFTER a winning concept is selected, the bean counters force changes in the name of cost cutting that end up ruining key aspects of the original design.

Like it or not (and I know most here - including myself - do NOT), the tablet style dash is "in" right now (thank you Tesla and Elon Musk ), I suspect we will see more and more of it over the next few years until the next "new" thing comes along.

Probably an easier sell for them to say there’s a video game engine in the dash instead of dumping millions into nailing down the damping of an A/C or volume knob.

 

[ay1820]

Probably an easier sell for them to say there’s a video game engine in the dash instead of dumping millions into nailing down the damping of an A/C or volume knob.

Sad to say, but I think you are right on the money there!

 

[Tonystark]

A small sampling of a much larger one? Lol that's not how statistics work. Your circle of friends and family may not like it, but I'd be willing to bet the greater market does and Ford has calculated that

Agreed; however, not all marketing choices, even for a giant like Ford, comes out as expected. I am 'hoping' my small sampling is a tiny crumb of a much larger piece.

 

[ay1820]

Agreed; however, not all marketing choices, even for a giant like Ford, comes out as expected. I am 'hoping' my small sampling is a tiny crumb of a much larger piece.

Be careful what you wish for. If the S650 turns into a flop because everyone hates the interior it may just hasten the demise of ICE Mustangs altogether.

 

[because_murica]

Ford needs to fire people for this egregious mistake. In my orbit of friends, family and co-workers, the VAST majority do not like the dash. Two of them own Mustangs. Small sampling, yes, but a small sampling of a much, much larger one?.... Maybe. I know, Ford doesn't care, I get it; however, they should, and rethink this whole dash and change it a couple years down the road ... IMO.

Ford doesn't care, we don't care, move on to another hobby already. No one should get fired over this. Do you hear how insane you sound?

 

[GT 550]

Ford doesn't care, we don't care, move on to another hobby already. No one should get fired over this. Do you hear how insane you sound?

Whoa dude chill, why the angst? The poster is just expressing an opinion - '...IMO' - about the dash in a thread about...the dash. It may not be the same as yours. That's ok isn't it?

As for 'we don't care' which 'we' is it that you're representing?

 

[RTFM]

With the Unreal engine powering all of that, Ford should finish the job and offer the option for a third dash on the left. Then the S650 can be used with a PS5 for external display, controller and realistic surround sound when playing Grand Turismo 7.

That’s the only sane explanation, given all the R&D investments in drift e-brake and stuff.

 

[Hack]

My wife just bought a Bronco sport. It has the ipad stuck on the dash look with the center screen. We both like it.

I prefer having the screen be a separate entity rather than raising the entire dash up around the screen and having a massive dash surrounding the screen and blocking my view.

I have never bought a Mustang based on the dash. I usually buy based on the engine or performance information. I will be surprised if this dash would change my decision one way or the other. It's surprising to me that this thread is going for 29 pages and people are so passionate about dashes. Maybe it's just because we don't have enough performance/engine info about the car yet.

I do think that getting rid of the physical controls was a big mistake by Ford and that is a con for the new Mustang as far as I'm concerned.

 

[bloominguez]

Statistically insignificant tbh. Even all of these threads feature massive selection bias considering it’s largely the most vocal and passionate repeating the same discourse amongst themselves.

Your average consumer buying a Mustang might love it, we don’t know, but that’s why we’re not working for Ford and analyzing buyer decisions for a living.

I don't disagree with this, but this overall trend is a perfect illustration of corporate followship (a term I've coined while working for such large companies) versus real leadership. You do not get great products by surveying the average customer. You get great products by sticking to a vision, I daresay by listening to the "vocal and passionate" minority.

I get why Ford is doing it (following trends, cost, etc.). But what's the use in making a Mustang that apes EVs, but doesn't do it as well? If people want screens like this, they are probably the same people, by and large, who want an EV. I think there is a niche for cars that retain their analog nature, and I'm in the camp that thinks the Mustang should embrace that.

 

[Tonystark]

Ford doesn't care, we don't care, move on to another hobby already. No one should get fired over this. Do you hear how insane you sound?

Insane for having an opinion? Really man? Then so are you, the 'WE' you speak about, and everyone else on this entire planet, for that matter. "My 7G forum name is because_murica, and I am insane." Welcome to IA ... lol.

 

[because_murica]

Insane for having an opinion? Really man? Then so are you, the 'WE' you speak about, and everyone else on this entire planet, for that matter. "My 7G forum name is because_murica, and I am insane." Welcome to IA ... lol.

Insane for suggesting someone should lose their job over the new dash. Hate it? Fine. But no one should lose their livelihood because an incredibly small sample size of people don't like it. That's crazy, extremist talk.

 

[OppoLock]

My wife just bought a Bronco sport. It has the ipad stuck on the dash look with the center screen. We both like it.

I prefer having the screen be a separate entity rather than raising the entire dash up around the screen and having a massive dash surrounding the screen and blocking my view.

I have never bought a Mustang based on the dash. I usually buy based on the engine or performance information. I will be surprised if this dash would change my decision one way or the other. It's surprising to me that this thread is going for 29 pages and people are so passionate about dashes. Maybe it's just because we don't have enough performance/engine info about the car yet.

I do think that getting rid of the physical controls was a big mistake by Ford and that is a con for the new Mustang as far as I'm concerned.

This is definitely the biggest benefit of having screens slotted on top. I get moist about low-set, horizontal, airy dashes.

Like for instance, the latest MK8 Golf and 11th Gen Civic. At least aesthetically speaking, love that stuff.

The only other OEM that integrates their screens and maintains this airy horizontal look is Porsche AFAIK.

 

[shogun32]

Be careful what you wish for. If the S650 turns into a flop because everyone hates the interior it may just hasten the demise of ICE Mustangs altogether.

given the heavy foot of gov't on the throat of the auto industry you may not be wrong. But that's not going to inspire me to reward Ford with a sale of a car with a hideous interior. IMO the S650 sales numbers will be horrible beyond any expectation because of "The Economy, Stupid" (too expensive, >5% financing) and that signal will be impossible to separate from those that don't buy because the design inside and/or outside is simply unacceptable.

 

[OppoLock]

I don't disagree with this, but this overall trend is a perfect illustration of corporate followship (a term I've coined while working for such large companies) versus real leadership. You do not get great products by surveying the average customer. You get great products by sticking to a vision, I daresay by listening to the "vocal and passionate" minority.

I get why Ford is doing it (following trends, cost, etc.). But what's the use in making a Mustang that apes EVs, but doesn't do it as well? If people want screens like this, they are probably the same people, by and large, who want an EV. I think there is a niche for cars that retain their analog nature, and I'm in the camp that thinks the Mustang should embrace that.

I'm all for preserving my HVAC and volume controls as much as the rest of the enthusiast crowd, but I don't think the move to mass-integrate everything into dominating screens is an EV-only thing at this point. If we want to see any change, realistically, it would have to be in the form of poor sales and outward criticism of these choices from the customer base and the industry journalists.

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