The online car configurator for the 2026 Ford Mustang Mach-E is out—and Ford is officially charging folks an extra $495 if they want a frunk.

  • rem26_art@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    35
    ·
    3 days ago

    The pictures of the Mach E Frunk filled with chicken and shrimp are absolutely killing me lmao.

    If the car was $500 cheaper without the frunk, then whatever, i guess, but the article makes it seem like it just costs extra now.

  • KnitWit@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    20
    ·
    edit-2
    3 days ago

    No wonder Ford had to scale back their EVs, they weren’t properly advertising the shrimp cocktail bar frunk!

  • cogitase@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    21
    ·
    3 days ago

    The empty space between the components in the frunkless version makes it look like they would be a lot easier to access for DIY repair. Certainly easier access to the 12 V battery would be an improvement.

  • 1dalm@lemmings.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    23
    ·
    3 days ago

    I have a MMachE. Honestly the Frunk is not as useful as I imagined it would be (at least Ford’s implementation of the Frunk." You have to open it just like you would the hood of your ICE car, which is fine for an ICE car hood, but not very convenient for storage access. As a result, I really don’t use it that much.

    • grue@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      30
      ·
      edit-2
      3 days ago

      So in other words, because they fucked up the implementation they think the concept as a whole is bad. Classic incompetence.

      Also, I’d be willing to bet the aftermarket could provide a kit with a plastic liner and a modification to the latch that lets it be opened from outside the car for $495 or less.

      Edit: ITT: pearl-clutching fearmongers who hate property rights (such as the right to modify).

      • wolfrasin@lemmy.today
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        12
        ·
        edit-2
        3 days ago

        There a huge problem with having an easy open hatch with a sight blocking hatch out in front of the driver ready to block the view while they’re driving, ya know?

        It makes total sense for that space to have a 2 step safety latch no mater what’s in it. I don’t want your ideas on the road! Don’t be such an elon

        Redacted because we strongly agree on elon

        • grue@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          15
          ·
          3 days ago

          Don’t be such an elon

          What the fuck? That was completely uncalled for!

          • fascicle@leminal.space
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            8
            ·
            3 days ago

            I was about the say the lightning has an awesome front trunk, with all the power plugs you could dream of

        • lividweasel@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          3 days ago

          The over-the-top response was unnecessary, but my first thought was along these lines. How do other brands deal with the latch for the frunk?

          • grue@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            8
            ·
            edit-2
            3 days ago

            I don’t have any cars with a “frunk,” but I do have ones with front hoods and rear trunks and I’m pretty damn sure there’s nothing particularly special about the latch in the front compared to the rear. Admittedly, I’m not sure why the hood is typically popped from inside the car instead of, say, via a lock cylinder mounted in the grill (maybe it’s a tradition thing, or maybe a forward-facing lock cylinder gets dirty too easily?), but I don’t think safety is it.

            More to the point, the fearmongering about aftermarket owner modification is nonsense. People have been doing stuff like that for decades without any real problems. Hell, people put on carbon fiber hoods that don’t even have hardware for the factory latch, and then secure them with hood pins instead, and that’s street legal. There was nothing weird or dangerous or legitimately controversial about my idea in the slightest.

          • wewbull@feddit.uk
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            3 days ago

            BMW did the same 2-stage latch on the i3 that you’d file on an engine cover, and I’ve been quite pleased it did when I’ve sat on the keys wrong and popped the bonnet at a traffic light. Knowing I could still drive to somewhere safe to close it properly was a good thing.

      • SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        10
        ·
        edit-2
        3 days ago

        Until the hood flys up and smashes your windshield and blinding you at 120km/h.

        Let’s leave this to the professionals, stuffs written from blood already. Let’s not go backwards eh?

        This is one thing where convenience isn’t the first thing to think of.

    • excursion22@piefed.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      3 days ago

      I use the one in my Ioniq 5 for storage of the more emergency/just in case items. Scissor jack, tire repair kit, that sort of stuff. You’re right, it’s not great for storage you’d want to access often, but it’s nice for those types of things.

