History of the Ford Mustang
From the moment the Ford Mustang was introduced 50 years ago, it was destined to be the classic and much-loved American muscle car it is. On April 16th 1964, the first day it became available in dealerships, more than 22,000 Mustangs were driven off of Ford dealership lots. Within a year of its introduction, nearly half a million Mustangs were rolling down American highways.
You can see classic Mustangs on the roads of northeast Georgia from Athens to Jefferson, Winder to Loganville and everywhere in between. We know that Georgia drivers love their Mustangs, from whatever generation.
Few cars in history have had the immediate success and long-lasting appeal of the Ford Mustang — but what’s the reason behind its fascination to so many people? Why are Mustangs of all generations still so loved and collected by car enthusiasts? To answer that, let’s take a closer look at the history of the Ford Mustang.
The First Ford Mustangs
When the Mustang was first being dreamed up in the early 1960s by Ford’s design team, there were some very specific requirements it had to fulfill. First it needed to seat four adults comfortably. It also had to have a floor-mounted shifter, to appeal to those who might want to race it, but most important, it needed to cost less than $2,500 to buy.
The very first Mustang – what we now call the 1964½ – was available as a coupe or a convertible. A total of nearly 122,000 of them were made, and their popularity was undeniable. In 1965, the first full year of production, the 2+2 fastback was introduced along with a bigger 289 V-8 engine. Almost 560,000 were sold that year, to the astonishment of even Ford. The 1966 model year however, was the biggest in the history of the Mustang, with 607,568 total cars being sold. The Mustang was here to stay.
Next Generation Mustangs
In the years that followed the early Mustang’s success, its evolution moved toward larger engines and a longer body. There were also special edition Mustangs and more options to choose from. The late 1960s brought competition from cars like the Camaro and Firebird, so the Mustang was given more aggressive styling and more powerful engines like the Boss 429.
The Mustang Mach 1 debuted in 1969, with the ultra-high-performance 428 Cobra Jet engine. Stripes, hood scoops, spoilers and flares all made their appearance in the Mustangs of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The competition from other muscle cars however meant that sales dropped slightly, and a new design tactic needed to be tried for the decade of the 1970s.
The Mustang II
With new EPA regulations and the price of gasoline rising in the early 70s, the new Ford Mustang II seemed like the right car at the right time for American drivers. The 1974 Mustang II was a dramatic change from the powerful and heavy muscle car Mustangs, yet it was immediately popular. It was stylish in its own way, and seemed like a return to the basic styling of the original Mustang coupe. Oh, and it won Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award in 1974. Production of the Mustang II ran until 1978.
The Modern Mustang
In 1979 the design team at Ford came up with another radical change for the Mustang. Slightly larger than the Mustang II, the new Mustang for 1979 had little resemblance to any previous version of the much-loved car. It was more angular, and didn’t have the side scallops that were associated with the Mustang. One thing it did have though was an available 5.0-liter High Output V-8 engine. In such a relatively small car, the 200+ horsepower engine made for a sporty ride, and kept this generation of Mustang essentially unchanged for 15 years.
The 1994 Mustang redesign was a return to the styling and design features of previous successful Mustang versions. Side scoops returned, as did the three-segment taillights. Even the interior recalled early Mustangs, with Pony seats and dash clusters that were clearly influenced by the originals. This model design ran for 10 years, during which the 5.0-liter V-8 was retired from the lineup in favor of the 4.6-liter version.
The changes that took place for the 2005 model year gave us the Mustang that we know and love today. This generation of Mustangs also took design clues from the original muscle cars, and managed to make them look both modern and retro. One of the most powerful looking and best performing Mustang designs; it has become the most successful version since the original.
For 2015, the Ford Mustang will be modernized once again. Since its debut at auto shows around the world in December, excitement has been building for the all-new 2015 Mustang. Although it will look similar to the version we’ve known for the past 10 years, it’s a new vehicle from the ground up.
Here at Athens Ford, we expect the 2015 Mustang to be the most exciting and best-selling model in years. We’re proud to be offering this 50th anniversary Ford Mustang, and we expect to have them in our showroom this Fall. We’ll be sure to let all of our Northeast Georgia Mustang enthusiasts know when we expect to receive them, so you can be the first to own this piece of history.
Written By:Mark Ficken