supared
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- John
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2021
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 66
- Reaction score
- 206
- Location
- Cincinnati
- Vehicles
- 2016 Mustang GT, 2021 Mach-E GT PE
- Thread starter
- #31
Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform for creators/makers. Some small companies use it as an incubator for new products. It is NOT a platform for retail sales.No one has come after them because they don’t operate in the US.
I am kinda surprised Ford hasn’t at least said something on the forum though. We know they monitor it and I’m about 80% sure they actually run this (and the Lightning) forum.
Pardon my ignorance, but how does Kickstarter work?
Are you donating money? Pledging to give only if it comes to market? Or pledging to buy a product?
People who donate to the project are backers. In this case, I have only shared this project with Mach-E owners because they are the only ones that benefit from it. Backers are in collaboration with the creator(s) and receive "rewards" as incentives to join the project. These usually include the thing being created and possibly some add-ons for different levels of support.
At this point, I have invested in developing a working prototype. It is not a production-quality part, but the design is close. I'm hoping the scale of the MME owners community helps me speed things up. They make donations to fund the creation.
I didn't want to go to Ford with just a 3D print. I wanted to have a credible product when I speak to them about licensing. So the Kickstarter serves several purposes.
1) I can iterate on my design and source a production grade Pony emblem with injection molded plastics and embedded circuits. Backers receive emblems that are new, but have undergone quality and functional testing; a good thing for them. I can also then send a nice demo proof-of-concept to Ford along with statistical performance data as I work licensing possibilities. It is important to note that this is not an exact recreation of the GT emblem. This is a recreation of the current Non-GT emblems. It will maintain the current identity.
2) I can gain feedback from MME owners on the product, installation, future features, etc.
This is not a for-profit effort [yet]. If the product has a market beyond this development campaign, then I will only move forward with Ford's support and licensing.
I do hope they work with us/me. If licensing debates kill this, which they could with their legal power against a small creator, then the harder to reach Asian manufacturers would certainly bring a similar product to market.
One last consideration: what made Mustang the best selling sports car for the last 50 years? I would argue that it is the huge aftermarket driven by an enthusiastic owner-base who love to modify and personalize their Ponies. EVs are a different animal, and if we are further limited from modifying the Mach-E, then the critics are right: it's Not a Mustang.
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