The new dashboard is a big mistake IMO

[Stonehauler]

My first introduction to a digital dash (and automatic shoulder belts) was a 1985 Toyota Cressida.

As you can see, this was very much a design of the 80s, but back then, it was very different from anything coming out of almost anywhere outside a TV studio. One of the biggest problems was that it was hard to tell if the lights were on in the car because the difference in brightness wasn't that much.

That said, consumers have been pushing Ford for more tech in their cars over decades, and Ford has responded. The new design gives you choices. Something you never had in previous generations. I am hoping it will give you options to display the information you want to see, not just what the original engineers thought 90 percent of the people needed to see. Example: Some cars today don't even have a Tach. Why is it needed when there is no manual option?

I mean, come on. How many of you would be willing to give up power windows? To some, that's unneeded tech, but for others...probably most of the US buyers, a manual window would be a deal killer. What about power seats? I know some people that won't even look at a Mustang because the seats don't have power adjustments for the angle of the seat back, much less some of the multi-contour seat adjustments some manufacturers have these days.

This is a change. To my personal knowledge, we have been having people complain about changes in the Mustang since the late 60s. Mustang II had it's detractors. Fox bodied Mustangs are considered nostalgic to some, boxes as as ugly as sin to others. Just go look at the 6g and 7g forums and you will see tons of people complaining about how the new generation of Mustang is ugly as they should not have changed it. Others have loved each of those changes. Let's hope that Ford makes use of these screens and lets us customize it for what we want/need to see and not just different shapes and colors.

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[SINBUSTER007]

for me its not about the tech per say...i know that is the future. you cannot stop that. what gets me is they put 0% into the design element.... lets just create a shelf and set a huge tv on top and call it a day.... that's the issue with me. seems they put thought into just about every other aspect of the car except that. i think it would have been fine if they found a way to keep it looking "like a mustang" and adding the digital screens incorporated into a dash that people would look at and like. not just the shelf and screen i mentioned above.
but in a few years we wont be driving anyway....everything will be autonomous....
so who cares then.

 

[Bikeman315]

what gets me is they put 0% into the design element.... lets just create a shelf and set a huge tv on top and call it a day.... that's the issue with me. seems they put thought into just about every other aspect of the car except that. i think it would have been fine if they found a way to keep it looking "like a mustang" and adding the digital screens incorporated into a dash that people would look at and like. not just the shelf and screen i mentioned above.

I can tell you from having conversations with one of Mustang's interior designers that this 100% not true. An unbelievable amount of time, effort, and sweat equity go into every single design. That doesn't change just because you do not like it. Designs also evolve from the original sketches to final production. A lot of people have a say in this, not just the original designer.

Now as far as "looking" like a Mustang. OK, maybe, but times and the Mustang change, just look at the dashboards from every single manufacturer. There is a theme that runs through almost every single one of them. Some better, for a lack of a better word, some worse. But for right now we got what we got.

 

[shogun32]

I can tell you from having conversations with one of Mustang's interior designers that this 100% not true. An unbelievable amount of time, effort, and sweat quit go into every single design.

unfortuately for them, effort != success, let alone customer (happy) adoption. VW spent $$$$$ on their dumb-ass haptic and contact switches too. And they are getting crucified in the press.

 

[Ace]

Looks a lot like the new Mustang.

See my ealier post, it' s really the modern copycat every single carmaker uses.

Either the car industry only has one interior designer overall, or they all are must be very creative

 

[Qcman17]

Am I the only one who's OCD is tingling at the thought of passengers touching the screen with grimy fingers on their side of the dash now?

 

[Bikeman315]

Am I the only one who's OCD is tingling at the thought of passengers touching the screen with grimy fingers on their side of the dash now?

No!

 

[Tonystark]

Maybe I missed them, but are there any photos from behind?

 

[ay1820]

I can tell you from having conversations with one of Mustang's interior designers that this 100% not true. An unbelievable amount of time, effort, and sweat equity go into every single design. That doesn't change just because you do not like it. Designs also evolve from the original sketches to final production. A lot of people have a say in this, not just the original designer.

One of the groups that also has a say is the bean counters. Sometimes we end up with what started great during the concept stage going horribly wrong during design development phases because of compromises made in the name of cost cutting, but by then it is often too late to go back and start over.

 

[Bikeman315]

One of the groups that also has a say is the bean counters. Sometimes we end up with what started great during the concept stage going horribly wrong during design development phases because of compromises made in the name of cost cutting, but by then it is often too late to go back and start over.

Oh yes, that definitely happens. Hopefully they can meet somewhere in the middle. In the case of the S650 you may not like the design but it certainly doesn't look cheap. Those that saw it in person all sold the same thing.

 

[Qcman17]

One of the groups that also has a say is the bean counters. Sometimes we end up with what started great during the concept stage going horribly wrong during design development phases because of compromises made in the name of cost cutting, but by then it is often too late to go back and start over.

If the bean counters had their way it would have twin Etch-a-Sketches........

 

[DarthMalice]

If I were king for a day, the current digital display would have come over, the current screen would have been increased a bit by removing the physical audio buttons and cd player; the physical a/c controls would have stayed put; the physical toggle row would have been pulled over and expanded except it would have been enabled with up and down functionality, been offered only in the subdued color the GT500 has, and this would have been the row: start button, hazard, mode, suspension, exhaust, steering, and traction control. I guess you could point the whole thing a bit toward the driver like the new one. I really don't understand this obsession with screen hell for everything.

 

[bloominguez]

If the bean counters had their way it would have twin Etch-a-Sketches........

https://dilbert.com/strip/1995-04-03

 

[Ericc B]

what gets me is they put 0% into the design element.... lets just create a shelf and set a huge tv on top and call it a day.... that's the issue with me

Exactly.

An unbelievable amount of time, effort, and sweat equity go into every single design.

As long as the base of the design is completely wrong (a shelf with two tablets stuck to it) then you can spend a quadzillion hours of time and effort on it and you still end up with a shit product.

It's a sad day in history when you cannot tell a Mustang dash from that of a Chevy Silverado anymore.

 

[Ace]

It's a sad day in history when you cannot tell a Mustang dash from that of a Chevy Silverado anymore.

The Silverado integrated the digital stuff greatly into a classic Silverado themed dashboard though

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