In an effort to be more mindful of the environment/taking advantage of the hybrid craze, Ford’s prince of the blue oval will be getting some VERY different guts. Ford’s thinking probably wasn’t far off of “what do people like? Mustangs–check! What do people buy? Hybrids–check! BINGO! As much of a progressive move this is for Ford it feels like a real slap in the face to the old schoolers who want their Mustangs with V8s and their batteries in their remotes. It will be interesting to see how many defectors cross the picket fence to the dark side and actually take one of these things to the track. However, if there’s one thing the drag racers will like about these plug-in-stangs its the low-end torque these will probably put out. Here are the changes announced by Ford:
• A high-volume autonomous vehicle designed for commercial ride hailing or ride sharing, starting in North America. The hybrid vehicle will debut in 2021 and will be built at the Flat Rock plant
• A hybrid version of the best-selling F-150 pickup available by 2020 and sold in North America and the Middle East. The F-150 Hybrid, built at Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant, will offer powerful towing and payload capacity and operate as a mobile generator
• A hybrid version of the iconic Mustang that will deliver V8 power and even more low-end torque. The Mustang Hybrid, built at the Flat Rock Plant, debuts in 2020 and will be available in the North America to start
• A Transit Custom plug-in hybrid available in 2019 in Europe engineered to help reduce operating costs in even the most congested streets
• Two new, pursuit-rated hybrid police vehicles. One of the two new hybrid police vehicles will be built in Chicago, and both will be upfitted with their police gear at Ford’s dedicated police vehicle modification center in Chicago
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