I was a loyal Jeep customer until Ford finally stole me with Mustang Mach-E

So it’s official: I’m no longer an annoying fence-sitter.

That’s what people like me are called within the auto industry. We’re the ones who go back and forth on different car brands for years. We think we want to get an electric vehicle but we’re not early adopters. Those are the fearless cool kids. We’re cool but we’re not fearless. We twist and turn and worry and wonder until we’ve driven everyone we know nuts. Including car salespeople.

Then, when the stars align, we commit.

For me, the two-year lease that Ford unveiled Tuesday was irresistible. That night, a 2024 Vapor Blue Mustang Mach-E sat in my driveway.

I wish my dad could be here to see it. And drive it. The battery-operated vehicle moves down the road like a silent killer. Merging onto the highway is effortless. The pickup is instant. This, of course, is because an internal combustion engine revs up to generate torque and accelerate. Electric motors produce 100% of their torque instantly. 

A glass rooftop allows moonlight to spill into the interior. While I still load my trunk with everything from flats of flowers to plants and bags of clothing to drop at Goodwill, I now put groceries in their own separate spot: the front trunk, known as the "frunk." It’s the place where an engine usually goes. When it opens, onlookers in the parking lot do hilarious double takes. (As a woman, you get used to men who see the hood open to stop and offer help with what they assume is engine trouble.)  

It feels good to be at the wheel. And, perhaps because I came from an all-wheel drive Jeep, I chose an all-wheel drive Mach-E.  

Eye-rolling Ford executives

When Ford CEO Jim Farley saw me pull up to an event in a Jeep, he told me that it killed him. He vowed to get me into a Ford. Joe Hinrichs, a former Ford exec who took the role of CEO at CSX Railroad, rolled his eyes when he asked years ago what I drove — and I responded Jeeps only.  

My dad was a Ford man. He would’ve been buried in his Taurus had that been possible. He drove it to Flintstone-mobile status.

But I digress. A combination of factors merged to inspire me to plunge into car payments. I was tired of seeing a pool of oil on the driveway after our 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 243,000 miles pulled away, the vehicle that lost air-conditioning in May.

I had been going back and forth and back and forth with Jay Baldwin at Northgate Ford in Port Huron. He answered 10,000 questions. I used my husband’s name, thinking I was so smart working undercover. After too many emails to count, I told him we changed our mind. And rather than putting a hitman on my case, he sent a sweet note thanking me for considering Northgate.  

The night we went to lease the pretty car, the dealership closed at 6 p.m. and we had to rush because Jay promised his mother he would not be late for her birthday dinner. Everything worked out fine with a little help from Dean Tagliavia, the incredibly patient business manager who used an old-fashioned calculator and vintage printer to make everything perfect in the end. 

Not only did Ford steal a loyal Jeep customer, but I also sold my pretty little 2004 convertible BMW 330ci with 157,000 miles. I was all in with this Ford deal. I added the tire protection, where Ford guarantees repair or replacement and rescue in case anything happens to the tires.

These electric vehicles are heavy, and I am used to a Jeep, so $15 extra a month felt like a good investment. New wheels may cost more than $1,000 on vehicles these days. Replacing wheels on a new Lincoln Navigator, for example, can cost up to $2,000 apiece. 

No wait, no worries

Truth is, I first drove the Mach-E nearly three years ago. I had an early model for 10 days and loved it. I raved. I took skeptics out for a drive and left them speechless. (Mostly Mustang purists who spit at the idea of an electric pony car.)

But I couldn’t imagine buying one. I had too many what-if scenarios in my head. Would I be able to drive without thinking about fueling up? Would I stress about the idea of plugging in the vehicle. The answers are no.

So now, after not having a lease payment since I married, I’m happy to try one again. After putting down $4,000, my monthly payments are $558.33 for my Premium Mach-E SUV with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $53,785. (That includes the anti-anxiety tire and wheel protection.)

Now I wake up to a full charge. No worries. No lines. And when I head to Grand Blanc to take my Aunt Poppy to breakfast, as I do on weekends when we clean the house, I’ll make the round trip without a worry in the world.

There are more of me every day. Ford reported its best first half of the year in Mach-E sales this year with 22,234 sales, up 58% from the first six months of 2023, according to Erich Merkle, Ford U.S. sales analyst. The Dearborn automaker has sold 129,606 since the start of 2021 in the U.S. alone. Mach-E is the best-selling EV in the U.S. after Tesla’s Model Y.  

Things that make you go hmmm

Yes, I also purchased the extended battery that allows me to go 320 miles on a charge instead of 250 miles. But range anxiety isn’t rational. I could drive from Sarnia, Canada, over the Blue Water Bridge, to Detroit and back — twice — with the standard battery. But I wanted a little extra juice to buffer extreme temperatures. 

Meanwhile, my husband, the master electrician, went to Amazon.com and ordered for $550 a Level 2 home charger. He spent $250 on 125-foot coil of wire at Lowe’s and $16 for a breaker. He pulled the wire across our garage rafters into the attic and fished it down the wall to the basement, then ran the wire through the basement to the electrical panel. We wanted flexibility, charging from either inside the garage or outside.  

At night, when I approach the Mach-E with the key fob in my purse, the Mustang pony logo shines onto my driveway and illuminates entry into the car.

These are things that make me feel safe: The screen in the Mach-E calculates how many miles remain until charging is needed. The system also provides a map to all nearby charging opportunities, such as community colleges and Ford dealerships. I can provide a family member access to an app that tracks the vehicle. In the past, I carried a tracker on my key fob because I’m on the road at all hours by myself. Once, I nearly fell asleep at the wheel and pulled into a rest area to nap on a workday. My husband called to make sure I was OK or whether I needed medical attention.

In the days before my papa died, he asked to ride in the Rapid Red Mach-E I was testing. He owned and loved classic Mustangs. He admired innovation and new technology. In those last days we had together, he could see it sitting in his driveway, but he was too sick. He never did ride with me.

He is now.

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Phoebe Wall Howard, a Free Press auto reporter for nearly seven years, now writes a column on car culture, consumer trends and life that will appear twice monthly on Freep.com and in print. Those columns and others will appear on her Substack at https://phoebewallhoward.substack.com/about Contact her at phoebe@phoebehoward.com.