As it gets ready to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the legendary “pony car,” Ford Motor Co. is launching the seventh-generation Mustang. Whether it truly is an “all-new” makeover might be a matter of debate but there’s little doubt that both the 2024 Mustang EcoBoost and 2024 Mustang GT are already winning rave reviews.
Ford likes to boast that the iconic model is the world’s “bestselling sports car.” And there’s also no doubt that it’s a survivor in a generally shrinking market. Archrival Chevrolet is about to end production of the Camaro — again — while Dodge will soon send its Charger and Challenger models driving off into the sunset.
But there are plenty of reasons to wonder about the future. This year, for the first time, Ford’s all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV will outsell the classic, gas-powered Mustang coupe. And Dodge is getting ready to return with an all-electric Charger Daytona next year. Between EVs and SUVs, many observers question what sort of future there is for a pony car like the Ford Mustang.
TheDetroitBureau.com turned to Jim Owens, the Mustang brand manager, to get his take on the new model, the changing automotive environment and what we might expect in the future. (This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.)
TheDetroitBureau: You’ve been involved with Mustang for quite some time.
Jim Owens: I’ve worked in the industry for 37 years, 33 with Ford, and four with Carroll Shelby before he passed away. I started on the performance side in 2000 and have spent the last 23 years predominantly with Mustang, the fourth, fifth, sixth and now seventh-generation.
TDB: So, how important is the Mustang? After all, its sales are just a fraction of what we see with some other Ford products.
Owens: It’s not just a product. It’s a brand, one of our strongest. We are the longest-running sports car nameplate. And we have now delivered over 10 million Mustangs. But it means more than just sales volume. It’s the heart and soul of Ford. (When it was introduced) it kind of changed the way people look at vehicles.
TDB: Speaking of sales numbers, they remain pretty good but have clearly diminished over the years. (Ed: as recently as 2006, Ford sold 166,530 Mustangs in the U.S. alone. Last year that fell to 102,090 worldwide.)
Owens: The sports car segment itself has been shrinking. When we were selling the gen-5 Mustang, (starting in 2005), it was 2.5% of the market. Now it’s around 1%. There’s a lot more choice. You have a lot of other enthusiast vehicles, like the Bronco that people can use to explore and do things other than going from Point A to Point B.
TDB: So, what does that mean for the seventh-generation Mustang?
Owens: We hope it will bring in a younger audience (with) all that new technology. We think it’s still worth investing in.
TDB: It probably won’t hurt that you’re seeing some of the crosstown competition, (Ed: the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger) go away.
Owens: That’s not unusual. There were a number of years when we didn’t have those competitors in the marketplace. Somebody who has a bowtie (the Chevy logo) tattooed on their body probably won’t leave GM and buy a Mustang. But those people who are interested in an internal combustion engine sports car that has, you know, the power and performance and technology of a Mustang might consider that now and we’d love to have them.
Change is coming
TDB: You just said something important: an internal combustion engine sports car. The all-electric Mustang Mach-E is expected to outsell the classic Mustang coupe this year. What does that mean?
Owens: There are lifelong fans of the Mustang who have had negative opinions on the Mach-E, but it’s growing on them. It has the heart and soul of a Mustang. The (classic coupe) is a life-stage vehicle and there are times in your life you can’t enjoy it … like I found out when I brought home my daughter after she was born. The Mach-E has the heart and soul of a Mustang — and the room to be able to enjoy it in a life stage where you might not have been able to enjoy it before.
TDB: But what does that say about the long-term future?
Owens: It’s selling real well and it’s one of the reasons we’re able to do an internal combustion engine Mustang in its seventh generation.
TDB: Do we reach a point where the classic Mustang has to go all-electric?
Owens: I’m not going to talk about future product.
TDB: But it sems clear there will have to be even more changes made to Mustang in the future.
Owens: Yeah, there’s no question the world is changing. And (Mustang) is going to change in various ways. We’re always looking to the future to see what we can do not only for Mustang customers but for the health of the brand.
TDB: One of the keys to success seems to be having so many different Mustang variants. You had, what, something like a dozen different variants over the course of the gen-6 model?
Owens: There have always been quite a few variants, like the High Country Special, the California Special, the Twister Edition. One of my favorites was the Blue Bonnet Edition for Texas. You have the Bullitts, and the Mach-1s and the 429s. We always look to having variants that fit customer needs. Now, we’re really proud to launch the Dark Horse.
TDB: For a long time, you focused Mustang on the U.S. But it now seems to have a loyal following worldwide.
Owens: We had the European media in (to test drive the 2024 Mustang) and they had smiles on their faces. We didn’t officially start exporting Mustang until gen-6. But we already had fan clubs on six of the seven continents. We think there’s a love of the pony car there and we’re excited to deliver the seventh generation.