My favorite muscle car. Motor was a 390, balanced and blueprinted by Don Garlits. 465 hp. handled like a dream. Lord I miss that car! I wore out so many back tires...
Posted on 04/08/2014 4:27:41 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
When the Ford Mustang was introduced 50 years ago this month, it was first to break from the gate in a market class that would come to be known as pony cars.
With a long hood and a short rear deck — proportions carried forward by the Chevrolet Camaro, Plymouth Barracuda and many others — the Mustang looked ready to bolt. And bolt it did, as 22,000 wowed Americans placed orders for the car on April 17, according to Ford, the official first day of sales.
Naming the car for a horse proved to be a stroke of marketing genius. Not just any horse, mind you (a car named Clydesdale might never have been so popular) but one that conjured images of rugged wild horses roaming the American West: The drama that imagery invoked was supported by the car’s fresh style and a galloping steed front and center in the grille.
Underneath, the Mustang was essentially Ford’s Falcon, a solid compact that was available with V8 power and a 4-speed manual transmission. Those underpinnings were enough to get the pony car sales competition off to a fast start.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Thanks, very nice article to read with my morning coffee!
My favorite muscle car. Motor was a 390, balanced and blueprinted by Don Garlits. 465 hp. handled like a dream. Lord I miss that car! I wore out so many back tires...
thought this might be a middle-aged Bronies ping...
I do remember the 1964 1/2 Mustang though. A friend bought one of the base models. $2500.00 out the door. In-line 6, three speed transmission with a floor shift, AM push-button radio, no power steering or brakes, no air conditioning, damn little chrome and single stage paint that oxidized badly before he traded in on a Chevelle, if memory serves. That said, I wonder what that little bird disguised as a horse would be worth today.
Had just about everything over the years except a truck.
4 cyl to 8 cyl, autos and sticks. Several cycles.
The most liked
1970 Chevelle SS 350
2008 Honda 1300 VTX Tourer.
Growing up my dad went through three Mustangs; a’66, a ‘67 (both light yellow in color), and a dark blue metallic ‘68 with a white interior. He went through a phase I guess where he always needed/wanted the newest Mustang. Fun and great looking cars. Great memories.
When I was in my 20’s I managed to buy my first new car. It was a white ‘93 LX Mustang, 5.0 5-sp. Bitchin car. I put BBK lowering springs on it, bought wider Goodyears for the rear, added BBK headers and a Magnaflow cat-back exhaust. It was fun as hell and sounded bitchin.
Always been a car guy. For the most part I’ve liked the Mustangs over the years and with the recent retro theme cars (Mustangs, Challengers, Camaros) I do like the new Mustangs. However, the Challenger just does it for me!
In 2005 I switched to Dodge. Bought the wife a black RT Magnum Hemi. She now drives a Jazz Blue ‘13 RT Charger. Bitchin car (376 hp that gets 27 mpg!) Me, I have a Plum Crazy ‘10 Challenger RT 6-speed. Love muscle cars - old and new!
I always wanted a ‘67 fastback - like Steve McQueen drove in “Bullitt”. I came close once but couldn’t swing the financing. I did have a ‘67 coupe....for three days before it was stolen and stripped.
After that I figured it was some kinda karma thing and stuck to Chevy’s ;’)
I thought it would bring back a lot of memories for us old folks.
Thats an awful slow pony...more like 4 seconds ;)
I was a truck guy. Big ford F trucks in the mud and the desert alike...with lots of cubic inches. I miss those days.
Ah my misspent youth...
My first car was a 68 Mustang coupe, 289four speed. I now have a 2001SVT Cobra. I love the Mustang.
You wrote that article?
Yup. Several years worth of’em ;)
love the new challenger....
the charger should have been 2 door and be a retro, so I am not crazy about it...but I did like the magnum station wagon.
my wife has one of the first years of the retro mustangs(06)with v6, it has balls for a 6. the 2015 mustang concepts are real nice looking....
there is talk of a new Barracuda from Chrysler. there are some concept cars suppose to be the new barracuda...what I would do is retro the 67-70 cuda body style....
I still ride my 2003 VTX1800C every day.
Bought it used from a guy in 2008--with only 6500 miles on it.
He still married me.
About the time my High School class members and I were getting our drivers licenses, all of the ‘60’s muscle cars were 4 or 5 years old, and affordable! I never had a muscle car (my ‘61 Chevy Belair only had a 6 cylinder), but many of my friends did.
My brother-in-law still has a 1967 Camaro that was a father-son restoration project. Love that car, always liked the ‘60’s Camaros the best.
I still remember “The Easter Egg Mustangs”. I thought the Mach 1 looked futuristic.
My son and I are working on the 66 coupe that he bought for $250.00 in 1980 while he was in H.S. We have put a 4.6 four cam 32 valve aluminum engine from an 03 Mach 1 in the car. We also put in the 5 speed trans from the 03 and the black leather seats. We also designed a fiberglass hood that has the shaker set up. The car is the original gold color and will have a black stripe when completed. All that stops it from being finished is money.
I now drive an 03 Mach 1. Great car except in winter. It hates snow.
Why celebrate the Mustang, the first actual “Pony car” was the 1962 Studebaker Avanti, long hood, short deck, bucket seats, 289 V-8 like the Mustang, but could be ordered with a supercharger. Studebaker was far ahead of its time! A far more beautiful design IMHO.
what’s this my little pony crap, i’m 77 and never heard of it!
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