One of the few automakers that reports monthly sales is Ford, though the practice is something the company may regret after a kinda miserable May. That it was an off month nationally isn’t a huge surprise given some of the moves Ford has made, as well as just plain bad timing. There is something a little deeper going on, and the solution is obvious to me.
Yes, The Morning Dump is advocating for the possibly imaginary Mustang Mach IV sedan this morning. It just makes sense, and I’m going to prove it to you by showing the big hole in the Ford lineup where a Mustang Sedan would fit. I’m not alone in this! Ford leadership has sort of hinted this is maybe on the way. While Stellantis has been using AI to show its ass, GM’s Mary Barra told NBC News that the company is using it to do more without letting people go.
I don’t know if I buy that, but I do know that if I lived in Europe I’d be tempted to purchase the new Škoda seven-passenger EV.
Ford Can’t Escape A Bad May
I’m going slowly today after a great night of sports, featuring both the Knicks forcing their way to a victory and the Astros hanging half a dozen runs on the Pirates with two outs in the bottom of the 8th to erase a four-run deficit. I also won my pickup game of ultimate frisbee, but I’m not Ice Cube, so I’m not gonna brag about how I performed in a pickup game.
Unlike Ice Cube, Ford didn’t score a triple-double or anything else in May, with self-reported sales down 13.6%. Even with employee pricing being offered, the blue oval brand is on its back foot to start the year. While it’s not a huge number of vehicles, Ford was still taking advantage of the tax credit last year and so there’s been a 43.9% drop in EV sales (this isn’t bad news since Ford last money on every one). Ford isn’t getting the F-150 back to full production until probably September, so that negative 13% swing is enough to account for a third of the lost sales.
Also significant is the loss of the Ford Escape, which was the easily approachable vehicle at the affordable end of the range. Is the Ford Bronco Sport a reasonable replacement? Given that sales are down this year, I’m guessing not. The Ford Explorer is up this year, but that might also be picking up customers from the departed Ford Edge. The newish Ford Expedition also saw a drop in sales, which makes sense given the high gas prices.
What Ford is doing right is the Maverick, which is now the most affordable Ford product and also comes in hybrid form. In fact, The Detroit News reports that the Maverick Hybrid had its best month ever. The Bronco also remains strong.
When gas prices are up, it is logical that bigger vehicles might suffer. When the economy is shaky, affordability is important. What Ford is lacking at the moment is something that’s affordable-ish and efficient and not a truck. That’s probably a sedan. Ford doesn’t have a sedan. Personally, I think Ford should import a European platform and make it the Escort, but that’s just me. There’s another more likely alternative and that’s using the Mustang platform to build the long-rumored Mach IV sedan. I’m not alone in thinking this.
‘It’s Going To Have To Make Sense Within A Family We May Already Offer’
Ok Andrew Frick, president of Ford Blue and Model e, I know what you’re doing. I see you. I think I understand it. He spoke to Automotive News and reporter Michael Martinez asked the right question:
Jim Farley has hinted you might bring back sedans. Why might that body style make sense now?
There is a percentage of the customer base that still buys sedans. It’s a lot smaller than it once was. It used to be 50 percent, now it’s 16, 17 percent. We have a really great Mustang that people consider a car. We look to expand on the Mustang family as we move forward. I think, for us to do it, it’s going to have to make sense within our portfolio. It’s going to have to make sense within a family that we may already offer. And it’s going to have to be very cost-effective for us to do it. That’s what we’re focused on in general with a lot of our new affordable products. We want the concepts to be right and the costs to be even better.
The important line there is “It’s going to have to make sense within a family that we may already offer.” The Mustang’s platform only supports the Mustang and nothing else. Ford already made an EV crossover and called it a Mustang and no one died. Dodge does it, why not Ford?
GM Will Use AI But Won’t Lay People Off Because Of It, Maybe
I got an email from NBC News saying that Mary Barra was going to be on Nightly News last night. I can’t find the segment online, but that doesn’t mean anything. I assume they didn’t bump the CEO of GM, and I have some of the transcript:
CEO of General Motors Mary Barra tells NBC News’ Christine Romans that AI is moving car design into the fast lane, explaining that it allows the company to ”explore more concepts, more ideas to make sure we get the right one.”
Asked whether AI will allow GM to make cars with fewer people, Barra responded “I think it’s how we give the tools to the people to be able to do better work. To me it’s how do we do more with the people that we have, because we’re using AI tools.”
Talking to designers, there’s some flexibility to being able to use digital imaging (and AI) to quickly form up some ideas. That’s fine. I do wonder how this squares with GM laying off hundreds of people as it “transforms” it’s IT department.
Will The Skoda Peaq Be The Last MEB Model?
