By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(November 18, 2019) You can almost predict the coverage that will come out of the L.A. Auto Show this week, especially as it applies to Ford and the “Mustang Inspired” Mach E. It will be a sycophant’s field day. Originally called “Mach 1” until Mustang diehards flooded Ford with complaints about bastardizing the nameplate with an electric crossover.

Jim Farley’s brigade of under 30s deftly rebadged the sporty electric CUV, blissfully unaware that the name, when pronounced in one go, sounds suspiciously like “Maquis” or — if you are into sushi rolls — “Maki.”

It’s an easy bet these diligent Millennials and post-Millennials shot each other a sly glance at their ability to deflect the complaints of a group they despise — older and traditional Mustang owners — while believing the sushi reference to be a clever bon mot, easily forgetting (in an indictment of public education at all levels) the other word, Maquis.

It is not a deceased Mercury sedan, but the name of the guerrilla bands of French Resistance fighters during World War II; a time, a war — and a country — of no interest in their narcissistic lives. Yet it is the definition of most importance.

Resistance is the last thing that you want in an electric vehicle, and it is an even greater problem when applied to its potential market. However, Farley’s team believes that, by building a quick, capable sporty crossover with undeniable — if overinflated — Mustang design cues, it can overcome any objections — resistance — from the entrenched Mustang fan base.

These rigid, uncompromising true believers, they feel, have kept Ford from unlocking the brand potential ($) of the Mustang name by keeping the car too tightly anchored to its pony car roots; a claim that is itself questionable.

The Mustang began as a highly styled coupe and convertible (the fastback came nearly one year after their launch) built on the bones of the economical Ford Falcon. It was three things at its incarnation — fast, fun, and affordable — that it is no longer, having morphed into a quasi “sports car” (by Ford’s definition of the term) or muscle car, thus leaving the youth market seriously underserved and becoming more Thunderbird than Mustang.

Now it is expanding (literally) to encompass a four-door CUV with a coupe-like roofline and an electric powertrain. For the faithful, the galloping horse in the grille is proof of the depth of this automotive blasphemy, yet they are unaware of just how far this particular heresy will go.

How many sitting near the stage as the cover is pulled from this product will realize what further brand extensions are brewing? Not many, I would guess. Otherwise their stories would be full of talk about the Mustang Hybrid, the Porsche Panamera-like Mustang four-door coupe, and — deep breath — the unibody Mustang pickup.

Yes, the company that has decreed that the car is dead (at a time when Millennials and post-Millennials are waking up to the idea of sedans and coupes as valid transportation because — like all youth — they are not what their parents drive) is in the midst of developing a sporty, unibody, four-door pickup truck for urban and limited off-road use. Why? Because, they explain, young buyers who otherwise might purchase a Mustang want space to carry their friends and gear. If that was true, turning a seductive concept like the Ghia Barchetta into the Australian-built Mercury Capri would have been a success, not an abject failure.

Let’s be honest, the goal of all this brand extension is cynical: To raise the transaction price for each sale by making Ford’s offerings seem more “premium” and youthful. However, instead of setting them apart as one would a Mustang from, say, a Falcon, Farley and crew are likely to make the Mustang more of a commodity, not less of one.