IS THE MONOCEROS HYBRID MUSTANG THE CAR FORD SHOULD HAVE BUILT?

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Truth With Speedzzter has long advocated the concept of a high performance electric hybrid Ford Mustang.

However, instead of developing an such a game-changing halo car, Ford Motor Company has wasted Mustang’s period of exclusivity, mostly killed the SVT brand, and focused on expensive ripoffs in concert with Shelby, such as the wimpy Shelby GT and the Shelby GT500KR.

Now an aftermarket tuner may have taken up the challenge of building the high performance Mustang of the future.

Roush?** Nope.

Saleen? Nada.

SMS Supercars (Steve Saleen's new outfit)? Sorry.

Shelby? Surely you must be joking.

How about Palm Harbor, Florida's Edward Monfort.

Who?

Edward Monfort is known in the insular, high tech world of electric cars. He made a little ripple in the EV world in 2007 at EVS23 with the announcement of an all-electric Mustang Ronaele 300e. The 300e was an electrified version of the gasoline-powered Ronaele tuner Mustang – a late model interpretation of the Foose-ified “Eleanor” from the remake of “Gone in 60 Seconds” (tm)

(Which apparently bred a little litigation between Denise Halicki and Monfort. By the way, “Eleanor”, "Ronaele" (which reads "Eleanor" in a mirror) “Gone in 60 Seconds” and the other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective holders (who are not affiliated in any with “Truth With Speedzzter”) and are used here under the fair use provision of U.S. Copyright law. In other words, Carroll, Bill, Denise, Edward – DON’T SUE US!).

The vaporware specs of the Ronaele 300e were impressive: 150 m.p.h. top speed (limited by gearing, with a claimed 200 possible); 100-200 mile range, depending on battery configuration. And the future promise of an ever hotter 600e with 2,000 lbs/ft of torque.

The catch was, of course, price. Monfort’s “Reddy Kilowatt” (tm) racer costs a staggering $80,000+ over the price of a normal pony car.

No word on how many “Electro-stang” buyers have signed up.

Now, it seems that Monfort is up to something that is a bit more affordable.

A back-of-the-book advertisement in the somewhat obscure >“Mustang Enthusiast” magazine proclaims “The Future Really Is Here.” Picturing a bee-colored Ronaele Mustang (purportedly starring in 2009's “The Fast and the Furious 4") and festooned with the obligatory tuner “babe” (albeit not in the de rigeur swimsuit pose that some sexist tuner companies seem to believe helps sell product), the ad claims that “THIS MONOCEROS HYBRID MUSTANG CAR OF THE FUTURE will get unheard of gas mileage, have more horsepower than a GT 500 – and will be as green and cool as they come.”

It further claims that a “single part” will turn “an existing 2005 and up Mustang . . . into a gas saving supercharged Hybrid.”

Of course the ad doesn’t identify what that “single part” is.

But it claims that for a mere $39,000 (including the car), you’ll get over “500 total horsepower” a full factory warranty (on some models), 45 m.p.g. on a 250 mile trip and 100 m.p.g. as a commuter car. An optional “race mode” will yield 0-60 times in less four seconds (no price given for that option).

Other than that, the ad and website are sparse with the specs.

--Is it a V8 or a V6?

--How is that “single part” (presumably a computer-controlled electric motor-generator), fitted into the drivetrain?

--Is there any high-voltage electric energy storage?

--Is there any regenerative braking?

--What are the control integration strategies?

--How much does the modified vehicle weigh?

--What does it run in the standing-start quarter mile?

--How many gs will it pull on the skidpad?

The website mysteriously claims that the secret part is “an add on unlike anything we have ever seen in the auto industry.” In other words, stay tuned.

Not much for all of those “Willie Wiredhands” (tm) in EV land to mull over yet.

Yet if Monfort and Monoceros pull this off, perhaps they have built the hybrid Mustang that Ford should have built.

WILL FORD MOTOR COMPANY BE THE LAST OF THE DETROIT THREE STANDING

Autoextremist blogger Peter M. DeLorenzo pans in RANT # 468 the apparently fading prospect of a GM-Chrysler merger and raises the possibility that Cerberus will shuck Chrysler to Carlos Ghosn at Nissan/Renault.

He concludes that this means the end Chrysler as anything other than a shell of its former self.

“Chrysler will be the first to go, and GM – as unthinkable as that might be - is teetering on the brink of oblivion.”

“And Ford? Well Ford just may be the last American car company standing when this is all done playing out”

A GM-Chrysler merger always raised eyebrows among the automotive and business press for obvious reasons. Too many dealers, too many brands, too many workers, too much product overlap, and not enough money or time to work it all out.

As some writers have pointed out, the history of mechanized automobility is littered with failed mergers: e.g. Auburn-Cord-Dusenburg, Packard-Studebaker, Hudson-Nash (a/k/a American Motors . . . although it did take about three decades for that one to totally flop) and, of course, DaimlerChrysler.

It should be recalled that GM is a conglomerate built on mergers.

