Thread: Happy 50th BD, Ford Mustang

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For those that weren't there it may seem hard to believe, but the dealer release of the first Mustang REALLY brought the crowds into the dealerships. I went down to Canoga Park Ford that fateful day, and left without seeing much because the crowd around the car was so thick. A few days later it was much easier.

When I rotated back from the jungles in late '68 I got quite the surprise. My 50ish mother had traded her '61 Falcon for a Tan '67 2+2 A code automatic. Fun car to drive.............til she totaled it!

Fast forward to 2003 when the first auto show prototypes of the current version were revealed..........I fell in love (or was it lust?) immediately. At the 2004 SEMA show they had it on a rotating platform and I must have stood there for at least 1/2 an hour soaking in every line (even got annoyed at the hot model when she would block my sight line). The styling ques that called back to the '67-70 models were quite clear. You knew who the target market was. The hook was set. 2005 stepped up to a Saleen modified model.........what a joy!

Following Roger's link I see that Ford is moving on..........or more correctly, time has moved on, and while they're probably shooting at the same demographic window, those of us in that range 10 years ago, have fallen out of the parameters. That said, I like it! Somewhat like the Porsche designers have done over the years, they've done a nice job of updating styling without gutting the traditional form. The quarters have sort of a modern Camaro vibe to them, but without the too high side delivery.

Side note: I thought Mike would have to come to the defense of his beloved MII, gotta appreciate your loyalty bud. But I know you know that many of us think of those as Pintos in drag.......................sorry.

Originally Posted by rspears

Yeah, I agree, they're pushing the date based on the model year. Recall those first models were advertised as 64 1/2's, because back then the new models always were announced in the early Fall, generally mid-September if memory serves....

I believe you're right, Roger. In 1962 my former employer (Braniff Airways) offered me a great opportunity to go live in New York City.

Well, actually they couldn't find anybody else dumb enough to go there.

The New York's World's Fair started in April of 1964 and the Mustang was introduced at that time and place. I lived near Flushing Meadows where the
fair was located and was able to go and gawk several times.

If anybody saw the pictures, I was that grinning skinny dude with big feet standing near the rear of the crowd.

Another interesting car shown was a turbine powered Dodge sedan. It had it's own tight little track that it circled constantly. It didn't whine or stink or do anything to indicate that it was anything but a plain ol' Dodge.

Jim


Jim

I think somewhere someone typed v6 in regards to the 170 ci inline 6cy that was offered in 64. Later to be replaced with the 200 6cyl that was in my Mom's first Mustang in 1969. I found a great web page of posted info about the 1964 Mustangs and they said 170 v6 was the u coded engine. Yet there are no records I can find of a v-6 170 ci engine, just inline 6cyl. A classic example of don't trust what you read as fact on the internet.
1964 1/2 Ford Mustang Engine Specifications | eHow

Boy the site is glitchy had to erase a double posting here. I always love threads about the old mustangs, though I really do like the current body style, I think the 2015 is trying to incorperate a bit to much austin martin in the design

Steve, those pictures you posted must be a concept car that they used for design development. It's pretty sexy, but it doesn't really resemble the model that will be in the dealer showrooms very closely. Look back at the link in post #7 to see the Ford "Reveal" photos. It's also interesting to note that while they've "Revealed" the 2015 Mustang, and are hyping it as the 50th Anniversary Model, the fine print on the Ford site clearly says,

Available late 2014. Preproduction vehicles shown. See your dealer for availability in your market.

I expect that the dealers will be taking orders, and that they will be getting sticker, or even sticker plus for the early deliveries. A lot of the photos are linked and can't be copied, but here's one for comparison to what Steve posted:

2015-ford-mustang-front.jpg

Got a Ford dealer in Vegas that's trying to get me to buy a new mustang from him right now.
I was looking last year for a new car and the guy kept lie ing to me so I ended up buying my Dodge ram with a hemi.
Now Ford wants to know why I didn't buy from them last year.
I told them that after talking to the sale's men I drove all the way in to Vegas {3 hours round trip} just
to find out he didn't have the car he said he did. After doing that twice I got pissed and bought a Dodge.
Now I have this guy named Al from Ford Motor Company customer relations that wants to know who where and when.
After a year I can't remember the guy's name anymore and the paper with all the info probably got thrown out by the wife.
I told him we will just hold on to our 07 Mustang GT with under 12,000 miles on it for a while now.
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