The History of the Ford Mustang

1647 Words4 Pages

It seems that almost everyone has a favorite Mustang. With so many different generations of the Muscle Car to choose from the list is varied. To some, a Candy
Apple Red 65’ with a 289 is the best ever. Or how about a fastback with the
HighPower V8 and GT package? Ever heard the rumble from a Boss 302?
And yet others consider the 5.0 Liter Mustangs the best largely because of the variety of low cost add-on parts available. These cars are inexpensive to buy and modify. And then there is the Cobras no matter what year or body style the Cobras come of the factory line ready to go “Run’em”.
In the early 60s’ the only American sports car was the Corvette at a price to costly for many young Americans. The Thunderbird was basically a luxury car at the time.
As a result Imported sports cars were selling well. Within a few years the post-war baby boomers would be buying their first car. The Mustang II concept car generated allot of excitement and led directly to the first Mustang less than a year later. Ford was unaware how popular the car would be. They announced when the first television commercial would be shown and many Americans tuned in to see it. The next day, the first day of availability, Ford sold 22,000 mustangs.
The 19641/2, as it was later called, was available in only two models: the coupe and convertible. Both models featured a lengthened hood and shortened rear deck, chrome wrap-around bumpers, chrome grille with a running horse, and full wheel covers. Both models were available with a 170 cid, 101 horsepower, 6 cylinder engine, a 260-2V, 164 horsepower V-8, a 289-4V, 210 horsepower V-8 and, starting in June, a fire breathing, 4 barrel, solid lifter, 271 horsepower, 289 cid V-8 engine.
The buyer had a choice of a 3 speed, 4 speed or automatic transmission, and a variety of rear end gear ratios. The interior featured "wall-to-wall" carpeting, front bucket seats or an optional front bench seat, rear bench seat, a sports car style steering wheel, floor mounted shifter, and full headliner (Kowalke).
There were a total of 121,538 Mustangs produced during the 6412 model run
(Mustang) . 1965 brought few changes for the Mustang. The biggest change was the availability of a new fastback model, which was to become the basis for Carroll
Shelby's G.T. 350. The 120 horsepower, 200 cid 6 cylinder engine replaced the 170 cid 6 cylinder, the 289-2V, 200 horsepower V-8 replaced the 260-2V, the 289-4V was upgraded to 225 horsepower, and the 289-4V hi-po remained unchanged

Show More
Related

  • How to Replace a AOD with a Ford T5 Transmision

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fill the transmission with ATF fluid. I like doing this at this point since the exhaust isn't in the way yet.

    Read More

  • El Camino

    778 Words  | 2 Pages

    The similar, but less showy 1960 model of the El Camino was priced at $2366 for the six-cylinder model; another $107 got consumers a V8 with the two-barrel 283. The V8 two barrel carb is an 8 cylinder 2 port carburetor for higher performance. The 1960 El Camino had a Bel-Air look, with a bright-metal "jet" looks, and narrow trailing molding used to blend with the rear quarters. The rear quarters are the metal above the rear tires. The orders plummeted by a third, to just 14,163, at which point Chevrolet discontinued the model; meanwhile, Ford moved 21,027 Rancheros which were based on the new Falcon compact.... ...

    Read More

  • Comparing Ford Mustangs and Chevy Camaros

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    Muscle Car," two distinctive cars come to mind, the Camaro and the Mustang. Throughout the era of the early 1950's and 1960's, there was a revolutionary movement that took place and paved the ground work for today's "Muscle Cars" known as the "Ponycar Era." Ask any avid Camaro or Mustang fan about the ponycar era, and watch their pain. They will describe cars that would light the tires on fire, floor it, and hang onto the wheel excitement. Back in the 1960's a new idea was soon to hit the American market, the Ford Mustang. When the Mustang was introduced, General Motors soon to had to follow with their own type of sports car. The car they generated was know as the Chevrolet Camaro. The cars themselves were introduced within the matter of a few years of one another. From the day that General Motors and Ford realized that these cars were very similar in horsepower, torque, standards, and etc... they soon started to pit them against each other in an all out battle that has still last to present day. However, the Chevrolet Camaro has always had the slight advantage over the Ford's Mustang.

    Read More

  • History of the Corvette

    901 Words  | 2 Pages

    Entering the 1950s, no corporation even came close to General Motors in its size, or it's profits. GM was twice as big as the second biggest company in the world, Standard Oil of New Jersey (father of today's Exxon Mobil), and had a vast diversity of businesses ranging from home appliances to providing insurance and building Buicks, Cadillacs, Chevys, GMCs, Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs and trains. It was so big that it made more than half the cars sold in the United States and the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust division was threatening to break it up(to prevent Monopolies, Like how Standard oil was broken up). In the 21st century, it's almost hard to imagine how powerful GM was in the 50s and 60s. Sports cars from Europe were getting popular, because of servicemen coming back from WWII, and wanted sports cars, but American Automakers didn't make sports cars, so they would either buy foreign, or go without. A man named McLean would still try to make a low priced sports car. But it didn't work. The idea of a car coming from GM that could compete with Jaguar, MG or Triumph was pretty much considered stupid and insane. C1:Generation: Bad but valuable. Just 300 Corvettes were made in 1953. Each of these first-year Corvettes was a white roadster with red interior. The Corvette was made of fiberglass for light weight, but the first cars were made with a really weak, (and kind of pathetic for a “sports car”) 150 horsepower 6-cylinder engine and an automatic transmission. The result was more of a look at me, I’m rich car than a race car. The first generation of the Corvette was introduced late in 1953. It was originally designed as a show car for GM's traveling car show, Motorama, the Corvette was a Show Car for the 1953 Motorama display...

