Tag: Ford

Like you, I’ve just seen the Twitter tweet from the FoMoCo about the new Mustang inspired SUV EV. And if you haven’t, I’ll let that sink in for a moment before I carry on.

So Ford are to market a Mustang SUV for the masses. And as I sit here at home, I can hear the internet explode with people tapping violently into keyboards with the caps-lock on. 

But is this such a bad thing? I sat through the presentation of the new Ford Puma SUV and agreed with Ford. I liked what they had done. I don’t for one moment care about the Puma coupe car. It was based on the Fiesta, filled a niche and thankfully was short lived. It also rusted with the same speed as many 80’s Italian cars so thankfully there are very few left.  

But Mustang. Using the Mustang name for an SUV. Is that wrong? Is it right? What does Mustang actually stand for?

Well to answer this, we need to go back in time. A time where Ford and its Mustang changed the world. The Mustang was launched in 1965, the Mustang was based on the Ford Falcon mechanicals. A bit like the European Capri based on Cortina origins.

Unlike its European cousin, the Mustang was a new concept in adaptability. It was a car for the boy, the girl, the mum, the dad and the retired. It encompassed all genres and appealed to all people. You see, the Mustang was available as almost any car you wanted it to be in an array of configurations that confused. 

You could get the Mustang as a daily hack, a sports car, a luxury car, saloon, coupe or convertible. It was the first mass appeal car to hit the market and because of this adaptability, it appealed to the American buyer and became a staple diet of the motoring landscape.

However that was all set to change. Its ever ability to change chameleon style came to a crashing stop when the short lived (for a reason) second generation arrived in 1974. The writing was almost on the wall already with the 71-73 models becoming bloated with bigger bodies and nothing extra in the go-go department. So the 74-78 models with its emissions controls thwarted the Mustang in its steps. No sooner had the Mustang become synonymous with the word “sporting” it soon became a car known as a horse ready for the glue factory. 

Sexual invigoration with the aid of Charlie and his Angels couldn’t inject anything into this Mustang. Jill Monroe might have had a white Cobra 2 Mustang, but she soon left the Angels. No doubt because her car couldn’t cope with carrying her big hair. This left accident prone and always getting shot, Kelly Garrett and her beige Mustang Ghia and we’ll leave it there.

Over the next 20 years, the ‘Stang stayed relatively small in size. It aided its sporting looks and there really isn’t much to say about it until 2005’s Mustang arrived. Designed by Sid Ramnarace, the fifth-generation Mustang’s looks brought back many design elements of the original. This sparked a return to form for the Ford Mustang. It was once again a fast Ford for the masses. It no longer had appeal and availability of its original model but it was fast, available in a coupe or convertible and most importantly, it was affordable. 

Suddenly Mustang was the buzz word for the FoMoCo in the USA and any that made their way, in left hand drive, to the UK would turn heads. It looked the part. Fitted the retro scene well that the Chrysler PT Cruiser had failed at and everyone wanted one. Even Knight Rider had one. That’s right, the 2008 reboot had a Ford as the hero and not a Pontiac. And it worked. At least in the pilot episode when KITT changed into a 1965 Mustang. Anyway, KITT was a Mustang, hardcore KR fans melted and after 18 episodes, it was canceled. 

2014 and we in the UK finally got a Mustang with right hand drive. It remained a biggish car but it was rather well suited to our roads. It remained cheap for a 5 litre muscle car with the savings evident on the quality of the trim on the inside. But no one who owns one really cares about that. It sounded great, went fast, sounded faster and looked great.

So are Ford wrong to market the Mustang as an SUV? Looking back through its history, you’d think not. It hasn’t exactly been nice to the brand name. The Don Taylor and Tom Wilson book. Mustang Restoration Handbook, summed up the 71-73 cars as styling misadventures. What followed wasn’t really anything to shout about either.

The original concept was a car that was adaptable to fit the many needs of the motorists. But they have done things with the Mustang as a brand over the past 14 year, making it a stand alone product, so I don’t totally agree with what they are doing with the Mustang brand. It makes my teeth itch a bit

The Mustang, the car for the American people, doesn’t need this SUV makeover. Or does it? Well, yes. Yes it does. Not forgetting it’s questionable past, it fits with the concept of the original Mustang. 

This will be a Mustang of sorts to suit everyone. Just like its original.

Ford sparked outrage earlier this year when they announced their new SUV for the ever-competitive B segment market. They called it The Puma. 

Many took to Twitter to voice their concerns and outrage for the car that had been in production for just 4 years. Judging by their profile pictures, the mass were still adolescents, never going to buy this car or more importantly, had not really known what the original Puma was or what its concept to production was all about.

