Where does the 'brand' go from here?

[IceGamer]

To me it feels like Ford doesn't really know where to go with the 'brand'. We've had rumors regarding a 4door, an off-road and many other iterations but so far we haven't seen anything but vague rumors and most of the are damn old.


They have this very recognizable name that could boost sales on everything that carries the name Mustang but they also have this very limiting platform that is almost 20 years old... The S650 feels like the best possible car Ford could've come up with, given the limited resources. However, to move the brand forward it is incremental that Ford has a plan. Either go the minimal route, stick to the D2C platform, try to improve it further but say goodbye to any meaningful reinvention or go full steam ahead and build something new.

Right now the market for regular cars isn't all that great in the US and Europe but China and other parts of the world still love to buy sedans and estates. Besides, markets change and I assume that somewhat down the line the market for regulars will grow eventually. When Ford releases the next gen Mustang build it on a global platform that is somewhat future proof. If it helps sales build Mustang 4 door, hybrids, sportbacks (estate feat. Coupe like Mercedes CLS or Porsche Panamera) and everything in between but make the halo car a proper 'Mustang' with a lighter NA V8 and manual transmission.

I feel like the S650 is just a gap filler with future iterations being extremely similar to what we already had a couple of years ago with the S550. Maybe we get some new stuff but everything will be limited by the base platform that is used. I predict that the GT500 successor will be another supercharged 5.2L with minimal changes and that real gains aren't easily achievable as long as the Mustang sticks to the old D2C.

I would love for someone to prove me wrong that the future of the 'brand' or even the next S650 variants are exciting.

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[Alan Applegate]

Any decision made by Ford (or any other maker for that matter), are all based on current marketing segments or segments they want to explore. Since the manufactures know a lot more about trends than the general public, any suggestion about where they should go is based on personal bias.

I sort of look at this from a different slant. In the past decade or so, the chassis differences are incremental improvements based on better computerized designs. Like you, I'm weary about any technical leap in the basic chassis' design. I suspect Ford knows this, and I further suspect the incremental increases in horse is one (past) answer to keeping the model selling. There is a limit to these increases, so about the only way to keep the Mustang relevant is to explore other market segments (off-road?), even if it means diluting the model we all love.

Let's be thankful for what we have, albeit fleeting!

 

[Wiley Marmot]

I'm sure Ford will go where ever the synthesis of their their marketing research, bean counting, and golden share determines it will go; regardless of what any of us peasants think or want.

Es macht nichts!

 

[Cz_Ziemniak]

I think the brand should start by getting its shit together and building cars that aren't getting recalled all the time.

 

[Zig]

Ford is the ‘brand’, Mustang is a model.

 

[Gojiras breath]

I think the gt500 will go to an awd model. My past concern is they are moving to porsche capability with porsche pricing. Independant rear suspension is an example of thar. Thats not the affordable mustang we are used to.

 

[Frogdog1]

People will always want "sports cars". "Sports Cars" will never be good enough, no matter how good or bad they really are but some people will always buy them regardless of price.

All "sports car" owners are experts in everything "cars" and the manufacturers will always be incompetent according to their customers and wannabe customers. There is no "good enough" for manufacturers but they will always be building some variant of "sports cars" that people love to criticize and bash, then buy.

"Sports car" makers will always face this dilemma. They will never win with their customers. Their customers will never be satisfied so they will mod their "sports cars" and make them into frankensteins that tend to void warranties and ruin resale, giving customers something else to criticize.

A few people will appreciate their "sports cars" the way they were intended to be from the manufacturer, however. There will never be any such thing as an "affordable sports car", therefore, people that don't have enough money to buy a "sports car" will always call "sports cars", "over-priced" as they continuously whine about prices while not saving money, earning much money, improving earning power, or planning for what they want. It will always be a matter of priorities with potential customers.

It's always been that way and always will be that way.

 

[SmoothButter]

Wasn’t there a rumor were going to make Mustang its own brand? Like how corvette is planning to become its own brand?

