The government just made the Ford Mustang more expensive – by eliminating (via its regulations) its competitors, the Chevy Camaro and the Dodge Challenger. This leaves the Mustang as the only car of its type still on the market and – naturally – Ford is going to charge buyers more for it.
Because where else are they going to go?
Thus, the cost of a 2025 base trim Mustang GT is going up by at least $2,600 – to $47,055 to start next year.
This is how the Biden “administration” – such a bland term for what we’re dealing with – has made it that much more expensive to buy what is now the last car of its kind that’s still available, having succeeded – with the compliance complicity of GM and Ford – in getting rid of the competition that kept Ford from charging whatever it feels like charging for a Mustang.
Because what are you going to do about it?
Well, there is one thing – and it’s the only thing we who are being “administered” can do about it.
We can elect not to buy a new Mustang.
Ford, perhaps, has not considered that. But it is something many would-be Mustang buyers are probably going to consider – because they have to. Ford can ask whatever it likes for a new Mustang GT. But if a prospective buyer can’t afford to pay it – or objects to paying it – then Ford won’t sell a Mustang GT to that prospective buyer.
Of course, this may be exactly the point. Or – rather – the solution. Ford is apparently not going to jack up the price of the 2025 Mustang without the GT. That is to say, without the V8 that is standard equipment in the GT. The MSRP of the four cylinder turbo-powered “EcoBoost” 2025 Mustang will not be going up by $2,600. It will reportedly sticker for the same as the equivalent 2024 iteration.
Why the disparity?
Simple. Ford has been given an “incentive” – which is a word much like “administration” in terms of the surface benignity and the underlying menace – to reduce the number of Mustang GTs it sells. That “incentive” takes the form of compliance costs – imposed by the “administration” for not complying with the “regulations” (another superficially benign word much-loved by the “administration” precisely because the word doesn’t sound as menacing as more direct, honest language).
Specifically, those recently imposed by the “administration” that require – a more honest word – every car company to somehow get its entire roster of cars to average 50-plus miles-per-gallon by less-than six years from now, with fines for “non-compliance” imposed for just that. The V8 is also being “incentivized” out-of-reach for most buyers on account of its “emissions” of the bogeyman gas that does not cause or worsen air pollution but which is numinously asserted to be causing the “climate” to “change.”
The difficulty – for Ford – is that a Mustang without a V8 is kind of like a beer without the alcohol. In order for the Mustang to retain its appeal it must retain its image – and that means a V8 must at least be available. But if too many people buy a V8 Mustang, then Ford’s “fleet average” fuel economy score is less because a V8 Mustang uses a lot more gas than a four cylinder Mustang.
Solution?
Sell fewer V8 GTs – by making them progressively more expensive so that a diminishing number of people can afford to buy them. But – hey – they’re still available, so the Mustang’s brawny image carries on and that, so it is hoped, will be enough to get people to continue buying gelded Mustangs powered by four cylinder engines.
That only come with automatic transmissions now.
And they probably will, for awhile – because what choice do they have? They’d like a V8 (and would love a manual transmission, which you can now only get with the V8) but it’s not unlike liking the idea of owning a private airplane, another thing many of us would also like to have but which most of us can’t afford anymore on account of the “administration” of “regulations.”
But even that choice – to buy a four cylinder/automatic-only Mustang – will inevitably be taken away, too. Because while the four-cylinder turbo Mustang’s mileage is very good for a car of this type (33 MPG on the highway) it is nowhere near the 50.4 MPG average demanded by the “administration.” So even if nine out ten Mustangs sold are four cylinder Mustangs, Ford is still going to fall way short of “compliance” – and the only way to correct that will be to partially or wholly “electrify” the Mustang, as by making it a hybrid four-cylinder/automatic-only Mustang or a Mustang without an engine at all.
Which will make it a “Mustang” like a “beer” without alcohol.
That’s the cost of compliance – and we’re all paying it.
. . .
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The sad thing is, when Mustang V8 sales get low enough, it will make it easy for Ford to plug the plug (literally) on it.
They will say, it doesn’t sell…..
Sigh……
Lots of really nice low mileage late model 5.0 GTs for sale. No reason to pay for a new one.
Ford 2.0L Ecoboost Goes BOOM…a look inside the engine….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTwcb7opjXU
Whether these newer sporty cars are affordable or not is irrelevant so long as they have all of the nanny tech. They could be $10,000 and I’d still pass.
I’d rather take that cash and refresh the engine in one of my old cars!
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mll-bp38318ctc1d
Buy an old analog Mustang….
