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The hills are alive with the sound of rumors -- rumors that Ford is planning a four-door Mustang.

And why not? Dodge has a Charger, why shouldn't Ford capitalize on one of their most successful cars.

Just please, PLEASE make it not have a live rear axle.  

No... it just wouldnt sound right.
And i wish the charger had at least an optional 2 door  

What! A 4 door Mustang?  Imagine a four door 911 or 350Z..that sounds a bit wrong
doesn't it?
Ford should think of upgrading the present Mustang for 2007 with a 6 speed manual and the new 3.5 litre V6 for the base model and offering it at the same price. That will really get the Mustang sales galloping. They need to add a power sunroof too. People like that in their personal cars.

I think building a four door sedan off the present platform would be great though, because it would give Ford a cheap, tried and true sports sedan and give everyone a run for the money. All they have to do is alter the present shape behind the front doors a bit and bang, an instant contender for 20071/2.  How hard can that be? They can leave everything else the same. Instead the new four door Mustang will come out in about 4 years?  Don't they need the sales and profits now?  Why can't they do it sooner?

I would not allow the Mustang name to be used on a four door.  Offer another Iconic past Ford name like...the Model T...ooops..that's too old...how about a new name...the Dragon.. instead of Ford designers and engineers dragon their butts around, maybe they'll get to work and make Ford cars competitive with other makes besides GM and Chrysler.  

This is sick, but I think introducing a 4-door Mustang would be just the ticket!  No...really it would.

Ford desperately needs something people will talk about.  In addition, introducing a four-door Mustang and keeping the coupe would accomplish some important things.  Firstly, people already acknowledge the Mustang name, so Ford won't have to worry about the 4-door not selling on account of people being unfamiliar with the core of its substance.  Also, it's hot to have a coupe/4-door now.  Think CLS, Panamera, and Rapide.  

This is what will not work in the long run, in my view:  Making the Mustang 4-door a retro like the Charger.  Most of us don't live in the 60s & 70s anymore Ford and Dodge.  It's time to move on to newer and livelier designs, and preferably of the 21st century.

As for the name of the Mustang 4-door, that's a difficult question to tackle.  If you name the 4-door the Mustang, that obviously may inevitably hurt the coupe's image but, if the sedan is well-received, that changes.  You could either follow Honda or follow Porsche's model.  For the sake of sales, I'd follow Honda and keep the name Mustang 4-door so people won't mistake the new 4-door Ford as just another "new" Ford sedan.  

I have A brilliant Idea (cue trumpets here and drumroll) The australlian Falcon! and why not I mean wasn't the original 'stang based on a four door staright 6 sedan Just Imagine the left hand drive version on the mustang platform I mean just like chrysler made the 300 cool why not make a retro falcon????  

A 4 door Mustang = suicide.  Nissan had it all wrong when they decided to add 2 more doors to their Sentra SE-R.  Mazda screwed up good too with the RX-8.  Maybe it's just my opinion but neither of these cars are lookers.  They don't seem to be doing to well when it comes to sales.  I remember seeing a lot more RX-7's on the roads when they were in the showrooms than RX-8's now.  In fact the RX-8 seems to be a rare sight.  

To be sure, this would be a significant undertaking on the part of Ford accompanied by very little margin for error.  Therefore, to make this a reality, Ford needs to have only the best at its disposal if it is to create and market this car the right way, period.

Austin Cooper, I think the reason the SE-R and the RX-8 don’t seem to garner too much attention is because they are too abstract for anyone to care.  The SE-R, in my judgment, is a Sentra with a big, noisy exhaust, tinted rear light clusters, and an air intake.  There is just about no legitimacy to this “tuned” economobile.  

The RX-8 is priced way out of its league, in my view.  In the United States, I would say that Mazda has no clout passed $21,000 and its design scheme is extremely banal and gimmick-y in some instances.  You’re right, the RX-8 does look awkward but I would also say that it looks plain and I would never dream of having that car in my driveway.  I wonder how the…interesting…look of the CX-7 will do against that of the rock-solid and conventional Highlander and Pilot?

But what we’re talking about here is an icon.  Not just here in the United States, but abroad as well.  A lot of people around the globe recognize and respect the Ford Mustang.  Even when its days were bleak and even when it sounded like a 1992 Dodge Caravan instead of a genuine muscle car, the Mustang name was still acknowledged.  Build it.  Build it I say.  And build it carefully, extremely carefully.  Be paranoid about what others will say about it and work around the clock to make it revolutionary.  If a Mustang 4-door is to emerge, it simply must look different (but great) and it must be revolutionary in some sort of way in order for it to make any sort of a splash.  

If Porsche can make do with an SUV, Ford can succeed at making a 4-door Mustang.  

There are a lot of people out there who would love to own a Mustang or similar sports coupe but can't because these cars don't have enough cargo space, doors, seatbelts, etc. This is the niche that Ford would be aiming for with the Interceptor, and I think that they could do very well with it.  

I believe this http://www.autospectator.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=7518
could be the 4 door Stang there was speculation over.  FoMoCo doesn't bother to badge it a "Mustang." None the less it is built on a Mustang chassis.  I have mixed feelings about it.  Since I'm no fan of huge sedans, albeit I am impressed with the new Jag sedan, I'm only so interested.  About the only thing I like on this machine is its high belt line.  The chop top windows and suicide doors catch my eyes.  The front end on the other hand repels me.  The tall, plain looking rear end, doesn't entertain me either.



