Quote:
Originally Posted by xc_SS/RS
i didn't know the mustang almost made the switch thats a little scary to think about lol
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Somewhere around 1985-87 word got out of Dearborn that the plans were pretty much concrete that the Mustang was moving to an all new front wheel drive, 4 cylinder only platform co-developed with Mazda. I think it hit Car and Driver or Road and Track. The new platform was already fully engineered, developed and on schedule for production so there was no way to stop or end it - far too much money invested at that point. I seem to remember an artist's sketch of what became the Probe on the cover of one of the magazines with the headline: "The All New Ford Mustang" or "The Next Ford Mustang"
Needless to say Ford got inundated with backlash from Mustang enthusiasts. Even Camaro enthusiasts, as I can tell you there were Pittsburgh Steeler fans who were upset when the Cleveland Browns moved - rivalry is the same principle. Mind you this is the days long before the internet. They might have had a fax machine but that was it - it was all phone calls and letters. But they got hit, hit hard, and hit often. So Ford relented due to the backlash and had to come up with what to do with this new platform they were going to call the Mustang, and that became the Probe in 1989. At that point Ford continued on the Fox platform hatchback Mustang that was going to end production in 1988, all the way through 1993 until the '94 redesign. Sales figures proved the fans right and Ford wrong. The Probe was a dud and ended production 8 years later. The Mustang still playing second fiddle to the Camaro to this day
Proof that accountants and analytics really don't know jack about cars.