Ford Mustang: History, facts and interesting facts

Before Ford began to shape the Mustang more specifically, it did extensive market research to find out what kind of people were buying which cars. And interesting data came out! For example, in 1962, 46% of new car purchases were made by college-educated people, who made up about 18% of the North American population at the time. What’s more, these apprentices weren’t afraid to go for more expensive models.

Further, Ford found that in the 1960s, the desire of families to own a second car increased sharply, and women also began to get more involved in driving, who had clear requirements for the vehicle they were to be the driver of.

These groups, comprising mainly younger residents, also wanted the option of choosing between manual and automatic, smaller body dimensions, a powerful engine, a sporty design and a greater feeling of connection between the car and the road, so even cars with lower ground clearance.

Ford responded to the thorough research by creating three concepts of smaller sports cars (including the Allegra) which were shown to target groups that included university students.

In the second phase, the design studios prepared seven designs and, taking into account safety and the opinion of a selected group of potential buyers, one was chosen, eventually designated as the Mustang II. This four-seater sports prototype was used to verify the correctness of the design choice, which is why it was fully demonstrated in 1963.

And do you know how Ford verified the correctness of the price setting? He brought 52 couples with children to the second concept and asked them for their opinion if they saw it as a practical car for a family. Almost everyone said “no”. He then asked for an estimated sale price, however, most families were shooting for thousands of dollars more than Ford had planned.

Once the 52 families were told the Mustang’s intended retail price, they suddenly began to find practicality in it and could imagine working with such a car. After that, Ford took a series of luxury photos, praising the car to the skies, but constantly reminded that it would be attractively priced.

On April 17 publicly and three days earlier for journalists. The year 1964 was the time when the first production Mustang appeared, which started a complete mania, because already in August of that year, Ford reported 120,000 cars sold.

The bandwagon continued well, as the millionth serial number Mustang rolled off the production line in early March 1966.

The first (more than) million Mustangs are worth discussing in terms of points of interest, as they may surprise you with the ongoing Vietnam War and the Rolling Stones’ Paint It Black playing everywhere.

• 42% of new mustang owners were women
• 755,000 hardtops, 142,000 convertibles and 103,000 fastbacks sold
• 557,000 automatics, 310,000 three-speed manuals and 133,000 four-speed manuals sold
• sales of V8 engines outnumbered V6s by a ratio of 2:1
• tires with white sidewalls were on 842,000 cars
• the radio was installed in 799,000 mustangs, the rest sold to the factory did not have it
• the car temporarily lost the V8 due to the oil crisis and falling sales

As the first Mustang gradually grew and grew, people stopped liking such developments, which Ford listened to and for 1974 built a second generation on a platform called the Pinto. The “stang” thus became a compact again, moreover economically oriented, which still did not offer an eight-cylinder engine due to the oil crisis (but it soon returned). However, Ford hit the bull’s eye with this frugal focus, so sales soared.

However, the end of the seventies was already more favorable from the point of view of the fuel crisis, and people started to want large-volume engines again. Ford thus prepared the return of the true Mustang, although it changed it.

The third generation Mustang received a platform called Fox, which the Mustang shared with the Ford Fairmont sedan. The newly shaped body was a notchback or hatchback, and the motorization ranged from four-cylinders (including a turbocharged one, but that was a step aside at first) to six-cylinders to massive eight-cylinders, with which the manufacturer had to reduce the displacement due to the next oil crisis.

In the 1980s, the convertible returned and also the turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder, which was also shown off by engineers from the SVO sports division. For the twenty years of the Mustang in 1984, the manufacturer prepared a number of editions with various accessories. The five-liter eight-cylinder also underwent a fundamental transformation, which in 1986 put aside carburetors and switched to multi-port fuel injection.

At the end of the 80s, the Mustang got away with a brutal redesign with an emphasis on aerodynamics, which was represented by recessed headlights, for example, but the interior was also completely redesigned. Ford also got rid of six-cylinders and installed an economical 2.3-liter four-cylinder, but kept the traditional five-liter V8.

But in our country’s revolutionary year of 1989, sales of the “Stang” began to fall, which was not resolved even by the subsequent facelift. A small but important change occurred in 1990, when the Mustang received a driver’s airbag as standard equipment. And in 1993, Ford pleased the public again, as it showed a limited edition Mustang SVT Cobra with a 235-horsepower eight-cylinder, a tuned chassis and a solid basic equipment.

Before showing the fourth Mustang, Ford asked the public again what they wanted. And she answered that more iconic shapes and more performance. For Ford, this meant a partial return to the roots, thus redesigning the Fox platform and suspension to make it softer and smoother to ride. This happened and resulted in higher understeer, which by the way is still true today.

With the fourth generation, the six-cylinder, which replaced the four-cylinder, got a chance again. Nevertheless, the classic eight-cylinder, which Ford gradually modified, was popular. In 1999, the model received a facelift, stronger engines, and in the SVT Cobra version, even rear independent suspension, which was a big novelty for Mustang at the time. In addition, in 2002, rival Chevrolet stopped producing the Camaro, so the wild horse lost its rival.

The fifth Mustang introduced in 2004 (as a 2005 model year) went back to the very beginning with its design, so it offered typical retro shapes. In addition, the car (finally) switched to a new platform, although due to costs, it retained a common rear axle, for which Ford received justified criticism.

The engines were again six-cylinder and eight-cylinder, however, the public liked the car, which was noticed by the General Motors and Chrysler concerns, which as a reaction resurrected the Camaro and Challenger, i.e. direct competition of the Mustang.

The year 2010 brought a facelift, animated rear lights and new six-cylinder engines as well as a redesigned five-liter eight-cylinder. There were also Boss and Shelby specifications.

Only in its sixth generation, which was officially sold in Europe, did the Mustang receive independent rear suspension as standard. The Six started with a four-cylinder, a six-cylinder and an eight-cylinder, however the V6 engine was eventually phased out. Later, the turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder was also dropped, which, by the way, angered many Ford Focus RS owners due to a design defect.

The most popular in the sixth generation, however, was the five-liter eight-cylinder in the GT variant, which was already accompanied in Europe by, for example, the Mach 1 edition or the green Bullit. Towards the end of the six-seater’s lifespan, a California convertible edition also appeared.

Six facts about the Mustang

To be complete, during the reign of the sixth Mustang, Ford (2019) introduced a controversial but very capable electric car called the Mustang Mach-E, which die-hard fans still can’t figure out the name of.

As the 2023 model year, 2022 saw the introduction of the seventh Mustang, starting from the six. For the time being, it offers only one motorization here, namely a five-liter eight-cylinder engine with output from 446 horsepower, which you can have with a manual or an automatic. It is also available in the United States with a 2.3-liter four-cylinder.

For its 60th birthday this year, the blue oval has given the Mustang several new editions, continuing to fuel this monstrous sales locomotive that reports more than 10 million Mustangs sold since its inception in 1964, making this North American thoroughbred the best-selling sports car ever.

Although the current era is forced towards electric drives, recently, despite expectations, Ford openly stated that it will produce the “stang” with an eight-cylinder engine as long as it is possible. And it certainly does not want to follow in the footsteps of Chevrolet, which buried the Camaro, while Dodge took the popular V8 engine from its (not only) Challenger. So, happy 60th birthday to Mustang, and please shout eight cheers, arrange the shout in a V shape and drink five liters of high-octane petrol!