Mustang is in trouble. Sales dropping by nearly 20% since the start of the year does not bode well for FoMoCo (which earlier this week sold-off their Aston Martin division --- Amid questions of why they ever bought it in the first place), nor for all the remaining US-made domestics. Mustang remains the American car which went from 0 to 100,000 sales faster than any other, and still holds that record. Introduced at the 1964 New York World's Fair's Ford Pavilion (I know --- I was there), Mustang has remained true to its four-seat, two-door original since that time. Always good for 40,000-or-so sales a year, when Ford announced a plan to kill-off this original pony car a few years ago, consumer reaction was swift and brutal towards the offices at "One American Road" (Ford's HQ in Dearborn, MI) --- 'Lose the Mustang', they said, 'and lose us as Ford buyers --- forever'. Now there's talk of the Mustang platform being used as the underpinning for a station wagon and a four-door sedan (neither of which would be named Mustang), and that may be the only way to justify continued manufacture of the sporty coupe --- by using the platform for other models.
The new Mustang, which made its debut in the fall of 2004, has been a bright spot for Ford at a time when bright spots have been few. So when Mustang sales dropped by 19% in January and February compared with the same months in 2006, executives became concerned.
After all, this is the company which was late-to-market with their all-new Edge model (photo), touted as the
company's crossover-style "savior", and which has had to re-name the also all-new (and boring) 500 as "Taurus" to try and save that effort. The "new" Taurus may share some underpinnings with the Volvo S80, but come on --- No matter how many Volvos they may show at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, where speed and excitement is the entry price, Volvo still virtually screams "Don't notice me!". The Taurus-500 manages to achieve that target magnificently. If Ford ever needed another high-performance "SHO" Taurus, this is it, folks! Are you listening, Dearborn?
Another marketing problem Ford has currently in the US is that they were selling a very nice crossover (built-off the Taurus-500) SUV called "Freestyle" which matched-up closely in many ways to their Edge. But Ford has stopped making Freestyle, concentrating all their efforts on Edge manufacture and sales. Freestyle owners --- You may have a classic in your driveway there!
Competition for the Mustang is only going to get worse when Dodge resurrects the Challenger muscle car in 2008 and Chevrolet comes out with the new Camaro early in 2009 (See photos below; Challenger is orange, Camaro is silver). An all-new Mustang is due 2010, a year after the new Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger launch.
Which raises perhaps the ultimate question when it comes to these "retro-retreads": How long can the US domestics keep drawing on their past to try and pad their future bottom lines? With gas prices this week over $3 a gallon nationwide, how many people are going to buy a high-performance V8? Plenty, you say. Well, be sensible --- if plenty is less than 40,000 or so annually, that simply will not be enough to satisfy Ford, GM and DCX (or whatever Chrysler is called next week).
Selling these kind of specialty cars 1,000 at a time? Fuggedaboutit. The Fromer Big Three manufacturers simply can not afford to do it.
How many vehicles equate to "40,000"? That's about the entire production for Porsche (cars, not trucks) in a year, worldwide.
The platforms for these "retro-retreads" are going to have to be used in several other vehicles at minimum to justify these "special retro editions" making any sense at all financially for the Former Big Three. If people don't mind driving an all-new rip-roaring Challenger when the station wagon version pulls up next to them at the stoplight, then some of these cars might be winners.
Remember, GM, Ford and DCX simply do not have the "fun money" to bring out fun/toy vehicles like the Toyota FJ Cruiser or no less than two versions of the Nissan Sentra SE-R models, cars and trucks which might be considered collectible or at least "interesting" to future buyers.
A drop in Mustang sales should be a worry for Ford. Overall U.S. sales slipped 8% last year. The
company sold 160,975 Mustangs in 2005 and 166,530 in 2006, big numbers in the mid-size sports coupe market, a segment considered to be a niche.
Still, Ford is working desperately to keep the Mustang fresh with new variations to try and keep the car exciting, as well as gearing up new promotions heading into the spring and summer, traditionally the Mustang's best sales months. The company just began shipping new versions of a Shelby GT Mustang, and sometime next year, it plans a dark-green "Bullitt" version reminiscent of the 1968 Fastback Mustang GT that Steve McQueen drove in the classic movie.
Insiders who've seen styling mockups report the 2007 Bullitt (photo) features a plain grille without galloping pony badge or spotlights and a black-painted panel between the taillights, just like McQueen's '68. Naturally, the car will be available in Highland Green.
More significant, though, might be the new Boss, which will introduce Ford's all-new 5.0-liter Hurricane V-8. Due late in the year, the limited-edition Boss will get a tuned 425- to 435-horsepower version of the Hurricane, a stripped-down interior (though air-conditioning will be available), and less sound deadening. The idea is to replicate the original Boss Mustang's race-special feel. Only 1000 cars will be built.
Slightly detuned from Boss spec, the Hurricane will become the regular GT's engine in 2008, when the Mustang will get a major face-lift. Insiders report every exterior panel is to be changed and updated, with the base cars getting a more aggressive look similar to that of the current Shelby GT500. The GT500, meantime, will become even more extreme looking.
Ford's other remaining icon, the F-series pickup truck, also has seen its sales drop and is facing heavy competition from General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp.
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