Fake News? 4-door Ford Mustang Is On The Way?

We’ve been thinking about this one since the alleged piece of news came out a number of days ago and we’re still not sure about it… We’d love to tell you that we checked with Ford but it was the weekend and every time we ask them these types of questions, we systematically get a: “we don’t talk about future products” answer.  

Of all the possible future products, the news about a 4-door Mustang is THE one Ford would not want to discuss. Having said that, a 4-door Mustang could make sense.

We all know Ford’s backing out of building cars over the next 18-24 months or so, with the sole exception being the Mustang , which will soldier on. Millions upon millions of consumers still purchase cars in North America and having the best-est crossover and SUV line-up is no guarantee that Ford sedan buyers will be swayed into an Escape instead of a Focus, or an Edge to replace a Fusion.

Yes, a 4-door Mustang would signal a desperate move on Ford’s behalf to try and partially undo the negative impact brought upon by the “no-more-cars” news story. It could also piss off a large number of Mustang enthusiasts and purists, enough to get them to look elsewhere at the very least.

However, a 4-door Mustang could make lots of sense. Depending on engines, trims and styling, it could, to some extent, influence Focus ST and RS and Fusion Titanium and Sport buyers to reconsider Ford. This is how we would see it but, it seems that a 4-door Mustang would attempt to compete with the Audi A5/A7, BMW 4- and 6-series Gran Coupé and others of the like. This is a big part of the news story that we have a hard time believing. Then there’s Lincoln whose job this is…

Having said that, a Mustang Crossover makes even more sense. There were talks last summer of an electric performance SUV that might be called “Mach 1” and that’s not gone over well.

Ford will need to capitalize on what they’ve got and what that is an F-150, and a Mustang. We think the Stang is far more “touchable” than the pickup. That truck was responsible for the vast majority, like 80-90%+, of all Ford’s profits last year.

A Mustang sub-brand could be a way to keep their promise of “no more cars except the Mustang” truthful all the while expanding on the name. If this is to be, we submit that the 4-door Mustang should be called Probe. No other option.

As such, there will be the Mustang (Cobra?), the Mustang Probe and the Mustang Lightning EV. And one final thought, the last time Ford messed with the Mustang formula, we got the Mustang II. Let’s try not to get a Mustang III.