2015 Ford Mustang - General Discussion

[CodeRedR51]

According to a writer for the Wall Street Journal, Ford will be ditching the retro styling for the new Mustang and it will very closely resemble the EVOS concept from the Geneva Motor Show.

My opinion: I think it will be hard (for me at least) to see another Mustang that doesn't look like the classic.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/16/next-ford-mustang-to-ditch-retro-look-in-favor-of-futuristic-evo/

Matt Ramsey from The Wall Street Journal claims that the next-generation Ford Mustang will be ditching its '60s-inspired retro styling. Citing people familiar with Ford's plans who have seen the new Mustang, Ramsey claims the new model will look more like the 2013 Fusion and be a dead ringer for the Evos concept car that debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show last fall.

 

[GranTurismo916]

Fusion-Mustang...?

 

[Slash]

I new this a while ago. Its an all new design, yet they say it still needs to look like a Mustang.

 

[RocZX]

So the next Mustang will be a coupe version of the Fusion ?

I bet it will not even have a V8.

 

[ND4SPD]

Oh god, they're gonna turn it into the Probe that they wanted to back in the 90's! Do not want!

 

[CodeRedR51]

So the next Mustang will be a coupe version of the Fusion ?

I bet it will not even have a V8.

I would almost bet the base model will be Ecoboost 2.0.

 

[Tornado]

I can buy that they are going to move away from retro-esque things since it would make them stand out better when Chevy and Dodge are also doing it, but they aren't going to turn it into a Fusion coupe; and other than maybe sharing some elements in the front end it certainly isn't going to look anything like the Evos either unless they want a repeat of the backlash they got in the 90s.

 

[ND4SPD]

We all know what the next fusion is gonna look like, so like a baby Aston Martin-ish looking car?

 

[1241Penguin]

What's the point of even calling it a Mustang anymore?

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

A retro mustang didn't exist until 2005. The design was a continous evolution until that point, with each design leading into the next. I was never a fan of the retro move and prefer the looks of the new edge cars to that of the 2005-2013 cars. Additionally, the SN197 cars are just far too bulky looking. Puffed up.

Look at the lines of the new edge, albeit in Saleen SR trim:

Very purposeful looking. I hope they go back to that quality.

 

[ND4SPD]

Always loved the new edge terminators too. They just look so badass.

 

[Exorcet]

According to a writer for the Wall Street Journal, Ford will be ditching the retro styling

Finally, now it will have the looks to go with the recent performance gains, though I admit the latest versions look much, much better than the '05 cars which I will always see as awful.

Early/Mid 2000's Mustangs were quite nice looking.

 

[CodeRedR51]

I think that pictured Saleen looks like crap to be honest. The stock bodied car looks better. I love the look of the new retro design, I never liked any of the designs after the 60's. The new designs just scream "Mustang" which is how it should be.

 

[Keef]

DEAD RINGER I TELL YOU WHAT.

 

[SuperShouden]

I hope they don't ditch the retro styling until 2015. 2014 will be Mustang's 50th Anniversary, and I'm hoping they do something cool for it. After that, then they can be stupid.

 

[shmogt]

That retro styling and that whole design even before is what makes them sell. People want to have a muscle car. However those I think '99 models or the ones that weren't retro were ok. With the mustang badge its pretty easy to totally ruin it but they kept it alive this long I got hope that whatever they do next will still look nice.

 

[hawkeye122]

Ford Thinker "So, people like the Classic-esque styling more than the garbage we made from 1975-2004, lets try that again."

Are they stupid? The 2013 Mustang looks like a great evolution of the 06-07 one. I think they should evolve the one they have rather than making... whatever that is...

On the other hand... If the new Fusion looks like an Aston Martin front end... that means the new Mustang MAY look a bit... V8 Vantage-ey?

 

[1241Penguin]

Given that the 2013 Mustang is already a great looking car, it'd make no sense at all for the new Mustang to have a complete make-over. Ask any Mustang enthusiast who hasn't seen this new concept, and I'd bet you that most of them wouldn't be able to tell that is a actually a Mustang.

Evolution, Ford, not revolution.

 

[homeforsummer]

This is pretty much the reaction I expected when I first heard the story, and I'm in two minds about it.

