TakeAway: Ford’s Mustang brand is being refreshed to target Gen-Y consumers who have to taste the the freedom of driving.
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Excerpt from WSJ: “Old Mustang Is Put Out to Pasture”
The Mustang today strongly hews to the look of the 1964 original. But Ford is working on radical makeover of its signature youth-market car, people familiar with Ford’s plans said.
The next generation would retain the shark-nosed grille and round headlights, but would look more like the new Ford Fusion.
The change is part of a bid to make the Mustang appeal to Generation Y, the roughly 80 million people who were born between 1980 and 1999. This demographic group is entering its peak car-buying years.
For Ford, Gen Y may prove a difficult target.
For many in this group, cars and driving just aren’t that cool in an era of iPads and Facebook.
A 2011 study by the University of Michigan found that just two-thirds of all 18-year-olds had driver’s licenses in 2008, down from 80% in 1983.
Edited by ARK
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