Ford: You'll Have To Take The Mustang's Manual Transmission "Out Of Our Cold, Dead Hands"
Ford has made its stance on the new Mustang's continued use of the manual transmission very clear. The brand believes it has a strong argument for the layout to stick around, and CEO Jim Farley doesn't want it going anywhere, at least so long as he can help it.
Speaking to CarExpert at this year's Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, the CEO said: "Out of our cold, dead hands will we not have a manual Mustang." Ford's CEO is an avowed car enthusiast, having said previously he'd rather be making cars like the Mustang over the "generic two-row crossovers" that dominate the industry (and Ford's quarterly sales reports). Given that harsh reality, Farley has another mission: not making boring cars. “I really believe Ford best serves the working people and enthusiast drivers,” he said. “And that’s increasingly off-road as well as on-road, and I like to say we don’t have any boring cars at Ford."
Ford finds itself in something of a unique position, at least for the next few years. The manual transmission is an old, outdated, archaic, and inefficient means of moving a car forward and backward. It's also really fun, which puts automakers in a position few would admit to enjoying: they must sell a worse product with reduced appeal. From a regulatory perspective, though, things are easier on Ford than they may be on competing foreign brands like BMW, at least when it comes to the manual transmission.
Ford has the benefit of making its US-market stick-shift vehicles domestically and selling them in much the same place. BMW, for example, imports vehicles like the M2 and will likely kill off the manual as emissions regulations tighten globally. For now, Ford's home market features a regulatory climate that favors the production of inefficient manual transmissions. With Trump's EPA deregulating itself and leaving the door open for combustion engines, the opposite of the last several years of US auto and climate legislation and rhetoric, Ford can continue to produce the manual. However, that door will one day likely close, at which point someone will be prying the manual from Jim Farley's hands.