afroa zkhan

New Member
First Name
zkhan
Joined
Jan 8, 2022
Threads
1
Messages
1
Reaction score
35
Location
unite states
Vehicles
Mach-E
Country flag
(Apologies for the long-winded story.)

My mom has been a consistent four door sedan owner for the entirety of my life and has been very anti-SUV/crossover. There were more Ford Tauruses in her ownership history than either of us could remember. Her last sedan was a 2016 Volvo S60, and she enjoyed that well enough, but she often complained about how low it was. With age starting to get to her knees, she started talking a lot more about SUVs and ease of entry/exit in the last few years, and especially in the last few months.
We started looking seriously at things in the past month or so. She was really keen on the idea of a plug-in hybrid, but unfortunately the market where we live is virtually non-existent. I don't think there's really been a PHEV sold regularly here since the Volt (which I had), and never a small SUV/crossover. I looked around and pretty much everything came up 250-500 or more miles away, just way outside the feasible range for her to look at. There was one random Rav4 Prime around that I don't know why or how a dealer here has it, but they also had it marked up $6k, so it was out. She liked the idea of a full BEV as well, but it still made her a bit nervous, despite being around them for about 6 years between the Teslas my brother, and I have owned. The Model Y was out of her price range by about $10k, give or take, and she never was fully comfortable with the interfaces and such in our Teslas, so I just knew it wouldn't be a good fit for her anyway. It seemed like either a plain hybrid or the standard ICE variant of something like an Escape or CR-V was probably going to be in her future just due to what we could find.

However, my dad and I did have one other electric option left we were pursuing in our search for her, availability was just a huge issue. I had talked to her about the Mach-E a lot from when it was first announced, because I knew it would be right up her alley. She has a heavy bias towards Ford, and they've managed to keep her happy for quite a few decades now, so no harm in that. Her dream car has always been a Mustang, the situations just never really aligned properly for her to end up with one. She got to experience plenty of them on occasion thanks to my owning quite a few over the years, but she never had one to call her own. She'd never own one now with her age and knee issues either, it just wouldn't make sense. So the Mach-E played to that perfectly. It was styled like a Mustang, it promised a sporty feel, and best of all for her, she could get in and out of it without her knees locking up. I had seen a black one a few months prior and sent her pictures while I was at the dealer picking up my latest GT, and she was really happy with the look, and in her words "It looks great, except it's black. Show me one in red or blue." My mom has never been one for black, white, gray, or silver cars. She wants color (usually red or blue), and I'm mostly the same way. So my dad and I searched a bit and made calls. We found quite a few random dealers that had one Mach-E on their sites, never any more. We knew that preorders were through the roof and ordering one would be a long wait. Most we called about had already been sold.

We finally found one about 100 miles away at a very small dealer that wasn't sold and was no longer in Ford's mannequin program. We made an appointment to go look at it the following Monday, knowing full well that we may be driving 3-4 hours round trip for nothing because we didn't know how this dealer would be nor did we even know if she'd like the car or not. She still had to sit in one, and most importantly, get in and out of it comfortably. Over the weekend while we waited for Monday, she was waffling back and forth a lot on if it was even worth the drive to look at or not, but ultimately she wanted to keep the appointment.

So Monday I take her over there and there it sits right out front of this tiny dealer in the middle of nowhere that had practically no new car/SUV inventory at all, just a few trucks. Salesman we had talked to meets us and hands her the key very quickly. She thankfully figured out the door handle very quickly (and much quicker than my Model 3, which to this day she sometimes hesitates with). She hops in the driver's seat, which was really the true test. I asked her what she thought about the height, and she said it was perfect. It was very deceptive in pictures since it sits very low for a crossover, however the battery pack is to blame for that look, and once you open the door you realize there's a very thick floor underneath you and seating height is very good. So after that we took a decent little test drive, and she loved the smoothness of the ride and the handling (she's always been a fan of nice tight steering, if nothing else). She had no problems with operating it really, as aside from the massive screen, the controls weren't much of a departure from a normal car she's used to. Still a normal push button start (though not necessary for an EV, something she's used to and expects), center console mounted shifter (just a dial), a normal wiper stalk, a normal turn signal stalk, normal light controls, etc. We got out and did a look around of the rest of the car, went through other features, etc. She was sold.

Now the second part of the process, we actually had to make a deal for a car that we knew was in high demand and in a nutty market right now. Luckily the dealer came back well over value on her S60 trade and in combination I was able to get a little knocked off the Mach-E and get them to put us in a good spot. She was comfy with the numbers, I was comfy with the numbers, and after relaying it to him via text, my dad was comfy with the numbers too. So with all that said and done, she finally got her dream "Mustang". Ford marketing knew what they were doing.

