The next Ford Mustang won’t be easy to tune; blame cyber security

People were tinkering and modifying vehicles not long after the invention of the automobile. As an activity, it exploded after World War II, as surplus machinery mixed with bored young people with little mechanical knowledge looking for a bit of excitement. From hot rods and desert racers to the import tuning scene at the turn of the century, being able to enjoy driving is a key aspect of automotive enthusiasm. But that may be a thing of the past, if the next Ford Mustang is any indication.

Ford debuted its 2024 Mustang in September. The seventh-generation car doesn’t deviate much from the recipe that’s made the nation’s pony car a big hit all these years: the Mustang’s signature two-door body and a choice of front-wheel drive gasoline engines. back. There is no hybrid or electrified version—except for the Mustang Mach-Esure, but that will just start a flame war in the comments.

But as you might expect from a car that will be introduced in 2022, no previous Mustang has been as digital as the new model. Advanced driver assists abound, there’s a full digital cockpit, and Amazon Alexa integration is among the connected features.

To do all that, the next Mustang will use Ford the latest electrical architecturecalled FNV (fully networked vehicle), can also be seen in other new Fords like the one mentioned above Mustang Mach-E or F-150 Lighting. As you might hope, this includes layered protection against cyber security threats, and if anomalies are detected – say, an engine with higher turbo pressure or a different ECU – things will stop working.

In fact, Mustang’s chief engineer, Ed Krenz, said Ford Authority that tuning the next Mustang would be “much more difficult.” The OEM says it’s open to working with tuners on third-party upgrades for both the EcoBoost and V8 engines, and I’m inclined to believe that; other Ford product lines openly embrace the agricultural market, e.g Bronco and its countless accessoriesas well as a bunch of DIY makers, as the Maverick pickup proves. But a lot of extra effort usually means a lot of extra cost.

Unfortunately, the need to protect vehicles from internet-connected bad actors runs into difficulties in operating or modifying vehicles outside of the official repair network or outside of factory specifications. But it’s not the first time it’s happened.

Massachusetts voted overwhelmingly in 2020 expand the existing “right to repair” law that required OEMs to sell proprietary diagnostics and tools to third parties such as independent repair shops so that the law covers connected cars. But it is written in such a way that it requires connected cars or telematics systems use a standardized open data platform as a way to access their network functions, with a very short time.

That goes against the idea of ​​cybersecurity, the coalition of automakers said, as well as National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationand currently the result is that car manufacturers like Subaru and Kia they simply excluded Massachusetts-registered connected cars from their platforms. We hope that in the future we can find a way for digital security to coexist with modality.