As Baby Boomers Reminisce, Ford Aims to Save Brand With European Look to Draw Younger Buyers
Old Mustang Look Is Put Out to Pasture
BY MIKE RAMSEY
April 15, 2012, 7:13 p.m.
For the last decade, auto makers have connected with baby boomers by recreating storied cars from their youth like the VW Beetle, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger.
Now, Ford Motor Co. is betting it is time to hit the brakes on the retro trend, and shift its focus to a younger generation.
The Mustang, the Pony car that launched affordable and compact sports cars, today strongly hews to the look of the 1964 original. But Ford is working on radical makeover of its signature youth-market car, people familiar with Ford's plans said. The new Mustang will retain the shark-nosed grille and round headlights, but will “look more like the new Ford Fusion than the current Mustang.”
“The new Mustang is due as a 2014 model, and will look somewhat like an Aston Martin, the high-price sports car often featured in James Bond movies. People who have seen the new Mustang said it is almost a body double for the Evos concept car that Ford showed at the Frankfurt auto show last fall.”
Old Mustang Look Is Put Out to Pasture
BY MIKE RAMSEY
April 15, 2012, 7:13 p.m.
For the last decade, auto makers have connected with baby boomers by recreating storied cars from their youth like the VW Beetle, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger.
Now, Ford Motor Co. is betting it is time to hit the brakes on the retro trend, and shift its focus to a younger generation.
The Mustang, the Pony car that launched affordable and compact sports cars, today strongly hews to the look of the 1964 original. But Ford is working on radical makeover of its signature youth-market car, people familiar with Ford's plans said. The new Mustang will retain the shark-nosed grille and round headlights, but will “look more like the new Ford Fusion than the current Mustang.”
“The new Mustang is due as a 2014 model, and will look somewhat like an Aston Martin, the high-price sports car often featured in James Bond movies. People who have seen the new Mustang said it is almost a body double for the Evos concept car that Ford showed at the Frankfurt auto show last fall.”