The new dashboard is a big mistake IMO

[DRB]

Those that don't care that it looks a lot like other dashboards also don't care about the classic integrity & pedigree of the Mustang. That is just sad.

Not so.

That's as silly as saying that those who are insistent that this design somehow doesn't respect the "classic integrity & pedigree" are just pretending that all the previous Mustangs that didn't employ the exact same three or four design tropes were somehow "not real Mustangs."

That's probably not so, either.

It's one thing to have favorite features about particular generations of Mustangs. It's another to claim that only those particular models count.

I mean, I've seen folks lamenting the abandonment of the black decklid panel as if that's somehow real significant to the design lineage.

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[ammoman]

I am a software engineer, so I love screens! I have the digital dash in my '19 GT and I love it.

However, my two functional gripes with the new dash are:

1. Glare - Having a dash that high up and forward without any hood, you are going to get glare on it. You can even see glare from various photos online. (attached is one of them)

2. Distance to driver - the closer the screen is to your head, the more you have to refocus your eyes to see it. And someone like me who doesn't have great vision close up, it gets even harder. That is why I was REALLY hoping they would add a HUD to it. Then speed and RPM could be see much easier without needing to refocus on a screen so close to my eyes.

 

[DRB]

Those are fair objections.

It took me a while to get used to some of the odd reflections on my 2020 digital display, in low light. I thought some odd artifacts were built into the screen that are actually just reflections of the housing.

 

[Ericc B]

1. Glare

I can't help but wonder about the amount of glare you're going to have in a convertible with the top down.

And all this just to follow some stupid modernistic fad. The S550 dash has a perfect glare free housing for the digital instrument cluster and could have easily be adapted to house a 2 inch larger media screen. Problem solved and all that new graphic UI software could still have been used. But no, we are Ford where we have no clue what our target group is and where we like to create problems for ourselves.

 

[DRB]

It's not clear that a lot of folks here know who Ford's target group is.

The level and intensity of angst about the design on this board is wildly out of sync with the level of skepticism about it on the rest of the web. The most that can fairly be said about the overall reaction to it is:

• Well, that's a departure, I'm not sure I like it; and
• Oh look, Fox-Body gauges! Cute!

 

[Bikeman315]

Those that don't care that it looks a lot like other dashboards also don't care about the classic integrity & pedigree of the Mustang. That is just sad.

You know that you come off as a total AH with this comment. You are entitled to your opinion but please do not try and speak for those of us who do not share it. By the way Mustang fan since 1964.

 

[Twin Turbo]

We're likely all huge Mustang enthusiasts, otherwise we wouldn't be on a forum like this. And being passionate means we sweat the details of what makes a Mustang a Mustang.......to us. I get it, and as I've said before this is NOT how I'd have done the interior......especially as it appears even though these screens look generic, I believe they are bespoke to the Mustang, so they could have gone with a more "classic" approach and given us a mild update of what we already had. That's what I would have preferred.

However, it is what it is, no matter how disappointed we may be. Will Ford hear us? Probably. Will it change what we get in future facelifts (if we're lucky enough to get them)? Probably not.

Rather like the Mach E. I was mad at Ford for branding it a Mustang. But they did, and whether I liked it or not it WAS a Mustang because Ford said it was. Accepting that means my stress levels are no longer what they were.

 

[Qcman17]

For me I have come around a lot more to the car both outside and inside. I didn't like the 18 refresh front end but bought it anyways and now I think it looks great! I tend to be slow to like things but I usually will after a bit of time. Oddly enough, if I like something right away I will often grow to dislike it. :shrugs

 

[Tonystark]

You know that you come off as a total AH with this comment. You are entitled to your opinion but please do not try and speak for those of us who do not share it. By the way Mustang fan since 1964.

If I am entitled to my opinion, like you said, then that shouldn't make me an AH. Only an AH calls someone an AH just because they have an opinion. There are a lot of comments that are more 'negative' on the dash than mine is in both forums. Personally, I believe the dash layout will be changed for the better and be more integrated in 2 years, by the 2026 arrivals IMO.

 

[Bikeman315]

If I am entitled to my opinion, like you said, then that shouldn't make me an AH. Only an AH calls someone an AH just because they have an opinion. There are a lot of comments that are more 'negative' on the dash than mine is in both forums. Personally, I believe the dash layout will be changed for the better and be more integrated in 2 years, by the 2026 arrivals IMO.

I would never say anything derogatory to someone for expressing their opinion. But where I take issue is when that opinion is projected onto others. By all means tell me your thoughts, I’d love to hear them. That said, please do not assume that those of us who do not agree with your opinion somehow love our Mustangs and their history less than you.

Sorry TT, I’ll leave it at this.

 

[shogun32]

The level and intensity of angst about the design on this board is wildly out of sync with the level of skepticism about it on the rest of the web.

cooing over eye-candy != sales. Plus we know that the unwashed masses don't know what they want anyway. And unlikely to buy a Mustang either.

We'll find out in 2025 if the S650 changed the trajectory of sales, or worse if it managed to steepen the decline. I'm guessing the latter, unfortunately.

 

[because_murica]

Damn. Ya'll really don't have anything else to talk about. 18 pages of the same shit over and over

 

[Tonystark]

Not so.

That's as silly as saying that those who are insistent that this design somehow doesn't respect the "classic integrity & pedigree" are just pretending that all the previous Mustangs that didn't employ the exact same three or four design tropes were somehow "not real Mustangs."

That's probably not so, either.

It's one thing to have favorite features about particular generations of Mustangs. It's another to claim that only those particular models count.

I mean, I've seen folks lamenting the abandonment of the black decklid panel as if that's somehow real significant to the design lineage.

Everything you just said is nonsense and has zero to do with my previous opinion. Mustangs have had their own personality since '64 and having a dash board that shares its look with other cars is a step several rungs down, therefore; the integrity and pedigree gets muddied and out of focus.

 

[shogun32]

Damn. Ya'll really don't have anything else to talk about. 18 pages of the same shit over and over

there's this nifty "ignore thread" button at the top of the page, just sayin'.

This is the 'hate' thread. Just be happy we're not x-posting into the love-fest thread(s).

 

[Mazman]

I like it, something fresh and who gives a sheit about how the interior looked 1973 and if this is true to that or not, wonder if the Ferrari folks are bitching(pardon my french) about the interiors in the newer models do not look like the 80s ditos

But ffs the door panels and the armrest/cup holders could have been updated

Thread can be closed now

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