Ford Mustang Mach-ENadine Filion News about Fords 2021 Mustang Mach-E electric SUV keeps breaking every day, pointing to ever-more ambitious plans for the model. After shipping it to dealers late 2020, the automaker plans to sell 50,000 examples globally through 2021, reports the Detroit News for context, Nissans Leaf managed 30,000 units in its best year. A performance-spec Shelby version is allegedly in the works, too.And Ford Europe design chief Murat Gueler admits some execs have even talked about building a family around the Mustang name. This is, of course, assuming Mustang enthusiasts, pitchforks and torches in hand, havent by then burned Dearborn to the ground for sticking the name of the iconic pony car on an electric SUV in the first place.Yes, the reaction to the Blue Oval calling the Mach-E a Mustang has been simply calamitous. Even with Ford bringing on the charismatic Idris Elba as a brand ambassador, the backlash has been unrelenting.No fewer than four petitions for the name to be changed have been launched; promises have hurriedly come down from Ford execs that youll be convinced once you drive it; and a survey of social media shows fans of rival muscle cars from General Motors and Mopar have even sympathetically relaxed or resisted their usual trolling of Mustang owners.There have been, arguably, early warnings Ford holds no name completely sacred. In 1967, the company turned its Thunderbird, once a two-seat roadster, into a marshmallow-y four-door luxury sedan; 10 years later the vaunted Mercury Cougar muscle car badge would show up on a station wagon.Then again, those marques didnt jump from gasoline to electric power, or from car to sport utility.‘Making the Mustang Mach-E’A few days after its launch, Ford released this video about the Mustang Mach-Es development, featuring several executives, engineers, designers and Mustang fans.The company doesnt hide that the group behind the vehicle, Team Edison, didnt start out with the intent to make their new EV product a Mustang, pinning the inspiration for bringing the haloed brand into it on Jim Farley, president of new business and technology.The video shows us, too, that Mach-Es being labelled Mustang faced plenty of scepticism from inside the company, even from executive chairman Bill Ford himself, who was absolutely adamant that it not be a Mustang.But, as you might expect of a piece of apologia like this, by the end of the 20-minute clip, all those Doubting Thomases have been convinced, turned onto the thought this noiseless four-door could be a Mustang after all.The film finishes with the fans take, sage words to the effect progress cant be stopped, and that itd be kind of neat to see Mustang on the flanks of a spaceship a hundred years from now.The argument against Mach-E — from a Ford insiderBut the argument doesnt stop there just because the credits roll; in fact, Driving.ca managed to tap for an exclusive interview a Mustang subject matter expert working for Ford who vows the Mach-E is not a Mustang. End of story. If you ask them, this is instead a marketing gimmick gone wrong.Mustang was used for publicity purposes; its as simple as that, writes our insider, whose identity were keeping hidden to save them from a possible reprisal by their employer. We can all see Ford did not have faith in the vehicle to live on its own. If they did, they would have given it a separate name. Mustang Family Photo, but one of these things is not like the others The Mustang enthusiast community, they suggest, is not opposed to progress, just what they take as a flagrant disregard for the Mustang brand. We are not upset about it being electric. Fact is, electric (power) gives us instantaneous torque, and that is pretty darn great. We are upset about it turning into a completely different vehicle segment within a brand that already has multiple SUVs.Porsche didnt slap a 911 on their SUV. Lamborghini didnt call their SUV a Murcilago. Was introducing an SUV within those brands polarizing? Absolutely. But, at least they didnt sacrifice a name that means so much to people.There are few counter-arguments our insider, a lifelong Mustang fan, cant refute. People have claimed Ford experimented with four-door and station wagon (Mustang) designs in the early 60s, they explain. Although this is true, (Ford) chose not to pursue these body styles because they claimed it went against Mustangs mission to be a sporty vehicle. When you have a product as enormously successful as Mustang, you invariably have to consider how to capitalize on the idea. While Mustang used the platform of the compact Falcon as its starting point, the four-door Mustang could have brought the idea full circle by adding two doors to the pony car. Fortunately for Mustang fans, cooler heads prevailed. Ford That feeling of a loss of identity may be the strongest argument against the pony badge being slapped onto the face of the Mach-E if not, the pony badge itself is. The
