If you wanted to be modern during the mid-century years, you could have almost anything your heart desired. Modern houses, modern furniture, modern dishes- even clothes like nothing Mama ever wore. A family could have an entirely modern life, with one exception- the family car. For all the tailfins and two-toning of Fifties automobiles, the car’s function was the same as it had been for decades- it was meant to carry a family in formal, ritual style. Fifties mass-market cars looked like a lot more fun than they actually were; once you got past the glitzy styling, you might as well have been driving a
Change was needed, and it began with the impetus Detroit fears most- consumer backlash against existing models. In 1958, something unheard-of happened when the new models were unveiled: they were mocked, scorned, laughed at. Too big, too bulky, too gaudy, too shoddily built, the cars were so out of touch with consumer needs that the resulting downturn in sales spurred a recession. Not coincidentally, 1958 was the year the unassuming, cheap-to-buy Volkswagen made huge inroads with buyers who wanted transportation and function, not status. The VW’s success was so dramatic that Detroit’s Big Three decided they could do small cars, too.
There were signs that buyers wanted some real pizzazz mixed with economy, and were willing to pay for it. The Corvair Monza, with a stick shift and some handling upgrades, was a favorite of young drivers who couldn’t afford Corvettes, despite the hard-to-service engine. Ford itself had a sporty model, the Falcon Futura. Never as desirable as the Monza, the Futura was “sporty” mainly by virtue of its vinyl bucket seats. Seeing customers come into showrooms to look at the Futura, then leave empty-handed, was puzzling to Ford at first. Clearly the customer wanted something that wasn’t being offered, but what? Ford found its answer at auto shows. Every car company toured “experimental” and “dream” cars throughout the country, more to drum up excitement for existing models than through any real desire to give consumers the cars being shown. Occasionally, dream cars did hit enough of a nerve that manufacturers hastened to give drivers a watered-down version, like the Mercury X-100 that became the 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser. GM had used its Autorama series of shows to introduce dream cars that were exaggerated versions of cars actually being planned, to condition customers into acceptance of new styling themes. Beginning in 1962, Ford sent a “concept car” called the Mustang to shows, and the response told them everything they needed to know. What the customer was looking for was a dramatic, modern shape; Futura’s problem was in its bland, loaf-of-white-bread styling. The Mustang’s long hood and short rear deck gave it a European flair, managing to look purposeful and elegant at the same time. Auto-show attendees flocked around the car so much, Ford began to see if a production version would be feasible. A Ford management group headed by Lee Iacocca (later to gain fame as the man who brought Chrysler out of its 1980’s bankruptcy), green-lighted and funded the job of turning a dream car into a real car.
The development program began with two hard-and-fast parameters: the target price was $2500, and the car had to be built with as many off-the-shelf parts as possible. Ford stylist Joe Oros was given the job of turning the dream car’s styling into something that could be produced at a price, yet retain the original’s excitement. He collaborated with another Ford stylist, Dave Ash, on a clay model that was amazingly close to the final car; a few curves were toned down for cost control, and a few louvers eliminated for a cleaner look. Once the final body was decided on, the car’s engineering was taken care of in very short order; the management group’s demand for off-the-shelf components paid huge dividends. Most of the car’s running gear came from the Falcon; what was yawn-provoking on the earlier car got a whole new feel on the sportier body of the Mustang, with its lower center of gravity.
The modern age of automobiles began on April 17th, 1964, in a most appropriate place- the 1964-65 World’s Fair. Ford president Henry Ford II unveiled the car at the Ford Pavilion, to enormous press and public interest; 22,000 were sold the first day. At first, it was feared that might have been a fluke, but it turned out to be the beginning of a huge love affair with the car- within two years, one million Mustangs had been produced and sold. The car was an excellent value; not only was the base price of $2385 lower than the target price of $2500 had been, every Mustang buyer got an all-vinyl interior (an option on most cars of the time), as well as full wheelcovers instead of cheap hubcaps. Reliability was assured by the re-use of proven engines and transmissions. Ford had finally figured out what the customer wanted- a combination of sportiness, economy, luxury, and endless personal choices. Most cars fell into a defined niche- the luxury coupe, the family sedan, the station wagon- and their essential character was the same no matter what the customer did or did not choose from the options list. The Mustang approach was vastly different- the car could be whatever you wanted it to be. The base model with its little inline Six and three-speed manual transmission looked sleek, but was actually an econobox beloved of schoolteachers and office clerks. Customers ordering the fancy two-toned Pony interior, a V-8, and air-conditioning got a poor man’s Thunderbird. People who wanted performance as hot as the car’s looks could have that, too, with a list of performance engines and options that grew every year. The first season’s quirks were quietly addressed- among them a tendency to brake fade- and the concept expanded for 1965. A sloping “fastback” roof was grafted to the standard body to produce the 2+2 model, and disc brakes were later added for those customers who wanted to pay extra for more stopping power. Racing king Carroll Shelby decided the car was a perfect platform for a racer, and his wins resulted in an invitation from Ford to assist in building a production version, the GT350. One of the first “conversion” cars ever offered by a major manufacturer, the GT350 began as a standard Mustang shipped to Shelby with a 289 c.i.d. V-8 engine; racing parts like a fiberglass hood and modified suspension were added by the Shelby crew. The concept was so popular, Hertz Rent-A-Car requested 1000 somewhat toned-down GT350’s for its rental fleet, hoping to attract younger customers. They got them: the Hertz cars had to be retired after a year of staggering losses incurred when those new customers professed to have no idea why the tires that had been new on Friday afternoon were in shreds on Monday morning.
