Mustang and the Pony Car Revolution

Michael W. R. Davis

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9781467111522
• eBook ISBN:
  9781439642627
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

There have been few cars that ignited the public's interest as much as the Ford Mustang. Introduced at the opening of the New York World's Fair in April 1964, the Mustang was based on mechanicals from the earlier Ford Falcon compact car; it quickly established a new motorcar category which was widely copied by domestic and overseas competitors--the "pony car." From the outset, the Mustang represented inspired product planning and design, followed by brilliantly executed marketing. Ford's Mustang team effort used every tool in the vehicle-marketing toolbox: clever teases long before the new product went on sale, unprecedented publicity, simple but effective advertising, the stage at the World's Fair, movie placement, distribution of toy plastic models, and even a replica pedal car for the young drivers of the future. With a measure of luck, it became a classic case of releasing the right product at the right time, and Ford sold one million units in less than two years. Even today, the Mustang is held high as a symbol of American design, engineering, and the freewheeling American spirit.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Mustang Prewar Predecessors: 1924–1942
• 2. Mustang Postwar Predecessors: 1945–1960
• 3. Pre-Introduction Mustang Teasers: 1961–1964
• 4. Mustang Launch: April 1964
• 5. Mustang Rollout: to 1966
• 6. Pony Cars and Muscle Cars: 1964–1974
• 7. Generation Two Pinto-Based Mustang II: 1974–1978
• 8. Generation Three Fox Mustangs: 1979–1993
• 9. Generation Four New Edge Mustangs: 1994–2004
• 10. Generations Five and Six Millennial Mustangs: 2005–2015
• Bibliography