Posted on 10/05/2004 9:41:38 AM PDT by yankeedame
Can the Pony Ride Again?
Jerry Flint,
10.18.04, 12:00 AM ET
Remember 1965? We had Vietnam and watts, free love, Vatican II, the Beatles, Joan Baez. And we had the Mustang. Back then cars were really important, and the Ford 1965 Mustang, introduced at the New York World's Fair in April 1964, created a wave of car excitement in America never seen before or since. The Mustang and its evangelist, Lee Iacocca, were on the covers of Time and Newsweek the same week.
Mustang made Iacocca the most famous executive in America. Later he was president of Ford and then savior of Chrysler, but above all, he was the Mustang man.
Mustang had a personality. It wasn't "longer, lower, wider," the Detroit mantra back then. It had no tail fins. It was no Grand Prix racer, and it couldn't carry six bags of fertilizer for the new lawn.
Iacocca had discovered a great secret. We wanted our cars to be fun. They didn't have to be perfect. They just had to be fun, and the Mustang brought fun back to the American street.
Ford sold 542,000 through the end of 1965. Only the big pickups sell more today. Other pony cars came and went: Chevy's Camaro and Pontiac Firebird, the Plymouth Barracuda and American Motors' Javelin, but nothing--from Detroit or Japan or Germany--ever caught Mustang.
Eventually Ford mucked it up. There were fat Mustangs and even ugly Mustangs. Once Ford executives tried to kill the pony, and an honest-to-God citizens' revolt forced them to keep it.
Now here comes a new Mustang, available mid-October. I was told that on the first day design chief J Mays gathered his staff, someone suggested a research effort to find out what to build. And Mays said something like, "No studies. If we don't know what a Mustang is, we should be working someplace else."
The new Mustang looks like a Mustang. It's got two terrific new engines, a six-cylinder with 210 horsepower and a V-8 with 300, and they both go like stink. The interior is lots better than the old one.
Problems? Well, I think the interior and the dash should have used more color, and the instruments are really hard to see in bright sunlight.
But the real threat to Mustang's future success is the conflict between the buyers and the builders. The Mustang is a "girl's car." Most Mustangs had six cylinders, and many buyers have been women. Why? Because it was a good-looking car for not much money, and young women had good taste and not much money. But the boys who built it wanted it hot, with bigger V-8s and more speed. They called the car the Boss, the Cobra, the Mach 1. More weight and cost chased away the customers who bought the car.
Could it happen again? Absolutely. The designers can't wait to turn up the power.
At least Iacocca knew he needed a low price--$2,368 was the base. The new 2005 Mustang starts at $19,410 for the V-6 coupe at 210hp (the '65 had 101). The V-8, with 300hp, starts at $25,000, and you can run it up to $30,000 with extras. These are reasonable base prices, too, but Ford has to be careful it doesn't fill the dealers' lots with option-laden models that cost too much and turn off potential customers. (That's what Chrysler did initially with its Pacifica.)
So how many will Ford sell? Not as many as in 1965, but more than the 140,000 sold last year. They are built in a factory just outside Dearborn, Mich. that also makes Mazdas. So figure 150,000 Mustangs can be built on two shifts with no overtime. Ford could probably sell 200,000 if it can build them.
The beginning paragraph of that Time magazine cover story 40 years ago told of Iacocca rolling through suburban Detroit in an unmarked preproduction model. But people knew what it was. The driver of a Volkswagen gave it the V-for-victory sign. The driver of a Chevy Impala pulled up and mouthed through closed windows, "Is that it?" The white car approached a school bus, the windows flew up, and the children inside chanted "Mustang! Mustang! Mustang!"
Well, this isn't 1964, and we don't get that excited about cars anymore. But this new one is a Mustang for sure, and it might just be the car that makes driving fun again. One more thing: This pony isn't German or Japanese. It's pure Detroit.
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Jerry Flint, a former Forbes Senior Editor, has covered the automobile industry since 1958. Visit his homepage at www.forbes.com/flint.
I was hopeful that the new GTO might be nice, but it just does nothing for me.
Actually, I haven't liked the Vette body line for quite a few years. They looked like a Pontiac Firebird, or a Chevy Camero. It was hard to tell them apart. I had restored a 72 Stingray Corvette and I'm soooo sorry I ever sold it. It was the last year of the chrome bumper on the front and back.
I haven't paid that much attention to other cars since I became an SUV driver. I've really enjoyed both of the Explorers that I've owned, but if I were to move back to Albuquerque, I'd buy a new Vette.
He was responsible for the development of the original Mustang up through the Mustang II's. Iacocca worked at Ford from the late 1947-ish until he was fired in 1978.
The one that I sat in seemed nice and comfortable, and everything seemed to be layed out OK. Your right the T-Bird has been nixed again. Too much money for an underpowered 2 seater. Why my parents still want one, I don't know!
Now that is really weird.
A friend of mine has had FORD trucks and loves them, hasn't ever had a problem with them.
Their passenger cars he's had extremely poor experiences with, spits whenever he sees one.
The missus was looking into buying a 96 Mercury Couger V6, but was warned off of it.
Was told that the transmission likes to overheat in some of them.
(It was a nice looking car too, no rust anywhere, very clean, and a nice medium grey color with thin black pinstriping.)
I've had better luck with VW's than I've had with FORDs.
Did have a Subaru stationwagon for a bit, but it burned a valve and started stalling at speed.
(Doing 55 and having the engine stop was quite an experience.)
Same transmission and no problems.
That is truly weird.
My brother had a Taurus and wanted to shoot the darn thing with a howitzer.
looks cool (for a ford!)
I hated fords all my life, BUT...nowadays, it's more so:
Friends don't let friends drive imports!!!!!!!!
There have been problems reported with this transmission, to be sure. I don't know about Ford, but Mazda recommends a full transmission fluid flush and replacement every 30K, which I have faithfully performed. PITA, but it seems like cheap insurance.
Wait a year, current owners will be selling soon.
Too bad GM doesn't spend a few more bucks on the Northstar engine. I had a 97 Aurora and always thought this mill was flawless. 25 miles per gallon and plenty of power.
Mine to, a 1965 Mustang convertible w/ a 289 Hi-Po. I had to use a tractor to pull it out of a field where it had sat for two years. When I finally got it started, it hit 80 mph in 2nd gear. I paid $120.00 for it.
SIGH.
Probably refers to the Rouge plant on Wyoming Ave. in Detroit, not Flat Rock.
J. Mays? Life is funny you know. This is the guy who brought back the modern incarnation of the popular and much loved Beetle. And now he's brought back the Mustang! How often can you have a back to back triumph in bringing back TWO cars Americans love? Well, it looks like he's done it. Mustang sales should pick up once the new model hits Ford dealers and brings back the fun into driving an American car!
Your exactly right. The same thing goes for anyone looking to buy a pre-2005 Mustang. Once the new one hits, the bottom will drop out on the 1999-04 body styles and will be dirt cheap.
Your exactly right. The same thing goes for anyone looking to buy a pre-2005 Mustang. Once the new one hits, the bottom will drop out on the 1999-04 body styles and will be dirt cheap.
And I love Mustangs. But I'll not be buying one even though the bodystyle is much, much better. Putting that little engine in the car is an absolute shame
99% of lawyers make the rest look bad.
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