Ford is Working on an Electric Mustang

Ford Motor Co. is upgrading its iconic sports car with an electric twist. Or at least it’s looking at the Mustang for inspiration for a new crossover vehicle.

Ford is working on a “Mustang-inspired” electric SUV as part of a broad shift toward plug in vehicles. Details about the Mach 1 remain fairly scarce, but we know that the company wants the car to be able to travel up to 300 miles on a single charge. Like the Mustang, Ford officials also expect it to be fast.

The car “is going to go like hell,” Executive Chairman Bill Ford recently told journalists in Detroit.

But while the Mach 1 may have some design elements that make it look like the Mustang on the outside, it will have some important differences under the hood. Namely, Jalopnik points out that the Mach 1 won’t share the Mustang’s rear-wheel drive platform.

The new SUV is part of a larger effort, which sees Ford pouring money into electric vehicle production in Michigan and Mexico. Ford plans to spend $11.1 billion on EV development. Its goal is to develop 40 vehicle models that are at least partially powered by electricity by 2022, with 16 of the models fully electric.

“Electric vehicle customers are buying into the future and our team is 100 percent focused on not only delivering vehicles they will love, but providing an entire electric vehicle ecosystem that works flawlessly,” Darren Palmer, a Ford development director recently said in a Medium blog post. “It’s exciting to know that my stint leading development of the next-generation Mustang actually comes full circle as we get ready to launch our electric Mustang-inspired utility.”

Beware of the Lemon

Ford’s plans to electrify its fleet of vehicles is all well and good, but what car owners and lessors need first and foremost is a set of wheels that actually works. The problem is that many cars come off of the assembly line with serious defects that can put people at risk.

Ford, for example, recently recalled 1.5 million Focus vehicles over a fuel tank problem that it said could cause the cars to unexpectedly stall. Early this year, the company recalled another 3,000 2019 Rangers over concerns about the cars’ transmission shifter interlock override feature. It said the defect could unexpectedly move the transmission into reverse or neutral unexpectedly.

Fortunately, the California Lemon Law protects car buyers and lessors in the Golden State. It requires manufacturers to make certain repairs to vehicles under warranty and to refund the owner/lessor or replace the car if those repairs are not successful.

Speak With a California Lemon Law Attorney

At the Bickel Law Firm, our California Lemon Law attorneys have represented hundreds of clients in defective vehicle cases. Our lawyers work aggressively to resolve these cases for the people that we represent.

Our offices are conveniently located in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Call us at (888) 800-1983 or contact us online to speak with an attorney.