I am begging automakers to stop putting classic sports car names on gigantic electric SUVs. Use literally any other names.
this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2024
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The “mustang mach E” - while by all accounts a great car - is just an absolutely catastrophic branding decision imo.
A Mustang is a sports car. A Mustang is not an SUV.
Honestly, it’s just so dumb. They could have picked another horse-oriented name if they really wanted to, but this is like calling an electrified Blazer a “Camaro” (to GM: please… don’t…)
Edit:
Good horse names instead of “mustang mach e”:
- Clydesdale (honestly, this seems like a slam dunk. The car is heavy, but very powerful, and will likely be used by families as a “workhorse” car)
- Andalusian
- Appaloosa
- Percheron
- Shire
- Ardennais
And this way, instead of the inevitable profusion of suffixes that special and sporty editions will create, you can clearly differentiate between the “sports car” line and the “electric sporty SUV” line. And do not try to fucking tell me “it’s an electric sports car!” It is not. You are lying to me and you are lying to yourself.
Or just stick the electric transaxle in an actual Mustang.
Btw, any car guys here should know you can just buy the mustang transaxle as a "crate motor" from Ford and drop it in what you want.
Right?
I want to emphasize: my issue is NOT that it’s electric.
My issue is that Mustang != SUV.
Also SUVs are fucking stupid, but I digress.
The only modern Ford SUV worth a damn is the Bronco, because it's a legitimate off-roader. Everything else is just a fucking station wagon, but stupider.
The compact SUV is about as close to a electric light truck as you can get in the US, so it does fit a niche.
And they're all built off the stretched and lifted bones of the old Focus.
Only the high end one is a legit off-road vehicle. They also make a stupid little box version of the car that definitely cannot excel in the dirt.
Yeah, I did not say "Bronco Sport," which is an entirely different model and also misleading bullshit.
and also misleading bullshit.
Right?
I have one and I just call it a Mach e.
What's really stupid is that like you said, it's actually a great car. It could have stood on its own! Instead, it got a bunch of backlash hate. I wouldn't even look at it for a long time because of the name. After I finally did, I was pretty impressed.
Absolutely agree. It’s actually a great vehicle, and the various trim levels actually seem very sensible. But the fact that it’s a “mustang” just kills it for me as a car enthusiast. I’d never be able to own one and look at it without thinking “fuck I am such a poseur for buying an electric mustang SUV 🤦♂️”
My wife was talking about getting one and I encouraged her, because then I could basically own one, but be able to explain it away by saying "meh, my wife bought it". But she ended up not buying a new car after all. Doh!
Ford had been annoying people with this stuff for like 40 years. The 90’s and 00’s were full of cars brands that were slapped on random things that didn’t look or feel anything like their predecessor.
I think this is mainly a ford thing, isn't it?
Ford is the worst offender (and more specifically the one who does electric SUVs) but the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Dodge Hornet are gas/hybrid SUVs that reused nameplates from sportier coupes on an SUV. I suspect the Honda Prologue might’ve been the Prelude at some point but that’s just a guess. At least that one didn’t get a reused name.
Honda is releasing a new Prelude soon too, so probably was Prologue all along
They're still have the same issue but it is not just the EV SUVs. They did the same with their ICE Mustang & Challenger. Although the latter felt marginally better than the former. Almost all cars nowadays have the same issue of looking like chubby babies with fat rolls.
The 14.6-inch vertical touchscreen Ugh, can we go back to buttons and standard sized head units already? Add another smaller display for EV status or whatever… anything but a massive touchscreen.
I really want a hybrid system of physical and touch controls. There are a few car companies that do this, but it’s not the norm. I used to have an Audi that was physical buttons and a scroll wheel for CarPlay / Android Auto. It was nice, but there were some times when I just want to tap the screen.
Touch screen keyboard would be useful for entering a GPS destination or initial radio programming, but I shouldn't have look at a screen to change the climate controls or pause music.
Yeah, the Audi solution was pretty nice, climate, media, etc all had OG physical buttons. Although the car I had at the time did not have touch screens CarPlay / Android auto. It was all click wheel. I would’ve preferred both input methods.
The bmw solution is pretty good, at least relatively recently it was a touch screen, but also navigable by knob for all the screen features including Android auto, and hard buttons for most everything I want to actually do.
Just give it a new name FFS!
Looking up information online about your car?
I love having to specify that it's the new model of X and not the original model of X instead of just looking up model Y
Europe only. 😔
€49,400 (around $53,590)
Y’all got any more of those cheap EVs?
Or non obese fat as fuck cars?
Wow. Another generic SUV that relies on nostalgia. Exactly what the world needs...
This reminds me of the introduction of the electric version of the Opel Manta.
The original:
The introduced electric version:
The probable final product:
Seems more like a sport back sedan than an SUV.
It’s like they decided to make a smaller Polestar 2.
The back really looks similar. It‘s like Ford copied Polestar‘s homework.
The Polestar 2, the XC40, and the Crown are all the same shape as this Capri. Welcome your new sedans standard shape, it's totally not classed as an offroad vehicle to cheat emission regulations. Those angular lower fascias and high center clearances spitting in the face of aerodynamics are just for style, not approach/departure angle/high center qualifications /s
The P2 is technically classified as a crossover, not a sedan. And since it’s a full EV, the body style doesn’t really impact how it’s handled for emissions laws. It’s the shape and ride height are all about curb appeal and driver satisfaction over max range.
If someone doesn’t have good public transportation options, and they need a car, and they hate how a more streamlined vehicle looks, I’d rather that person buy a boxy EV over a boxy ICE car.
That's an excellent point, EV doesn't have that offroad cheat. Please ignore me shouting into the void about the general market trend of making everything bigger.
I can't truly say I hate these compromises to keep something smaller than an SUV. I had a Geo Tracker for a while and enjoyed the higher seat height without actually driving a large vehicle. It was so short (2 door) that it didn't really impede others' vision, especially when I removed half the roof.
Hey, that introduced electric version is a pretty great homage! Are you saying that wasn't actually released though?
Yes, the introduced electric version is an hommage indeed. A couple of months ago I read that they are planning to make the Manta a SUV instead. I am not on my own device right now, so I can not provide a source for that right now.
Shame
Not really. This and the Explorer are just slightly repackaged versions of the ID4.
The EV platform is the ID4 / ID5, but the body, interior, and infotainment are pretty different from what I can tell.
This doesn’t look like the Subaru BRZ and Toyota GR86. It appears to be a lot of very different stuff once you get above the power train.
but nowhere in North America.
Every single time 😭
My dad had a 1972 Mercury Capri when I was growing up. I learned to drive stick on that and eventually ended up with in college. That car was so light, you could push it by yourself on flat pavement, hop in and jump start the car.
In that colour I guess its a Capri Sun 😎
People my age associate the Capri name with an abomination of a car that was absolutely terrible. One of my high school girl friends had one and it was awful- unreliable and underpowered.