New York (CNN) It seemed like a good idea at the time. Actually exciting. I could ride in America’s last gas-powered muscle car with the woman responsible for getting it into production and on the road. But we were in New York City, it was four o’clock in the afternoon, and I should have known better.
Laurie Transou recently took charge of the program for the Ford Mustang. She is responsible for the final adjustments and the start of production of the new 2024 Mustang. As with every Mustang over the past 59 years, this new one will only be available with petrol engines. During what turned out to be a very long drive over a very short distance, I learned a little about them and Ford’s decision to keep the Mustang running after almost 60 years.
Laurie Transou, Ford Mustang Chief Program Engineer.
Transou and others at Ford will tell you there is an electric Mustang, the Mustang Mach-E SUV. But we weren’t talking about this Mustang. Because of the way Ford is now organized, with separate operational divisions responsible for gas-powered and electric vehicles – Ford Blue and Ford Model E, respectively – Transou is not responsible for the Mustang Mach-E. That’s someone else’s job.
As we took off, there was a burst of speed and a throaty V8 engine roar as we sped down Manhattan’s 11th Avenue. Transou was behind the wheel because journalists are not allowed to drive the 2024 Mustang until a few things are clarified. Still, I did something that will become an increasingly rare experience in the years to come.
Transou has never said a bad word about the Mustang Mach-E, but as someone who learned how to drive a manual-transmission car in a Mustang as a teenager, she clearly has a personal bond.
“We have our Mustang Mach-E. He’s going straight ahead incredibly fast,” she said. “This Mustang can go fast, but it also has this amazing handling and steering and then that exhaust note. So each one offers something a little bit different.”
Plus, the Mach-E’s zero fuel economy helps keep Ford’s average fuel economy down, the number regulators are watching for. That means Ford doesn’t have to worry as much about selling those gas-powered two-door Mustangs.
The car we were in, the Mustang coupe, is already a curiosity in the American auto industry. First, it’s the only actual car that Ford is currently selling in the United States. Every other Ford product sold here is a truck or SUV. Second, its main competitors, the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger, will both be phased out over the coming year. GM had previously announced that it plans to sell exclusively electric passenger vehicles by 2035, and besides, the Camaro hasn’t really matched the Mustang in the competition that counts – sales.
The Challenger was popular, but Stellantis, Dodge’s parent company, doesn’t currently have the electric vehicles to offset sales of those big V8s for fuel economy and emissions regulations. So Dodge plans to come out with an electric muscle car instead.
With room to breathe, the Mustang will remain – like a kind of living fossil of an earlier age in motoring. That’s part of its enduring charm, of course, and probably one of the reasons Ford decided not to even offer a hybrid version, at least for now.
Laurie Transou had this 1991 Mustang when she was younger.
“The choice for now was to lean on the ICE engine and whatever an ICE engine delivers,” Transou said, using an industry term for an internal combustion engine.
Customers who love the rumble might eventually like a hybrid, “should we decide to offer that,” she said.
After driving a few blocks south on 10th Avenue with little other traffic, it was time to head north, or as Manhattan puts it, downtown. That’s when I realized our mistake. Turning north again, we headed toward the Lincoln Tunnel at rush hour.
The new Mustang Dark Horse’s 500-horsepower V8 engine is uncomplicated. No turbocharging or anything like that. And it’s still being offered with a manual gearbox of the sort used by Transou, who wore her left leg on the clutch pedal and rarely got past first gear in stuck traffic.
About 40% of V8 Mustang buyers get a manual transmission, she said, opting for that truly classic driving experience.
“I think once you learn how to drive a manual, it’s such an engaging, fun experience,” she said. “It’s like you’re part of the drive.”
Even from the passenger seat, this didn’t look appealing and fun.
The 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
The modern “high-tech” option when it comes to the Mustang is the 315hp “EcoBoost” turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which Transou pointed out delivers much more power than the big V8 in the 1991 Mustang, she had then young. The efficient 4-cylinder is only available with an automatic transmission. I’ve complained about it – I liked the 4-cylinder with the manual gearbox, a combo you can still get in today’s Mustang – but I don’t think she’ll change her mind.
Having grown up with a Mustang and now in charge of the Mustang program, Transou has a bond with Ford.
“I’ve been in and around the company for over 30 years,” she said.
Her father worked for Ford. Her husband also works for Ford. So do her father-in-law, her brother and her brother-in-law. So did all four of their children.
Shortly before switching jobs to oversee the Mustang rollout, she had broad responsibility for Ford’s Icon Brands, which include the Mustang, Bronco and F-150. She was involved in plans for new Mustang derivatives and special editions. No matter how long we sat in traffic, she wouldn’t reveal anything about it, apart from the Dark Horse model we were already sitting in. But derivatives, like expensive Shelby models, are, as Ford can make big bucks for themselves with all that, expensive engineering development of what is essentially a “niche” product.
For now, the future for the Ford Mustang is simple, it’s still there, it’s still rumbling, and she promised there will be more news to come.