A Mustang that isn't

Of all the major vehicle manufacturers, Ford has until recently shown the least amount of interest in electric vehicles. Yes, there have been a few electric Fords, but they were compliant cars built to appease shareholders and dodge anti-pollution taxes rather than to truly embrace the technology.

Henry Ford was notorious for disliking battery-powered vehicles. He built only one electrical prototype because his close friend Thomas Edison needed someone to buy his batteries. Edison’s battery, by the way, was a dud and couldn’t propel electric vehicles efficiently.

Ford’s current boss, Jim Hackett, however, experienced a Damascene conversion and ordered the company to take a serious look at electric vehicles. This change of heart is probably not born from any real concern for Mother Earth, though. It more likely stems from the realisation that Ford is lagging far behind in the race to build an efficient electric vehicle.

The result is the Mustang Mach-E, a battery-powered sports utility vehicle with four doors – yes, a family car. Definitely not something a Mustang should be!

This is not the first time Ford has messed with its muscle car. In the 1970s, it introduced the diminutive Mustang II with an asthmatic four-cylinder engine that was supposed to save on fuel. It sold so poorly that production was ceased after barely four years.

Why then does Ford call its electric SUV a Mustang? According to Ford, they hope to increase this vehicle’s chances of survival by associating it with the legendary muscle car. Call us cynical, but we suspect it’s a desperate attempt to market a technology that Ford only believes in half-heartedly.

Nonetheless, we are pleased that Ford is stepping up to contribute to battery-powered technologies. Now, someone just has to sit Eskom down and convince them in no uncertain terms to get their act together.