And so it begins

Considering the heights of V8 performance that exists from the factory now, theres nowhere to go but down as far as V8's go.

+1 for hanging on to your V8, but the manufacturers are always looking for the next best thing that boosts the profit margin, its not about what enthusiasts want, its what sells cars.

Change is always difficult to embrace, consider a time when people were complaining about the evils of this new technology called the horseless carriage. :unsure:
 
True, yet any V-8 could not be part of the future.
the one thing I noticed in interview was, they won't
build cars for specific markets.
So to me that means, if certain engines or emissions are
are banned in one country they sell in, it could affect all countries.

Our cars may be classics sooner than we know.
 
Mine is already a Classic and I have no plans of replacing it with anything else. The new Eco Boost Mustang has more power than my 2 Valve 4.6 Modular V8, but Man I Love the Sounds that come out of the Dual Exhaust on my 01 ?
 
This sucks. Trevor I agree The not building cars for specific markets spells it out pretty loud and clear. One thing they mention is they want to make sure enthusiasts still feel what a Mustang means to most of us and not just how quick you got there. So it will be interesting to see where they go from here. We knew it was coming unfortunately. Here is a copy and paste of the article from Trevor’s link.



Via Roadshow

Ford says its performance cars need to be about more than 0-60 times

February 10, 2020

The man responsible for Ford's "icon" cars talks about how the company will keep performance alive in the future.

Stricter fuel economy and emissions regulations threaten performance cars as we know them. It's that simple. Dave Pericak, the man responsible for Ford's "icon cars" such as Mustang, GT and the upcoming Bronco, is pretty blunt about it.

"A lot of countries are changing regulations so quickly, and so much, they're almost forcing the performance products out," Pericak told Roadshow at the Chicago Auto Show last week, which hosted the 2020 Ford GT's debut. This, of course, is a direct threat to the vehicles Pericak adores, but as he explained, Ford is hard at work to minimize the threat to fun.

"Our job is going to be two-fold," he said. "One is to figure out how to continue to make performance that will exist in some of these regulated countries, even our own, and how do you do it so it's a global offering?" Ford doesn't want to be in the business of building specific cars to meet various degrees of regulations around the world.

So, no, don't expect a big V8 solely for America, and an electrified turbo-four for Europe in the same car. Pericak pointed to the Mustang's future as a perfect example of these exact discussions going on right now.

"What we would never do is compromise," he declared. "If it's a Mustang, it'll be a Mustang. Whatever is offered will be a Mustang and live up to the Mustang expectation."

Yet this fluid regulatory conversation perhaps coincides with a shift in how a new, younger generation of car buyers looks at performance. Pericak was candid about Ford research that shows in-your-face quarter mile times may not be the be-all and end-all. Instead, he said there's a shift to focus on the performance "experience."

Say a performance vehicle will run the quarter mile in 11 seconds. That may be fine and dandy to a younger buyer, "But what are they going to feel? What are they going to experience? How are they going to engage with the vehicle in a way they can feel the acceleration and power?" Those are the questions that surround next-generation performance cars for Ford.

"It doesn't mean we still won't make the car go like a bat out of hell," Pericak added, "But maybe (0-to-60 mph times) aren't the way we talk about it."

Where that specifically takes Ford's "icons" in the future, we don't know. However, with a smirk and chipper tone, Pericak told us to stay tuned as the GT supercar prepares to exit the limelight in two years.

"We've been racing since (the company) was created and racing's in our blood," he said, but any motorsport endeavor must bring something relevant back to the automaker. Does that mean Ford has an eye on racing with an electrified twist?

"We're always looking at what's out there and where it might apply. We're always looking at it."
 
Back
Top