Hey, millennials! Yeah, you, the ones who can't afford the cars you want because they're so expensive now. You like fancy things? Whizmos and gizmos? Then this all-new Ford Mustang is for you!
Ok, guys, reason with me for a minute. I don't want to write about another automaker's plan to lure in The Younger Buyer, but I'm sort of obligated to write these things. You want to know how they're going to do it and it's rare you get the answer straight from the horse's mouth.
I asked Ford's COO Mark Fields how he plans to sell the 2015 Mustang to young enthusiasts. I only asked because during the reveal of the Mustang in Dearborn this morning, the phrase "young person's car" was said about a thousand times. So I wanted to know what Ford's strategy was.
The pricing of the Mustang (on sale in the U.S. next fall, in Europe in the first half of 2015 and in the Asia Pacific region during the second half of 2015) hasn't been announced yet, so who knows if you'll still be able to afford a base model — if that's what you want. That's what I really wanted to know, but Fields didn't say anything about that.
He did say that young people like toys and the Mustang has toys. Like Bluetooth! You can connect your phone wirelessly in the Mustang, and that's why you'll buy it. "First they want to look good in it, and secondly when you look at the technology that's in the vehicle, that's important to a young consumer," he said.
That's all great — never mind things like the engine options, the new suspension, why you'll actually want to drive this car. Can I plug my iPod in it? Ugh, come on Ford — at least try to get young people excited about driving again?
Again, no word on how much Bluetooth and the rest of that technology adds to the sticker price but I can safely predict that the average age of the Mustang owner isn't going to change a bit. Nice try, Ford.
Ford Thinks Younger Buyers Will Like The Mustang's Technology