Jeremiah 29:11

A Mustang wagon?!? Say it ain't so

Magazine reports that Ford could make four-door versions of its next-generation Mustang.
By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Would Mustang Sally drive a station wagon? Maybe she'll get the chance.

The next generation of the Ford Mustang could include some previously unthinkable variants including a four-door sedan and a station wagon, according to a report in the magazine AutoWeek.

"To a Mustang purist, this is blasphemy," said Bob Gritzinger, AutoWeek's senior editor for news.

Mustang has become a strong brand name, perhaps even stronger than Ford's famous Blue Oval, the magazine story says.

Key Fords of the future

You can measure that by price. Introduced for the 2005 model year, the current version of the Mustang still sells for close to full sticker price, according to Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com Website.

AutoWeek attributes its story to a "prominent automotive industry consultant familiar with the Ford plan."

"It's a case of reaching out to the men or women who keenly identify with the Mustang, but for various reasons - whether it be family, recreational or other - need a more versatile car than a coupe," the source is quoted as saying.

The planned 4-door Mustang may be foreshadowed by a Lincoln sedan to be shown at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show.

The 4-door Lincoln uses much of the current Mustang's engineering, according to the magazine. The Lincoln car will have independent rear suspension originally developed for the Mustang but scrapped as too expensive.

The current Mustang has a solid rear axle. But Ford plans for the next-generation Mustang to have a sophisticated independent rear suspension.

The next-generation Mustang is due to come 2011, according to AutoWeek. It could come out as early as 2009, however, Gritzinger said in an interview.

That would allow the Mustang to compete more effectively against the new Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger coupes, expected to arrive in late 2008 as 2009 models.

"It's going to be muscle car heaven in 2008," said Gritzinger.

The story, including illustrations of what the Mustang sedan might look like, is in the Dec. 18 issue of AutoWeek and on-line at AutoWeek.com.

Ford executives were not available for comment on the report.

Other performance coupes have successfully spun off four-door variants despite fans' protests.

Most recently, the Dodge division of DaimlerChrysler reintroduced the Charger name on a four-door sedan in 2005. Despite grumbling from fans of the original 1960s and '70s muscle car, the Charger sedan has sold well.

The next generation of General Motors' Chevrolet Impala sedan will share its engineering and some design cues with the new Chevrolet Camaro, various industry news media have reported. That would allow the Impala to benefit from the "family relationship" without actually taking the Camaro name.

In this case, the two-door coupe and convertible Mustang would continue to be produced, according to the report.

Brad Bowling, a Mustang expert who has written several books on the car including the Standard Catalog of Mustang, told CNNMoney.com he was not particularly bothered by the idea.

"For years people have occasionally made their own custom Mustang wagons and that sort of thing," he said.

Bowling himself recently parted with one of his Mustangs, a 2001 model, because he needed something with more room, he said. He bought a Hemi-powered Dodge Magnum wagon.

He recognized that not everyone would share his attitude toward the idea of four-door Mustangs.

"There are going to be two really strong-minded schools of thought on this," Bowling said.

In the past, attempts to fundamentally alter the Mustang, an iconic American performance car, have been blocked because of outrage by Mustang owners.

RLSH700

That is a sign of desperation. Since the Mustang is the only model that is making money, they want to further maximize of sales of the Mustang. If they want to come up with models that will sell they need to look to Australia, not making more versions of the Mustang.

If they make a wagon version, it will be the same result as the Mustang II. It sold well, but destroyed the image of the car. This is not something they need to be doing since it is the only one that makes money. If they do this, it will lose its identity. They need to make a Lincoln version, not a station wagon version.

Jeremiah 29:11

Ford: No way we'll make four-door Mustang
Company denies reports it is considering making Mustang variants.

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Ford Motor Company released a statement today calling reports that the company would make four-door variants of its Mustang sports car "not true."

"The Mustang is an icon and will continue in its current form: a unique two-door, rear-wheel drive, 2+2 performance car," the statement says.

The term "2+2" refers to a car, like the Mustang, with small back seats.

The current issue of the auto enthusiast magazine AutoWeek includes a report that Ford was considering making four-door variants of the next-generation Mustang, possibly including a wagon.

"We are standing by our sources for that story," said Bob Gritzinger of Autoweek, acknowledging that the company might have changed its mind.

Ford's statement does not mean that the company would never manufacture a vehicle using the fundamental engineering or even some design cues from a future Mustang, Ford Brand Communications Manager Alan Hall said.

But the Mustang name will only be attached to the classic Mustang-style car, Hall said.

"You have to appreciate that we treat the Mustang as one of our crown jewels," said Ford marketing spokesman Jim Cain, "and you don't wear them to every party."

Ford will unveil a concept car called "The Interceptor" at the Detroit Auto Show in January. That car will be based on the Mustang's rear-wheel-drive architecture but it will not be a Mustang, the company emphasized in its announcement.

There are currently no production plans for that vehicle, the company said.

joeyr

sorry for reposting the same stuff. Here is a pic



[IMG]local://upfiles/374/F4C2DB59BAE54235A2EFA4200CD1482A.jpg[/IMG]

awsure

They are already watering down the brand with all the variants available. Hell, why stop at a 4-door & a wagon. How 'bout the Mustang Mini-Van or the Mustang pick-up truck. Somebody slap the Ford guys around and tell them to stop it already. The Mustang is a great car. Stop trying to kill it...[sm=icon_beat.gif]

RLSH700

Agreed. Instead of trying to mooch off of the Mustang's image yet again, they need to bring over their cool stuff from Australia.

That Interceptor model is uglier than the Crown Vic ever was in its worst moments.