Slaves are buying used cars….they are broke…..new cars are too expensive and full of self driving and surveillance tech.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-bozlLl_h4
The slaves are broke….they are cutting back on restaurant food too…..
Shares Of Major French-Fry Supplier Crash As Restaurant Traffic Slowdown Worsens
Let’s not forget that Wall Street has been dumping restaurant stocks while MAG7 has taken the overall S&P500 index to new highs.
From zh comments…
Local Sysco (restaurant food vendor) manager says it’s restaurant apocalypse, 08 redux; particularly for restaurants catering to the upper middle class.
Braindead people just can’t see to process the government AND the common people are BROKE, they’re tapped out, they’ve got nothing more in terms of borrowing without going to the pawn shop. The ‘recession’ is going to be short as the west spirals into DEPRESSION. There is a price to pay for having useless assholes in power, endless wars, too much government, open borders, never ending (rich and poor) parasites, immorality, etc.
fast food….Suicide on the installment plan.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/shares-major-french-fry-supplier-crash-amid-restaurant-traffic-slowdown-worsens
Ford (and GM, Stellantis, etc al) will not be saved even if they pull back from EVs. As many people have noted, new gas cars suck because of the “driver aids”, data sharing, the coming “kill switch”, complexity, lack of serviceability, etc.I have a 2019 v6 manual Camaro, and I love it, but even then some of the features are irritating. I bought a Camaro instead of a Mustang, even though I have access to Ford employee pricing, because of the crap Chinese built Getrag MT82 manual transmission they use. They persist even after it has damaged their reputation and resulted in class action lawsuits. They know it sucks because they put the Tremec in the high end cars. I’ve bought the last new cars I expect to buy. If I buy anything else, it will be a used car from 1993 to maybe 2016.
Amen, Mike –
I am grateful to luck and maybe some sense on my part that I never parted with my ’76 Trans-Am, which I bought back in 1993 for the cost of a very used Camry today. I could not afford a TA (or Camaro) like it today – and I’m not interested in a new anything for all the reasons you’ve laid out. I refuse to pay to be controlled, spied on and nannied.
Just as the purpose of all taxes is to inflict pain.
Since the state is perfectly willing to borrow as much as it pleases to finance whatever it wants, there is not really any reason to tax at all.
I would not spend my money on this Mustang. It’s become an expensive sporty car, miles away from the cheap thrills it once gave people. It’s got all of these nannies and tracking gimmcrackery that I detest.
We need to eliminate the regulatory state, the managerial state, whatever you want to call it and tear it down to the studs. Kick these powers to the states except for California, which should lose its statehood and become a territory until all of the people who don’t belong there are forcibly repatriated to their own countries. The white shitlibs whose terrible policies have ruined that state and so many others need to either be shipped to North Korea or sent to the Midwest fields as manual labor.
That’s my 10 cents. Also, let’s make it to where a state’s electoral college votes are no longer a winner takes all proposition. That way, these states with odious cities filled with angry minorities and soyboy shitlibs and deviants can’t dominate the state’s presidential politics.
Ford has to manufacture Mustangs that Mustang buyers will buy.
They have to, but they can’t. Yo
You vill drive and buy what we tell you and that’s that.
You vill eat zee bugs, a feature.
Problems with vehicles are across the board.
My son drives a Subaru Forester, 2009 model year. The transmission went kaput, fell apart. A problem for Subaru vehicles, especially the ATs.
Costs plenty of bucco bucks to fix the thing.
Sell it to the junkyard or maybe fix it on your own.
One of the Mustangs I miss most is the 5.0 LX of the 80s and 90s. ‘Cause if what you want most is the 5.0 and the drivetrain and suspension to work with it, then you could get it without stuff you might not want or need, like the fancy wheels and ground effects that are more show than go.
Even 10 years ago, I looked at Mustangs, but they weren’t very practical for my needs. Now, all I want is an older one—much older.
Cars dot com shows only six 90s 5.0 LXs nationwide so it looks like a hard find. 4,400 used Mustangs all years, so there are lots to choose from if you’re more flexible.
Over 1700 “later model” 5.0 GTs from around $27,000 Lotta choice there.
I can’t understand why any Auto Enthusiast would buy a new car anyway – no matter what Brand.
Too bad they also are also discontinuing the performance pack for the 2025 Ecoboost Mustang. That means no paddle shifters, upgraded suspension and brakes, and other performance goodies that came with it. Now it’s pretty much a rental car spec only. Sad.
Detroit lost my potential business in 1978 when Mazda made the first RX7.
