4 Features New To Ford On The 2019 Ford Mustang Mach-E
The new Mustang Mach-E debuts several features new to Ford. Among them are Phone as a Key technology and a ginormous 15.5-inch touchscreen, as well as the debut of Ford's next-generation Sync 4 infotainment system. On a more frivolous note: There's a front trunk (frunk) that can be used as a cooler. Here are some of the features on Ford鈥檚 all-new EV that deviate from what you might expect from Ford and could help convince buyers to give the new crossover a second look. The front trunk, popularly known as the frunk, is more commonly found in mid- and rear-engined cars, but the powertrain layout of EVs also allows for storage space under the front hood. So the Mustang Mach-E has one and Ford got creative about what purpose its frunk could serve. The frunk has 4.8 cubic feet of storage, big enough to hold a carry-on-size suitcase, but it's being tipped as a tailgating or picnic-basket carrier, since it also has a drain located at the bottom of the storage compartment. With such, Ford says that the frunk can be packed full of ice and used as a cooler for camping or tailgating.
It also sounds like the perfect place for dirty or muddy things, since the frunk could be easily rinsed out. Door handles are a design feature on vehicles that, for various reasons, automakers are tending to try to improve. Ford did that with the Mach-E, implementing a button system on the four-door SUV instead of a more standard lever system. It might remind you of the home button that iPhones had up through the iPhone 8 generation. Once you push the button on the front doors, the door pops open a few inches, and then you can use the handle on the side of the car to pull it the rest of the way open. The back doors are slightly different; there is no exterior handle. Once you push the button, the door opens up a few inches, and then you have to grab the side of the door and pull it open. Late last month, we learned that as Ford rolls out its new Sync 4 infotainment system, it will also be adding larger screens to the dashboards of its cars. The Mach-E is debuting both the 15.5-inch screen, Ford's biggest to date, and the Sync 4 system. Although it isn't an unprecedented offering in the automotive world, it's a first for Ford. The Mustang Mach-E uses Bluetooth to recognize the user's smartphone and unlock the vehicle when they approach it, then lets them start and operate the vehicle without getting out a key or even taking their phone out. Suppose the phone's battery dies? A backup code entered on the touchscreen lets the user still start and drive the Mach-E.
They also shared a new shape: muscular, slightly wedgy, but also "aero" slick in Ford's now-established idiom. The differences were mainly of degree. The tamest was the "Bruce Jenner," described as a "trim, athletic" design that nevertheless scored low as looking too "soft." At the other extreme was "Rambo," an aggressive, exaggerated interpretation that struck most people as looking too mean. This left the in-between "Arnold Schwarzenegger" to win the day. Only minor changes were made before production. The aggressive "Rambo" was another of the three full-size fiberglass mockups evaluated in fall 1990, but it too was ultimately rejected. Like the '79 Mustang, SN95 finalists were modeled as notchback coupes. While a new convertible was never in doubt, engineers and marketers decided against producing a new hatchback body style, despite its past sales importance. Ford's stated reason was the greater difficulty of achieving acceptable rigidity in a structure with such a large opening at the rear, but the decision more likely reflected the fact that Americans no longer cared much for hatchbacks.
The middle-of-the-road "Arnold Schwarzenegger" mockup ran about even with the aggressive "Rambo" in consumer clinics, but the Arnold was OKed for production with relatively few changes. Interior designers also strove for a "classic Mustang" feel while incorporating 30 years of government safety mandates, including new requirements for dual airbags and anti-intrusion door beams. The result was a traditional Mustang cockpit with a heavily sculpted new "twin-cowl" instrument panel flowing smoothly into the doors, a faint homage to early models. While the '94 Mustang styling was taking shape, engineers were faced with the job of developing the rest of the car and making it fit within the new exterior. Keep reading to learn how they accomplished their task. While stylists were working out the sheet metal shapes that would become the 1994 Ford Mustang, engineers were busying developing the rest of the car around a heavily revamped chassis and body structure.