The fact that the new flagship, seven-seater EV from Škoda will be called the Peaq and probably be awesome is not something that’s necessarily relevant to all of our audience. I love the brand, though, so I’m going to write about it. The look of this is what the company calls “Tech-Deck Face,” which is amusing to me.
What you might care about is that this is maybe the last new car to be built on the Volkswagen MEB platform that’s underpinned everything from the ID.4 to the ID.7 and ID.Buzz. It was the first big swing EV attempt from Volkswagen and not exactly successful, so maybe it deserves a swan song from the company’s best brand.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Doja Cat got mad at the loss of some feature on X/Twitter, and roasted Tesla CEO Elon Musk with the incredible nonsense burn “u look like u eat sand.’ In honor of that burn, please enjoy Doja’s “AAAHH MEN!” which uses the Knight Rider theme to achieve something kinda sublime.
The Big Question
What should the Mustang sedan be?
Top graphic base image: Thomas Hundal
The Mustang sedan SHOULD be a Falcon, or, Frontenac if you must, but it WILL be a Mustang Mach S or Mustang Mach 4 or something like that
And I’m not holding my breath for a Ghia version with wire basket wheels, vinyl roof, woodgrain dash, and analog clock though.
“The Mustang sedan SHOULD be a Falcon, or, Frontenac”
Falcon in the USA… Frontenac in Canada…
Bring back the Taurus you cowards.
“What should the Mustang sedan be?”
It should be a full size sedan and it should be called the Thunderbird. And then use that as the basis for a new Lincoln Continental.
And then use that as a basis for making a 2 door coupe and convertible and call that the Lincoln Mark IV
Also they should rename the “Mustang Mach-E” to just “Mach-E”
And then they should use the Mach-E as a basis for a “new” all-electric Lincoln CUV… maybe call it the Marquis. Or maybe call it the Mystique
You misspelled “Torino”. And design should be reminiscent of either the ’70 hidden headlight gen 2 or the ’72 gen 3 before the 5 mph bumper ruined the look in ’73. Both of those designs would translate reasonably well into modern designs. Also, both of these generations were available as 2-door, 4-door, and wagons.
Actually I misspelled “Lincoln Mark IX”… incorrectly saying “Mark IV”
And when I was young, we had a 1976 Gran Torino. Those big bumpers were good for sitting on when we went camping.
Anyhoo… I think it should still be ‘Thunderbird’ and modeled after this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Thunderbird_(fifth_generation)#/media/File:1969_Blue_Ford_Thunderbird_rearquarter.jpg
https://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/1969_ford_thunderbird_1969_ford_thunderbird_45592b75-236c-4977-97dc-8911b5361599-qx5g9j-75459-26367.jpg?w=620&resize=620%2C413
Yes!
The Lincoln version of the Mach-E should be named “Maquis,” for either the French resistance fighters (who took their name from the brushlands of southern France) or the anti-Cardassian resistance from Deep Space Nine. Save a few bucks of voiceover money.
Explaining Ford sales is easy. The Employee Pricing program isn’t a good deal. Ford had more rebates and discounts available in April before the program began.
This is standard operating procedure for GM, they’ve expanded and contracted their IT services every few years since they started having them. It’s where EDS came from. and I know people that started as direct GM employees, who were transitioned to EDS, then became HP employees, who were then brought back to being GM direct employees. Four (or more) different employers, without even changing their desks, or reporting to a different building.
“Don’t dilute the Mustang! Blah blah blee blorb *thbbbbt*!”
C’mon guys. We’ve done this before and it was fucking awesome. No one is gonna dilute the Mustang, they are gonna stretch the platform to allow additional doors, tweak the roofline and trunk, slap some outer panels on it and fuckin send it.
Do none of you remember how many vehicles we got from the Fox body platform? How glorious it was?
The Fox platform is Ford’s version of the K car. One “glorious” car does not make the rest so.
Which car on the Fox platform was truly glorious?
It wasn’t the Mustang… at least not in stock form given the shitty stock brakes and twitchy handling.
The SVO (only minus the metric Michelin TRX tires). Also, the T-Bird turbo coupe, the Cougar XR7, and Lincoln Mark VII LSC.
Glorious was the OP’s word, which is why I put it in quotes.
Although the Mustang and some of the Thunderbirds were very respectable for the time.
Read it again, friendo. No one said any of the cars were glorious.
What was glorious was the kitbashing you could do.
Oh, no one makes shit for your station wagon? That’s too bad, buy a fuckin part for a Mustang and send it.