    • CorrectAlias@piefed.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      3 days ago

      Wow, I didn’t know that. The Rivian has a button that just opens the frunk with hydrolics. Seems like Ford just wanted it to be as close to an ICE vehicle as possible, maybe for manufacturing reasons?

      • 1dalm@lemmings.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        2 days ago

        It was almost certainly for manufacturing/cost reasons.

        Not having it be hydraulic probably saves $2k per unit.

    • lemming741@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      3 days ago

      Get a lightning fob and you can open it with two clicks. Or PaaK and it’ll show up in the app. It’s direct Bluetooth then, not cellular like the locks so it’s instant.

      • WalleyeWarrior@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        2 days ago

        I have a 20 year old VW Beetle with such severe electrical problems that makes basic functions like filling the gas tank and opening the trunk difficult. I’ll never buy a car that uses the same technology as the OceanGate Titan to perform basic features. At least I was able to pry the gas lid open. But I have no confidence that modern cars will be able to function with similar issues in 20 years. I’m fact, I’m positive that Ford will start dropping functionality from their apps in 6 years when people still have 2 years left on their car loans

    • ramble81@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      3 days ago

      Same with my Q8 e-tron. If there was a button to open it like the trunk I may use it more, but frankly I’ve forgotten it’s there.

  • apftwb@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    ·
    edit-2
    3 days ago

    You all need to at least skim the article.

    If you don’t pay for the frunk, its not leaving a void or locking your hood. Its a completely different configuration that uses the space.

    Edit: New opinion: New frunk is too shallow to be practical, only a small set of their customers want it, and Ford wants to reduce cost of the base model.

    • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      2 days ago

      That bay looks like it was designed by high schoolers for a class project. Where the fuck do Ford hire engineers from, the Learning Annex parking lot?

    • grue@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      3 days ago

      The article says that even with the frunk, the space has dropped from 4.7 cubic feet to 2.6. Are you sure the stuff in your picture isn’t low enough that the 2.6 cubic feet of storage couldn’t fit above it?

      • apftwb@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        edit-2
        3 days ago

        I think its a completely different configuration. I don’t think a frunk tray could fit above it. The components in the photo don’t appear to be densely packed so I think a lot of the empty volume exists between those components. With the frunk, they are likely routing cables and tubes around the 2.6 cubic foot frunk.

        Edit: Here is a shrimp-less photo of the small 2025 Mustang Mach-E frunk (a sentence only possible in 2026)

        https://fordauthority.com/2024/12/2025-ford-mustang-mach-e-gets-smaller-frunk-due-to-heat-pump/

        Edit2: going back and forth between photos and also understanding the 2025/2026 models are different, I think it might only be a slightly different configuration or simply such a shallow frunk that its arguably not usable and hard for Ford to justify keeping it with the base model.

        • grue@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          edit-2
          3 days ago

          I’m not convinced. I’d like to see a picture of the frunk-less version from a different angle where the perspective isn’t flattened.

          Even as it is, though, I see the same shape in the frunkless version as I do in the frunk.

          (Also, why would Ford design a second mechanical configuration, when they already had to make it more compact for the version with the frunk anyway? It doesn’t make sense for it to be different because designing two things with two different BOMs and assembly processes costs way more than just letting it all be the same.)

          • apftwb@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            edit-2
            3 days ago

            You have convinced me.

            New frunk is too shallow to be practical, only a small set of their customers want it, and Ford wants to reduce cost of the base model.

            I could possibly see a ease of manufacturing be worth making a different BOM if the frunk dramatically changed the layout, but that I don’t think that is what happened.

  • Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    3 days ago

    First off, there is a word in the English language for this, it’s called a boot. Secondly, one could spend about 15$ on a plastic tub, and grab some zipties from around the house, install that in the boot, and have $480 leftover.