Ford have, it would seem, stuck closely to that original premise of the original Puma. It was an adaption of the small Fiesta platform. It’s just this time, it happens to be in an SUV shape and style that is fashionable. Back in 1997, the coupe was fashionable. 

I’ll grant you, that the SUV is a bit “Christ not another” but this is what you, the motoring public apparently want. Small volume coupes are long in the tooth now and when developed, need cooperation between several groups. Let’s not mention Toyota and BMW. Fiat and Mazda. And yet, several years ago, joint cooperations were acceptable. Citroen and Maseratti for instance. 

And so, Puma is another SUV. From an exclusive unveiling at this years Goodwood festival of Speed, I can tell you that it is all rather stacking in its favour. I’ll admit, I’m not over keen on the SUV segment, but Ford design chief, Anko Leemants was on hand to show us around the design language he used within his team to get to where Puma is today.

You could sit there, sceptical in mind when designers spout of familiar words to describe a design but Anko put it into perspective quite well. One of the key factors was its look being “optimistic” and it certainly has a young puppy dog expression about its face. It lacks the over used aggressive look that so many have used over the past decade.

In our times of change where we need to step back, consider the future and encourage kindness and love, set to the current backdrop of aggression and fierceness, this new look is greatly appreciated. There aren’t many cars out there at the moment that encourage you to look back and smile. 

The rear pillars have a welcomed return to normality of softness instead up angry kick-ups. The front screen pillars are broken at the bottom to promote a sense of float in their design. 

The main premise it would appear is that the Puma has been designed to be “The Most Beautiful Car You Can Ever Own” Now I did stand back a bit too that claim. You can’t say the Puma doesn’t have a nice look about it, but the trouble with an SUV is that they are never going to be beautiful. Ignoring if I may, beauty is within the eye of the beholder, in this instance, my eyes, but the new SUV from Ford isn’t sleek and/or beautiful. Purposeful and cute, yes it is and that suits it well for the new crop of B segment players coming along.  

Another designer used word of the unveiling was that the Puma should be an Icon. Trouble is, as, with madonna and her latest offering, icons can have a tendency to fall from grace. Let’s hope the Puma doesn’t before its official launch in February 2020. On visual spec, it is rather eye-catching. Even the boot shuts are nicely painted. Let’s see how this all translates next year when it is available for road tests.   

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly – Ford Ka

An irrelevant look at a certain car.

Ford Ka 1996 – 2008

If ever there was a small car that outstayed its welcome, it was the Ford Ka. K A or Ka which was probably short for khazi, was another word for toilet. 

OK, so I might have been a bit mean to Ford’s city hopeful because when launched, it really wasn’t that bad. Oh hell, we all loved it and it sold in the millions. Ford made a lot of money from it.

Handling of the little chunkster was quite entertaining too. It had the ability to be thrown around the streets with aplomb, helped greatly by Issigonis’s design philosophy of having a wheel at each corner. He was, in case you didn’t know, the father of the great Austin Mini. 

Fitted with a decrepit old petrol engine in a youth hating 1.3cc capacity, meant that the young struggled to get insured on them for a reasonable price and this meant that many of them didn’t end up in ditches. The leisurely performance of the first generation models also contributed to this. It was vile. The 1.3 Endura engine that followed at least allowed for the cars handling to be more enjoyed easily. 

That aside, the Ka was quite cute in its first incarnation. It was a hit with everyone. For three brief years later in its career, you could even get one with 2 seats, a fabric roof and to top it off, it was endorsed by queen Kylie Minogue. You couldn’t get much cuter or gayer if you tried. 

That cuteness also had a plus side. Fitted with massive bits of plastic, it effectively made it a city dodgem. You could drive it at shopping trolleys, walls and even other cars and you still wouldn’t damage the plastic. It was special plastic. Overly engineered They contained a substance to prevent damage from UV rays. They literally outlive the car. Anyway, all this added to never needing to worry about the paintwork.

What you did need to worry about however was the rear end dissolving quicker than an Alka-seltzer and just as noisy too. With the newest ones available being 10 years old, chances are the rear wheel arches would have let go and front sub-frame mounting areas rapidly following suit. 

As a secondhand proposition, they really are bloody awful now. Rust is the main killer of many followed by those pesky young kids finally getting them and driving them into trees. 

Trouble is, they are entertaining to drive. Give good mileage to a drop of petrol and they are easy to both fix and bodge or both and for that alone, I’m saying it’s a good car. If you can find one that is. 

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