Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a popular compact car originally based on the Ford Falcon. The first production Ford Mustang, a white convertible with black interior, rolled off the assembly line on March 9, 1964 and was later introduced to the North American public as a "1964 1/2" model both at the New York World's Fair and via all three television networks on April 19, 1964 by the Ford Motor Company. It was the most successful product launch in automotive history, setting off near-pandemonium at Ford dealers across the continent.
Championed by product manager Lee Iacocca and penned in the Lincoln-Mercury design studios, the base, yet well equipped Mustang hardtop with its 170 in³ (2.8 L) six-cylinder engine and three speed manual transmission listed for US$2,368. Looking like a car that cost hundreds of dollars more with its "long hood/short deck" styling reminiscent of classic designs such as the Lincoln Continental and two seat Ford Thunderbird with a touch of Ferrari at the grille, the Mustang earned a number of prestigious auto industry awards and accolades its first year including "Motor Trend Car of the Year," pace car duties for the 1964 Indianapolis 500 and the Tiffany Design Award for "excellence in design," the first automobile so honored. An enormous list of options ranging from a tissue holder to an automatic transmission all the way up to THREE separate V8 options including a thundering 271 horsepower (202 kW), 289 in³ (4.7 L) engine all added to the car's popularity since it could be ordered from "mild to wild," depending on the buyer's taste and budget. The timing of the car's introduction coincided perfectly with the first wave of the postwar "baby boom" which was heading off to work in a strong economy. Incredibly, no domestic manufacturer up until that time had anything remotely resembling an affordable yet youthful and sophisticated automobile, and Iacocca knew it. Despite his repeated attempts to receive the go-ahead to produce such a car, his proposals fell on mostly deaf ears. Because the company was still smarting financially after the demise of the Edsel Division in late 1959, upper management at Ford under Robert McNamara (later Secretary of Defense under Lyndon Johnson) wasn't willing to take such a major risk. Still, Iacocca perservered and was given the green light to produce the Mustang in mid-1962, which gave the design team only eighteen months to design and develop the car. Not only did the project wrap up in under eighteen months, it wrapped up under budget as well thanks to the decision to use as many existing mechanical parts as possible. As far as the design itself was concerned, Ford stylists basically threw out the company handbook on design limitations, pushing the stamping technology of the time to its limit in such design areas as the sweep of the rear lower valence and the remarkably complicated front end stampings and castings. Curved side glass was used as well, but at a price since the technology to produce distortion-free curved safety glass was still fairly young. And though most of the mechanical parts were directly taken from the Falcon, the Mustang's body shell was completely different than the Falcon's, sporting a longer wheelbase, wider track, lower seating position and overall height and an industry first: The "torque box." This was an innovative structural system that greatly stiffened the Mustang's unitized body construction and helped contribute to its excellent handling, at least compared to other cars of the time.
Originally, the Mustang was available as either a hardtop or convertible. During the car's early design phases, however, a fastback model was strongly considered. When the 1965 model year production began in September, 1964, the now-famous Mustang fastback, with its swept-back rear glass and distinctive ventilation louvers made its debut. This was the body style that race driver Carroll Shelby would convert, with Ford Motor Company's blessing, into a special model designed with only two things in mind, namely winning races and beating Chevrolet's Corvette. Designated simply as GT-350, these bare-bones, no-nonsense brawlers started as "Wimbledon White" fastbacks with black interiors shipped from the San Jose, California assembly plant and fitted with the 271 horsepower (202 kW) V8, four-speed manual transmission and front disc brakes but less the hood, rear seat and identifying trim. These few cars were converted to street, road racing and drag trim in Shelby's plant at Los Angeles International Airport. Modifications included a side-exiting exhaust, Shelby 15 in (380 mm) magnesium wheels (though some early cars were fitted with steel wheels), fiberglass hood with functional scoop, relocated front control arms to improve handling, quicker steering, Koni shock absorbers, a limited-slip "Detroit Locker" rear end with Ford Galaxie drum brakes, metallic brake linings at all four corners, rear-mounted battery, rear anti-sway bar, a fiberglass parcel shelf and spare tire holder where the rear seat was intended to be and considerable engine work, boosting output to 306 horsepower (228 kW). Even the car's basic body structure was stiffened up front with an angled brace intended for the export models and so-called "Monte Carlo" bar triangulating the underhood shock absorber towers. Though Shelby's influence on the car diminished as Ford's influence grew, the 1965-1970 GT-350 and its big-block brother, the 1967-1970 GT-500 are among the most highly sought-after automobiles in the world. So too are the high-performance models offered over the years by other automotive tuners following in Shelby's footsteps...see the "Mustang Club of America" link at the bottom of the page to learn more.