I had loved driving the ’69 Chevy Malibu 350 convertible, but it handled like a boat and the brakes were not good enough for its weight. Detroit never made anything that was satisfactory to me up to the time that Mazda made that RX7. I’ve owned 6 more Mazda’s since then and now I’m looking to import a 25 year old JDM car instead of giving a dime to the greedy, leftist UAW and the fedgov-ridden domestic device makers.
Why would I want to do business with enemies who want to make me their slave?
There was a time, not so long ago, when owning a private aircraft like a Cessna 172 was a very achievable upper-middle class dream. Like owning a boat or motorhome. Sure, it required a lot more effort and minimum standards, but it was possible. I personally know two pilots, both of whom no longer maintain their certification due to age and health, and another who recently died. Anecdotal for sure, but going to local fly-ins I see a lot of grey hair.
But then several fatal crashes and subsequent lawsuits against the manufacturers raised insurance and reduced the number of firms building small personal aircraft. The FAA increased the requirements for obtaining a pilot license. As a final blow, the EPA banned leaded fuels, which the most popular piston engine requires -the fuel is somehow still available, but now costs about 3X the cost of 93 octane pump gas.
Because the cost of entry is so high, many people won’t consider obtaining a private pilot license or aviation as a hobby. The PPL has become the initial step in obtaining your commercial license. In other words, it’s just part of flight school. As such there’s no longer a pool of pilots who want to put up with the requirements, regulation and hassle of maintaining a PPL just for the sake of holding it. And because that “$100 hamburger flight” now costs $500+, people who are maintaining their certifications are flying minimums only. And if you’re a teenage pilot looking to get a license you’d better have a parent who’s a pilot with his instructor rating.
This week is the EAA AirVenture fly-in in Oshkosh WI. I believe it is the largest airshow in the world. There’s already been one fatal crash. I’m sure there will be more incidents as the week goes on. General aviation is the only class of aviation that hasn’t seen a significant decrease in incidents (crashes) since 2000.
However, there is a ton of GA activity in the airspace. So much so that two airfields in the Denver metro are being threatened with NIMBY lawsuits over noise and the usual BS from neighbors who apparently didn’t notice the runway next door. Who’s flying? Buffett’s NetJets and a bunch of other “timeshare” networks. Dozens of regional “RJ” jets that used to be one or two flights a day. And of course military and government missions. Air travel for me, but not thee.
After all, what’s the point of being a billionaire if you have to share the sky with the hoi-polloi?
Hi RK,
Yup. It’s why I haven’t gotten my license. I can’t afford to – let alone the cost of buying even a “cheap” old airplane due to the cost of all the regs. First airplanes… now cars.
Oh, & in the 1980’s the cost of a private pilots license was almost dirt cheap. I came ] – [ this close to getting one.
The cost wasn’t what stopped me.
RE “There was a time, not so long ago, when owning a private aircraft like a Cessna 172 was a very achievable upper-middle class dream. Like owning a boat or motorhome.”
For sure! Back in the 1980’s there was an older guy who had been building his own single engine aircraft in his garage & taking off & landing on his large yard for decades. The aircraft were Super cool & not high Dollar at all.
I never flew one of his. Could have if I really wanted to at the time. Even for lower middle class people the idea of being able to buy a Cessna was a real possibility, too. (Go halves on one with others.)
Man, what a different world that was back then.
This brings up another issue: the lack of pilots. Not only because of COVID furloughs and vaccine mandates, but also because the cost of getting a commercial license is more than a college diploma. If there is a real shooting war will there be pilots and enough support personnel to really maintain an air force?
When I lived in Aspen one of the more interesting activities was plane spotting and listening to the radio chatter. It was much more involved than listening to Denver since many of the jets weren’t used to flying into ASE, so more voice traffic than usual.
And many of those voices had distinct accents. Not that that’s wrong, but the situation is set up for rich kids from other lands to migrate into the airspace on an H1 and fly GA instead of bringing in middle class kids who might not have the money.
My brother soloed at 16. He and a group of friends co-owned a 70s or 80s Cessna 206 up until a few years ago. I’m not sure how much each person had to pony up every year for insurance, FAA certs, and maintenance, but they were all upper middle-class professionals that could afford it.
Anyhow it got cost prohibitive, so the compact was dissolved (again, not sure about the legalities) and the aircraft was sold. All of ’em are well over 60 so I imagine that played into it as well.
My late father learned to fly in the late 1950s and was able to buy two airplanes: First a Piper Tri-Pacer, then later as he moved up the income ladder he sold that and bought a Beechcraft Bonanza (aka The V Tailed Doctor Killer). Both aircraft purchased used, but in fine shape as airplanes need to be maintained to a higher standard than an automobile.
