407cid
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I can't speak for all Mustang enthusiasts, but for me the V8 engine is pretty much the core of this car. The way the V8 engine sounds, the way it feels when you rev through the RPM band, the way it looks when you pop the hood, its perfect marriage with a manual transmission, the ability to dream about mixing/matching different custom engine parts: for me, all these elements are at the heart of the Mustang experience.
And, yet, here we are now facing a very real possibility that this essential element of the Mustang experience will soon be killed off. I think back to the late '80s when Ford was talking of converting the Mustang into what became the front-wheel-drive Ford Probe. Thankfully, the Mustang was saved from this fate because Mustang enthusiasts spoke up and let their voices be known to Ford. So, then it hit me, are Mustang enthusiasts trying to do the same thing today to help save the V8 engine?
I suppose it's no secret to many members of this forum what's driving this push to eliminate the V8 engine. Sure, there is more than one factor at play, but the greatest factor by far is the next set of government emissions regulations. If you read through what the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is proposing for their Advanced Clear Cars II rulemaking (<https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/regact/2022/accii/notice.pdf>), if you consider Executive Orders coming out of the White House (<https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing...-leadership-forward-on-clean-cars-and-trucks/>), it becomes rather clear that our political leaders intend to force battery-electric vehicles (BEV) onto the American driver. I might be in the minority among enthusiasts in that I'm actually quite onboard with efforts to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions like CO2. What I'm NOT at all onboard with is accomplishing this by mandating battery-electric vehicles and banning competing technologies. Why? Because battery-electric is not the only solution for attaining these goals. Rather, when you consider life cycle assessment (LCA) emissions, BEV dependence on raw materials sourced from unfriendly countries, BEV year-over-year driving range loss, and even how BEV adoption will very likely lead to fewer domestic auto industry jobs, I would say that renewable fuel (hydrogen, synfuel, e-fuel, biofuel) internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles absolutely need to also play a key role in cleaning up transportation sector emissions. Yet, CARB has made their intention of pushing for ICE bans clear. What's more, given how the current Administration's EPA has vocally expressed praise for what California is doing, I fear a nation-wide ban may not be far behind.
So, what's a V8 Mustang enthusiast to do? I hope I'm not the only one who has wondered this, and has given serious thought on how to better advocate for saving these cars. Personally, I have already contacted Ford to express pretty much what I've summarized here. I do hope other enthusiasts are doing the same. Of course, at some point, Ford can only do so much when regulators literally seek to ban certain technologies, even environmentally friendly technologies like hydrogen and synfuel ICE. The next round of EPA regulations is still in a state of flux, but I'm afraid time is running out when it comes to the CARB Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) regulation which seeks to ban cars like the V8 Mustang. CARB's ACC II regulation is set to mandate that 80% of new cars sold in California and other CARB states be battery-electric by 2035. The remaining 20% may be plug-in hybrid-electric, but this of course reduces the ICE to serving as nothing more than an onboard generator. Note it's highly unlikely that any automaker would consider equipping a car like the Mustang with a V8 engine if this engine can only serve as a generator. The public hearing for CARB's Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) rulemaking is set for June 9, 2022. Up until May 31, 2022, public comments can be sent to CARB per the following link: <https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/applications/public-comments>. Whether you live in California, a CARB state, or a non-CARB state, I strongly encourage you to make your voice heard. I know we're not all residents of California or CARB states, but CARB regulations still have tremendous effect on deciding which cars the entire country can and cannot buy. Personally, I will be respectfully making my stance known to CARB. My plan is to request that at least a fraction of new cars may still be sold as pure ICE vehicles or mild-hybrid vehicles on the condition that the ICE be fueled by renewables such as synfuels or hydrogen. If CARB can make for this allowance, I do think there will be very real hope that the V8 Mustang can live on.
What does everyone think? Am I on to something here, or am I just wasting my time? I know I want to believe that "little people" like us can at least get some say in matters like this, especially if there is a strong case to be made regarding what we're advocating. I do think the case is strong. Per LCA emissions studies and mineral resource studies coming from both the auto industry and independent research institutes, there is good reason to anticipate that making the entire automotive fleet battery-electric and only battery-electric will cause at least as many problems as it seeks to solve, environmental problems included. Pursuing an "all the above" approach which not only pushes battery-electric, but also renewable fuel ICE, would seem to be the real optimum for environmental sustainability. Of course, central to why we're on this forum, there's the added benefit that regulator approval of renewable fuel ICE could keep cars like the V8 Mustang alive for generations to come.