In its first two years of production, three Ford Motor Company plants in San Jose, Detroit, Michigan and Metuchen, New Jersey produced nearly 1.5 million Mustangs, a sales record unequalled before or since. It was a success that left both General Motors and Chrysler Corporation utterly flat-footed. Chrysler immediately attempted to counter with the Plymouth Barracuda. Though the 'Cuda would grow into one of the most revered muscle cars of all time, it started out as an act of desperation and was not much more than a Plymouth Valiant with a hastily grafted fastback rear window. As for GM, they were certain that they had a Mustang fighter in their rear-engined Corvair Monza, but the sales figures didn't even come close. It took GM until the 1967 model year to counter with the Chevrolet Nova-based Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird. Even Lincoln-Mercury joined the fray in 1967 with the introduction of an "upmarket Mustang" (and subsequent "Motor Trend Car of the Year), the Mercury Cougar, using the name originally given to the Mustang during the development phase. This genre of small, sporty and often powerful automobiles was unofficially dubbed the ponycar as a tribute to the car that started it all.
Starting with the 1967 model year, the Mustang underwent various redesigns with the installation of "big-block" V8 engines in mind. The high-perfomance 289 in³ (4.7 L) option now took a supporting role on the option sheet behind a massive 390 in³ (6.4 L) engine direct from the Thunderbird. The brutally fast 428 in³ (7 L) Cobra Jet with its optional "Drag Pak" racing package was introduced halfway through the 1968 model year. 1969 saw the introduction of a handbuilt muscle car intended soley to satisfy the homologation rules of NASCAR, the Boss 429. Available in 1969 and 1970 only, and looking like a standard Mustang SportsRoof (the new corporate name for the fastback) with the Mach 1 version's deluxe interior, the Boss 429 sported none of the garish decals and paint schemes of the day. Only a hood scoop, 15-inch (380 mm) wheels with Goodyear "Polyglas" tires and a small "BOSS 429" decal on each front fender hinted that the largest and, in racing trim, most powerful Ford V8 of all time lurked under the hood. Intentionally underrated at 325 horsepower (242 kW) from the factory even with racing touches such as aluminum heads with hemispherical combustion chambers and a combination of O-rings and seals in place of head gaskets, it's believed that at least another 75 to 100 horsepower (50 to 75 kW) was on tap once the single four-barrel carburetor and intake, restrictive factory exhaust system and engine speed governor were replaced or removed. Now based on the mid-sized Ford Fairlane/Mercury Comet instead of the compact Falcon, the Mustang grew larger and heavier with each passing year until the 1974 introduction of the short-lived Mustang II which returned the car to at least a semblance of its 1964 predecessor in size, shape and overall styling. Though Iacocca insisted that the Mustang II be finished to quality standards unheard of in the American auto industry, and in fairness it really was, the II suffered from being not only smaller than the original car, but heavier and slower as well. Even the popular V8 option disappeared for the first and only time in 1974, and the Mustang convertible would disappear for the next eight years. Like the car that preceded it, the Mustang II had its roots in another compact, the maligned Ford Pinto, though less so than the original car was based on the Falcon. Despite innovations such as rack-and-pinion steering and a separate engine subframe that greatly decreased noise, vibration and harshness, the car never caught the public's fancy like the one ten years prior had. The Arab oil embargo, skyrocketing insurance rates and increasingly stringent US emissions and safety standards that destroyed the straight-line performance of virtually every car of the period certainly didn't help. Yet better times lay ahead. Under the direction of Ford's new styling chief, Jack Telnack, a totally new and genuinely exciting Mustang hit the streets in 1979, mercifully without the "III" designation. The Mustang in its present form can trace its roots directly to that "third generation" 1979 model, though with thousands of upgrades, improvements and restyling over time.
In 1982, Ford reintroduced a high-performance Mustang GT and opened the door for an entirely new era of the muscle car. Wringing a then-respectable 180 horsepower (134 kW) from its 302 in³ (4.9 L) V8 and backed by a four speed transmission, aggressive tires and stiff suspension, magazine ads of the period shouted, "The Boss Is Back." This, by the way, was the first of the legendary "5.0" Mustangs, cars that gave birth to an entire aftermarket performance industry and continue to remain extremely popular nearly a decade after the 5.0-liter engine was dropped in favor of the new overhead cam 4.6 V8 which powers Fords to this day. As electronic engine management and emissions technology developed, so too did performance. The lone remaining 1960s muscle car marques, Mustang, Camaro and Firebird, grew in power and handling better than the cars that preceded them. With production of the Camaro and Firebird ending in 2002, the Mustang remains as the sole survivor of the ponycar era. At the 2004 North American International Auto Show, Ford introduced a redesigned Mustang for the 2005 model year, with styling inspired by 1960s Mustangs.
Ford continues to sell about 150,000 Mustangs annually, while the 1964-1973 models have gone on to become American automotive icons the equal of the "tri-year" Chevrolets and the Corvette. Special variants such as the GT, Mach 1 and Boss models are blue chip collectors' items. And today, with its supercharged 4.6 L, four cam V8 that makes the present SVT Cobra Mustang the fastest factory variant in the marque's history coupled with a brilliant new design for 2005...including a 400 horsepower (300 kW) GT...there's no question that the future of this beloved American original is indeed a bright one.
Reference
- CanadianDriver Communications, Inc. (2004). 2005 Mustang draws inspiration from the 60's. Retrieved January 11, 2004 from http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/040105-7.htm