Mustang Dark Horse Delivered With Incorrect Taillights
An American Ford Mustang owner discovers his new car has mismatched taillights, highlighting a significant quality control lapse.
A Tale of Two Taillights
Jim Manderano of Texas experienced a peculiar issue with his brand-new Ford Mustang Dark Horse. The high-performance Mustang variant, boasting an impressive 500 horsepower, came with a mismatched set of taillights—one North American and the other likely from Australia, New Zealand, or Europe. This unusual error quickly became apparent as Manderano followed his wife home, noticing the stark difference in the taillights.
The Discovery and Reaction
Manderano’s surprise deepened upon closer inspection. The right taillight had simple amber reflectors, while the left featured a darker shade at the bottom, mirroring designs for international markets. A visit to a Facebook owner's forum confirmed the uniqueness of his situation, with other owners reporting no similar issues. Despite the lights functioning properly, the discrepancy highlighted a significant oversight in Ford's quality checks.
Quality Control Failures
The incident underscores a multi-layered lapse in quality control. The mismatched taillight passed through Ford's corporate quality checks and the dealership's pre-delivery inspection without detection. Even Manderano and his wife failed to notice the mistake initially. Such an error should never have made it past the factory gates, raising questions about the thoroughness of Ford's quality assurance processes.
Hopes for a Unique Solution
Manderano hopes Ford will replace the correct taillight with another mismatched version, making his Mustang a unique one-off model. However, this request has faced hurdles. The dealership stated they could only replace the taillight with a U.S.-spec unit unless instructed otherwise by Ford corporate. Manderano is currently awaiting a decision from Ford on this unusual request.
Awaiting Ford's Response
As of now, Manderano remains in limbo, waiting for a resolution. He remarked, “[The] dealership said they would replace it, but could only be with the US spec one unless corporate tells them to do the AU/EU one. I’m just waiting to hear back now.” We hope for his sake that he gets his wish granted and gets a one-of-a-kind Mustang out of this bizarre situation!
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