The Mustang Movement
A vision fueled by passion and perseverance would unknowingly ignite the birth of a legendary artifact and make a significant impact on American culture and automotive history. In 1965, Carroll Shelby and his company, Shelby American, took on the challenge of transforming the Ford Mustang into a high-performance racing machine, and soon after, the first ever Shelby Mustang hit the streets. Nearly half a century has passed since then, and the Shelby Mustang is still referred to as one of the finest muscle cars of all-time (Lloyd). It continues to be a historic American symbol of excellence and a very significant piece of culture in America and in the history of my family.
The first Shelby Mustang gained considerable popularity,
Thesis Statement: The Mustang has interested me since a very long time, i found interest in them because they’re such amazing creatures and there’s still so many things that we don’t know about them
Every so often a man or women has an idea that is innovative, amazing or in some cases far ahead of its time. Unfortunately it is far too common that these ideas are lost or stifled by people who are afraid of the change they may bring. Since people also tend to believe if something seems too good to be true it probably is, these ideas may not get enough good attention until it is too late. Preston Tucker was one of these innovative people with a great idea. In 1944 he began work on a car that was safe, reliable, and groundbreaking. So far ahead of its time it made the wrong people nervous. The car was first christened as the Tucker Torpedo but due to concerns over torpedo not sounding safe, it was changed to the Tucker 1948. These amazing cars turned out to be one of the most revolutionary automobiles ever made and would have remained so if it weren’t for a slander campaign by the United States government.
Ask any ten enthusiasts what two cars epitomize the concept of an automotive rivalry and at least nine of them will instantly conclude the Chevrolet or Chevy Camaro and the Ford Mustang, two cars that make up part of a small automotive segment known as Pony Cars. These fire-breathing leviathans of the street snarl with guttural reverberations boastfully announcing their presence with the mere turn of key. For nearly five decades, these mechanical beasts have captured the imagination of the American driver and ignited the most contentious debate in automotive history: Which car reigns supreme? Muscle car buffs waste no time quoting sales figures, vehicle performance, track times, or even mundane statistics like vehicle dimensions or available colors to simply justify their support for one model over the other. As this debate rages on, the makers of these brutes fan the flames through targeted marketing strategies, consumer promotions, pricing strategies, and creative advertising all in effort to win an automotive war the likes of which have never been seen or fought before (Davenport, 2013).
More than 22,000 Mustangs were ordered on April 17, 1964 when it was first released by Ford. Show rooms were visited by more than four million people and there were over 2,600 ads in newspapers. In 1974, the Mustang II began. Buyers loved it since it was smaller and had a weaker engine. This would use less fuel during the fuel crisis. Sales had tripled since the year before. It also was easier to drive because of its rack-and-pinion steering. In 1978 Mustang added many fashion features that would appeal to female buyers. The rear seat was divided into two seats even though it had been a single seat in the years before. Along with many new colors there were also pockets in the door handles, illuminated driver vanity mirrors, and "Fresno Cloth" seat inserts. In 1994, Ford released a redesigned Mustang. It had a lot of power and Ford brought back the grill. The 1994 Mustang convertible sold 123,198 cars. In 2008 Ford Mustang was the last pony car remaining on the road. Mustang is still one of the greatest success in sales in automotive history and is America's best selling convertible.
When Ford introduced the Mustang in 1964 there was no immediate reaction from General Motors, but by August of '64, just four months after the Mustang's introduction, GM realized the appeal of a four seat sports car. Ironically, the Mustang was created in response to the Chevrolet Corvair Monza!
Due to the growing prevalence of stock car racing, muscle cars came into power during the 1960s, which has become known as the Golden Age of Muscle. Lasting from 1960 to 1972, muscle cars enjoyed over a decade of power, and, regrettably, a four decade hibernation. In the past six years, muscle cars have reemerged in the form of the Charger, Challenger, Mustang, and Camaro. The new cars’ styling pays tribute to their Golden Age predecessors. This is the new muscle car age, with competition and corporate pride higher than ever.
Imagine how life would be if our society did not have cars. Today, our society is depended on cars for our daily routines. From getting our food, clothes, and technology to just going to the store across the street, cars are a very important part of our society. In the 18th century, only the wealthy people had access to automobiles, and they only used cars for fancy transportation and to show off their money. This was because of the extreme prices of cars in the 18th century. With these high prices not many people could afford them, especially not the working class. Henry Ford reevaluated the automobile industry in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. With Ford's enthusiasm to mechanics, he perfected the assembly line, developed cheap cars for the common people, and sparked an era of mass production. Because of this, Ford paid higher and his actions allowed the common people to have access to cars.
