Ford Mustang: America’s Famous Muscle Car

By FastMuscle | January 6, 2022

If you are keen on cars, you definitely cannot ignore the Ford Mustang. The public first got access to this vehicle in the 1960s.

The production of the Mustang was led by Lee Lacocca, who conceived the idea, and was responsible for early development. It started the movement of people using muscle cars.

Moreover, the price was also reasonable. At the same time, it was also the most used muscle car model globally at that time.

However, many people still have different opinions about this product’s name, category, and form. Let’s learn the history and why the Mustang is so successful.

 

History of Formation And Development

• 1962: Ford designs the concept car. It has a design using a mid-body engine with two seats. However, the designer still has the classic pony car style for this model with a long bonnet. Furthermore, it has a short rear end and distinctive textured side panels.
• 1963: John Najjar designed the Ford Mustang II with four spacious seats. Enterprise launched it in October in New York, a day before the US Grand Prix.
• 1964: The brand debuted its first commercial vehicle at the World’s Fair. At the same time, it appeared in the James Bond film, Goldfinger.
• 1967: The Mustang had the most drastic change with a long nose, and a larger and more efficient radiator.
• Major brands that competed with the Mustang – include GM, AMC, and Chrysler.
• 1975: The modern version of the Ford II is born. Some argue that it is no longer as powerful as the old design.
• 1979: The 3rd design. The car has four seats and is distinguished by unique headlights.
• 1984: Despite the decline in sales, the company introduces the SVO Ford Mustang.
• 1993: Ford’s change in tactics brought mixed opinions to this year’s design.
• 1994: The 4th generation of the car was released.
• 2000: The company launched newer car models, facing solid competitors in the market.
• 2005: The nostalgic version of this model appeared. It is also the 5th generation.
• 2013: The 6th generation officially appeared.
• Over 50 years of development and the many changes in appearance, the business achieved remarkable success. Moreover, in 2014, the 10 millionth car was sold.
• 2017: This model has an automatic transmission version co-developed by Ford and GM.

Origin of the “Mustang”

The designers were passionate about World War II P-51 fighter planes and suggested the name.

In addition, some people defend the view that it comes from wild horses that live in North America, i.e. when Marketing Manager Robert J. Eggert was reading Frank Dobie’s The Mustang.

An interesting point in using the Mustang name in Germany. Krupp is the truck line in this country. At the same time, it is protected.

At this time, the car’s name was Ford T-5 until 1978, it was called Ford Mustang in Germany.

The brand considered several names before coming to a final opinion, including Panther, Torino, even Cougar.

The Mustang has appeared in movies, and TV shows more than 3,300 times.

For example, Goldfinger in 1964. It was the first time the Mustang appeared in the movies. Then came the movie Bullitt.

Furthermore, the 1976 Shelby GT was in the 2000 film Gone in Sixty Seconds. At the same time, it also appeared in many movies, TV shows and numbered 3,300 times.

This Mustang station wagon never got past the clay model stage.

India and Europe get the first-ever right-hand drive variant.

Created for the Indian and UK markets, modified to suit the traffic of these respective countries.

Why is the Ford Mustang the Muscle car of choice? 

Ford has made many improvements in this model’s design, quality, and engine over the years. They listened to the public and constantly improved the design.

More than 50 years of development.

In particular, the brand is constantly upgrading the performance of this product. The 2018 version uses a Coyote V8 engine with 460 horsepower.

The speed is not inferior to some supercars on the market, enough to put many other supercars to shame when wearing ultra-high-performance tires. The product’s design retains the original ethos and purpose as a sports car.

Prices on the market start from $25,000, reasonable for what it offers the customer.

The Ford Mustang is constantly developing and moving with the times.

Conclusion

After more than 50 years, the Ford Mustang is still a prominent sports car, depicting the North American horse. Not only does it represent power, but also a retro look and value for money.