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As CAFE standards continue to tighten their grip on auto manufacturers, decisions about next generation vehicles are becoming more complicated. While the Japanese are embracing alternative power, fuels, and materials, in the U.S., there are some basics that must be considered.
Case in point: The popular Ford Mustang. The 2020 CAFE rules, expected to start showing up in 2013 or so, will make the current engine lineup in the more powerful Mustang vehicles, ah… um… problematic. On the surface, an engine diet and workout program might give life to the car from an engineering point of view, but what about the perception of the public?

There is a group within Ford that has petitioned to consider using the EcoBoost V-6 found in the recently introduced Lincoln MKS. The EcoBoost isn’t a slouch: It’s a V-6, 3.7 liter twin turbo direct injection engine that weighs less and puts out more power than the V-8 currently found in the Mustang GT. Sounds good – or does it?
Mustang buyers are, for the most part, a dedicated bunch who live to express their relationship with their car as an extension of their, um, ah… personality. To that end, there aren’t many Mustang owners who will trade in their V-8 for a V-6, no matter the output. The Pony cars made during the fuel crisis of the 1970s and early 1980s were a joke when compared to the muscle car era – and to today’s wide variety of Mustangs.
And, it clearly isn’t Ford that is alone when it comes to these issues. There are a number of vehicles either just released or in the queue for later this year that may face the Jenny Craig treatment and that doesn’t bode well for Detroit in general. Imagine telling your buddies, “Yup, I’ve got a Camaro SS V-6.” It just doesn’t work for some reason.
So, while a smaller, lighter, more powerful engine makes sense for all kinds of technical reasons, the real challenge is selling it to an American audience. It’s even tougher when you try to sell it to your existing owner base. Such are the challenges in the marketing conference rooms in Detroit these days.