When I think of the golden era of gauge clusters in cars, the absolute pinnacle of elegance and functionality, it’s hard to think of anything but the Fox body Mustang of the 1980s and early 1990s.
OK, so maybe not, but perhaps I’m the weirdo here because Ford is offering a retro-themed, Fox body-styled gauge skin for the instrument screen of the brand-spanking-new seventh-generation Mustang, which debuted on Wednesday, and people are stoked.
The homage includes green numbers and letters in retro typefaces, as well as a fake dash light glow which I love. Ford thankfully decided to step away from true authenticity by giving the speedometer numbers going up to 140 mph as opposed to those stupid 85 mph speedometers that were meant to save fuel.
The thing is, as cool as the Fox body cluster thing is, why stop there, Ford? Why not offer a bunch of retro gauge pack skins as an option or an OTA update? Want your ‘Stang gauges to look like those in a 1960s F100? Or maybe let people make their own and upload them via USB.
Of course, if you don’t care about any of this, the standard gauge layout and animations for the 2024 Mustang are totally fine and perfectly legible.