What direction should the next generation mustang styling go in?

[DeluxeStang]

Common everyman/woman core. Nice enough to desire but not so much as to require white gloves just to drive. A common easy design that allows customization. A custom design is difficult to commonize while a common is easy to customize.

the render (^that rear shot) isn’t bad at all but not as a mustang proper. Maybe a raptor but they already made that a package so maybe scorpion or something along those lines

Part of the issue is a lot of us want to see the return of a smaller, more affordable mustang, while others like this larger more upscale direction the mustang has gone in. For a variety of reasons, engineering a tiny gas powered mustang would be more trouble than it's worth. The smaller the car is, the higher the fuel economy standards are, which makes doing small cars with high performance engines that tend to produce higher emissions, it's harder to meet those standards. This is one of the reasons why the mustang has gotten larger, because larger cars have lower emissions targets, so Ford can still keep the V8 around if they make the car larger.

But if the small coupe is an EV, well then meeting emissions is a non issue. Plus costs are lower. The platform is already in development for other vehicles, since it's a skateboard platform, it wouldn't require a ton of engineering work to put a coupe body on top of it. Compared to if Ford made a new smaller gas sports car platform which would essentially have to be created from scratch and would be super expensive. Another reason why we haven't seen a ton of affordable sports coupes in recent years, you just can't make money on a standalone low volume product with a bespoke platform that sells for 25k.

Splitting the mustang into multiple coupes is a bold move, but it could end up paying off if both are well executed.

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[Bear376]

Sorry, but car size has little to do with emission standards or fuel economy regulations. That is why everyone has gone to SUVs, is because they fall under truck standards which is less stringent. This might be part of the reason behind the Mustang Mach E is they found some way to offset the Coyote engine in the regs.

The Mustang has been able to maintain a weight of around 3000 lbs. until the SN95. Even so, it has been getting heavier every generation. Part of it is due to insurance/safety pressure. More rigid chassis and crash bracing, air bags, etc. The original Mustang were hardtops, which means no support for the roof at the rear of the door. To sate the safety gods, all cars now have pillars at the doors to add rollover protection. They install Coyote engines in SN95 Mustangs all the time, so the smaller size is not the issue. The 650 actually has a shorter wheelbase than the 65 Mustang. It is longer overall and taller and wider than the 65.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

Just for the record, Ford has been saying they need to cut weight on the Mustang for the last 3 generations. For whatnever reason it never comes to fruition.

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