Mustang Sales Crater as New Versions Launch

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By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Published
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Mustang Sales Crater as New Versions Launch

© courtesy of Ford Motor Co.

[cnxvideo id=”655353″ placement=”ros”]Sales of Ford Motor Co.’s (NYSE: F) Mustang sports car were poor last year. They fell 13.4% to 105,932. December was worse, with sales off 19.2% to 7,064. Ford has released new versions of the Mustang in hopes of flattening the fall-off, or even reversing it.

Ford may have added too little, demonstrated by the list of upgrades to the 2018 Mustang. Most are pedestrian by today’s standards for new cars. Their primary list:

Sleeker design: New Mustang features a more athletic look, with new front and rear-end design that deliver a leaner and meaner look and refined aerodynamics

More advanced technology: New Mustang technologies include a 12-inch all-digital instrument cluster that you can customize your way, MyMode with memory function that remembers your driving preferences for the next time you drive, and new driver-assist features such as Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection for increased confidence behind the wheel

Improved Performance: Powerful engine upgrades, plus an all-new available 10-speed automatic transmission give Mustang even more performance, while available MagneRide™ suspension offers optimum handling; optional active valve exhaust affords complete auditory control – let the engine roar, or not.

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Many sports cars could claim an athletic look, since that is fundamental to the category’s appeal. The chance to customize instruments is also not rare, nor are the driver-assist features, which are slim by comparison to many cars introduced in the past two years. The Mustang already had a selection of engines, modestly powerful to very powerful, as well as suspension and handling. All of its competitors would make the same claims.

Auditory control — that’s another matter completely.

The upgrades likely are insufficient to reverse the drop in sales.

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Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

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