The Blue Oval made amends with the Fox vehicle architecture, which was first shown at the Fairmont in 1978 and lasted until 2004 if we include Fox’s derived platform of the SN-95. Loosely based on the DEW platform, the fifth generation pony car’s D2C was replaced by the S550, the closest Ford came to a dedicated set of foundations for the Mustang.
Now that we have completed the history lesson, the “not a real Mustang” the argument clearly does not hold water. Enthusiasts are most likely upset with the Mustang Mach-E’s body style, which is understandable at first glance. But looking at the big picture, they wouldn’t have taken up arms against the Mach-E if the Ford Motor Company had turned a 1965 Mustang sedan concept into a production car. The same can be said of a 1966 wagon body concept, a mid-engine design study with the Boss 429 engine, and the Mazda probe that was originally intended to replace the Fox- Mustang body instead of the SN-95 Mustang.
Look, I’m not as excited about the Mach-E as I am about a Coyote V8-powered pony car, but times have changed, and we’ll have to live with it as long as there is demand for an electric all-crossover with the pony logo.