Some nice vehicles with plenty of horse power.
Posted on 04/15/2021 4:43:31 PM PDT by Impala64ssa
On this day in 1964, two days before the Ford Mustang was officially supposed to go on sale, one mistakenly left the dealership. The lucky new owner, the first person to buy a Mustang , was Gail Wise, a 22 year old school teacher from Chicago. Her parents let her the money after she landed her new job, but had no way to get to and from the school she was to teach at. She head to a local dealership in search of a convertible. When she expressed her desires she was disheartened to learn no drop tops were in stock. Perhaps seeing her dismay, the salesman told her he had a special surprise and led her to a backroom. Not sketchy at all…
Much to her relief she found a baby blue Ford Mustang convertible. The car had yet to be released to the public, and the salesman knew the sale shouldn’t occur, yet. But what’s a couple days? Gail offered to pay full price for the car, $3,447.50, without even taking it for a test drive. No salesman can say no to that.
Above: Gail’s 1965 Ford Mustang in July 1964 (Wise/Ford). Top: Gail Wise with family and the Mustang in the 1970s. She left to many stares and smiles, as many had never seen the car in concept form or otherwise. It should be said, this was not the first Mustang built, just the first one publicly sold. After the ‘Stang sat for more than 20 years, the car received a full restoration in the early 2000s. Gail, now 78 years old, owns the car to this day.
I bought a 1970 Corvette for $5,885.00. Damn I wish I never sold it!
Compared to a new Mustang:
"The 2021 Ford Mustang starts at $27,155, which is about average for the sports car class. That price tag is for the base fastback (coupe) model; a base Mustang convertible starts at $32,655. --cars.usnews.com"
But the very first Mustang ... ? To the right person, that could be priceless.
She probably would’ve spend less if Daddy had gone with her to negotiate.
That was a good buy for a nice car. And I’m a Ford guy admitting that 283/327 Novas were great.
JFTR, $3,447.50 in 1964 dollars = $29,552.22 in 2021 dollars. A 2021 Mustang convertible has the starting MSRP of $32,655, which is $3,809.46 in 1964 dollars.
Until Shelby got ahold of the Mustang, they were a sporty ride for the ladies.
However, other manufacturers dealt a severe market share drop, responded but it took 2 years from Mustangs Production
Date March 1964 – and Model years starting in 1965. Introduced on April 17, 1964 (16 days after the Plymouth Barracuda), Ford sold over 400,000 units in its first year;
[Wiki] “including the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird[7] (1967), AMC Javelin (1968), and Dodge Challenger[8](1970). The Mustang would also have an effect on designs of coupés worldwide, leading to the marketing of the Toyota Celica and Ford Capri in the United States (the latter, by Lincoln-Mercury). The Mercury Cougar was launched in 1967 as a higher-trim version of the Mustang; during the 1970s, it was repackaged as a personal luxury car.”
ah yeah, then there’s that...
She chose wisely.
We had one. '71 baby blue Beetle. I think it was around $1300.
My dad fought the Germans, but drove Volkswagens the rest of his life. Go figure. I have two Hondas.
Spring of 1963, bought a new ‘63 Impala SS, 327 engine, 4 speed on floor, came with Carter AFB Carb: $3025. Sure wish I had it now.
They sure have devalued the currency !
$2368 FOB was the advertising slogan. That was for a base 3 speed 6 cylinder coupe. I did come standard with some features that a lot of cars didn’t at the time, like fully carpeted and bucket seats.
The mustang was one of those cars with dozens of options and packages. Radios were extra... AM radios.
And engine packages from 6 cylinder to base 2 barrel V-8, 4-barrel V-8 (high compression/premium fuel) up to the famous Hi-Po 289 rated at 271HP.
But year that was a lot for an economy car (marketed as a sports car)
Starting watching the Indy 500 when I was 6 with my Dad and my Great Uncle. Think I’ve seen all since then.
Started going to the race when I was at I.U. Been to 34 races.
Love muscle cars.
“Gail, now 78 years old, owns the car to this day.”
Yes, that is really cool! Thanks Impala for sharing this, I shared it too.
I’m not a car person AT ALL, but I always remember the first Mustang I saw, parked in NYC. Before that the only cars I liked a bit were Volvos and Mercedes Benzes! Still love Volvos but never had one. Yes, I am a girl. Yes, how the car looks is the most important thing to me.
And I wouldn’t have had one of those things if they paid me to take it.
And still wouldn’t.
Older Volvos had a square front. (Had 2.)
Easier to judge how to pull into a parking space.
My Dad fought the Japanese, but bought one of the first Toyotas when they came out in 1967 or so. Before that, he bought a VW Bug in 1959 before they became popular.
I bought that 36 hp VW from him in 1968 for $200 and drove it for 10 years. Fixed it up and sold it for $800. Now that vintage year VW is going for over $20,000.
“Easier to judge how to pull into a parking space.”
Oh yes! I liked my Dodge Dakota pick up truck for that too.
Wish I hadn't back in 1974 when they brought out the second generation mustang2. The way underpowered 2.3L engine could barely drag the 500lb lighter car up hills. I gave up and traded it back off after 500 miles.
First car was a used 1966 mustang I bought for $700. It had 53,000 miles on it. I got rid of it 15 years later it had 223,000 miles on it.
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