Enthusiasts of the Ford Mustang are not happy with the Mach-e

Ford has gone to great lengths to explain why the recently launched Mustang Mach-E fits the iconic ‘Mustang’ badge ever since the all-electric crossover was unveiled. However, many Ford Mustang enthusiasts and traditionalists are extremely upset by the company’s decision.

A look at the Mustang Club of America on Facebook, which has no fewer than 2.1 million likes, includes hundreds of comments from enthusiasts angry at the Blue Oval brand for calling the crossover a Mustang.

In a lengthy statement, Mustang Club of America president Steve Prewitt vehemently defends the vehicle’s nomenclature, saying that “the Mustang Mach-E is not a Mustang Pony model in the typical sense, but it is a logical move to continue the legacy” of Mustang, specifically in design and innovation in the electric car market.

In response to this, Facebook user Michael Newton wrote, “Shame on you, Steve Prewitt. Carol Shelby once said: ‘There is no replacement for displacement.’ That statement embodies what a Mustang has always been. Slapping the Mustang name on an SUV is blasphemy. You may sell some SUVs to the hipsters, but you are really alienating Mustang enthusiasts.”

https://www.facebook.com/MustangClubofAmerica/posts/3042241115819947

Ford Mustang Mach-e, did Ford get it right by calling it a Mustang?

There are hundreds of comments with similar sentiments, with one member even asking, “how much money did Ford give the club to write this positive review?”, while another says, “it’s almost as if a team of media relations lawyers wrote this and you simply shared it.”

Steve McCarley, former president of the Mustang Club of America, added that he is not impressed with the crossover’s name either. “I’m not happy with it personally,” he told USA Today, “even today, if I close my eyes and imagine a car, I picture a ’65 Mustang. Telling me you’re coming out with an electric Mustang isn’t spinning my wheels.”

A couple of days ago, Ford’s executive chairman, Bill Ford, said that even he was not convinced of the idea of calling the electric crossover a Mustang, at least at first. “They approached me and said, ‘We really believe we can make this Mustang inspired, really in a Mustang.’ Ford added that ‘you don’t tell me you want to call this a Mustang.’ Nobody would say yes, but nobody would say no either. I said, ‘no, sorry, I don’t want to damage the brand. This is not going to be a Mustang.'”

Eventually, however, Ford was reportedly won over by the vehicle’s driving dynamics and decided it was indeed appropriate for a Mustang name. We have a feeling that enthusiasts of the legendary muscle car won’t be so easily convinced.

Michael Shorkey, president of the Carolina Regional Mustang Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, said in a couple of emails that he was impressed by Ford’s engineering in creating an electric SUV that he believes can take on Tesla. However, he admits he would miss the growl of a Mustang engine.

“Overall, I would say a first impression is more positive than negative,” Shorkey wrote. “That said, they’ll need to pry my cold, dead fingers off my fifth-generation (Mustang) GT.”

Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverFord Mustang Mach-E4 versions · from 54,046 €