The Mustang Mach-E is here, and sadly, it's not your grandpa's muscle car. In fact, it's not a muscle car at all. In December 2020, Ford unveiled their newest take on the timeless mustang, and I have to admit, I have tried my best to pretend like it was all a fever dream.
As someone who avidly champions a great muscle car, looking at the new electric design was akin to a strange nightmare. The Mustang Mach-E is an electric SUV, and more of a tired pony than its grandeur stallion fore bearers.
It's like Ford decided to have a mid-life crisis and give up their love of all things iconic. But hey, it's 2023, and we're all for embracing change, right?
So, why is the Mustang Mach-E so far from its roaring muscular predecessors? Well, for starters, it doesn't have a burly V8 engine under the hood. Instead, it's now powered by an electric motor – a lithium-ion battery, to be precise. Gone are the days of revving your engine to show off your horsepower. Now, you'll have to settle for silently accelerating like a stealthy ninja in the night. The lesser evil? Perhaps…
Another thing that makes the Mustang Mach-E far removed from its namesake is size. When you see a muscle car, you know it means business. Taking up entire motorway lanes wherever they go, these cars almost always have the beef and brawn to back up their impressive stats..
It’s more like a compact 4x4; a strange in-between of a sedan and a SUV. Is it an off-road vehicle? Is it a family 4 door? Just close your eyes and choose.
And let’s not forget about the sound. Muscle cars have a roar which can be recognized anywhere. When you hear that exhaust, and you know it comes from only one type of car. A growl that can wake the dead. The Mustang Mach-E, though, is silent... like a mouse. No crackle, no deafening exhaust, just a polite hum that says "please don’t ridicule me!”.
In March, Ford stated that by the end of 2023, they would reach an annualized production rate of 210,000 Mach-E's. Going by the sales figures up till May, they’ll only sell an average of 35,000 units by years end, only 17% of the company’s 2023 annual production target.
And lets not forget, no other sports car has outsold the mustang for the last 10 years. With over 48,000 sales in 2022, The classic Mustang outperformed its main competitor, the Chevrolet Camero for example, having only 25,000 sales, by a country mile. So possibly I’m not the only one who prefers the original to the electric reboot.
However... The Mustang Mach-E does have its advantages. It's eco-friendly of course, and in this day and age, this is so important, and means you can drive it without feeling guilty about contributing to the decay of the planet.
Plus, it's got all sorts of fancy gadgets and gizmos that make driving a breeze, and everyone loves these. And, really, who can say no to the extra safety features? The Mach-E comes with a host of those, including adaptive cruise control, lane departure warnings, even automatic breaking.
With a 360-degree camera system providing a bird’s eye view of the vehicle, parking and manoeuvring in tight spaces never looked so easy.
So I may have been too harsh initially. The Mustang! Mach-E is a great car. It’s eco-friendly, it’s stylish, and it’s got some pretty great features. It's just not a muscle car, but actually that’s okay. Who would have thought you could have your cake and eat it?
Embrace the change, and who knows, maybe in a few years, we'll all have muscle cars that run on electricity. We can call them "electro-muscle cars" or "muscle-ish cars?" or maybe we can just stick with the Mustang Mach-E and enjoy the ride.
Heather Keith
Heather, who has recently joined the writing team on erpecnewslive.com is a self confessed lover of muscle cars, an interest she inherited and continues to share with her Father. She is also a talented writer and is looking to publish her first book fictional novel in the not too distant future. Good luck with that Heather.
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