Design chief says next Ford Mustang will be all American muscle

Last night I had a chance to sit down with J Mays – Ford’s VP of Global Design and Chief Creative Officer and while the next Ford Mustang wasn’t one of the key topics for the evening, he was willing to discuss the next generation of the historic pony car.

Since 2010, there have been rumors that when the next generation of the Ford Mustang drops (presumably in 2014 or 2015) it would follow the move made by most other new models to a globally shared platform. Ford has done a great job of implementing their “One Ford” plan with similar vehicles being sold in different markets around the world – with the Ford Fiesta and new Ford Focus both being great examples of smooth transition from these European platforms into the US market. However, the rumors of a more globally-friendly platform for the next generation Ford Mustang had many Mustang diehards wondering if the classic Mustang flavor was going to be tainted with European styling in an effort to make it more popular in foreign markets.

However, when I asked J Mays last night if we might see a new design language applied to the next generation Ford Mustang as part of the “One Ford” plan, the VP of Design was happy to offer some insight. J Mays explained that the Ford Mustang has made a name for itself around the world for being an all American muscle car with a solely American feel and the company doesn’t have any plans to change that. Mr. Mays pointed out that both he, as the VP of design, and the Ford Motor Company as a whole would likely have to answer to millions of very unhappy Mustang lovers if the next generation of the Mustang was anything other than pure American muscle.

Regardless of the company’s goals to make the Mustang more popular in other markets around the world, J Mays assured me that when the next Mustang hits the market we can expect it to pack the same aggressive American lines that has made it one of the longest running cars and one of the most popular models in the history of the American auto industry. No official time table is set for the next generation Mustang but speculations lean towards 2014 or 2015 to help Ford celebrate their 50th anniversary. Based on the products that Ford has turned out in the past few years combined with J Mays comments on the future – it sounds like we can expect an even more exciting Ford Mustang within the next few years. I personally love the look of the 2011 Ford Mustang but I cannot wait to see what Ford has in store for the next generation of the legendary pony car.

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