As Ford Authority originally reported back in 2022, the S650 generation Ford Mustang was slated to be much more difficult to tune than it was previously, due to its new Fully-Networked Vehicle (FNV) electrical architecture, which brings various benefits like over-the-air updates and much-needed cybersecurity. Despite that, HP Tuners was able to crack Ford’s S650 Mustang ECU just this past June, and is already offering tuning support for that model, as well as others utilizing FNV. However, it seems as if even Ford CEO Jim Farley’s own son opted to go with an older pony car for this very same reason.
“I have this debate with my son, actually, because he has an older Mustang. He didn’t buy the new one for reasons like that,” Farley said during a recent appearance on The Verge‘s Decoder podcast. “I would absolutely say the drop in sales is not due to that. Actually, we’re doing really well with Mustang. I think we’re the only one left really, which we’re quite proud of. We’re investing a lot in Mustang.”
“I think the thing people don’t get about Mustang is that it’s a global car. It’s the best-selling sports coupe in the world. We outsell Mustang outside of the US than inside the US. When I look at sales for Mustang, I look at globally. The Mustang continues to grow in some of our biggest countries like Australia and Sweden because people want a little slice of that America. Everyone wants to do a burnout.”
“As far as the vehicle’s tunability, I think the call-in question is outstanding. This is a real dilemma for us, and there’s no easy answer. We want people to modify their cars, but we also have to take quality and privacy really seriously. I think he was talking more about the performance of the vehicle, and over time, our approach would be to give people the option to digitally adjust their vehicle from Ford, so that we can maintain quality but still let the user have their own idea of performance. That’s different for everyone, and I think that vision will come to life in the coming years.”
During this same conversation, Farley revealed that his daughter’s boyfriend tuned his own F-150, only to experience major engine issues as a result, which is another factor behind the automaker’s decision to restrict such access.
Comments
Why is the Ford CEO weighing-in on this issue??
Where’s the Mustang Brand Manager?
Really shows that “micro-managing” issues is a big part of Ford’s Leadership style.
It’s a big issue in the auto enthusiast community and if you are paying attention to the broader business world and govt regulations, it’s becoming intwined with everything. Things like right to repair your own products (including farm machinery), “you don’t really own what you bought”, “Amazon owns your movie collection and can change it when they want”, “you don’t own the video games you bought Microsoft does”, etc. have become BIG issues in many industries and around the globe.
Ford correcting its quality deterioration should be their core messaging.
Rest of this stuff is just “warm balloon juice” to the majority of the buying public.
Improving quality at Ford absolutely needs to happen, but you can address more than one thing at a time. gm and some other manufacturers have been having more and more quality issues, too.
“Gee, Dod, your cars really suck!” Farley’s son, as portrayed by Dweezil Zappa.