Car Fans Gather to Celebrate Mustang's 40th Anniversary

AP ^ | April 16, 2004

[nuconvert]

Car Fans Gather to Celebrate Mustang's 40th Anniversary

By Scott Reeves

Apr 16, 2004

Associated Press Writer

GLADEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Craig Hutain has spent $17,000 and put in about 1,500 hours over the past four years restoring the original look of his 1965 Mustang - right down to the "springtime yellow" paint and tachometer mounted on the steering column. Hutain, who bought the Mustang while in high school, is one of thousands of Mustang owners gathering this weekend near Nashville to celebrate the car's 40th anniversary.

The Mustang made its debut April 17, 1964 at the World's Fair in New York. Since then, about 8 million people have bought one.

Hutain, 44, a commercial pilot from Montgomery, Texas, considers his work a "tasteful restoration." His long-suffering wife, Lori, would say only, "It takes a lot of patience."

The Mustang was devised by Lee Iacocca, then Ford division chief, and product manager Donald Frey. The early models were little more than Ford's family sedan, the Falcon, with a new body.

But the car's image appealed to performance enthusiasts, and the Mustang became an American icon.

Frey, now 81, attended the Nashville event and signed autographs like a rock star. One man proclaimed him a "true genius" - an accolade that drew a snort from Frey.

"The original team didn't have a lot of people or money," he said. "We did everything on the cheap. ... The first car had only one light that flashed when the turn indictor was on."

Frey said the first Mustang rolled out only 18 months after getting the go-ahead from top management.

"I remember that we hoped to sell 86,000 units because we made a little money at that level," he said. "We sold over 400,000 in the first year and more than a million in the second."

Frey now teaches engineering at Northwestern University, and his students frequently ask how he launched the Mustang.

"I tell them to understand their market," Frey said. "It's important to know what people want."

But Ford launched the Mustang with little market research. Names considered for the new car included Cheetah, Puma, Cougar, Colt and Special Falcon.

Joseph Oros, now 87, set the design standards for the Mustang.

"I told the team that I wanted the car to appeal to women, but I wanted men to desire it, too," he said. "I wanted a Ferrari-like front end, the motif centered on the front - something heavy-looking like a Maseratti, but, please, not a trident - and I wanted air intakes on the side to cool the rear brakes. I said it should be as sporty as possible and look like it was related to European design."

A 1965 ad for the Mustang called it "a car to make weak men strong, strong men invincible."

Paul J. Russell, the current marketing manager for the Mustang, said a new V-6 lists at less than $20,000 and a loaded GT Coupe sells for slightly more than $30,000.

It sells well among baby boomers, but also among people younger than 30, Russell said. And about half its buyers are women.

"The car is more about 'psychographics' than demographics," Russell said.

Hau Thai-Tang, 37, chief engineer for the current Mustang, got his first look at the car as a child in Vietnam where it served as a prop at USO shows.

"When you look at the 2005 car, you can see the family resemblance, but it's also a new car," he said. "We went through our rich history and looked at what worked and what didn't. We quickly focused on the 1967-1968 models to draw inspiration from."

Hutain's 1965 Mustang had about 126,000 miles on it when he started the restoration. He's added just a few because he rarely drives it on city streets. He and his wife towed it on a trailer from Texas to the Nashville Superspeedway.

"When I wash the tires, I take the wheels off," he said. "My car has never had a hose on it."

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Can you still buy gasoline out there ?

[nuconvert]

Nice!

[Charles Martel]

[Charles Martel]

Yeah, I like the '05 model, too. All the best styling cues of the '67-'70 models. They kept the appearance of the production version amazingly close to that of the "concept" vehicle that first hit the car shows last year.

With Carroll Shelby wearing Ford blue once again, we might well see a new Shelby Mustang based on the new car. That'd sure be sweet.

[motzman]

The 1987 Mustang GT. Got mine new in the late spring of 1987 for about 15K. Traded in my 1984 Dodge Daytona Turbo, which I thought was fast, for this absolute monster. If I didn't get this car, I was going to get a Honda Hurricane mortorcycle, so dad helped me out. Didn't want me to get killed, was his thinking...

Getrag 5-speed, 225bhp, 300 ft-lbs of tourque. 77mph in second gear--chirped the tires (loud) in third gear. A blue streak was all any Camaro or Firebird saw as I shot past; if I slowed down I gave 'em a nice look at the louvered tail-lights. There were very few of these on the road at the time, and they were MUCH faster than the 86's 5.0's.

Going down the Garden State Parkway to Seaside in the summer was like an hour and a half Le Mans race. Vette drivers usually wouldn't push their rides, and Grand Nationals would fade away after about 100mph. The Starions / Conquests got blown into the weeds.

On July 3rd of 1988 I wrecked the beast while eluding a State Trooper on Rt 78 in New Jersey. It was a fluke--but when you roll the dice a lot, eventually you come up with snake eyes. Luckily, no one got hurt. 143MPH in a 55MPH zone they said. Lotsa trouble for me. But, that's the stupid things you do when you're 20 years old and think you're invincible.

Since that date, I've never had a speeding ticket--because I simply do not speed. It's not worth it. No way, no how, no sir!


Someday soon, I will get another Mustang...and enjoy slowly cruising it 'round town.

[LisaMalia]

I got my first car from my parents in 1972 when I turned 16. It was a '68 Camaro, royal blue with a black vinyl top. Athough I never "opened it up", I would let my boyfriends drive it and one of them had it doing 110 on a straight stretch. There I was in the passenger seat trying to act all cool, and I was scared whitless!

Anyway, my dream car has always been a Mustang, and when I next buy a new car, that's what it will be for me!

[hayburner]

"Can you still buy gasoline out there ?"

Down two cents today from yesterday. Cheapest for the cheapest - today $2.15, yesterday $2.17. Mostly about a dime more.

[laker_dad]

My first car in 1973 was a 1967 Powder Blue Mustang with a 6 banger. We bought it for $100, and nick-named it the "Rust-tang". Did some major body work with galvenized sheet metal, roofing tar and concrete. Then mounted an old hood ornament on it & had a blast cruising thru the Michigan winter. Ahh the memories...

[HairOfTheDog]

Pony ping.

[GraceCoolidge]

I saw the Ford GT at an auto show and amazing is the word for it... they are expecting to sell it, I believe, for around $200K.

[LisaMalia]

Ahh the memories...

Indeed. Whatever happened to those days? We blinked our eyes, and they were over. Back then your biggest worry was what to wear to the dance on Saturday night. Well, from a woman's perspective that is! Although I remember my big brother getting pretty spiffed up for those things as well, and "bathing" in Hai Karate aftershave....:)

[LibKill]

I had a '68 once, with a tricked out engine (tricked out by former owner).

Life was good.

Nowadays I drive a Chevy Pickup.

Life is good.

[blackie]

$2.15 a gal ~ I paid $1.87 a gal for 92 octane to fill my SVT Lightning:

[Leroy S. Mort]

The Mort-Mobile....

[nuconvert]

Very Nice

[motzman]

Anyway, my dream car has always been a Mustang, and when I next buy a new car, that's what it will be for me!

One of the things I'll never forget about the Mustang was when you got it up around 110+, when the windows were rolled (well, powered) all the way up, the pressure from the air turbulence was so great that it would suck the windows out of the track and create an eerie "whistling" sound....

And this car did not have airbags or ABS brakes (not offered at the time)

[Feiny]

[DryFly]

Ponies pale in comparison to:

[motzman]

[Mr. Mojo]