On the one hand - The Mustang looks great at the moment, probably the best shape it's been since the 1960s. As an example of retro styling, it's a good'un - the proportions are right, it has the right details but dragged into the modern age, and the current models even drive well.

On the other - Just how far can you go with retro styling? We're at a stage where there are several vehicles on the market that crib so much from the past that there's only so far they can go before the vehicles no longer look retro anyway - think Fiat 500, MINI, Beetle, Camaro, Challenger and Mustang. How many times can you tweak this and that before the design looks either so convoluted it no longer looks like the original, or before the designer simply gets stuck and can update it no longer?

This I think is the difficulty Ford is facing. The Mustang is an icon, and the current one is a pretty good facsimile of the original. But design-wise, where is left to go?

Much as some of the current crop of retro cars is designed pretty well, retro design is incredibly lazy. It's plundering from the past rather than looking to the future, and the buying public lap it up because they're often under the impression that everything was somehow better in the past (I'm guilty of it myself - I'm an absolute sucker for 1950s Americana). But retro also has a limited shelf-life - it's only popular until people move on to the next big thing. Case in point: PT Cruiser. Or Plymouth Prowler. Or even the first New Beetle, which started to look dated only a few years after launch.

That's why I think - like it or not - Ford's best move is to look to the future with the next generation of Mustang.

Let's be honest here - in all but the particularly subjective area of styling, the next Mustang is already likely to be a vastly better car than the current model, in terms of performance, handling, space, economy, safety, and all those other factors that makes a car objectively better than the last model.

As an aside, I love how much people criticise the Porsche 911 for being essentially the same throughout its life, but as soon as Ford says it wants to change the Mustang everyone is up in arms...

Edit: And for the record, I wasn't even particularly over-awed on the Evos concept. But that doesn't mean that a car inspired by it and with the Mustang nameplate won't be a better design than some re-hashed retro job.

 

[Tornado]

As an aside, I love how much people criticise the Porsche 911 for being essentially the same throughout its life, but as soon as Ford says it wants to change the Mustang everyone is up in arms...

Even the Pinto Stang, as ugly and gaudy as it was, was something that you could call a Mustang. The Evos looks like a Mitsubishi Eclipse by way of Aston Martin.






Also, your post seems to imply that there is is no line between Generic Modern 2-Door Coupe and copy-paste job of the first generation Mustang. There is. The New Edge was a pretty good example, as bleh as a car it might have been; having a lot of subtle styling elements of the older generations without being remotely retro. Hell, smooth out some of the lines of the current car and it wouldn't even really look like a throwback vehicle.

 

[homeforsummer]

Even the Pinto Stang, as ugly and gaudy as it was, was something that you could call a Mustang. The Evos looks like a Mitsubishi Eclipse by way of Aston Martin.

You'll note I said I'm not a fan of the Evos myself. I've seen it in the metal too, and that still didn't change my mind. I don't particularly want the next Mustang to look identical to it.

However, I think everyone's taking that WSJ writer's story a little too literally. He is, after all, a writer for the WSJ, and not a Ford insider.

I don't see the next Mustang looking identical to the Evos, but I do see some of the Evos's cues influencing the next Mustang's design. You could quite easily have a Mustang with a similar silhouette to the current model but Evos details - or alternatively, a Mustang whose shape is different from the traditional, but with details that clearly mark it out as a Mustang.

The possibilities are endless, and none of them have to be in any way retro.

Also, your post seems to imply that there is is no line between Generic Modern 2-Door Coupe and copy-paste job of the first generation Mustang. There is. The New Edge was a pretty good example, as bleh as a car it might have been; having a lot of subtle styling elements of the older generations without being remotely retro. Hell, smooth out some of the lines of the current car and it wouldn't even really look like a throwback vehicle.

On the contrary, there's a line somewhere, but retro is a stylistic dead end. The Mustang will be a hell of a job to replace. As will the MINI, the 500, the Beetle, the Camaro, the Challenger and - God forbid - the Land Rover Defender.

I was never keen on the look of the New Edge Mustang, but as you say, it had some nice details that harked back to the original. There's absolutely no reason why an Evos-inspired Mustang couldn't do the same - I just think everyone is taking the design too literally.