 

We covered this car on our 2007 Detroit Auto Show page. Read about it here.  

Here is my view of it:

I think Ford should act the role of the underdog with an image such as this: Stealth, subtle, sport, seriousness, athleticism, sculpted lines.

The Mustang saloon should not be the Interceptor.  Instead, I think that Ford should introduce the Mustang saloon and the Interceptor with both cars working together to mold Ford’s future as a company trying to infuse sport into the relatively mundane market Ford participates in.

Mustang Saloon: $26,000-$39,000; Competitors: BMW 3 Series, Lexus IS 350, Audi A4, Infiniti G35
-In my mind, the Mustang Saloon should look as thus: it should be a compact vehicle about the size of the current 3 Series, it should have the front end of the Giugiaro Mustang Concept (with a long hood), the body/shape of the CLS, sculpted lines ONLY, accentuated rear shoulders, the rear light clusters of the current 5 Series, dual chrome exhaust immediately under rear bumper, very wide and road-gripping stance (like the CLS), rear Ford emblem on the very top of the rear trunk, the Mustang logo on the very bottom right of the rear trunk (like the VW Rabbit).
-The Mustang Saloon should embody “useful uselessness” in that it will have four doors but, like in the CLS, rear seating will be tight and…let’s be frank, a Mustang should NEVER be seen as a car meant to carry lots of cargo.  The Mustang is, after all, an enthusiast’s car.  And the sedan should retain that character.
-The front and the rear must hint at something to this effect: subtle cockiness and antagonism (2003 BMW 5 Series) but not overt aggression (Dodge Charger).

Mustang Saloon RSI (Redline Saleen, Irvine)
-Two sets of dual chrome exhaust on both sides (like CLS 63 AMG)
-Standard body kit.
-Three panel wind deflector (made of see through glass) on rear windshield that raises passed 70mph.

Interceptor: $33,000-$45,000; Competitors: BMW 5 Series, Acura TL, Audi A6
-Larger than Mustang Saloon but still compact and conservative.
-I would like to see less curves than I do based on the pictures I am seeing.
-More accentuated rear shoulders.
-Re-done trunk (make it much much much shorter and steeper)…avoid the Crown Victoria look of the 90s.
-Make trunk-lid much sharper at the top, almost to the point of creating a mini spoiler.
-Make a real, visible, integrated rear bumper.
-I would like to see tail lamps like those off of the 2003 BMW 5 Series on this car.
-Dual chrome exhaust tips on one side only.
-Ford badge at the very pinnacle of the trunk with nothing else surrounding the badge.
-Integrate fog lamp signals on the rear trunk lid (like those found on the 2004 A6).
-Place LED daytime running lamps directly and immediately above the middle stack of the side markers separating the top and bottom light clusters.
-Place ignition directly in front of the driver on the right (instead of on the left like Porsche does).  

The Interceptor is ballsy and American.  The tail lights and rear end recall sixties era Fords without totally aping them.  Acura TL and Audi A-6 lovers will never get it - so what?  Ford will not win their business anyway.  The proportions of this car say "Lincoln Continental"; a Lincoln variant will make developing the Interceptor a stronger business case for Ford.  Shhhh Carletti!  Your rambling could incite a mass suicide at Ford Styling the likes of which the world hasn't seen since Jonestown, Guyana.  

I did not realize my opinions possess such awesome sway.  Alas, perhaps I should think twice in the future about declaring my visions of what good-looking new automobiles should encompass.

Nonetheless, still, I would contend that Ford is actively wanting to compete for business from other car makers, such like Audi and Acura for example, because even Ford’s traditional customer base is being wooed, on a consistent basis no less, by the likes of competition from abroad.  Thus, in my view, that is to answer the “so what” of Idiot Boy’s post.  Further along, I would also disagree as to Acura and Audi A6 aficionados not getting Ford’s approach.  I would say that if Ford absorbs some of the cues from luxury automobiles from Europe, although not exclusively, then it has a better than current chance at attracting new business.  But I think the latter statement may be taken out of context.  To be sure, it is not necessarily that European cars are truly better than what Detroit offers, but it is that currently, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Land Rover, are the primary trend setters within the automotive world at this day and age.  I would say to Ford: “it’s no accident that the Chrysler 300’s success may have something to do with its hint at the Rolls-Royce Phantom.”

One of the primary obstacles that the Interceptor car will face, in my estimation, is the price at which it will be advertised.  For if this car is priced anywhere near $27,000, Ford simply will not, in my view, sell enough Interceptor’s given the pictures posted by Austin Cooper.  Again, these are but my views and in no way are they meant to stir a panic.  

Why call it a Mustang?

Does Ford have anyone with the courage to speak up and make happen new names for their products that are commercial and make sense?

This and then the 500 goes to a name that meant mediocre before Ford killed that product-Taurus.

Going backwards Ford-not a good idea.  

That's just wrong! I agree with hammatime - why call it a mustang. Then again, BMW has an M3 sedan coming out so who knows.