Here is her new standard range, RWD Premium Infinite Blue Metallic Mach-E
Ford Mustang Mach-E Helped my mother finally get her dream Ford Mustang. (Mach-E) 1641808176253

Bonus pic with my GT I took earlier this morning
Ford Mustang Mach-E Helped my mother finally get her dream Ford Mustang. (Mach-E) 1641808239954


Next came the trip home. She was nervous about 100 miles of interstate in her shiny new car, so she passed the key off to me until we got back to my house. I could finally compare it to my Model 3. It compared very favorably. It was much quieter on the interstate (Model 3s have a wind noise problem, that supposedly has been remedied in recent ones with better windshields, but I haven't been in a newer one). It obviously didn't have the punch of my LR Model 3 with the "speed boost DLC", but it was fast enough for what anyone really needs. Wireless charging and wireless CarPlay (I have bought a wireless adapter Carlinkit3.0 for this car) were great, and something I've always wanted in my Tesla but never had. The native Sync interface was just a tiny bit sluggish at times, but nothing too bad and still the best Sync interface I've used (and I've owned all but Sync 2, which she had in a Fusion, so I know that hell as well). It rained on us on the way home, and the rain sensing wipers actually work like you'd expect them to because Ford didn't feel the need to cut costs by not using a standard IR rain sensor like a certain other company. Blind spot monitor indicators were where you'd expect them to be. The 360 parking camera did what it's supposed to and provided a good view all around while I was putting it in my brother's garage to top it off while he got to look at it before we went the rest of the way home. All in all it just felt like a good modern car amenity-wise that also just happened to be full electric.

So how do I rate it overall compared to my Model 3? Well, I go pick up my new Extended Range Premium RWD Rapid Red Mach-E this weekend. :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

timbop

Well-Known Member
First Name
Tim
Joined
Jan 3, 2020
Threads
63
Messages
6,729
Reaction score
13,758
Location
New Jersey
Vehicles
Solar powered 2021 MME ER RWD & 2022 Corsair PHEV
Occupation
Software Engineer
Country flag
Nice story, and I wholeheartedly agree with you on the user interface being designed for familiarity vs Tesla's "austerity". While I was on the fence deciding Model 3 or Mach-E I test drove a Model 3, and it became apparent that my wife would be too intimidated by having to "know" which unlabeled controls did what and having to dig into the menus just to move the mirrors, steering wheel, or turn on the wipers.
 

Jimrpa

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jim
Joined
Sep 10, 2020
Threads
230
Messages
7,009
Reaction score
9,299
Location
Wayne, PA
Vehicles
2021 Infinite Blue Premium Mustang Mach E ER AWD
Occupation
Retied (formerly tried to herd highly technical, independent cats)
Country flag
Congrats and love it infinite blue ?
 


Chuck

Well-Known Member
First Name
Chuck
Joined
May 13, 2021
Threads
63
Messages
981
Reaction score
1,390
Location
SoCal
Vehicles
Mustang Mach E 2021
Country flag
As my mom would say, "You're a good son."
 

SpaceEVDriver

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2021
Threads
59
Messages
2,279
Reaction score
4,000
Location
Arizona
Vehicles
Ground-based: CA Route 1 AWD, ER
Occupation
Planetary Science
Country flag
I am about to do the same with my Aunt. My uncle had a yellow 1965 Mustang that he bought new. He had wanted another Mustang ever since he sold it, but was too "practical" to get one. He recently passed and my Aunt wants an EV, but isn't quite ready to purchase. I'll take mine out to visit once we get it and show her how nice and easy it is to drive. She'll probably end up ordering a 2023 model year.
 

HuntingPudel

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steve
Joined
Mar 23, 2021
Threads
65
Messages
8,064
Reaction score
9,625
Location
Bay Area, CA
Vehicles
2021 MME GT-PE, 1979 Fire-Am, 1972 K/5 Blazer
Occupation
Engineering
Country flag
Congrats to your mom on her new car and congrats to you on finding it for her! ???

Congrats as well on finding one for yourself! ??
 

RickMachE

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2021
Threads
200
Messages
13,135
Reaction score
17,856
Location
SE MI
Vehicles
2022 Mach-E Premium 4X, 2022 Lightning Lariat
Country flag
I cannot imagine my mother a) being able to drive a car with the acceleration like the Mach-E or b) being able to successfully operate and charge the vehicle.

Years ago she was an extra on a TV show, i.e. background couple dancing. She was so excited, set her VCR to record the show. Then she went to watch it and couldn't figure out why it didn't work. After several minutes on the phone, the answer was "You didn't put a tape in the machine"...

I would not want to make a suicidal comment here, but if she insisted on buying an EV, I would sever all ties with her to save my sanity.

I actually got her to buy a Fusion Hybrid in 2017, but that requires no change in anything.