He was able to hangar the Bonanza at a local airport while paying the mortgage and owning a boat on one salary (Granted, lower level exec salary).
Fast forward to the mid 1990s when I learned to fly. I got my Private Pilot’s license after churning many hours and dollars. But without the money to buy my own airplane and maintain it (I balked at the cost of just tying down a Cessna in the great outdoors at the same airport my late father had his airplane at. All that cash monthly just to let the birds crap on my plane, no thanks.) renting airplanes and hoping the weather held got old and I fell away from flying.
Sadly it appears automobiles of all kinds are rather headed the way of airplanes.
All absolutely correct. Also note that the average GA airplane is about 50 years old. I managed to score a 172C at auction cheaply, but communist mandated $2000 annual inspections and $50k engines gave me very little use out of it and I sold it even cheaper after 10 years. Also, all of this has made it “clubby” and there is always a well heeled govt license (MD, lawyer, etc) to snap up any available hangars etc.
GA is another victim of govt. They’re already following the same playbook for cars, another militarily useful technology which the subjects must be denied. It’s all a privilege, there is no god and no god given rights.
RK,
I went all the way to my comm/inst, because I wanted to fly professionally. When I was flying during the 1980s, a PPL would set you back $3k-$4k; now, that same PPL will set you back $15K-$20K. I practically did all my training for that! It may have been a little higher, as I did my whole commercial in a Piper Arrow; I didn’t do just the minimum 10 hours of complex time on it. Though it cost me a bit more, I was a lot more comfortable dealing with complex airplane, as after 10 hours, I was barely comfortable dealing with retractable gear and the constant speed prop.
Oh, and that $15K-$20K just opens the door for the REAL expenses! A New C172 will set you back $400K; a C182 will be like $650K-$700K. Yes, you can go used, but, for those two popular types, demand is high, and so are the prices. If you want a C172 or C182 in decent shape (we’re just talking King KX155 radios, ILS, vacuum gyros in good shape, not a plane with a G1000 panel) will run well into the six figures. For a well kept 172 (all ADs complied with, up to date annual, nice interior, and low time engine), you’ll spend $125K, minimum. If you want a C172 that’s been reconditions (i.e. new interior, new paint taken down to bare metal, updated panel, etc.), a used C172 will hit $200K in no time at all. I know, because I’ve been looking on Trade-a-Plane’s website lately.
And that’s just your acquisition costs! That doesn’t cover your ongoing expenses. If you want to remain current, then you’ll have to pay for 100LL avgas; you’ll have to set aside money for TBO; you’ll have to park it somewhere; you’ll have to pay for insurance; of course, you’ll have to cough up $1,500-$2,000 per year for an annual-IF they find nothing wrong with your plane. And GOOD LUCK finding hangar space within an hour’s drive of your home! If you do, you can easily pay the cost of renting a small apartment.
Oh, and let’s not talk about what engine overhauls and replacements cost; that’s where the REAL FUN of aircraft ownership begins! A Conti O-200 will cost $15K for an overhaul; if you spring for a factory new engine, you’re talking $25K-$28K. The prices are similar for a Lycoming O-235. And these are the CHEAPEST engines you can get! They power the C150/152, respectively. The costs only get higher from there.
If you’re overhauling a Lycosaurus O-320 for a somewhat modern C172, you’re talking $20K; a remanufactured engine from Lycoming will cost you $30K, minimum. If you want a brand, spanking new O-320 from Lycoming, it’ll be about $47K installed. If you have an older C172 with the Conti O-300 in it, you’ll pay more, thanks to the two extra cylinders. And it only gets worse. You can see the costs for yourself here: https://www.lycomingoverhaul.com/lycoming-overhaul-prices-cost-excha#:~:text=Lycoming%20Factory%20Rebuilt%20installed%20%2429%2C258,single%20acting%20controllable%20pitch%20propeller.
If you overhaul the engines on a twin, like the Beechcraft Baron, you’re talking at least $50K a side. A Bonanza, since it only has one engine, will set you back at least $40K at TBO. I can’t imagine what annuals cost on those things, because the gear has to be checked; that means jacking up the aircraft to drop the gear, which takes time.
Anyway, I did some research, hoping to maybe get back into flying. After seeing the horrendous costs involved, it’s out of the question. Given the Stone Age tech of the engines, WTF do they have to cost so much?
Interesting you bring this up – my dad had a number of friends back in the 80s / 90s who had propeller airplanes! I wonder how its possible when today we can hardly afford a weekend sports car !!
On another depressing note – the Farnborough Airshow here in the UK banned the actual air show of the event because of safffeettyyyy aspect of it about 5 years ago – something that was happening since the 1930s when im pretty sure planes were less safe!! Says a lot about our society today..