Origin: Ford insiders make the case for – and against – the Mach-E being named ‘Mustang’
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Ford’s new electric crossover will officially be named ‘Mustang Mach-E’
Ford’s all-new Mustang-inspired fully-electric performance utility arrives in 2020 with targeted range of 480 kms.Handout / Ford Ford will be expanding its Mustang range to include its new all-electric crossover or at least, thats what its officially naming the SUV the Mustang Mach-E suggests.Rumours of the “Mach-E” part of the name have been circulating for a long while, but this is the first hard confirmation weve got the crossover will also wear a Mustang badge.Reaction to the announcement was understandably mixed it didnt sit well with many critics whod pointed out there’s never been an electric Mustang before, nor a crossover-bodied example. Crossing the trendy new powertrain and volume-seller body style was just a little irreverent for some who see Mustang as a hallowed marque.To assuage their worries, Fords brought on none other than Idris Elba as a sort of brand ambassador for the new vehicle; the actor himself used to work on a Ford assembly line once upon a time. The long-awaited but controversial new crossover will make its debut just ahead of the Los Angeles auto show, via a livestream at 9:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 17.At the presentations conclusion, Ford will immediately open up a configurator tool where prospective Mach-E customers can spec their electric Mustang and put down a US$500 deposit to reserve one. Order forms will formally open up next
Origin: Ford’s new electric crossover will officially be named ‘Mustang Mach-E’
Detroit man named Henry Ford wanted for stealing tires off Fords
More cars are being stolen with the keys already inside. Henry Ford is at it again! Wait, that could be confusing. Let me clarify: Detroit-based thief Henry James Ford has reportedly cut his electronic monitoring device, mailed it back to authorities and is prowling the streets targeting cars wearing the Blue Oval. Detroit TV station WXYZ reports the 49-year-old man with a famous name has done time for assault with a dangerous weapon, receiving stolen property, larceny from a motor vehicle and more, and is currently being sought by police for breaking his parole.But he didn’t just break his parole, he smashed it like an avocado at a hipster brunch spot. Ford sent the Michigan Department of Corrections his electronic monitoring device accompanied with a note saying he was done, thanks.Now, in what is just the purest of ironies, there’s a new warrant out for the man’s arrest, this time for stealing the tires off a Ford Ecosport. Authorities allegedly found the stolen tires stacked in the bed of Ford’s F-150. “So Henry Ford, he’s stealing GPS units out of vehicles, he’s stealing tires, he’s robbing these cars,” said deputy Aaron Garcia. “It’s almost like a disgrace to the Ford Motor Company.”As they do with everyone who lands on their most wanted list, U.S. Marshals are offering a cash reward for information leading to Henry Ford’s arrest. Yup, still feels weird to write that.
Origin: Detroit man named Henry Ford wanted for stealing tires off Fords
Aston Martin’s new mid-engined hypercar named Valhalla
Aston Martin’s upcoming mid-engined hypercar will be named the Valhalla, as a continuation of the firm’s line of ‘V-cars’ performance models. Revealed at this year’s Geneva motor show under internal codename RB-003, alongside the Vanquish Vision supercar and Lagonda All-Terrain SUV concepts, the hybridised V6-powered road car takes its production name from the warriors’ paradise referred to in Norse mythology. Aston Martin’s association with the letter V can be traced back to 1951, when the Vantage moniker was unofficially assigned to high-performance variants of the DB2 sports car. The tradition has been kept alive with subsequent Vantage, Virage, Vanquish and Valkyrie performance models. “If Valkyrie is the best of the best, then the (Valhalla) is the best at £1m,” design boss Marek Reichman said of the new hypercar, which Aston will put into production in late 2021. The new model, which Autocar received exclusive access to ahead of the Geneva motor show, is the second to be co-developed between Aston Martin and Red Bull Advanced Technologies in Milton Keynes and will bridge the sizeable gap in Aston’s fast-growing range of mid-engined models between the Valkyrie and the production Vanquish. The Valhalla’s power and positioning – most likely with more than 1000bhp and the kind of performance that would threaten the Nürburgring lap record – would place it in contention with the