You are a brave soul.
 

alexgorod

Well-Known Member
First Name
Alex
Joined
Jul 27, 2021
Threads
14
Messages
1,071
Reaction score
1,134
Location
Michigan
Vehicles
21 Job 2 MME Premium SR AWD (21 CR-V - wife's)
Occupation
DBA
Country flag
I cannot imagine my mother ... or b) being able to successfully operate and charge the vehicle.
Seriously? Can she fill up a gas tank in her car now? Can she operate a smartphone?
 

RickMachE

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2021
Threads
200
Messages
13,135
Reaction score
17,856
Location
SE MI
Vehicles
2022 Mach-E Premium 4X, 2022 Lightning Lariat
Country flag
Seriously? Can she fill up a gas tank in her car now? Can she operate a smartphone?
Yes to the first.

Not really to the second. I refused to let her buy a smartphone, so she bought one without my knowledge and my sister provides her with tech support.

She fell for the "This is Windows calling" scam also. I found out about that several months later.

Also clicks on links in email despite being told not to.

I have removed myself from all of it.
 

Ford Motor Company

Well-Known Member
Official Ford Account
First Name
Ford
Joined
May 10, 2021
Threads
21
Messages
2,164
Reaction score
2,913
Location
Dearborn, MI
Vehicles
Mach-E
Country flag
(Apologies for the long-winded story.)

My mom has been a consistent four door sedan owner for the entirety of my life and has been very anti-SUV/crossover. There were more Ford Tauruses in her ownership history than either of us could remember. Her last sedan was a 2016 Volvo S60, and she enjoyed that well enough, but she often complained about how low it was. With age starting to get to her knees, she started talking a lot more about SUVs and ease of entry/exit in the last few years, and especially in the last few months.
We started looking seriously at things in the past month or so. She was really keen on the idea of a plug-in hybrid, but unfortunately the market where we live is virtually non-existent. I don't think there's really been a PHEV sold regularly here since the Volt (which I had), and never a small SUV/crossover. I looked around and pretty much everything came up 250-500 or more miles away, just way outside the feasible range for her to look at. There was one random Rav4 Prime around that I don't know why or how a dealer here has it, but they also had it marked up $6k, so it was out. She liked the idea of a full BEV as well, but it still made her a bit nervous, despite being around them for about 6 years between the Teslas my brother, and I have owned. The Model Y was out of her price range by about $10k, give or take, and she never was fully comfortable with the interfaces and such in our Teslas, so I just knew it wouldn't be a good fit for her anyway. It seemed like either a plain hybrid or the standard ICE variant of something like an Escape or CR-V was probably going to be in her future just due to what we could find.

However, my dad and I did have one other electric option left we were pursuing in our search for her, availability was just a huge issue. I had talked to her about the Mach-E a lot from when it was first announced, because I knew it would be right up her alley. She has a heavy bias towards Ford, and they've managed to keep her happy for quite a few decades now, so no harm in that. Her dream car has always been a Mustang, the situations just never really aligned properly for her to end up with one. She got to experience plenty of them on occasion thanks to my owning quite a few over the years, but she never had one to call her own. She'd never own one now with her age and knee issues either, it just wouldn't make sense. So the Mach-E played to that perfectly. It was styled like a Mustang, it promised a sporty feel, and best of all for her, she could get in and out of it without her knees locking up. I had seen a black one a few months prior and sent her pictures while I was at the dealer picking up my latest GT, and she was really happy with the look, and in her words "It looks great, except it's black. Show me one in red or blue." My mom has never been one for black, white, gray, or silver cars. She wants color (usually red or blue), and I'm mostly the same way. So my dad and I searched a bit and made calls. We found quite a few random dealers that had one Mach-E on their sites, never any more. We knew that preorders were through the roof and ordering one would be a long wait. Most we called about had already been sold.

We finally found one about 100 miles away at a very small dealer that wasn't sold and was no longer in Ford's mannequin program. We made an appointment to go look at it the following Monday, knowing full well that we may be driving 3-4 hours round trip for nothing because we didn't know how this dealer would be nor did we even know if she'd like the car or not. She still had to sit in one, and most importantly, get in and out of it comfortably. Over the weekend while we waited for Monday, she was waffling back and forth a lot on if it was even worth the drive to look at or not, but ultimately she wanted to keep the appointment.

So Monday I take her over there and there it sits right out front of this tiny dealer in the middle of nowhere that had practically no new car/SUV inventory at all, just a few trucks. Salesman we had talked to meets us and hands her the key very quickly. She thankfully figured out the door handle very quickly (and much quicker than my Model 3, which to this day she sometimes hesitates with). She hops in the driver's seat, which was really the true test. I asked her what she thought about the height, and she said it was perfect. It was very deceptive in pictures since it sits very low for a crossover, however the battery pack is to blame for that look, and once you open the door you realize there's a very thick floor underneath you and seating height is very good. So after that we took a decent little test drive, and she loved the smoothness of the ride and the handling (she's always been a fan of nice tight steering, if nothing else). She had no problems with operating it really, as aside from the massive screen, the controls weren't much of a departure from a normal car she's used to. Still a normal push button start (though not necessary for an EV, something she's used to and expects), center console mounted shifter (just a dial), a normal wiper stalk, a normal turn signal stalk, normal light controls, etc. We got out and did a look around of the rest of the car, went through other features, etc. She was sold.

