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12-14-06 - Definition of Trial Balloon:
A trial balloon is information sent out in order to observe the reaction of an audience. It can be used by companies sending out press releases to judge reaction by customers, or it can be used by politicians who deliberately leak information on a policy change under consideration. Trial balloons often take the form of an intentional news leak to assess public opinion. -Wikepedia
The latest buzz on the next generation Mustang this week is based on “insider information” that Ford has been considering sprouting a 4-door sedan and possibly a station wagon variant of the next Mustang. The reports which have run in Autoweek Magazine, well traveled automotive blogs, and some Mustang news websites quote Ford insiders and auto analysts alike. To add spice to the rumors and speculation some well crafted Photoshop renderings have accompanied these stories fueling imagination and furor among readers.
The thing about trial balloons is that when they fly, everyone pats themselves on the back and gets cracking on a follow up. When they get shot out of the air, the company never officially said anything about it. Who said that anyway? Then there are pure hoaxes and speculation.
This story touches on a few areas that are backed up by real world project work. It’s no secret that Ford has been working on new rear wheel drive sedans and perhaps a wagon based off the Australian platform that underpins the Ford Falcon. It has been assumed that this platform or parts of it would be shared by the next generation Mustang as well. In fact we reported on this back in May of this year in our story, ”Australian Fords going global”.
The manufacturing and design principle of the Mustang sharing it’s underpinnings with other sedans and utilitarian models is nothing new. We will remember that the 1980’s Fox Mustangs were also a Fairmont sedan and wagon. The 1960’s Mustangs were also a Falcon sedan and wagon.
What this latest story alleges is that in the process of developing this next wave of products in which the Mustang may share its platform, it was considered that the new cars may also share the Mustang branding. This is to say that a family of cars would share the Mustang name and image. Ford insiders were said to be considering using the Mustang’s “halo” to infuse a performance legend onto the sedans and a wagon in order to sell more cars.
While many auto enthusiasts would love to see a new Ford sedan or even a wagon similar to the Dodge Magnum that we could bolt a Mustang compatible supercharger or suspension kit to, it is safe to say that the trial balloon has already popped on naming it a Mustang.
Chrysler got a whirl-wind of flack for building a 4-door muscle-car and calling it Charger. While the enthusiast body clamored the cars began flying off the showroom floor. The car has been a success despite the initial outcry. The big difference here is that the Charger was dormant name-plate for a good long time and was not currently being used on the company’s performance car icon. Had there already been a popular, performance oriented Charger sports coupe being sold today, the situation might have been far different.
We have deliberately waited a few days since this story surfaced to comment in order to get a broader read on the story and get some more background on the matter. There are a lot of hoaxes on the internet these days that emanate from blogs, so we didn’t run with it right away.
Our contact with Ford stated that this story is, "pure speculation". Ford further backed this up with an official statement saying that "media speculation concerning an expanded Mustang line – including a sedan and wagon model to be sold in global markets – is not true." Ford further reinforced that, "Mustang is an icon and will continue in its current form: a unique, two-door, rear-wheel drive, 2+2 performance car. "
At the 2007 North American International Auto Show, Ford will unveil a four-door, rear-wheel-drive concept car. The concept, known as “The Interceptor”, is based on the Mustang’s rear-wheel-drive architecture but it is not a Mustang and no production plans have been announced.
We all want to see some great new rear-wheel drive sedans and even a wagon from Ford again. I would buy one in a heartbeat. If this latest flight of journalistic fancy tells us anything, it's that we just may see some nice sedans coming our way!
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