I don’t know why so many get so worked up over a name. The Mustang and Bronco names carry a lot of cachet with them, so of course Ford is going to slap them on as many vehicles as possible. Although I’m not the biggest fan of marketing, that’s all this is. There’s a lot of comments about other suggested names, but none of them have been used for decades in the US. The average consumer probably wouldn’t know the significance of Falcon or Torino, etc.
Furthermore, a Mustang sedan with a gas engine will be more Mustang than the Mach E. I’d drive one. Beats the alternative of yet another anonymous SUV.
Brand dilution annoys me, but it’s more of a minor nuisance than an “OMFG heresy” type annoyance.
It’s Ford’s brand, they can do with it what they want.
A 2022 Ford EcoSport came in at $22,000. The 2025 Ford Escape was $28,000. The 2026 Bronco Sport is $33,800. That’s a big hole in the Blue Oval’s lineup for an affordable product, let alone a cheap SUV/CUV. It’s essentially an “own goal”. The Bronco Sport is also technically less capable as a tow vehicle than the Escape, maxing out at 2,700 lbs compared to 3,500 lbs.
The Maverick is lovely (hello!), but the Fisher-Price plastic dash is less charming at $29,900. Anyone else remember when Ford was very proud to announce its debut in 2021 at $19,995 before delivery? From then to now, that’s a 40%(!!!) increase in price, while inflation is “only” up 22.9%.
Used Mavericks are stubbornly holding their value too. They can say the MSRP is whatever, but I’ve never seen that price reflected in reality, at least in my area. I think the Bronco Sport is pretty cool, but every time I look at them I feel like they’re about $5k too expensive.
That’s a weird thing to say. Although I suppose there are some people that consider it to be a horse.
I think he’s referring to the segment of buyers who consider it a “private means of travel not in commerce”
That could also be a horse.
I’d have to double check the UCC
With all the shitty decisions Ford has made over the last few years, it deserves to have a bad May. Fire their useless CEO and maybe things can improve.
Diluting the Mustang name even further is an idiotic move when they have sooo many other names of sedans that they can use. They are acting like they’ve run out of names.
With the news/rumors of a new Camaro, that will potentially have four doors, plus the Dodge twins, doesn’t Ford kind of have to do this?
Surprised they’re discontinuing the Escape, it seems to have been a successful model that’s been around for awhile and seems to fill a niche even if it’s mostly marketing that the Bronco Sport doesn’t.
Are we, Euroeans, getting a sort of Bronco derivative because the Kuga (Escape) is getting discontinued?
Ford should’ve stopped selling the Panther or never even bothered with it in the first place (it was already outdated before it came out in 1980), and just imported the Falcon from Australia or make the same car over here.
The Mustang sedan could be a new Falcon.
Someone else said the Explorer is a Mustang wagon already. So just make an Explorer sedan.
I will make a rendering and post it here:
https://opposite-lock.com/topic/141592/about-the-4-door-mustang-article
https://opposite-lock.com/assets/uploads/files/1780596058586-mustangexplorersedan.jpg
Wow, this is a pretty unhinged take, according to Motor Trend:
Approximately 9.6 million vehicles were built on the Ford Panther platform between 1979 and 2011.
While according to Wikipedid:
3 million Australian Falcons over twice the period of time (1960-2016)
The Falcon would’ve been more successful, actually being a better car. Plus, they would’ve sold a lot more to retail customers, which are more profitable than police/fleet shit.
Australia has less than 1/10 the US population.
“The Mustang sedan could be a new Falcon.”
Or a new Thunderbird.
Thundercougarfalconbird anyone???
I’m not sure I see the point of a four door Mustang, but I do see the sedan sized whole in the Ford lineup. A four door Mustang might be cool, but would probably be somewhat of a novelty. If it’s volume they’re after, they should try to remember how to build a Fusion. That was a good car at a fair price and they were (and kinda still are) everywhere.
Mustang sedan shouldn’t exist. I don’t understand Ford’s facination with horses. Bronco sport or bronco ii sure. Mach e should have just been mach e, model e or something other then mustang. Taurus e, crown vic e. Doesn’t matter as long as it was out of production. Could have even been the Edsel e.
When dodge brought back the charger as a 4 door it was sort of like ok fine it’s an old name plate things have changed so much. Now the charger with a 2 door and 4 door it’s fine because it was exclusively 4 door for close to 20 years after several decades away. But calling 4 door vehicle a mustang a name plate that always been in production as a 2 door just seems wrong. So bring back or create some other nameplate for the 4 door. Keep mustang as a sporty 2 door. I don’t think enough time has elapsed for Chevy to use the Camero as a 4 door and why would they. They have other nameplates that fit the bill. Ford could have even gone with Thunderbird and I think people would have thought ok it’s been a while sure now it’s a 4 door thing.
