For the overwhelming majority of its life, the Ford Mustang was a car relegated to North America. That modified with the current-generation mannequin, however you will typically discover variations in options and tools in several markets. Apparently, some key variations weren’t clearly communicated to Mustang Mach 1 patrons in Australia, and that oversight has left Ford footing a hefty invoice.
The difficulty does not contain the automobile in any respect. Quite, it includes brochures for the upgraded pony automobile that allegedly included options not accessible for fashions offered in Australia. In response to Drive, Ford Australia brochures mentioned the Mach 1 had adaptive cruise management, ambient lighting within the door pockets, LED fog lights, Mach 1 flooring mats, rear parking sensors, and the large tamale, the Torsen limited-slip differential. It appears this stuff are absent on Australia’s Mach 1, and within the report, Ford Australia is quoted as apologizing profusely for the mix-up.
To make it proper, the automaker provided Mach 1 patrons a bevy of extras together with free scheduled service for 3 years and a free observe day occasion. That advanced to providing a $5,400 AUD ($4,000 USD) refund per car, or giving patrons the choice to return the automobile for a full refund. Solely 700 Mustang Mach 1s had been accessible in Australia, and with the whole lot added up, Ford Australia’s compensation plan checks in round $4.5 million AUD, which at the moment interprets to round $3.2 in US foreign money.
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On high of that, the Australian Competitors and Shopper Fee (ACCC) levied a high-quality of $53,280 AUD ($38,240 USD) towards the automaker for deceptive customers about Mach 1 options in 4 totally different variations of the brochure. Sure, there have been reportedly 4 variations revealed earlier than the report was lastly set straight.
It is not clear why these variations exist between US and Australian-market Mach 1s. However with simply 700 accessible to patrons, we suspect those that have one might be holding onto it regardless of the lacking tools.