I may be outdated but I thought I read that a while back

 

[Frogdog1]

Wasn’t there a rumor were going to make Mustang its own brand? Like how corvette is planning to become its own brand?

I may be outdated but I thought I read that a while back

Could be but the infrastructure to support the brand would be huge. RAM has tried that with limited success at best.

 

[Q6543]

The company was firmly set on going fully electric and is now shuffling and back peddling from the backlash pendulum swing.

beyond the rumored vehicles you listed, the company itself has to still make a decision what they’re gonna do moving forward (they really REALLY were planning for EV)

so maybe a refresh but likely the same S650 with different colors and variants is all there will be for the foreseeable future
They still want full EV into the mid 2030s

 

[Alan Applegate]

Making Mustang its own brand did have some tax advantages, I don't think that is the case nowadays. Perhaps a few CPAs here can comment on that issue? Although, isn't that essentially what Ford did when they made the 'electric' Ford division apart from the Ford 'ICE' division?

 

[NuclearDiode]

Priority one should be getting a new CEO. As the leader of the company, if you have a CEO that doesn’t know the products, the company is doomed to fail. Imagine slapping on a supercharger on your EcoBoost F-150. In the world of Jim Farley anything is possible, I guess.

“My daughter’s boyfriend is one of these people. He bought a brand new F-150, he’s got a supercharger on it. He recently got a bunch of error codes because he updated the ECU against Ford’s standards, and now he needs thousands of dollars of expensive repairs because the vehicle has started chewing its camshaft. It was great that he could get 650 horsepower out of his EcoBoost F-150. He didn’t think about what he was doing to the reliability of the vehicle, but we have to at Ford.”

 

[DeluxeStang]

What I'd personally love to see is ford to introduce more mustang models where each one can excel in a particular area, and be less compromised. Mustang enthusiasts want so many different, yet contradictory things. Some people want the mustang to be smaller, lighter, more nimble, others want it to be the same size it is or even a bit bigger to have a usable rear seat and more cargo space. Some want 60s, design, others 80s/90s, and others still something completely modern. Some want the mustang to keep pushing the limits of performance and tech, others long for the days of a slower, but more affordable mustang.

Ford can't do all of this with a single car, but they can please most of these people with multiple mustang models.

- Starting with the coupe, keep the timeless 60s look, keep the V8 and manual, but make it look even more attractive to justify the higher prices we're seeing with mustang's now. I've often said something like a 1967 gt 500 with Aston Martin proportions and surfacing would be great.

- A sedan, also with a V8, sharing the platform with the coupe to drastically improve cost efficient. Something that looks and drives similar to the coupe but with more interior space. Potentially appealing to not just enthusiasts, but police fleets who want to replace aging chargers.

- Mach-e move it over to this new affordable EV platform which apparently is the most cost efficient, innovative EV platform to date, genuinely impressive, and a great base for making EVs more affordable, but also more profitable to produce. Evolve the design slightly to make it even more muscular.

- A white space hatchback based on that same affordable EV platform. Something that sells for sub 30 grand, with 250-300 hp. A hatchback shape for added practicality, and it differentiates it from the V8 coupe even more. Give it fox body styling cues. The mustang for young people lusting after truly affordable fun new cars, something that revisits the mustang's roots. Cool looking, fun to drive, super easy to mod, and so affordable basically anyone can afford one.

- A mustang supercar. That's the GTD currently but I'm thinking more in line with a mid-engine supercar, something that takes this idea of a high performance exotic mustang and pushes it way past what the GTD did.

5 models, all doing a different job. You got affordable, you got super high performance, 60s design, 80s design, exotic futuristic design, hatchback, coupe, sedan, crossover, super car, EV, V8, hybrid. Whatever you want a mustang to be, you can get within reason.

 

[dmwphoto]

I personally think the "brand" is quite healthy

 

[LouG]

I would love for someone to prove me wrong that the future of the 'brand' or even the next S650 variants are exciting.

No one can prove the future to you. It's why it's called future.From the latin for "to be" or "going to be"
And I'm grateful, there are things we don't need to know until they happen.

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