Now the second part of the process, we actually had to make a deal for a car that we knew was in high demand and in a nutty market right now. Luckily the dealer came back well over value on her S60 trade and in combination I was able to get a little knocked off the Mach-E and get them to put us in a good spot. She was comfy with the numbers, I was comfy with the numbers, and after relaying it to him via text, my dad was comfy with the numbers too. So with all that said and done, she finally got her dream "Mustang". Ford marketing knew what they were doing.

Here is her new standard range, RWD Premium Infinite Blue Metallic Mach-E
Ford Mustang Mach-E Helped my mother finally get her dream Ford Mustang. (Mach-E) 1641808239954

Bonus pic with my GT I took earlier this morning
Ford Mustang Mach-E Helped my mother finally get her dream Ford Mustang. (Mach-E) 1641808239954


Next came the trip home. She was nervous about 100 miles of interstate in her shiny new car, so she passed the key off to me until we got back to my house. I could finally compare it to my Model 3. It compared very favorably. It was much quieter on the interstate (Model 3s have a wind noise problem, that supposedly has been remedied in recent ones with better windshields, but I haven't been in a newer one). It obviously didn't have the punch of my LR Model 3 with the "speed boost DLC", but it was fast enough for what anyone really needs. Wireless charging and wireless CarPlay (I have bought a wireless adapter Carlinkit3.0 for this car) were great, and something I've always wanted in my Tesla but never had. The native Sync interface was just a tiny bit sluggish at times, but nothing too bad and still the best Sync interface I've used (and I've owned all but Sync 2, which she had in a Fusion, so I know that hell as well). It rained on us on the way home, and the rain sensing wipers actually work like you'd expect them to because Ford didn't feel the need to cut costs by not using a standard IR rain sensor like a certain other company. Blind spot monitor indicators were where you'd expect them to be. The 360 parking camera did what it's supposed to and provided a good view all around while I was putting it in my brother's garage to top it off while he got to look at it before we went the rest of the way home. All in all it just felt like a good modern car amenity-wise that also just happened to be full electric.

So how do I rate it overall compared to my Model 3? Well, I go pick up my new Extended Range Premium RWD Rapid Red Mach-E this weekend. :)
Congratulations! This is amazing, enjoy! :)
 

TheVirtualTim

Well-Known Member
First Name
Tim
Joined
Oct 11, 2020
Threads
26
Messages
1,211
Reaction score
2,184
Location
Dearborn, MI
Vehicles
Mach-E First Edition, Escape Hybrid
Country flag
Congrats on both your cars ... especially your mom's. It's great to know she's getting a car that she not only enjoys ... but that makes it physically easy for her to get in and out.

I just finished my road-trip from Michigan to Florida and back ... and was pretty happy with the comfort along thew way. Even though my car doesn't have BlueCruise (yet), the built-in lane-following makes it pretty easy to drive long distances.
 

mcfalljames

Member
First Name
James
Joined
Jun 24, 2021
Threads
0
Messages
8
Reaction score
11
Location
Northern California
Vehicles
Mustang Mach E 4 X
Country flag
Yes to the first.

Not really to the second. I refused to let her buy a smartphone, so she bought one without my knowledge and my sister provides her with tech support.

She fell for the "This is Windows calling" scam also. I found out about that several months later.

Also clicks on links in email despite being told not to.

I have removed myself from all of it.
I know you're going to get some eye rolls on this but man, I feel your pain. After years and years of tech support duties with my mom on the simplest of things I know exactly where you're coming from. o_O
 

RickMachE

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2021
Threads
200
Messages
13,135
Reaction score
17,856
Location
SE MI
Vehicles
2022 Mach-E Premium 4X, 2022 Lightning Lariat
Country flag
I know you're going to get some eye rolls on this but man, I feel your pain. After years and years of tech support duties with my mom on the simplest of things I know exactly where you're coming from. o_O
And it wasn't just her. Her and her boyfriend shared a computer and they both were idiots on it. "The printer isn't working" turned into "Oh, yes, I see that the rubber belt that moves the printhead is broken into multiple pieces"...

At one point, I junked their PC and got them each identical laptops, because boyfriend was visiting all sorts of sites with junk on them. Still, both routinely had issues. I finally said "I'm done" and refused to discuss anything technical. Then I divested myself of managing her finances.

Now, I have peace. ?
Sponsored

 
 




Top