That was part of GM's strength. Back in the days of divisional autonomy, GM’s market hegemony was unassailable. But GM jettisoned brand uniqueness, turned to corner-cutting “badge engineering” and vapid marketing schemes, and, thus, lost the essence of what made its individual brands strong. Of course Washington D.C.’s three decade regulatory jihad and blind-eyed fumbling on the Japanese invasion of the U.S. auto market didn’t help.

DeLorenzo’s comments are hardly just more “smog on the information superhighway” (as former SVT in-house propagandist John M. Clor asserts that all automobile blogs are). Instead, DeLorenzo may be right.

But the real question is, will the Ford that survives (if it does) still build anything that anyone but appliance motorists care about?

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

** Thankfully, Roush Racing has signed a contract extension with Ford Motor Company, so perhaps the last of the Detroit 3 will also be the last of the Detroit 3 still racing.

SPOOKED KERKORIAN DUMPING FORD MOTOR COMPANY STOCK?

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Has Detroit gone crazy?

The current liquidity crisis and the subprime mortage debacle at the root of the housing bust have started to drive some crazed survival moves among the Detroit 3 and their battered investors.

General Motors and Chrysler talking about a merger?

Apparently so.

Ford talking about selling all or part of Mazda?

No comment.

(Selling Mazda would be a curious move given Ford's reliance of Mazda for small car engineering. Obviously, given the hegemony of Asian automakers in the minds of the consumers, an alliance with a Japanese automaker is crucial. Moreover Mazda's motorsports involvement makes it a good fit with Ford. Still Ford may be in such dire straits as to require more "parting out" to survive)

And now Kirk Kerkorian is apparently dumping his six-percent stake in Ford Motor Company

With FoMoCo stock trading at LESS than a gallon of gasoline, the radical environmentalists on the brink of obtaining complete control of the U.S. government, and the prospect that Ford could be the "odd man out" in the apparent consolidation of what's left of the American domestic auto industry, Kerkorian's Tracinda Corporation apparently has decided to cut their huge loses and bail out (at least partially) on Ford.

Is this just the jitters, or does Kerkorian know something that we don't know.

If Ford survives without filing bankruptcy (which might be a EXCURSION-SIZED "IF"), the depressed price of FoMoCo stock might just be the buying opportunity of the decade. But if Ford struggles without a profitable new mix of models (i.e. the Mullaly's Euro Focus/Fiesta plan flops), then the ride for Ford shareholders may be a rough as a Model T on the Rubacon trail.

Hang on tight, Ford shareholders.

WHAT COULD GM WANT WITH CHRYSLER?

1. Market share: GM-Chrysler would instantly control 1/3 of the U.S. market, which would temporarily boost GM morale.

2. Money: Chrysler's holding about $11 Billion according to some reports. That would let GM hang on for as much as another year under the current cash "burn rate"

3. Muscle: GM-Chrysler would probably be "too big to fail." GM would have a lot more leverage in Congress for a bigger bail out package, should it be necessary. If GM-Chrysler fell, it could adversly impact the banking system.

4. Models: While GM and Chrysler have huge product overlap, a merger with Chrysler would give GM the still-valuable Jeep franchise and access to a few already-developed and on-sale platforms, such as Chrysler's minivans. Models on the bubble would be Chrysler's CUVs, RWD Sedans and the Challenger. Models that would most certainly die would be Viper, PT Cruiser, a fair share of Chrysler's non-Jeep SUV lineup, and Chrysler's underperforming FWD midsize cars. Merging with Chrysler does not really help out GM in the small car front in the short term. A big question is whether GM would keep the new coil-rear spring Dodge Ram (or even the Dodge brand).

A merger would highlight the knocks on GM -- too many dealers, too many models, too little focus. However, GM could pick up some market share, cash flow and models for cheap, while reducing some of the administrative overhead of both companies.

It's not a good time to be a middle manager in Detroit, though.

Kerkorian and GM: Crazy? Or Crazy like foxes?

FORD IS MUFFING THE INTRODUCTION OF THE 2010 MUSTANG

With the Detroit 3 teetering on the edge of the bankruptcy abyss, the draconian axe of 35 m.p.g. Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards rapidly descending, and the untimely return of Dodge’s Challenger and Chevrolet’s Camaro, model year 2010 is shaping up to be the apogee of the Second Musclecar Era.

Ford Motor Company – which has had the “pony car” niche all to itself for half a decade – is now faced with the unenviable task of defending its share of the market it created almost forty-five years ago.

Ford’s venerable old warhorse, Mustang, is about the only FoMoCo product which generates any kind of transcendent passion. Indeed some would say that without Mustang, Ford would be irrelevant. The 2010 Mustang is the horse Ford hopes its faithful will ride into what may be the last muscle car battle for a long time.

Further increasing the pressure on Ford is the fact that in the U.S., Ford has neglected all other sporting niches.

-- Ford has no entry-level sport compact to fight Chevrolet’s ultra-hot Cobalt SS and Dodge’s SRT-4. In fact, the recent blizzard of test numbers for the turbocharged Cobalt SS suggest that many, if not most current Mustang owners ought to steer clear of GM’s FWD beast in competitive driving situations.

--Ford has no RWD or AWD sport sedans, while both GM and Chrysler do.

--Ford has no traditional two-seat sports cars.

