If rumors are to be believed, the all-new redesigned seventh-generation Ford Mustang gallops onto the world stage in September at the North American International Detroit Auto Show.
The timing would make sense, as it would allow Ford to follow up with another Mustang event on April 17, 2023, the date that the original Mustang debuted in 1964
What else we know
Production of the car, which has the codename S650, is anticipated to start in the first half of 2023, according to Automotive News, which cited unnamed sources. Both V-8 and 4-cylinder EcoBoost engines are anticipated, according to people with knowledge of the plans. But expect the powertrain options to expand beyond those choices.
As TheDetroitBureau.com previously reported, Ford is reportedly working up a hybrid version of the original Mustang coupe and plans to have it in showrooms by 2025. That would make sense, given that electrification can be handled in the short-term by the all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV. Longer term, don’t be surprised when an all-electric Mustang debut — reportedly for the 2029 model year.
Ford is sticking with its earlier strategy of bringing out a mix of different battery drive systems, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids or pure battery-electric vehicles. That strategy contrasts its crosstown rival General Motors, which is going all-in on electrification.
The Ford Mustang is built at Ford’s Flat Rock, Michigan plant.
Still a sales stallion
Ford says the Ford Mustang is the best-selling sports coupe in the world; although not in the United States. In 2021, Ford sold 52,414 Mustangs, down from 61,090 sold the year before. Still, that’s more than the 21,893 Chevrolet Camaros sold, but less than the Dodge Challenger’s 54,314 sales.
Nevertheless, consider Dodge’s sales crown temporary. For the first six months of 2022, Ford is once more the sales champ, with its 26,244 Mustangs tromping Dodge’s 25,682 Challengers sold and Chevrolet’s very distant sales of 11,255 Camaros.
Of course, if you add in sales of the Mustang Mach-E SUV, Ford’s iconic nameplate is the undisputed champ here. But being an SUV with four doors, it’s hardly the same thing, aside from its appellation.
The current Ford Mustang was last redesigned for 2015.
This year’s North American International Detroit Auto Show will run Sept. 14-25 at Detroit’s Huntington Place convention center and various outdoor venues. It is the first one since January 2019.
A famous birth
Every new Mustang is eagerly awaited, but who would have guessed the first one would be so successful? Certainly not Ford in 1964.
Yes, its new Falcon compact had been a hit, but the Edsel certainly hadn’t. And even when it had a modest hit, Ford Automotive Division general manager and vice president, Robert McNamara took the two-seat Ford Thunderbird, introduced for 1955, and added rear seats in 1958, instantly eliminating its cache.
So in 1964, the automaker tried to build anticipation for the 2+2 Mustang with the press.
“Ford Division confirmed today that it will introduce a new line of cars this spring,” said the press release issued Feb. 6, 1964, by Lee Iacocca, vice president of Ford Motor Co. “The new line of cars will be called the Mustang … no further details on the new car line will be revealed until the time of its public introduction.”
Ford sold 22,000 Mustangs on the first day. Its popularity proved unprecedented. Certainly everyone at The Glass House breathed a sigh of relief; the car had been under development since 1960.
Since then, Ford has sold more than 10.2 million pony cars since it created the market segment in 1964, not including the Mustang Mach-E. The Mustang’s highest sales year was 1966, when 607,568 units were sold. Its low point was 2009, when 46,420 were sold.