Are you fucking KIDDING ME? Farnborough no longer has the airshow? That was an INSTITUTION! Aviation enthusiasts the world over knew of Farnborough. Everyone who was anyone in aviation was there. Deals got done there; you’d always hear about Boeing, Airbus, etc. inking a major deal at Farnborough. If anyone had anything aviation related to show, especially airplanes, they brought ’em to Farnborough to show off. That was a bucket list item for me. No more. What’s the point if there’s no airshow?
As for owning your own airplane, that’s increasingly out of reach for anyone who’s not wealthy. New airplanes cost a fortune, while used airplanes only cost a small fortune. Thanks to gov’t regs, it’s costly as hell to own an airplane. I was thinking about it, but after going over the numbers, I had to say NFW.
Maybe the recent Chevron ruling will kill off terrorist bureaucrat “Administration”.
Doubtful. It just means that the possibility of lawsuits are back on the table. But I image that 99.99999% of those suits will be ruled in favor of the regulatory agency.
Remember, most people believe the only reason why greedy businesspeople aren’t overtly poisoning our food is because of regulatory agencies. Of course anyone who spends a few days researching all the additives and preservatives in the standard American diet knows that our food is indeed poisonous, thanks in no small part to the regulators, but never mind that for now. Any retail establishment with a true long term view would vet products and suppliers for quality and safety, rejecting anything that wasn’t up to standard. And of course the Dollar General standard might not be the same as Whole Foods, but that’s ok too. And (as in the case of WF), when management changes and the quality declines, so will sales.
Hi RK,
The past few years ought to have destroyed any illusion people had of regulatory agencies looking out for the little guys. These regulatory agencies are looking out NOT for the interests of Americans, but rather the interests of the industry they purportedly regulate. For example, it was the CDC & FDA that deemed those mRNA COVID jabs “Safe and Effective!”, which the government and the media peddled relentlessly for a while until it became too obvious that was complete bull crap. And now, it seems they want to do it all over again, this time with any BIRD FLU VACCINES that the pharmaceutical industry makes. Will people fall for the MASSIVE propaganda campaign that is sure to be concocted over bird flu and bird flu vaccines? Some might, but hopefully this time, the masses will shout “Hell no!” to any decrees the government may concoct regarding bird flu.
In our circles, you’re absolutely right. But there are plenty of “I’m so glad I got vaccinated or my COVID could have been much worse!” types who quickly blow off any questioning of the bureaucracy with condescension. When you try to explain how the standard for most medicine is “does the patient get worse?” they still assume that private businesses are actively trying to kill their customers.
Of course at some point the people running the company are so far removed from the day to day operations that they no longer are concerned with reputation. And, as we’ve seen since Jack Welch destroyed GE then wrote a how-to manual for all the other psychopaths, once they get the reigns it’s Katie bar the door. Once they got to be “too big to fail” the psychopaths became like gods… not the Judeo-Christian god, more like the Greek/Roman gods, selfish and cruel. Destroying man’s creations through consolidation and cost reduction. Because they know there’s no consequences for misbehaving.
Don’t be so sure about Whole Foods “quality”
https://rumble.com/v52whkz-it-sure-does-feel-like-september-9th.html
Whole Foods has been destroyed by Bezos. Amazon buying them out was for the retail space, not the brand.
I suppose their next great idea will be pairing the V8 with a CVT.
Ford seems increasingly content to make garage queens and become a boutique brand like Porsche, catering to the well-to-do with Mustangs and F150s, with an occasional Bronco for the Blue Oval collector set and wannabes.
I saw a new Ford Bronco covered in mud for the first time last weekend. It was kinda shocking.
My neighbor’s Bronco still only comes out of the throne room/garage on days with nice weather — no rain, not too hot/cold.
I agree, Roscoe –
Also: I like the turbo-four Mustang – but I dislike that it’s now automatic only. The ten speed auto works very well, but it’s an automatic – and that’s a deal killer for me in a car of this type.
I don’t like the idea of a turbo I4 Mustang.
1. Harkens back to my middle brother’s 1980 Mustang Cobra with the 2.3L Turbo 4. It was a striking shade of silver with the lower body in black, like the 1979 Indy 500 Pace Car. Should’ve been yellow and black for as big of a lemon 🍋 it was.
2. Have read some horror stories about Ford EcoBoost mills. 💥 Perhaps the engine in the Mustang is better, but do you want to risk it?
I’ve recently spotted a new Bronco painted up in a 70’s color scheme. Very cool. Had to look twice to see if it was new or old.