Ford Plans Color-Configurable Instrument Cluster for Next-Gen Mustang

Mustang Interior Promises to be as Well Made as New F-150 Interior

LAS VEGAS: The F-Series pickup for 2004 is the first evidence of Fords plan to spend a lot more money on interiors, but the customizable instrument cluster on the 2005 Mustang suggests that the worlds second largest car company does not intend to stop there.

Ford showed off Mustangs “color-configurable cluster” at the SEMA specialty parts show here recently, and while that kind of thing has been done by aftermarket custom shops, this is the first such application from a manufacturer.

While the cluster is “just one of many innovative new features coming on the Mustang,” according to Ford, its a pretty good start.

The color-configurable cluster can be back-lit in any of 125 backgrounds by “mixing” three primary colors with the turn of a dial, explained J Mays, Fords group vice president of Design.

Mays said, “The effect can be subtle or dramatic, particularly at night, as the speedometer and tachometer illuminate in variations of blue, green or red hues, creating a unique, personalized driving mood.”

The new Mustangs standard-setting interior will include the new color-configurable instrument cluster, which uses six light-emitting diode (LED) lights that are selectable in order from green, blue, purple, white, orange and red.

Mays said that the LEDs are filtered through innovative “light pipe” fittings on the sides of the speedometer, tachometer and vehicle operation indicator panel to create the numerous color options.

Mays said the new feature addresses a growing trend showing that up to 50 percent of some demographic groups — particularly “millennias” who are 25 and younger — plan to personalize their vehicles the moment they buy them.

“Make no mistake about it — the new Mustang will be a head-turner on the outside,” said Mays. “But it also will set new standards for muscle car interiors, just like the new F-150 has changed the game in the pickup market.”

To build buyer interest in the new Mustang, Ford is offering a screen saver that teases the new car and illustrates how the new color-configurable instrument cluster will work, at www.fordvehicles.com.

Ford says it plans to use the web site to “keep anxious enthusiasts informed about the new car and its debut next year.”