Ford screws up again.....

When the S650 Mustang came out Ford dropped the ball buy making the 4 cyl Turbo auto trans only. However you could still get a performance package with big brakes, upgraded suspension and flappy paddles. 

Well for 2025 that option appears to be gone along with several nice paint colors.

WTF Ford?!  Not everyone has GT money....

These parts are shared with other models so it not much of a cost savings the way I see it. 

I'm sure there reasoning in lack of sales. Lets face it, most people buy whats on the lot. If dealers don't stock it people wont buy it. This also applies to the low take rate of the manual trans that led to it being dropped.

I blame dealers for the low take rate on manuals. Autos are a more expensive option for more $ to the dealer. Dont forget that drivers school doesn't even teach how to drive anything anymore. Aim and go.

Ranger50 said:

I blame dealers for the low take rate on manuals. Autos are a more expensive option for more $ to the dealer. Dont forget that drivers school doesn't even teach how to drive anything anymore. Aim and go.

Nah, fundamentally it's because most drivers are not enthusiasts.  They are interested in cars as transportation, not in the driving experience.

That said, the dealer sales model does make it more difficult for small volume/niche vehicles to exist.  Dealers are financing the inventory on their lot and every day a car sits there is costing them $20 or $30 or whatever.  They are heavily incentivized to order cars that they can sell quickly, so they tend to go for very "safe" cars.

For auto vs manual, these days the only reason to get a stick is because it's more fun... and those of us who believe that are fewer and fewer every day. 

Well, maybe they can use the time they used to spend on coming up with goofy paint color names to double check they pulled the correct fkn headgasket from the bin.

It's not just Ford.  The C8 Corvette has NO manual option because the C7 only sold about 20% in a manual.

The auto industry took a sharp decline in May '22   

triumph7 said:

It's not just Ford.  The C8 Corvette has NO manual option because the C7 only sold about 20% in a manual.

And the GTI. Like it or not, this is the way the whole industry is going.

I though this thread would be about how they can't seem to screw cars together correctly these days.

i truly don't understand the paint color options...  

BMW now offers 2 whites and 2 blacks, 4 greys, and 3 shades of blue.  While I get that most dealerships won't order expensive paint options but for BMW which encourages the custom order experience why can't I order green, orange, etc.  BMW has those colors for the M cars and they have the ability to do individual paint and they offer paint options that are $1500 options... 

as for Ford dropping the track options for 25 on the 4 cyl. while I agree that not everybody can afford the GT, if you can afford to take a new car to the race track you can probably afford the v8.  its likely a very small slice of the buying population that would sacrifice the cost, compliance, etc. of a track equipped 4 cyl...  

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

Nah, fundamentally it's because most drivers are not enthusiasts.  They are interested in cars as transportation, not in the driving experience.

This. The reality is that 99% of buyers, cars are just another appliance, a way to get to work or take the kids to school. Every SUV and average sedan is proof of that. We could argue about how we can't buy high performance white-wall tires, but we adapt and move on or get left behind.

ClearWaterMS said:

i truly don't understand the paint color options... 

It comes down to a couple of things in my opinion:

1: White/Black/Grey pigment and paint cost is low. 

2: Some Karen or Josh gathered a group of people in a room and showed them a couple stills of Pontiac Azteks in any color besides white, grey, black and blue then showed the same people an E36 in white, grey, black and blue and now we only have those colors. 

3: Commercial vehicle sales 

Be thankful Ford makes the Mustang.  At all. Because Ford doesn't want to build cars.