Most cars got new options every year or two; Mustang got them much oftener, with Ford adding more performance and more luxury every few months. By 1966, the Mustang was the car that Fifties buyers would have killed for- sporty, even raffish, but with solid Detroit practicality built in. If that meant that the styling was more advanced than the technology under the hood, nobody cared: the car was not only America’s idea of a dream car, it was a dependable dream car. A million sales in two years was something that made competitors want to sit down to the table, and they did, beginning with the 1967 introduction of the General Motors competition, Chevy’s Camaro and Pontiac’s Firebird. Not quite as successful as the Mustang, the GM twins did very well, nonetheless. Chrysler tried to hedge its bets on entering the new “youth market” by putting a fastback body on the Valiant and calling it the Barracuda. The styling was uninspired, but the powerful Hemi (hemispherical-head) engine that was available gave the ‘Cuda its own legion of fans. In 1970, Chrysler finally went whole hog with a new, rakish Barracuda body similar to the Mustang / Camaro look, and threw in a Dodge version called the Challenger for good measure. Even little American Motors got into the act with a 2+2 car called the Javelin and a two-seater version called the AMX. Both cars were cleanly styled and hot performers, but nothing to make the Big Three worry. Knowing that GM would have all-new cars in showrooms in 1967, Ford revamped the Mustang for the new model year, reskinning the car extensively for a more hulking look. More comfort and convenience options were introduced; the car was now not only an alternative to Thunderbird, insouciance with the options list could bring it close to Thunderbird’s price. Ford also developed a Mustang clone for its Lincoln-Mercury Division, called the Cougar, giving it a much more upscale interior in genuine leather, and European-style “batwing” switches on its dash.
By 1968, the genre was called the “pony car”, in obvious tribute to the car that had started it all, but there were already signs that all was not well. Manufacturers were ignoring the fact that the lightweight cars performed quite adequately with even their smallest engines, and were stuffing larger and larger powerplants into them, in response to what can only be termed a “size matters” mentality among male customers. Highly dangerous power-to-weight ratios were the result: when it was said that one of these cars could fly, it wasn’t necessarily a figure of speech. Accident, injury and death statistics for the cars became staggering in proportion to their numbers on the road, and finally, the insurance industry put its foot down. By 1970, insurers were charging astronomical rates to insure pony cars with the larger engines; a few wouldn’t touch them at all. Lack of insurability was bad enough, but new Federal emissions standards and an oil crisis also mandated the end of the horsepower race. After 1974, Chrysler and AMC had dropped their pony cars entirely, and GM cut the performance of the Camaro and Firebird to a fraction of former levels. Ford developed an all-new Mustang, called Mustang II, in an attempt to reinstate some of the virtues of the original car. Introduced in 1974, it was smaller than any Mustang had been since 1967, leaner, trimmer, intended to give peppy performance on a smaller engine. It even looked more like the original than any Mustang since 1969, when a massive restyling had resulted in an oversized, boatlike, unsporty car. But the thrill was gone; the new model was never the sensation the first Mustang had been. Today, the Mustang is back in the position it enjoyed in its first two years- it’s not only the leading pony car, it’s once again the only pony car. GM dropped the Camaro / Firebird twins in 2003, leaving the field to its originator. America’s love affair with the original Mustang continues unabated; a well-restored example from the first two years can easily fetch $25,000- more for Shelbys and convertibles. Adjusted for inflation, many of these cars fetch twice as much as they did when new, delighting a whole new generation that wasn’t even born when the cars were built. Even better, they’re not viewed as “cool old cars” to be shown and garaged; their contemporary feel, dependability and lasting quality makes them a common sight on the road- nearly forty years after Introduction Day. There was a lot of Mid-Century futurism that never went anywhere, mostly for good and sufficient reason. But the original Mustang- 1964’s “Car of the Future”- has actually lasted into the future, being driven further into it every passing year, with no end in sight. As long as there’s a road, there’s a Mustang headed towards tomorrow.
Ford ™, Mercury ™, Mustang ™, Mustang II ™, GT350 ™, Thunderbird ™, Falcon ™, Futura ™, and Cougar ™ are automotive trademarks of Ford Motor Company.
GM ™, Chevrolet ™, Chevy ™, Pontiac ™, Camaro ™, Firebird ™, Nomad ™, Corvair ™, Monza ™ and Safari ™ are automotive trademarks of General Motors Corporation.
Chrysler ™, Dodge ™, Valiant ™, Barracuda ™, ‘Cuda ™, Challenger ™, American Motors ™, AMC ™, Javelin ™, and Hemi ™ are automotive trademarks of DaimlerChrysler.
Shelby ® is a trademark of Shelby Automobiles, Inc.
Hertz ® is a trademark of The Hertz Corporation.
American International Pictures ® is a trademark of American International Pictures.
SOURCES
The Website of the Ford Motor Company, www.ford.com
The Website of Mid-County Classic Mustang, http://www.midcomustang.com/mustanghistory.html
Populuxe, by Thomas Hine. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1987.
Various Ford Motor Company print ads from 1964 to the present, author’s collection.
Various General Motors print ads from 1967, author’s collection.
Various Chrysler print ads from 1970-1974, author’s collection.
Various AMC print ads from 1968-1973, author’s collection.
The author wishes to thank whoever was driving that yellow 1964 ½ Mustang parked in front of the Orchard Knob Recreation Center in May of 1964. That was my first look at the legend up close, and I’m forever grateful.
The First Modern Car: Ford’s Original Mustang |
