Thanks Ford, that was really the very least you could do. After what seems like forever of Ford constantly taking a dump on its performance heritage and fans (which does continue to this day, as we know), you finally did something right. The new Mustang is a cool V8 manual 2-door car. In the articles I've read, they stress that anything and everything was on the table for consideration during the S650's development. 4-doors, electric or hybrid drivetrains, all-wheel-drive... and that they had to continuously justify NOT making it electric, since of course electrics are the future, and that's what Ford is committed to. Bill Ford and Jim Farley were “on board 100% with keeping it a real pony car”. Of course, these are the same guys who slapped a Mustang badge on the Mach-E. It was Jim Farley's idea.

So, what then, is this new pony car an apology to the fans? It's probably supposed to be. But they haven't walked back any of the other blasphemous things they've done. The Mach-E is still a Mustang, which of course they'll point out “already outsells” the coupe. Of course it does! It's infinitely more practical! Is that supposed to be a shock?! 4-door electric Lightning? Bronco Sport? Still things.

I personally would not have minded if they'd included a hybrid powertrain or an AWD option as long as the RWD V8 manual was still offered. Those things would make the Mustang more of a world-beater than it already is. A 4-door variant WITH A DIFFERENT NAME sounds amazing too. And I think they should have moved it to the Explorer platform. I know why they didn't do any of those things though. And it don't have nothin' to do with keeping the fans from rioting. It's the same reason the S197 had a solid rear axle. Cost cutting. And Ford doesn't really want it to be a real performance contender on the world stage because that would take attention away from the all-important TRUCKS. Hey, why not keep using the same platform, the Camaro and Challenger are going away, so there's no incentive to really up the ante. The S650 is the New Edge to the S550's SN95.