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Cont: Electric Vehicles II

They've been selling electric Mustangs here in the UK for some years. I thought calling that bland-looking thing a Mustang was a bit of a stretch but that was before I saw what they now sell audaciously badged as a Capri. Reviving cool and fondly remembered names is all very well but it rather draws attention to the fact these cars look nothing whatsoever like the cool designs they're named after.

They may for all I know be really nice to drive and a pleasure to own but they're utterly disconnected from any design heritage they're trying to claim.
 
acbytesla said:
Yeah, it's not. Lots of cars today are being referred to as SUVs that aren't. Tesla calls their Model X an SUV. It's definitely closer to being a SUV than a Mustang but it still isn't in my book.
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Hyundai calls our Ioniq 5 an SUV. It is actually a large hatchback. But "hatchback" isn't cool.
 
Jack by the hedge said:
They've been selling electric Mustangs here in the UK for some years. I thought calling that bland-looking thing a Mustang was a bit of a stretch but that was before I saw what they now sell audaciously badged as a Capri. Reviving cool and fondly remembered names is all very well but it rather draws attention to the fact these cars look nothing whatsoever like the cool designs they're named after.

They may for all I know be really nice to drive and a pleasure to own but they're utterly disconnected from any design heritage they're trying to claim.
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I thought that the Maverick label would have been perfect for their (then) new EV. Then they went and used that classic car name ... for ... a ... pickup truck.
 
Jack by the hedge said:
They've been selling electric Mustangs here in the UK for some years. I thought calling that bland-looking thing a Mustang was a bit of a stretch but that was before I saw what they now sell audaciously badged as a Capri. Reviving cool and fondly remembered names is all very well but it rather draws attention to the fact these cars look nothing whatsoever like the cool designs they're named after.

They may for all I know be really nice to drive and a pleasure to own but they're utterly disconnected from any design heritage they're trying to claim.
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Exactly !

OTOH I saw a Renault 5 EV in the flesh for the first time on Sunday and if I was in the market for that size of car it would definitely be towards the top of the list. When I get an EV (when the Octavia comes to the end of its useful life) I'll need something a couple of sizes bigger for bikes and musical paraphernalia.

Dear Citroen, could you please produce a medium/large EV with clear DS or CX design cues in about 5 years time.
 
jadebox said:
I thought that the Maverick label would have been perfect for their (then) new EV. Then they went and used that classic car name ... for ... a ... pickup truck.
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Which drove me a little crazy. I owned one of the original mavericks. It wasn't a truck.
 
Not cars exactly, but teaching my son lessons in electric reality.

He has cheap Chinese Bluetooth speakers and always was irritated by short run time. I have piles of recycle stuff hoarded including the same batteries they use from long dead other things.
Don't have a clue how good they are but no worries. (I am not nitpicking when he could learn something)

Asked him if adding these into his good speakers could help. So one has five batteries, another has two now. He did all the work.

No smoke, no heat, no charging problems. His interests are in it now.

The one used to last 30 minutes, went more than three hours before he gave up on time reasons.
He learned a lesson the practical way on battery powered tech.
 
Jack by the hedge said:
They've been selling electric Mustangs here in the UK for some years. I thought calling that bland-looking thing a Mustang was a bit of a stretch but that was before I saw what they now sell audaciously badged as a Capri. Reviving cool and fondly remembered names is all very well but it rather draws attention to the fact these cars look nothing whatsoever like the cool designs they're named after.

They may for all I know be really nice to drive and a pleasure to own but they're utterly disconnected from any design heritage they're trying to claim.
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Mustang body shape has changed a lot over the years. You have to go back to the mid 70's to see the classic styling. In 1979 it looked like this:-
mustang1979.jpg

The Mach-E isn't really a Mustang since it has 4 doors, but its styling echos the current actual Mustang (which of course has a smelly gas engine). IMO the latest Mach-E looks a lot more exciting than the 'thing' above.

 
Roger Ramjets said:
Mustang body shape has changed a lot over the years. You have to go back to the mid 70's to see the classic styling. In 1979 it looked like this:-
View attachment 62103

The Mach-E isn't really a Mustang since it has 4 doors, but its styling echos the current actual Mustang (which of course has a smelly gas engine). IMO the latest Mach-E looks a lot more exciting than the 'thing' above.

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I couldn't agree with you more. Ford also labels it as an SUV. It's not.
 
Ford haven't sold Mustangs in the UK until this electric one so people here are only familiar with the cool pre-oil-crisis ones from movies.
 
It could be worse. Before the Mustang inhabited the Capri body, they made the "Mustang II" which was a tarted- up Pinto! The Capri one was pretty nice by comparison, though it probably was better as a Capri.
 
That MachE looks like a front wheel drive Mazda body. Much like the Mazda 5 or 7 sold in Mexico.

Not unusual to rework a body across brands. The Fiat 500 was also the Ford Ka. Each just detailed it differently.
 
Roger Ramjets said:
And my Ford Laser, which I bought from my Dad, was actually a Mazda 323. What's funny is my Dad wouldn't touch a Japanese car due to what the Japs did during WWII.
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bruto said:
It's hard to separate these things even if you try. My GMC truck was at least assembled in Louisiana by UAW workers, so it says. But most of it is an Isuzu.
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I think about half of Toyota's cars are assembled in the US.
 
So my brother is on holiday in California, and I will have to pick him up from the airport in Napier (New Zealand) when he returns. Since he forgot to put petrol in his Toyota Highlander I had to fill it up today. The fuel gauge was showing just above empty, but it's a gas car so range anxiety isn't an issue (or is it?). Fortunately he did leave the owners manual in the glove box so I was able to read up on how to open the fuel hatch and what type of fuel to use.

It's been so long since I had a gas car that I was feeling quite anxious. I drive to the gas station and first off there's a road cone in front of the pump I want to use. Why? Never mind, just back out and move to another bay. So I get out of the car and try to find the lever that operates the hatch - it's hiding under the floor mat! Next problem - the pump has no instructions. There's a display and a keypad with some numbers, but I don't know what they mean. I ask another motorist and he isn't sure either!

I push some numbers and it turns out they are the price in dollars - just what I want. $40 and we're good to go - almost. I had parked as far forward as possible, but the fuel hose still doesn't reach. I try pulling it out really hard and yes! it gets a little longer. Pull it a bit more and some petrol spills out on the ground. Hoping nobody notices and goes full hazmat on me I quickly shove the nozzle in the tank and... it doesn't go in all the way. Oh well, I guess that's far enough. I'm not game to operate the trigger hold so I just hold it in and watch the display (which I can barely see at this angle) until it stops changing.

Finally I hang up the hose, make sure the vehicle is locked and go into the store to pay, getting a pie for lunch while I'm there. There's only a short queue today so 5 minutes later I'm out again and on my way home. The whole process took about half an hour, for ~100 miles of range. Luckily it wasn't raining at that exact time, and I am getting over a cold so was spared the horrible smell of petrol. But still, it would have been so much easier if I could have just plugged it in at home!

Then I got anxious again. What if I had put 96 octane in it, or even worse - diesel? My brother would kill me! I checked the receipt and it was 91 octane. Whew! I am so over gas cars. :sour:
 
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Seen a couple of new Renault 5 EVs in the wild. To me they're just the right combination of retro and modern and show Ford how you can reuse your iconic model names without completely ruining their legacy.
 
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