About the Mustang, I remember seeing the then brand new Mustang at the NY World’s Fair. Sure seemed like a car Mickey Mantle would drive to me. Don’t remember any female marketing, except maybe the glamor girls that always surrounded it in ads.
Initially, The target buyer was air line stewardesses/Mary Tyler Moore types. That is, young, vibrant women with pouting, small... (ooops. That was a bit too far).
Ford has long targeted young women with Mustang ads, going all the way back to '66 or so, with the "Six and the Single Girl" ad. Meanwhile, men were targeted with Mustang ads touting V-8 power, four-speed transmissions, and sporty handling.
It worked like a charm; countless secretaries bought base-model 6-cylinder and V8 coupes - and men bought GT, Mach 1, Boss and Shelby models (because of the glamour girls and tire smoke in the ads).
There were fewer car makes and models from which to choose in the mid-'60s, so the "chick car" issue filtered down to the sub-model and optional equipment levels. As for the new Mustang, the same scenario seems to hold - women are seen more often driving the V6 cars, while GTs are more popular with men.
In general, the higher the horsepower, the more likely it is that the purchaser will be male.
I now own a black 300C. Open the hood and all you see is a 350 horse Hemi. I know there are batteries and radiators and fan belts under there somewhere. But all you see is that Hemi taking up the whole thing. I feel very manly pulling into the gas station every 5 days and paying $50. And its got wood finish all over the interior. Women don't do wood finish in cars.