QOTD: Good Idea, or Graceless Exit?

Gee, what are we going to talk about today? What issue could possibly stimulate a little dialogue on this frosty November morning?

How about… the newest member of the Mustang family. Yes, the Mustang Mach-E, which is neither a coupe, a car, nor the recipient of an internal combustion engine, is now a member of a family that once hosted but a single occupant (with varying lengths of hair), stretching back to the time when Lee Iacocca was just a brash young Ford exec with an idea.

Totally awesome idea, or pull-your-hair-out, froth-at-the-mouth blasphemy?

The Mustang’s lineage is not without potholes and speed bumps. The Pinto-based Mustang II is seen as a low point in the nameplate’s journey, though the downsizing did spur a flood of buyers eager to thumb their nose at OPEC. Ford’s intent to replace the Mustang with a front-drive model that eventually became the Probe was another hiccup, with buyers flocking to the old Fox-body after word leaked out. A change of plans in Dearborn ensued.

This current-generation ‘Stang is a vehicle that’s hard to not love, what with its sleek body, right-on proportions, and wide array of power options. Ford really got the current-gen Mustang right. And then this.

As pony car sales dwindle, plans are afoot to broaden the model’s appeal. Things like hybrid power and (possibly) all-wheel drive could delay the model’s demise, but it’s hard to build a seawall against a fast-rising tide of market forces. The Mustang is still a performance coupe. A plaything for many. A luxury in a world that’s slowly shunning both oil and cars.

Is the answer to remake the Mustang, to transfer the pony car’s heritage to a wholly dissimilar vehicle, or to just let things run their course? If the real Mustang goes away one day, leaving us with a compact electric crossover with a pony badge, is that a better outcome? Or is this all just a cynical exercise to juice EV sales, to the detriment of history, heritage, and purity?

Few would complain if Buick brought back the Electra name and slapped it on an EV crossover, but this feels very different.

So, B&B, tell us — is Ford’s decision wrong-headed, or are we out to lunch?

[Image: Ford]