- 407cid
And, yet, here we are now facing a very real possibility that this essential element of the Mustang experience will soon be killed off. I think back to the late '80s when Ford was talking of converting the Mustang into what became the front-wheel-drive Ford Probe. Thankfully, the Mustang was saved from this fate because Mustang enthusiasts spoke up and let their voices be known to Ford. So, then it hit me, are Mustang enthusiasts trying to do the same thing today to help save the V8 engine?
I suppose it's no secret to many members of this forum what's driving this push to eliminate the V8 engine. Sure, there is more than one factor at play, but the greatest factor by far is the next set of government emissions regulations. If you read through what the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is proposing for their Advanced Clear Cars II rulemaking (<https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/regact/2022/accii/notice.pdf>), if you consider Executive Orders coming out of the White House (<https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing...-leadership-forward-on-clean-cars-and-trucks/>), it becomes rather clear that our political leaders intend to force battery-electric vehicles (BEV) onto the American driver. I might be in the minority among enthusiasts in that I'm actually quite onboard with efforts to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions like CO2. What I'm NOT at all onboard with is accomplishing this by mandating battery-electric vehicles and banning competing technologies. Why? Because battery-electric is not the only solution for attaining these goals. Rather, when you consider life cycle assessment (LCA) emissions, BEV dependence on raw materials sourced from unfriendly countries, BEV year-over-year driving range loss, and even how BEV adoption will very likely lead to fewer domestic auto industry jobs, I would say that renewable fuel (hydrogen, synfuel, e-fuel, biofuel) internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles absolutely need to also play a key role in cleaning up transportation sector emissions. Yet, CARB has made their intention of pushing for ICE bans clear. What's more, given how the current Administration's EPA has vocally expressed praise for what California is doing, I fear a nation-wide ban may not be far behind.
So, what's a V8 Mustang enthusiast to do? I hope I'm not the only one who has wondered this, and has given serious thought on how to better advocate for saving these cars. Personally, I have already contacted Ford to express pretty much what I've summarized here. I do hope other enthusiasts are doing the same. Of course, at some point, Ford can only do so much when regulators literally seek to ban certain technologies, even environmentally friendly technologies like hydrogen and synfuel ICE. The next round of EPA regulations is still in a state of flux, but I'm afraid time is running out when it comes to the CARB Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) regulation which seeks to ban cars like the V8 Mustang. CARB's ACC II regulation is set to mandate that 80% of new cars sold in California and other CARB states be battery-electric by 2035. The remaining 20% may be plug-in hybrid-electric, but this of course reduces the ICE to serving as nothing more than an onboard generator. Note it's highly unlikely that any automaker would consider equipping a car like the Mustang with a V8 engine if this engine can only serve as a generator. The public hearing for CARB's Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II) rulemaking is set for June 9, 2022. Up until May 31, 2022, public comments can be sent to CARB per the following link: <https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/applications/public-comments>. Whether you live in California, a CARB state, or a non-CARB state, I strongly encourage you to make your voice heard. I know we're not all residents of California or CARB states, but CARB regulations still have tremendous effect on deciding which cars the entire country can and cannot buy. Personally, I will be respectfully making my stance known to CARB. My plan is to request that at least a fraction of new cars may still be sold as pure ICE vehicles or mild-hybrid vehicles on the condition that the ICE be fueled by renewables such as synfuels or hydrogen. If CARB can make for this allowance, I do think there will be very real hope that the V8 Mustang can live on.
What does everyone think? Am I on to something here, or am I just wasting my time? I know I want to believe that "little people" like us can at least get some say in matters like this, especially if there is a strong case to be made regarding what we're advocating. I do think the case is strong. Per LCA emissions studies and mineral resource studies coming from both the auto industry and independent research institutes, there is good reason to anticipate that making the entire automotive fleet battery-electric and only battery-electric will cause at least as many problems as it seeks to solve, environmental problems included. Pursuing an "all the above" approach which not only pushes battery-electric, but also renewable fuel ICE, would seem to be the real optimum for environmental sustainability. Of course, central to why we're on this forum, there's the added benefit that regulator approval of renewable fuel ICE could keep cars like the V8 Mustang alive for generations to come.
- 407cid
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