    Read More

  • Archit Shah Paragraph

    677 Words  | 2 Pages

    *** Originally, all corvettes, 205 feet in length, were armed with one four inch gun, one 2 pound pom pom gun, and after modifications were made, two 20mm guns, one hedge-hog and radar were added (Cruxton and Wilson, 234).

    Read More

  • History of The Mustang II

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Chevrolet Chevelle SSs' earliest engine in 1964 didn't perform as well as the later models. It had a 327 V8 engine which wasn't even close to as powerful as the later models. After a slow start, the 1965 Chevelle became a real muscle car. The car now had a lot more power since it had a 396 V8 engine, also known as the Z-16 package. Along with a better engine the Chevelle also had front and back anti-roll bars, faster power-assisted steering, and better braking. The 1965 Chevelle SS was great, but the 1970 Chevelle was the better than anything Chevrolet had made previously. The 1970 Chevelle had a LS6 454 engine, this was the best engine that Chevr...

    Read More

  • The Creation of the Chevy Camaro

    432 Words  | 1 Pages

    The designers did mock-ups of many different models, including a two-seat roadster, a fastback, and a station wagon. GM was trying to keep the cost as low as possible, however, to compete with the Mustang, and decided tostick with just two models, a coupe and a convertible.

    Read More

  • Muscle Cars: the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth

    2059 Words  | 5 Pages

    Some say that automotive racing began when the second car was built. For over a hundred years, competition has driven innovation in the car industry, thus the industry maxim “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.” NASCAR and drag racing contributed greatly to muscle cars’ success. Muscle cars were born from these competitions as factory made race cars. Because of this, the muscle car quickly moved from a low quantity specialty item to the image of the American automotive scene. Each brand had to have one and each one needed better performance and personality than the next. The Golden Age began in the 1960s with the introduction of more performance models such as the Chevy SS Impala and the Ford Galaxy Starliner (Auto Editors).

    Read More

  • The Ford Pinto Case

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    I can recall when my older sister in the 70’s had purchased a shiny new Ford Pinto and pulled it into the driveway. She used at that time what she thought was her best judgment along with an economical price but only to be succumbed by our Dad when he realized what she purchased. Ford Motor Company in the late 60’s were being overtaken by other countries car manufactures in the subcompact market. The Volkswagen Beetle was still formidable, and the VW Rabbit was on the drawing board. Datsun and Toyota were readying new models. Honda was preparing to change the nature of the competition with its Civic. (Lee Iacocca 's Pinto: A Fiery Failure) It would be 10 years later that Henry Ford II, Ford Motor Co. Chairman would fire the person who ultimately

    Read More

  • Essay On The Model T

    1466 Words  | 3 Pages

    Model T’s were everywhere in America, even long after Ford stopped production in 1927. (Henry) While Ford was the number one brand, selling the most cars throughout the early 1900’s, the Model T created a new industry that is distinctly American; the auto industry. Three manufacturers, Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler dominated the American auto industry, and all three companies still produce cars today. The Model T gave birth to the competitive auto market. To this day, car companies in America are constantly racing to innovate, improve, and outsell their competitors. Manufacturing of cars “became the backbone of a new consumer goods-oriented society. By the mid-1920s it ranked first in value of product, and in 1982 it provided one out of every six jobs in the United States.” (history –idk yet) The demand for cars also resulted in a booming petroleum industry, and a high demand for metals, like steel. ( History idk yet) Furthermore, with so many people driving cars, construction of roads was necessary. The popularity of automobiles set off a chain reaction that created new opportunities all across the country. All sections of the modern automotive industry, from marketing to manufacturing, as well industries like petroleum refining, steel production, and road construction, can trace their beginnings to the Ford Model

    Read More

  • Corvette Vs Camaro Essay

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the years, Corvettes and Camaros have ran a hard race as the ultimate sports cars. Customers have always been hungry for better handling, streamline body styles, and sheer “under your pedal” power. The question we are faced with here is which has lead this race.

    Read More

  • Vehicle Code California

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    All motor vehicles must be appropriate

    Read More

  • Welding Research Paper

    1389 Words  | 3 Pages

    Motorcycle Cruiser. Shop Talk, 24 May 2009. Web. The Web. The Web.

    Read More

  • Mass Production

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    The cost of cars fell from $1200 to £295 by 1928 which meant that even

    Read More

  • My First New Car

    1457 Words  | 3 Pages

    In addition to the car model and color choices were decisions on options packages. And having seen the "pimped out" SUVs on MTV Cribs, complete with two or three LCD screens (one in the dashboard for the driver, of course), DVD player, speakers costing more than my college education, GPS navigation systems similar to those used in the Space Shuttle, heated seats, and 20 inch chrome wheels, my eyes were wide with opportunity. After checking on financing and whittling down the alternatives to what I might really need or want, I ended up with the most basic of standard packages.

    Read More

More about The History of the Ford Mustang

Open Document