- Ford has applied to trademark the ‘Mach 4’ name
- Logic suggests this could foretell a Mustang sedan
- Trademark filings don’t always result in an actual product
Purists wept in the (broken) front seats of their Fox-bodies when Ford rolled out the Mach-E a number of years ago. Not only was the fabled horse applied to a crossover-type vehicle but it ended up on an all-electric crossover. Whoa, nelly. Those same fans should avert their gaze from the remainder of this article, lest they go blind either from rage or the tears in their eyes.
Alert gearheads at Ford Authority have uncovered a trademark filing for the “Mach 4” nameplate. Made earlier this week with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the request states Ford intends to keep the trademark for use on motor vehicle and the like. If you’re interested in searching for the document on USPTO’s byzantine website, use the serial number of 99055118 to guide your efforts.
Rumours of a four-door Mustang have bounced around for ages, with the Blue Oval reportedly having considered the idea so far back as pre-pandemic times. In fact, the concept of a crew cab Mustang dates all the way back to the car’s inception back in the mid-1960s when prototypes were floated in Ford design studios along with two-door shooting brake wagons.
While the thought of a Mustang SuperCrew might be horrifying to some, the reality is that such a rig – if it were to share parts (and therefore development costs) with other Mustang models – might allow the hairy-chested V8-powered Mustang GT to continue its life instead of fading to black like rivals Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger. There’s every chance in the world that conversations are happening at the Glass House for Mustang to become a sub-brand or at least family of vehicles. Remember, Chevy allegedly wants to do the same thing with its Corvette.
We will take this opportunity to remind Ford that it has a deep well of history from which to draw great names for this type of vehicle – Galaxie, Fairlane, and Falcon spring immediately to mind. It is also worth noting automakers regularly trademark names or ideas and never use them, instead shelving it to never see the light of day.
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