It's also worth remembering that the Mustang has never been about the look as much as it has been about what it represents - fun, power, freedom, and all that stuff. Yes, the look of a Mustang is important, but it isn't intrinsic to the model's popularity.

 

[Omnis]

Hopefully they 911-ify the stang and give it a non-retro interior. I think that's what most people want. Maybe they can re-retro it in a more slippery Mach 1 flavor.

That retro interior is just awful though and it has to go. I won't get a Mustang right now just because of the steering wheel.

 

[HELLAFLUSH240SX]

Steering wheels aren't permanent.
Don't like the steering wheel, get a Nardi, or a Personal.

 

[homeforsummer]

Steering wheels aren't permanent.
Don't like the steering wheel, get a Nardi, or a Personal.

Good advice, until you face-plant it in a crash.

Not everyone wants to get rid of the airbag wheel in their daily driver. Regardless of how ugly it is.

 

[TheCracker]

I think there's still milage in the retro-mustang theme. I know they pretty much changed the styling every year in the '69-73 era, but that longer and lower style is certainly a fresh enough direction for Ford to look towards next.



Without the 'Mustang' styling clues, i don't see any point in continuing with the Mustang name either. If you are looking to the future with the car's exterior design - and no doubt looking to the future with a more modern chassis design and power plants that would appeal to all markets, not just North Americas - then why continue with a retro name which doesn't mean much in other parts of the world?

 

[Anathema]

That.... THING... is a freaking Aston Martin combined with a Fusion.

That is NOT a Mustang.

 

[homeforsummer]

Without the 'Mustang' styling clues, i don't see any point in continuing with the Mustang name either. If you are looking to the future with the car's exterior design - and no doubt looking to the future with a more modern chassis design and power plants that would appeal to all markets, not just North Americas - then why continue with a retro name which doesn't mean much in other parts of the world?

Did the foxbody bear any relation to previous Mustangs though? Or the pre-"Edge" fourth gen Mustangs? I wouldn't really say so, but as long as the car is a fastback/notchback, has RWD, has a V8 somewhere in the lineup and has the right badge on the front then surely that's enough to make it a Mustang?

And on a completely non-technical basis, the Mustang name is worth using because it's cool. Most car names suck these days, so it makes sense to make good use of the good ones.

Also, another interesting aside: I remember myself being one of very few people who didn't like the Evos when someone posted a thread about it on GTP originally. Yet stick a Mustang badge on the front and everyone suddenly dislikes the design...

People are so fickle.

 

[TheCracker]

Did the foxbody bear any relation to previous Mustangs though? Or the pre-"Edge" fourth gen Mustangs? I wouldn't really say so, but as long as the car is a fastback/notchback, has RWD, has a V8 somewhere in the lineup and has the right badge on the front then surely that's enough to make it a Mustang?

80's Granada front styling aside, the foxbody shares enough shape and size with the Mustang II for it to be a believable evolution. The biggest leap it made style-wise, IMO, was between the 4th gen and the original retro 5th gen. That only worked because it reminded the general pop of the original well-loved car.

I still think they should either stick to a vaguely retro look and leave it for the domestic market where it actually means something, or make it a true world-car and drop the nomenclature altogether.

 

[Adamgp]

I would love to see a retro version of the '71-'73 Stang. If the Evos rumor is true, the Mustang might as well be sent to the glue factory.

I'm a former Ford lover, now the Mustang (in current form) is one of the few Ford vehicles I like. If they kill it, or turn it into a generic looking 4 cylinder car in an attempt to please the Japanese and Europeans, then there won't really be anything for me to like about them anymore.

 

[sumbrownkid]

I would love to see a retro version of the '71-'73 Stang. If the Evos rumor is true, the Mustang might as well be sent to the glue factory.

I'm a former Ford lover, now the Mustang (in current form) is one of the few Ford vehicles I like. If they kill it, or turn it into a generic looking 4 cylinder car in an attempt to please the Japanese and Europeans, then there won't really be anything for me to like about them anymore.

Not really about pleasing Japanese or europeàns as much as saving people at the pump.

I think it's about time Ford tries something new. With the article saying it is rumored to be a 2015 model, ten years is enough for a new design.