In today's society people would expect to be able to drive nice cars without being pulled over. The idea of being able to turn a stock car into something greater, and be able to show it off is mostly impossible because the car is considered a "race car" and it would get pulled over. Throughout years, modified vehicles have been pulled over for being "too loud" and are constantly being referred as race cars. A culture about modified cars has been in existence for quite some time now, and it has been named the JDM Clean Car Culture though it has had complications it has spread out all around the world. The culture should not be forbidden, and it should not be a topic for police to go after since the culture is a way of life for young and old
"A car should be like a fine watch," Ford said. "It should be built to last. Make one model and make it good. That's what I say." After establishing other numerous models without satisfaction his ...
As James Flink points out in The Automobile Age, the village store and the local banks were the businesses most vulnerable to the new competition (47). Robert E. Wood, former vice president of Sears, explains how businesses moved to the suburbs, "When the automobile reached the masses, it changed this condition [the funneling of consumers into the town centre] and made shopping mobile. In the great cities Sears located its stores well outside the main shopping districts, on cheap land, usually on arterial highways, with ample parking space (Wollen 13)." Thus city centers came to be seen as sites of congestion, whereas the surrounding areas were regarded as accessible and convenient. The rapid proliferation of shopping complexes outside of the city center in the 1950s left down town a crime-ridden wasteland of vacated stores. City centers no longer featured traditional shops; instead they contained gas stations, parking lots, and inns whose focus was on the travelers and their cars (Wollen 13).
Today cars are all around us. They come in many different shapes and sizes. Some of them are even becoming better for the environment. Let's go back to the car when it was first made. Believe it or not Henry Ford was not the first person to create the car. However, what he did was still very important.
When Henry Ford was born on June 30th, 1863, neither him nor anyone for that matter, knew what an important role he would take in the future of mankind. Ford saw his first car when he was 12. He and his father where riding into Detroit at the time. At that moment, he knew what he wanted to do with his life: he wanted to make a difference in the automobile industry. Through out his life, he achieved this in an extraordinary way. That is why he will always be remembered in everyone’s heart. Whenever you drive down the road in your car, you can thank all of it to Henry Ford. Through his life he accomplished extraordinary achievements such as going from a poor farm boy to a wealthy inventor who helped Thomas Edison. When he was a young man, he figured out how to use simple inventions, such as the light bulb. He then taught himself the design of a steamboat engine. His goal was to build a horse-less carriage. He had come up with several designs and in 1896, he produced his first car, the Model A. When Ford’s first car came out, he had been interviewed by a reporter and when asked about the history of the car, he had said “History is more or less bunk.” Ford worked in Thomas Edison’s factory for years and the left to become an apprentice for a car-producer in Detroit. While working there, he established how he was going to make the car.
The first model Mustang the early 1965, or as many like to call it the 1964 and one-half Mustang, interests me the most because of its unique design and style. The rareness of this year’s Mustang fascinates me because so little are left; over the years people have either crushed or cut them up and made race cars out of them, which makes me sad to see these rare, fascinating cars go to waste. When the 1964 and one half debuted, only a coupe and a convertible could be purchased featuring a base 170 cu in six-cylinder engine with a three-speed floor shift transmission, also available with a 260 cu in V8 engine, in addition to a four-speed manual transmission or a three-speed “Cruise-O-Matic” transmission. The interior featured “wall-to-wall” c...
ford motor company. (2003, 05 12). ford motor company. Retrieved 04 24, 2014, from mustangs unlimited: https://www.mustangsunlimited.com/
In today’s society when you think about super extravagant, high end, luxurious vehicles, what top of the line automotives can you actually think of that comes to mind? If you guessed correctly it would actually be no other than “The Mercedes Benz”. Mercedes Benz is known to man as one of the finest cars of luxury dated back to the late 1800. In 1886 Karl Benz invented the first horseless tricycle. Later on in the early 1900’s both Karl Benz and Gottlieb Dailmer whom were both born in Germany teamed up and branded the first “Mercedes”, which was known as the first automobile which was also developed by William Maybach. Also known for the first car with four wheels