...to the Ford Mustang. 
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/v...s-ford-mustang-empire-state-building.cnn.html
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/v...s-ford-mustang-empire-state-building.cnn.html
Happy Fiftieth Anniversary...
- Thread starter Mudd
- Start date
Awesome car.
Thanks. It's undergone some changes since then...
The first Mustang was actually sold on April 15, 1964, two days before the dealer was supposed to release it - a convertible sold to Gail Wise in Chicago. She still has it.
The first Mustang was actually sold on April 15, 1964, two days before the dealer was supposed to release it - a convertible sold to Gail Wise in Chicago. She still has it.
If I'm not mistaken, Ford plans on having the special 50th-anniversary edition of the Mustang out for the 2015 model year, as opposed to doing a 2014 1/2 Mustang for the "actual" anniversary.
I'd love to get a 'Stang for my next car, keeping my current car as a driver for times when the 'Stang wouldn't be practical (usually in inclement weather) as it won't be worth anything for a trade-in.
I'd likely go with a base-model LX and because I'm a punk who does a lot of city driving it'd be an automatic. (Yeah, yeah, I know. But city driving and little experience driving a standard transmission makes this my choice.) Probably go with the base V6 engine as well.
Damn, I want one of these.
Rented a Mustang a few years ago when I was getting my car worked on, convertible, man. That was a lot of fun to have. Almost had an opportunity to buy a '64 Mustang someone was selling but it needed some work on it I didn't have the time/money to put into it. (Mostly a paint job and some engine work.)
On your car, I'm guessing the roll-bar is an after-market addition?
I'd love to get a 'Stang for my next car, keeping my current car as a driver for times when the 'Stang wouldn't be practical (usually in inclement weather) as it won't be worth anything for a trade-in.
I'd likely go with a base-model LX and because I'm a punk who does a lot of city driving it'd be an automatic. (Yeah, yeah, I know. But city driving and little experience driving a standard transmission makes this my choice.) Probably go with the base V6 engine as well.
Damn, I want one of these.
Rented a Mustang a few years ago when I was getting my car worked on, convertible, man. That was a lot of fun to have. Almost had an opportunity to buy a '64 Mustang someone was selling but it needed some work on it I didn't have the time/money to put into it. (Mostly a paint job and some engine work.)
On your car, I'm guessing the roll-bar is an after-market addition?
Well, the '15 order banks are supposed to open next month for deliveries beginning in August of 2014. The original Mustangs were 1965 model year; since they launched in early 1964 and some of the first cars were mechanically distinct from later ones they're just colloquially referred to as "64 1/2."
The big news for '15 is the Ecoboost 4 cylinder version, putting out 305 hp. Check it all out:
http://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/20...30109&ef_id=U0wcwwAABaAP8Kc9:20140417155020:s
The big news for '15 is the Ecoboost 4 cylinder version, putting out 305 hp. Check it all out:
http://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/20...30109&ef_id=U0wcwwAABaAP8Kc9:20140417155020:s
I never really liked the design of the Mustang in the 1980s/Third Generation. Seemed like the Mustang really didn't get its style back until the Fourth Generation starting with the 1994 model year.
Yeah, most Second Generation Mustangs were a joke but towards the end of that Generation they began to get a real nice, mean, looking 1970s look, but only with the Cobras.
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxg90JdtPFQ#t=28[/yt]
Yeah, the Third-Generation Mustangs almost killed the brand.
The Fox body (third generation) 'Stangs really were the beginning of the brand's resurgence after the widely-agreed-to-be-disappointing Mustang II.
I owned a 1977 Mustang II - my first new car - and while I drove it for many years it did cost a lot in repairs and was not much of a car. In the 1970s, quality was decidedly not Job 1 at Ford.
I owned a 1977 Mustang II - my first new car - and while I drove it for many years it did cost a lot in repairs and was not much of a car. In the 1970s, quality was decidedly not Job 1 at Ford.
Yeah, a resurgence for sure after the Mustang II but, man, I just never liked the look of that generation of Mustang. The end of the Mustang II generation were much better looking, IMO. But the current (previous) generation is just fantastic looking.
I'm not 100% sold yet on the upcoming generation. I don't much like the look of the headlights/front grille area. The big, bold, headlights look better to man than the "squinty" headlights of this new generation. Still, a very, very, sharp looking car. Man, I want to get one of these.
I had a '65 in high school, back in the 70s. I was really happy Ford went back to a retro design for the Mustang, and I'll be sad when they evolve it away from that.
I think they're doing a good job of holding on to some styling cues while modernizing it. Unfortunately if you look at the sales figures and demos for Mustang, Camaro and Challenger over the last five years the whole retro thing has hit a ceiling.
More important than the styling is the promise of the overall quality of the next generation of the car.
More important than the styling is the promise of the overall quality of the next generation of the car.
I think that by and large Ford has always tried to mostly stick to "something" of the Ford's design type of the long hood/engine compartment, a short trunk deck, two doors, arrangement of the grille/headlights and the tail-lights. There's been some tweaks and such here and there but by and large they've tried to stay pretty consistent with the look.
The Mustang II is un-loved, for sure, the "Pinto Mustang" and all that. But the people who still talk about them are mainly car enthusiasts, and their standards are understandably harsh on the '73-'78s. But evaluated in comparison to its contemporaries, it shouldn't come off so bad. The early domestic generation of smaller, more fuel-efficient "import fighters" was, as a rule, shitty. The decision to downsize the Mustang after the bloated '71-'73s was almost certainly the right way to go, but there weren't a lot of options. If the Mustang II hadn't been built on the Pinto platform, it would have been based on the Maverick, which would surely have been no better. Ford had tried to market a peppy small car with a more European feel with the Mercury (German Ford) Capri, but US buyers had were not impressed. Whatever its performance shortcomings, the Mustang II had sporty character and an appealing array of options at a reasonable price -- really just a return to its roots, recent though they were -- and it sold and sold and sold. People loved them. Among my gradeschool friends, the Cobra II on Charlie's Angels was right up there with Corvettes and The Bandit's Trans Am for desirable cars. Without the Mustang II we probably wouldn't have Mustangs today.
Quality... yeah, pretty dismal, but that was endemic for the time.
I agree about the 3rd generation, it did take more positive steps for performance. The SVO, though its turbo four was a different approach from classic American cubic inches, was definitely a sign of serious intentions. One thing that was kind of cool about that generation was you could option the V-8 and other stuff on the base model to get the performance of the GT without paying for all the plastic look-fast pieces.
I thought that might happen. When you've locked in to a certain retro styling concept, there are only so many ways to update it, and it will start looking old faster in comparison with more current styling. In the right window of time, though, they look great.
Then there was this era:
It seems a little strange now to choose a police car where a prisoner has to sit in the front seat, but it was a thing for a while. The first time (of two) I was ever pulled over it was by a late '80s Utah Highway Patrol Mustang.
It's great that one of the classic models of American car is still around to celebrate a 50 year anniversary, and hasn't gone the way of the Thunderbird, the Cougar, the Riviera, the Eldorado and so many others.
