QOTD: Searching for Inspiration?
We’ve all had time to think about Ford’s “Mustang-inspired” electric crossover, a vehicle which seems ready to adopt styling cues — if not whole swaths of real estate — from its pony car stablemate. Imagine an other automaker grafting a close facsimile of the stem and stern of a storied sports car onto a high-riding, four-door CUV. Seems laughable, no?
Well, this exact scenario seems to be what Ford has planned for a vehicle it nehttps://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2019/10/qotd-searching-for-inspiration/eds to be successful. If the final product ends up turning heads and not stomachs, can you see the company’s rivals attempting the same?
This is where you get to play Automotive God, albeit in a minor way. Assuming the entire concept of a Mustang-inspired crossover doesn’t leave you green with nausea, which other automaker would you want to see pursue this cynical gambit?
When Chevrolet debuted its reborn Blazer to weak applause, there was no doubt that the midsize crossover drew some of its design inspiration from the faltering, but nonetheless famous, Camaro. Its platform was snatched from beneath the decidedly non-sports-car-like GMC Acadia. Like the upcoming Ford EV and its design muse, there’s no DNA shared between Blazer and Camaro.
Fiat Chrysler, whose product plans are as hazy and capricious as the dinner itinerary of a wealthy socialite, could probably clean up with a CUV modelled after the aging but beastly Challenger/Charger, but it doesn’t have to. It already has access to those bird-flipping engines, and the likes of the Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee benefit greatly from it. No need to change the lineup.
But maybe we’re thinking too contemporarily? Famous sports cars there are many, but how many are still in production? There’s no rule that a new crossover can’t borrow the visage, the marrow, the essence of sports cars long past. Sure, it would be an odd thing to do, but that doesn’t mean it’s verboten.
What say you? Is the Mustang-inspired crossover a Ford too far, or is there another family-friendly tribute (not Tribute) you’d like to see born? Don’t hesitate to offer powertrain details.
