The Ford Mustang Mach-E Is a Fake Mustang, But a Real Accomplishment (Road & Track)
The Mach-E might be the best marketing decision Dearborn has ever made.
The fact that you've clicked on a review of an electric crossover built by a traditional OEM proves Ford was right about one thing. Aside from "Tesla," "Mustang" is arguably the most effective name to get people to pay attention to a new vehicle. Ford doesn't need you to be happy about seeing a pony badge on an EV cute-ute. It just needs you to know it exists. The name is a means to that end.
Because the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E is, at its core, a first step in Ford's new direction. It's a checkpoint, signaling how the company has changed. It won't replace the F-150 or the internal-combustion Mustang overnight. It probably won't single-handedly decimate Tesla. It's a simple statement of intent. "This is where we're headed," the Mach-E says, beckoning toward a future filled with desirable, mainstream electric Fords.
Ford desperately wants to be seen as a leader in EVs. The automaker wants to make money and claim market share, sure, but it also wants to sell Wall Street on the idea that the most established of establishment automakers can take the fight to Tesla. Ford took its time bringing a long-range EV to market, and now it's trying to position itself alongside the upstart that single-handedly made EVs cool. You can't win that kind of fight without being bold.
So the Mustang badge landed on an electric crossover. And just like that, all the other OEMs talking about "betting it all" on electrification started to look yellow-bellied, feckless. Ford put its most valuable name on the line. Then, when you thought this historic company might blink, it electrified its ultimate money-maker, the F-150. If success was only about taking risks, the game would already be won.
There is, of course, the thorny issue of whether this vehicle is a "real Mustang." Spoiler alert: It's not. Automotive nameplates are a figment of our collective imagination. Of all the Mustangs that Ford has sold over half a century, most barely fit the rip-snorting performance image the badge conveys. No, the Mach-E isn't the bellowing coupe we love. The real question is whether that matters.
(photo credit: Mack Hogan - Road & Track)