new Ferrari SF90 Stradale and 250mph McLaren Speedtail. The Valhalla will use Aston’s new twin-turbo V6 engine with electric assistance, and the car will be built around a carbonfibre architecture and carbonfibre bodywork. “It will have the same principles as the Valkyrie with its all-carbonfibre tub but will be more usable,” said Reichman. The Geneva concept car is 90% representative of the final production model, he added. Aston boss Andy Palmer calls the Valhalla “the bridge” in the world of mid-engined Aston Martins. “The aerodynamics and tub construction filter down from the Valkyrie to this, and then the new V6 powertrain will go down to the Vanquish,” he said. “The Valkyrie is the fastest production car ever and now we’ve created a son of it that’s a halo car above everyone else’s range, like the P1, LaFerrari and (McLaren) Senna.” There is further technology transfer from the Valkyrie to the Valhalla through the active suspension and electronic systems, with Aston claiming the dynamic brief for the car is to be class-leading on both road and track. Those aerodynamics will not be as extreme as on the Valkyrie, but will in turn be more extreme than on the Vanquish. A high proportion of the aerodynamic work is done under the floor and through the large rear diffuser. The Valhalla also adopts aerospace aerodynamic morphing technology with a new variable airfoil called FlexFoil, which alters downforce without changing the physical angle as with an active rear wing, designed to improve aero performance and reduce wind noise, while also virtually eliminating turbulence and drag. While the Valhalla adopts a look and ethos inspired by the Valkyrie, it does so while being more usable. The doors open out forwards and out of the roof, inspired by an LMP1 car, to improve ingress and egress. Unlike the Valkyrie, there is also luggage and storage space for oddments and a wider centre console to put more space between driver and passenger. The cabin is unashamedly built around the driver and creating the perfect alignment between driver seat, steering wheel and pedals in what Aston calls ‘Apex Ergonomics’, with all major controls aligned for the driver and their eyeline. Instead of a traditional instrument binnacle, there is a small screen mounted directly on the steering column, with infotainment provided by what Aston calls ‘bring your own’, by simply mirroring a smartphone. Aston has not quoted any key stats for the Valhalla beyond the engine configuration but, as with the Valkyrie and Vanquish, there has been an obsession with weight saving and optimised packaging. For example, all four headlights and tail-lights weigh less than one DB11 headlight, while 3D printing is used for parts big and small in the interior, including a centre console that weighs half of what it would using traditional construction methods. Development of the Valhalla is ongoing in Milton Keynes, where Aston has a team of 130 people based within the Red Bull Advanced Technologies campus. The site is the home of development for Aston’s mid-engined
Origin: Aston Martin’s new mid-engined hypercar named Valhalla
Kia’s new compact SUV will be named ‘Seltos’
As if we needed further confirmation the crossover and SUV craze is a permanent market shift and not just a flash in the pan, Kia has announced it is adding yet another compact crossover to its portfolio. It’ll be called the Seltos. Said to be aimed at Millennials – a target group which, it must be noted, isn’t as young as you think any more – the Seltos apparently draws its name from Greek mythology, son of Hercules and father of the Celts. Kia replaced its first consonant with an ‘S’ to denote speed and sportiness. Alright then. Absent of official pictures, we’re left to speculate exactly the form Seltos will take when it hits the market in Korea and other as-yet-unnamed regions later this year. Spy photos are floating about, however, showing a machine whose front end reminds your author of a pleasant mashup of Soul and Telluride. The entire vehicle will be shown later this month. Inside the Seltos, Kia says the cabin is characterized by broad, sweeping shapes and highly technical details. Equipped with a range of tech, the cabin’s design is said to incorporate a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system and something called Sound Mood Lighting. Your author assumes the latter turns the Seltos into a pulsating nightclub when the oontz is cranked to eleven. Specifics such as dimensions and powertrains aren’t mentioned, but alert readers will recall that corporate cousin Hyundai unveiled a car called the Venue earlier this year. It would make more than a dose of sense if the Seltos shared some or most of its
Origin: Kia’s new compact SUV will be named ‘Seltos’
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