Can Ford's all-electric Mustang Mach-E still be called a Mustang?

At the beginning of this year, the sudden outbreak of the epidemic disrupted the established rhythm of new car releases by various automakers. Some manufacturers who could not hold back held online press conferences in the first half of the year, but most manufacturers still wanted to show their real cars, so there was a "blowout" of new cars in the auto market in September. Models including the BMW iX3, Mercedes-Benz G350, Mazda 3/CX-30 compression ignition version were launched in batches... But in terms of importance and topicality, there should be no one that can surpass the new generation of Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

However, due to a picture on the Internet, this car "turned over" in public opinion shortly after it was launched. Some netizens took pictures of a brand new Mercedes-Benz S-Class and a Honda Accord driving side by side on the road, and from the aura, it was actually "crushed". One netizen commented: "If it wasn't for the Mercedes-Benz logo, I would have chosen the Accord decisively." The Mercedes-Benz flagship sedan was "completely defeated" by a B-Class car, which was a bit like a tiger in plain land being bullied by a dog. Although it was just a joke, it also revealed a truth: although the car logo has a certain bonus to the brand value of the car, the final decision on whether the car can be accepted by users depends on whether the product itself meets the expectations of users.

Another example is Ford's Mustang Mach-E, a pure electric SUV named after Mustang, and Ford's first pure electric model in the world.

In the public's perception, Mustang is a symbol of the V8 engine, a representative of the GT coupe design, and a fanatical pursuer of sports and ultimate handling. Therefore, launching a pure electric SUV with a Mustang logo is almost an act of "forgetting one's roots" in the eyes of fanatical Mustang fans.

"Is a pure electric SUV worthy of being called Mustang?" This is the common voice of many netizens.

Therefore, whether this truly strategic model of Ford can be recognized by consumers and even achieve market success depends first on dispelling the doubts in consumers' minds, and then convincing consumers to pay by credit card through hard-core product strength.

Ford is also well aware of this. In its latest second episode of "100,000 Volts" live show, Ford's global electric vehicle director Mark Kaufman specifically answered this question.

Why did Ford build a pure electric SUV named Mustang? In fact, this question can be divided into three questions:

1. Why does Ford want to build a pure electric vehicle?

2. Why is this car an SUV?

3. Why is this car named Mustang?

The first question is relatively easy to answer. With the global environmental emission standards becoming increasingly stringent, electrification transformation and the introduction of electric vehicles have become a consensus in the automotive industry.

Technically speaking, building a pure electric vehicle is also the only way to achieve autonomous driving in the future. First of all, because the important energy source of autonomous driving technology is electricity, and the degree of electrification of new energy vehicles is relatively high, they no longer need to go through the oil-to-electricity process like traditional cars, and the guarantee of electricity is more complete. Secondly, new energy vehicles are more malleable. The overall structure of traditional cars has been relatively fixed since its development, and there is not much space in the car to accommodate sensors and other components of autonomous driving technology. However, new energy vehicles are more malleable, and the body structure is more modular, which makes it easier to add the hardware required for autonomous driving technology.

It is especially worth mentioning that the Mustang Mach-E is built on Ford's new Global Electric pure electric platform, which is very important. Although many traditional OEMs have launched their own pure electric products before, it is undeniable that these models are based on the improvement of the fuel platform. Although there will be optimizations, it is completely unable to give full play to the advantages that the electrification system should have. Whether in terms of battery life or performance, it has an inherent disadvantage compared with models built on pure electric platforms.

If pure electric is the general trend of the automotive industry, it is still understandable, but turning Mustang into an SUV has touched the sore spot of fans. After all, the classic image of the coupe model is so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in the 56 years since the birth of Mustang that the two are almost equated.

But if you pay close attention, you will find that most of the pure electric models on the market are SUVs. This is mainly due to battery layout considerations, because the batteries of pure electric models are often laid under the car, and the height of the battery itself will occupy part of the space inside the car. Therefore, if a sedan shape is adopted, it is difficult to take into account both space and body shape.

In fact, there may be another reason why Ford built this SUV named Mustang. The owners who buy Mustang are often single young people with low income. They mainly need to be cool and flirt with girls. From this perspective, Mustang is almost a perfect choice. However, as these people gradually get married and become family-oriented, an SUV with a trunk that can accommodate a stroller and a child safety seat and has stronger passability is more in line with their needs. Ford obviously does not want to lose these core users with high brand loyalty. Since there is no SUV in the family, it will build one.

The last question is, why is this car named Mustang?

Just like parents naming their children, manufacturers always place some expectations on naming their cars. Mustang can be said to be Ford's "golden signboard", and there is no doubt that Ford cherishes this brand. In the documentary about the birth of Mustang, Ford's management implicitly gave the answer to this question: there are too many boring electric cars in the world, and Ford wants to create a pure electric car with emotion and soul!

