FORD MUSTANG

AN AMERICAN LEGEND
BIRTH OF THE MUSCLE CAR
INSTANT CLASSIC
STAYING POWER
GOING POWER
1964-66
1967-68
1969-70
1971-73
MUSTANG 2, THE SEQUEL
1979
5.0
1994-2004
RETRO FUTURE



AN AMERICAN LEGEND

Forty years ago, the Ford Motor Company rolled out a vehicle that broke new ground in personal transportation, the breathtaking Mustang sports coupe. At that point it was based on the mechanics of the Falcon. It was winner with young Americans due it part to dynamic styling but more importantly it was a bargain with a base price of only $2368, an excellent deal, even in 1964.


BIRTH OF THE MUSCLE CAR

The very first Mustang was built on March 9th, 1964. It was a white convertible and was shipped to a dealer in Newfoundland where it was purchased by an airline pilot. Not realizing their misdeed until after the fact, Ford offered to buy the legendary car back from the pilot. He eventually agreed and they traded him a 1965 model. That very same car is now on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.


INSTANT CLASSIC

Ford took 22,000 orders for the Mustang on the very first order it went on sale. With a base price of $2,368 that would be roughly $13,700 today. A fantastic bargain for such an amazing ride. Current values for fully restored Mustangs in excellent condition are as follows:
1964 1/2 hardtop: $22,700
1965 fastback: $28,200
1969 Mach 1 fastback: $31,400
1974 Mustang II coupe: $3,953


MUSTANG: DAY ONE

The very first day it was for sale, most dealerships only had one Mustang which most customers clamoring over who was going to be the lucky one to drive it home.


STAYING POWER

It might not seem like a huge feat, to last 40 years, but consider the company the Mustang has kept. The original Ford, the Model-T only lasted 20 years. The Galaxie, the Falcon and Fairlane which shared floor space with the Mustang have vanished. The competition have taken hits too, the Camaro, Firebird, Challenger and Barracuda are lost to history. It’s bigger sibling, the Thunderbird has come and gone and come back again only to face an uncertain future. The other car to match its legacy is the much more expensive Corvette.


GOING POWER

The original ‘Stang was well-equipped for such a cheap ticket price. Standard bucket seats, carpeting, full wheel covers and front seat belts. If chose to skip the seat belts, you’d save a cool $11 and risk losing your life, but during those days, seat belts were only an option. White walls would set you back and additional $33.90. A push-button AM radio was a staggering $57.51. While an upgrade to a V-8 engine was only $75. The average selling price was around $3000.


1964-66

1965, Ford offered three different body styles: the convertible, the standard hardtop and the fastback. The standard hardtop out sold the fastback, 5 to 1. Making the fastback a more desirable collector’s item these days. If you’re looking to get a vintage Mustang, most likely you’ll be running into a lot from 1966. That was the most popular year ever. Ford sold 549,436 of them. It still holds the record to this day.


1967-68

First major restyling resulted in a bigger, beefer, more powerful ‘big block’ Mustang. Despite all this, sales dipped as other ‘pony cars’ emerged, with the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird taking a bite out of the herd.


1969-70

Things move quickly. Restyled again. This time the Mach 1 is introduced. It becomes the most collectible Mustang of all time. Under the hood, The Boss 429 V-8 is rated at 375 horsepower, however Mustang enthusiasts boast that it really puts out over 500 ponies of power. 299, 824 were built. If you own one, you’re a lucky dog to be sure.


1971-73

Restyled again. Things bode tough. The muscle car era has passed. Cars in general get BIG at this point and the Mustang follows suit, growing 6 inches and gaining 500 pounds.


MUSTANG 2, THE SEQUEL

A sad rethinking for the Mustang name. The Mustang II debuts. In many ways going back to Mustang’s roots of being based on the Falcon, this newer and smaller Mustang is based on the famed Pinto. It’s an ugly child an with only 4 cylinders to back it up, it’s only a Mustang by name. Ford doesn’t even offer a rag top to boast its appeal.


1979

The Mustang II is offed. It’s bigger and lighter than the Mustang II, things start looking up too, a V-8 is once again optional.


5.0

The Mustang emerges from the 70’s and reclaims its fame as a muscle car. The term ‘five-point-o’ is short for the new Mustang. A convertible is once again offered in 1983 and for a decade the new breed remains virtually unchanged, however sales slump to an all time low of a mere 80,247 in 1991. The IROCZ is king of the blacktop and the Mustang is in need of new blood.


1994-2004

Completely restyled the Mustang once again strikes back. It gets beefer each year and includes a 385-horsepower SVT Cobra R model in 2000. By 2004, Ford has sold nearly 8 million Mustangs.


RETRO FUTURE

A complete reimagining and reengineering of the Mustang. Retro styling, with vintage lines and round headlights, Ford could possibly have the best selling Mustang of all time on its hands. The new model will appear on showroom floors this fall with a price tag under $20,000. Get your checkbook out and get in line, the original Mustang has returned. I know I want one.