Contributed by Russ Muller Photography
The Ford Mustang, released on April 17, 1964 at the New York World’s Fair, started a revolution. The “Pony Car Revolution” began when Ford took the tried-and-true Falcon underpinnings and added a stylish, sporty body. Ford had initial sales goals of 100,000 Mustangs annually. In the first year they sold 400,000, and within two years had sold 1,000,000. The 10-millionth Mustang was produced in 2018. Mustang is Ford’s longest model in continuous production, and is the last surviving American pony car. TV and movies have turned several Mustangs into icons. Who can forget the green Mustang from “Bullitt”, or Eleanor from “Gone in 60 Seconds” or Farrah Fawcett and her white Cobra II from “Charlie’s Angels” …
This is a 1965 hardtop that I photographed a while back. With a base price of $2,372, it was the lowest-priced body style available. Options on this car include the 225 horsepower 289 cubic inch V-8 with 4-barrel, Cruise-O-Matic 3-speed automatic transmission, air conditioning, power steering, Rally Pac clock/tachometer, Special Handling Package (heavy duty front/rear springs, larger diameter front/rear sway bars, heavy duty shocks), 14” styled steel wheels, seat belts, tinted windshield, padded visors, and reverse lights. Aftermarket additions to this car include an aluminum radiator, aluminum intake manifold, and some engine dress-up items (valve covers, air cleaner). At some point in time (I’d guess the late ‘70’s or early ‘80’s) an AM/FM cassette deck replaced the original AM radio.
The Mustang is currently in its 7th generation, also known as the S650 platform and offers either a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine or Coyote V-8. Ford leadership has publicly stated that they will continue to offer V-8 powered Mustangs “as long as God and the politicians let us,” so it’s safe to say that the last American pony car isn’t going away any time soon. And that’s a good thing…
