Worldwide media galloping with Ford's intro of new global Mustang
Ford’s December rollout of its redesigned 2015 Mustang was a decidedly international affair as executives hosted simultaneous unveilings in China, Spain, Australia, New York, Los Angeles and Michigan.
Intent on spurring some sales giddy up for its other worldwide models, Ford is positioning the vehicle – set to hit American showroom floors in the latter part of this year – as a true global icon with availability slated for more than 110 countries encompassing Europe, Asia and other emerging markets, including right-hand-drive editions for the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan and South Africa.
Domestic and overseas media outlets alike are enthusiastically embracing the Mustang’s anticipated new role with glowing coverage. The gala rollout event that took place in Shanghai “is proof of the U.S. automaker’s commitment to making China one of the major markets for its legendary sports car,” says Li Fangfang, writing in the China Daily.
Li goes on to describe Ford’s “15 by 15 plan” for China in which the company aims to bring 15 new models into the nation by 2015.
“We are well on track in the fast lane in China,” says John Lawler, chief of Ford’s Chinese operations. “We will enhance our success in the world’s largest automobile market by speeding up the offering of models from our whole lineup, from performance cars, SUVs, to commercial vehicles, to further satisfy our Chinese customers’ requirements.”
“The all-new Mustang is coming to China to further strengthen Ford’s product lineup here,” notes David Schoch, Ford’s Asia-Pacific president. “The Ford Mustang is more than a car,” he says, according to Li’s coverage of the Shanghai unveiling. “It’s an exciting vehicle that ignites a sense of optimism and confidence that inspires us all.”
Jim Farley, executive vice president of global marketing, sales and service, explains that “we crafted this car with the goal of creating a contemporary interpretation of Mustang – an American automotive icon that symbolizes optimism and freedom for millions of people around the world,” elaborating on an observation reported elsewhere from marketing manager Jacques Brent: “We’ve brought a lot of cars from Europe to North America. Now it’s time to take one from North America to the world.”
According to a quoted comment attributed to chief engineer Dave Pericak, “We designed a Mustang and decided to take it global. We did not design a global Mustang.”
“The One Ford plan provided the opportunity for Mustang to go global, and the car has a strong appeal and fan base all over the world,” says Schoch in Li’s China Daily piece. “We see this as a way to showcase the most passionate part of the Ford brand and how it resides not only in our performance vehicles but in all our vehicles, including the Fiesta, the Focus and Transit vans.”
All of the Mustangs are to be built at Ford’s plant in Flat Rock, Mich. and exported to their respective international destinations.
Ford’s ‘heart and soul’
An exclusive advance peak of the Mustang had been granted to another longstanding American icon with a global reputation…Time magazine, which prints several international editions reaching Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Asia and the South Pacific.
Bill Saporito’s lengthy Time analysis highlights the complexities faced by Ford as it pursues the global “One Ford” initiative involving nine basic engineering platforms supporting some 20 nameplates. “Balancing the demands of power junkie buyers in the U.S., steering-and-handling obsessives in Europe and left-side drivers in nations such as the U.K. and India is a risky technical challenge,” he writes. “And Ford is making the job more difficult by trying to position the Mustang as its global flagship, a car to broadly define its brand much the way the 911 defines Porsche and the Beetle once did VW.”
Casting these concerns aside – such as whether the vehicle’s low-and-wide stance will prove to be popular on the narrower roads commonly found outside of the U.S. – international excitement over the Mustang gallops onward, driven in-part by hints of additional technological innovations that may be coming down the trail.
Offering a lineup of three engines, including a new 2.3-liter EcoBoost that exceeds 300 horsepower, future Mustang powertrain options have upped the levels of speculation being reported Down Under. Australian auto journalist Byron Mathioudakis, who was present at the Mustang rollout ceremony held in Sydney, quotes Ford executive Bob Fascetti as saying that alternative propulsion systems are being pondered.
“We’re not looking at diesel at the moment, but given where we need to go with fuel consumption we are looking at all our options, and diesel is one of those options, along with hybrids and electric.” says Fascetti.
Ford spokesman Alan Hall tells Aftermarket Business World that “the context of that conversation was wider than what was reported,” and that Fascetti was merely musing about the “realm of possibility” regarding alternative powertrains in general and not describing actual plans already in place. “We’re not working on one right now,” says Hall.
The Washington Post has published a dispatch hinting of “a new secret feature that Ford won’t talk about yet” that involves “an electronic system that will help drivers execute the perfect, smoky, epic burnout.”
While enticing to burnout buffs, Hall suggests that you hold your horses – at least for the time being. “That report out there is speculation,” he says. “It has not been announced by Ford.”
Named as the “Official Car” of January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the automaker was scheduled to announce several design innovations previously kept under wraps.
“Rather than having to settle for a one-size-fits-all technology solution, Mustang drivers will have the ability to tune their individual car to their driving style and road conditions,” says Farley. “With available Selectable Drive Modes, the driver can quickly adjust steering effort, throttle response, shift control and stability control settings by toggling between normal, snow-wet, sport and track modes,” he explains.
“In addition to the four preset modes, drivers can fine-tune the steering effort separately with standard, comfort and sport settings.” The stability control system can also be set to a less intrusive sport mode or turned off entirely for track use.
Hall declines to discuss details, but there is at least one media account out there offering a potentially intriguing aspect of the Mustang that may hold promise for the aftermarket in that the independent rear suspension could be switched-out in favor of a solid axle for drag racing. “It’s a big job, but we intend to work with various partners to make it easier,” according to a Ford engineer quoted in the piece.
And while any upcoming innovations were being officially kept close to the vest and publicly unconfirmed by the automaker as the New Year began, Ford executives have consistently been effusive in their praise of the new pony car’s capabilities and international attractiveness.
“The Mustang’s formidable reputation for performance and its iconic status as a symbol of freedom and optimism precedes it even in those parts of the world where the car has never been sold,” says Stephen Odell, executive vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “The new Mustang epitomizes Ford’s aggressive product acceleration; technologically advanced and forward-looking, but without forgetting the heritage that has inspired Ford customers for generations.”
Noting that the Mustang celebrates its 50th anniversary in April, Global Vice President Raj Nair points out that the vehicle “inspires passion like no other car. The visceral look, sound and performance of Mustang resonate with people, even if they’ve never driven one. Mustang is definitely more than just a car – it is the heart and soul of Ford.”
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