Ford Mustang

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 57. Chapters: Ford Mustang variants, Shelby Mustang, Bullitt, Ford Mustang SVT Cobra, Ford Mustang Mach 1, Ford Mustang SSP, Boss 302 Mustang, California Special Mustang, Ford Mustang I, Eleanor, Ford Mustang SVO, Ford Mustang FR500, Boss 429, Giugiaro Ford Mustang. Excerpt: The first-generation Ford Mustang is the original pony car, manufactured by Ford Motor Company from 1964 until 1973. Initially introduced as a hardtop and convertible, with the fastback version put on sale following year. At the time of its introduction the Mustang, sharing its underpinnings with Falcon, was slotted into a compact car segment. With each revision the Mustang saw an increase in overall dimensions and in engine power. As a result, by 1971 the Mustang had entered the muscle car segment. After an initial surge, sales were steadily declining and Ford began working on a new generation Mustang. When the oil crisis hit in 1973 Ford was prepared, having already designed the smaller Mustang II. This car had no common components with preceding models. As Lee Iacocca's assistant general manager and chief engineer, Donald N. Frey, was the head engineer for the Mustang project - supervising the development of the Mustang in a record 18 months - while Iacocca himself championed the project as Ford Division general manager. The Mustang prototype was a two-seat, mid-mounted engine roadster, styled in part by Phil Clark. Stylist John Najjar, in a 1984 interview with David R. Crippen, archivist of the Henry Ford Museum spoke about the genesis of the two-seat prototype: The Mustang I was later remodeled as a four-seat car styled under the direction of Project Design Chief Joe Oros and his team of L. David Ash, Gale Halderman, and John Foster - in Ford's Lincoln-Mercury Division design studios, which produced the winning design in an intramural design contest instigated by Iacocca. The design team had been given five goals for the design of the Mustang: it would seat four, have bucket seats and a floor mounted shifter, weigh no more than 2500 pounds and be no more than 180 inches in length, sell for less than $2500, and have multiple power, comfort and luxury options. Having set the design standards for the Mustang, Oros said: Oros added: L. David Ash is often credited w