Ford could make a hybrid to bev sedan full of lfp as cheap as possible call it something other then mustang. Bring back the fusion or the Taurus the thunderbird anything that had a 4 door or has been out of production for a decade or more. Taurus was their number 1 seller for decades maybe that’s what you call your cheap 4 door LFP sedan thing.
Ford always mirrors GM because it almost never gets anything 100% right (other than the original Mustang and Maverick). The problem with the Mustang right now is every trim is about $10k more than it should be. An Ecoboost Mustang coupe should run from $25k-$35k with a loaded convertible at $40k at most. Opt for the GT, add $10k to each trim with a max of $50k. If they could do that and price the rumored “Mustang” sedan at those levels, they would sell every one they made.
As for what I think the Mustang sedan WOULD be, I think there’s a good chance it’d be an EV based on Ford’s upcoming UEV architecture. I don’t think a 4 cylinder Mustang hybrid would be efficient enough to compete with the Camry hybrid.
As for what I would personally love to see, I’d love to see a RWD liftback with a V8, with the option of either a stickshift or an automatic/DCT with hybrid tech.
I think ICE, hybrid and EV options would all be good, and I’m probably more likely to get a UEV Mustang as my only car given that I only have one parking spot.
> The Mustang’s platform only supports the Mustang and nothing else.
Mustang and Explorer share the RWD platform
That explains why the last Mustang I drove felt bigger than my old MN12 Thunderbird.
I think the Explorer rear suspension is based on the Mustang rear suspension, but it’s on the CD6 architecture; the Mustang is on its own platform.
😮
So the Explorer is basically a Mustang wagon, right? So you can swap a V8 in that cop car? 😉
Easy enough to make an Explorer sedan then 😛
https://opposite-lock.com/assets/uploads/files/1780596058586-mustangexplorersedan.jpg
Nope
Where do I send my deposit for the LTD LX?
Marty’s DeLorean time machine to 1985.
Cool, if I get to drive the 302 Fox-body sedan home.
Call it the Taurus so they can revive the SHO.
I owned a ’94 Gen2 SHO 5 speed. The later ones were mere shadows of what once was. Too big, too heavy, too fussy, the full littany.
Call a 4 door Mustang sedan a Torino, Fairlane, Falcon – some legacy name.
I once owned an LTD much like the one pictured; sadly I had a 3.8 Essex, not a 302 Windsor.
Galaxie for base engine. Galaxie 500 for V8 sedan.
Considering the sheer number of Chargers that sold over the years, I think there’s room for Ford to make an affordable RWD sedan.
Ford FICO Five Hundred
Mustang sedan should look like the one pictured.
And should MSRP at about 30K.
Ford Maverick sedan, let’s f***ing go!
Growing up, our family was intensely Ford faithful. My dad always had a Ford going back to his ‘68 Mustang and then a master Ford tech married into the family in the 90’s. Every gathering on my dad’s side would have the whole catalog of Ford in the driveway, from a Tempo to an F-250. I learned how to drive in a ‘78 F-350 dump truck, a ‘67 Mustang coupe and a ‘01 Ford Explorer Sport (2-door). I personally have had a ‘94 Ranger, ‘09 F-150 and a ‘12 Focus 5-speed manual. I love my Focus and was looking forward to the next generation to hit our shores… which never happened.
We are done with the brand. My master tech uncle can no longer defend their products. His own kids went to a different brand, which was unthinkable 10 years ago. Ford’s products are fussy, complicated and overpriced. It’s like they killed Mercury just to turn Ford into Mercury. Now there is no floor anymore for people like us that were drawn to simple cars that were easy to maintain. My parent’s ‘17 Fusion is probably the last Ford they will own. I bought my first non-Ford last year, a 2025 Civic Sport for $26K. It’s everything a new Focus could have been.
Ford can make a Mustang based sedan with a swept roof hatch and call it the Torino. And it won’t matter because it will start at $35K and I won’t be able to afford it, nor would I want to maintain it.
I mostly feel the same way. Ford didn’t have what I wanted in 2008 so I bought a new Mazda. Then we finally got the Focus ST so I bought a used 2013 Focus ST in 2018 and that’s been great.
But none of the current vehicles aside from the ugly Mustang appeal to me. They could make a 2-door Maverick and/or a longer bed for a reasonable price and I would consider that.
In fairness to Ford here (and I also say this as a bad old days Mustang owner), a Mustang sedan was in the cards from the very beginning in the early 60s.
There were even mockups of it. It wasn’t crazy looking either. Ultimately, Ford decided to focus more narrowly and the rest is history, but this isn’t that out there of an idea. The very first Mustang I and later Mach 2 mid engine concepts could pave the way for where Ford may have to go to compete with the Corvette as it is.