Thus, what little is left of Ford’s entire “Total Performance” image rests on the swaying back of Mustang.

If early indications prove true, Ford is sneaking into this last battle of the traditional V8 supercar on a lame horse.

Chevrolet has been selling vaporware for a couple of years now. GM’s Holden division has conspired with General Motors Performance Division to cook up an apparently brilliant interpretation of the 1969 Camaro for the RWD V8-capable pony car’s probable last hurrah.

And GM’s public relations department has been planting stories across enthusiast media to build interest in the new/old Camaro. What we know now is that Chevrolet’s V6 Camaro will put more ponies to the ground that Ford’s CURRENT SOHC V8 Mustang. And Chevrolet’s V8 Camaro will smoke Ford’s SOHC by over 100 horsepower. Both the V6 and V8 Camaros are slated to spank Ford’s fuel economy, despite lugging around significantly more road hugging weight.

Dodge spent 2008 selling SRT-8 Challengers in the masssive horsepower and performance chasms between Ford’s nearly-unobtainable Shelby GT500 Mustangs and the pedestrian 300 h.p. Mustang GT. Now Dodge selling the full line of Challengers. While the R/T 5.7 Hemi Challenger handily outweighs and outsizes Ford’s Pony, the prosaic 3V SOHC GT gives up a whopping 80+ horsepower.

Thus, virtually all of the excitement in the press is directed toward Challenger and Camaro.

Ford is left with a five-year old, flabby Pony (in non-GT500 trim) and an overly secretive promise of a refreshened Mustang for 2010.

The only real news about the 2010 restyle is that it’s supposed to look smaller than it really is.

Yawn . . . .

Ford’s apparent strategy is to let GM and Chrysler steal all of the early 2010 headlines and to make a big splash at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 18-21, 2008.

So far, this strategy has been a flop.

For example, Ford hired some bunch known as “ePrize, L.L.C.” to create a “Mustang Stories” Contest. The grand and only prize for the eprize “Mustang Stories” Contest is a 2010 Mustang GT, a trip to see the unveil at the L.A. Auto Show, and $16,714 for taxes.

ePrize’s contest, however, ought to be a case study in HOW NOT TO RUN A CONTEST.

The lawyers created a set of contest rules which suggested that the essence of the contest was to create and upload a photograph of a “Mustang Moment” and to write a 250-word essay “describing that moment.” The judging was to occur over two days on the basis of 50% creativity and 50% fit-to-theme. Then twenty-five finalists would be submitted to popular vote on the internet for about a five day period.

In practice, the website for the entries was poorly designed and failed to load all of the entries in the preliminaries. The website also allowed entrants to pick from among a series of professional photos supplied by Ford. Obviously, few if any of the entrants could compete on a photographic or creative level with legendary Boulevard Photographic and other professional PR photo outfits. A number of the entrants didn’t even try to create their own photos. ePrize didn’t do much to advertise or promote the contest among Ford’s loyalists and current Mustang owners.

The twenty-five finalists appear to be selected at random or without any coherent criteria. Many of the entries rely on Ford-supplied photos. Several of the contestant-uploaded photos are simply terrible in terms of lighting, composition and creativity. Any serious photographer who took the contest rules at their word and tried to compose a creative photo and relevant essay would be undoubtedly disappointed in the judging.

It wasn’t much of an essay contest, either. Some of the essays do not seem to relate very much to the photographs. A few of the essays discuss dangerous and/or illegal antics, notwithstanding a contest rule apparently to the contrary. Conventions of grammar and punctuation were seemingly not deemed important by the contest judges. Overall, the stories submitted for public vote are mostly uncreative and tedious.

One is hard pressed not to conclude that the whole contest was such a flop that those in charge are merely trying to get this mess behind them in the cheapest way possible.

What’s more, the insipid ePrize promotion does not seem to address the real questions in the mind of the motoring public.

Will the 2010 Mustang be something more than just a quick and cheap restyle?

Will Mustang still be down on power to Camaro and Challenger?

Will a derivative of the legendary 2003-2004 SVT Cobra engine return to take on the larger GM and Chrysler V8s before fuel economy standards shut down the whole party for a long time?

Will the 2010 Mustang feature improved fuel economy (or will it embarrassingly suck down more gasoline than the new V6 and V8 Camaros)?

Will Ford improve performance across the board? Or will the only Mustangers who need not fear an ambush from a FWD Cobalt SS or Japanese sport compact still be the home tuners and those who were willing to pay obscene money for a rarely -seen GT500 variant.

Will Ford “make hay while the sun shines,” or will FoMoCo waste the rapidly closing high performance window on weak 300-315 h.p. “cap gun” pony cars?

Most assuredly, Ford’s struggle for survival limits what resources it has to fight the last Pony Car War or to do something spectacular to cap off the end of the Second Supercar Era. But Ford’s tepid 2010 Mustang introduction seems gauged to deflect attention from an inadequate entry into the battle. The result of Ford’s silence and inaction will be conquest sales by GM, Chrysler and, perhaps, even others.

Letting the Mustang languish an also ran is a sad end to about the only legacy at FoMoCo still remaining.