After 56 years of refinement, Mustang is no longer just a car model, but a cultural symbol with rich emotional connotations, which can be seen from the fact that Mustang has become a frequent visitor to Hollywood. Recently, I saw a picture on the Internet showing Tesla Model Y and Mustang Mach-E charging side by side. Tesla looks rounder and more technological. The latter's blue paint and more sporty lines make people more eager to drive, and it is more in line with the appetite of young people who pursue individuality. In terms of aura, they both have their own merits.

Since it’s called Mustang, Mach-E must be good.

Let’s talk about the appearance design first

Good design means that no matter whether the family logo is hung on the front of the car, you can recognize the brand at a glance in the traffic. This is what is often called family design elements.

However, Mustang has been a coupe model since its birth. There has never been a four-door model in history, let alone an SUV. Therefore, if you want Mach-E to look like a Mustang at first glance, it is a test of the designer's skills.

The side lines are the charm of the entire Mustang model. Mach-E continues to maintain the overall proportion of a long front and a short rear. Generally speaking, a too long front overhang will cause a loss of power transmission, but in order to keep the long front of the Mustang Mach-E, a design element with the family soul, the engineers also made a clever balance between appearance and performance.

In the final version, the height of the entire front cabin of the Mustang Mach-E is further raised and flattened, and the lines at the rear of the roof are further tilted, creating the classic Fastback shape of the Mustang. At the same time, considering the squeeze on the second-row head space caused by the fastback shape, the designer applied the visual effect of two-color splicing to raise the roof part and the area above the second-row passengers, "stealing" some head space. While cleverly retaining the Fastback shape, it also ensures the riding comfort of the second-row passengers.

Finally, the designers added the family's classic shark nose front face shape and three columnar taillights to this car. In the words of Ford engineers themselves: to ensure that this car can be seen as a Mustang from any angle.

It is not easy to make a pure electric vehicle have the driving pleasure of a Mustang, especially testing the tuning skills of the engineering team. In order to make Mach-E drive as fun as a Mustang, Ford's global performance team used the North Carolina simulator to test and tune the car. This is also the first mass-produced model to be tuned using the simulator.

Due to the different road conditions in each country, users have different demands for cars, especially electric cars, such as the hardness of the suspension, the sensitivity of the brakes, and the steering feel. The simulator can be used to simulate road conditions around the world to meet the needs of different markets. At the same time, compared with traditional real car tests, the track simulator can quickly switch scenes and vehicle data. For example, when evaluating the impact of different sizes of tires on the dynamic performance of the vehicle, the tires can be changed in seconds on the simulator. The simulator can shorten the R&D cycle, and a shorter R&D cycle means that the car model can be put on the market earlier.

Traditionally, no one would associate pure electric SUVs with driving pleasure, as if urban commuting is the only destination for pure electric vehicles. This concept mainly comes from two aspects. First, there is no breakthrough in battery technology. Compared with driving pleasure, manufacturers (especially Chinese manufacturers) are more concerned about the length of the driving range. On the other hand, intense driving will cause the battery to heat up, which places extremely high technical requirements on the BMS. Therefore, many manufacturers who are not confident in technology often avoid talking about this.

But in fact, because most of the batteries of electric vehicles are laid under the car, the center of gravity of the car body is lower, and the stability during driving is stronger. Under the premise of ensuring the height and passability of the chassis, the steering and drift of pure electric vehicles are more flexible, and they can turn faster when driving on intense tracks.

Anyone who knows Ford knows that Ford has a tradition of car manufacturing: the high-performance team first creates high-performance models with extreme performance, and then after continuous adjustment and improvement, the technology is mature and stable before it is transferred to mass-produced models. Although this approach requires huge initial investment, it can ensure that mass-produced models can also have good handling performance and stability. Mustang Mach-E is no exception. Ford has previously launched two high-performance electric models, the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 prototype and the Mustang Mach-E 1400 prototype. The rated horsepower of both cars reaches 1,400.

The Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 prototype accelerates from 0 to 400 meters in just over 8 seconds, and the latter can independently switch between rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive, and can easily complete difficult drifting actions. The purpose of Ford's global performance car team to build these two cars is to explore the performance limits of the motor-driven system, and then delegate the technology to the mass-produced version so that users can enjoy driving pleasure far beyond the same-level competitors.

However, at the end of the call, Mark also said that the Mustang Mach-E will not replace the traditional fuel-powered Mustang, but will be developed in parallel with the fuel-powered Mustang under the Mustang brand. As for whether this Ford pure electric SUV is really good, we still look forward to seeing it at the Beijing Auto Show which opens this week.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.