The Ford Mustang is America’s iconic muscle car. This year marks the 60th anniversary of its release. Muscle car refers to an American two-door high-performance vehicle. It features a comfort-oriented chassis and a large-displacement V8 engine.
When the Mustang was first released in 1964, it was nicknamed the “Pony Car” for its smaller body and slimmer design than existing muscle cars. It enjoyed extreme popularity, selling 300,000 units in eight months.
The Mustang, which made its mark in automotive history, has seen declining sales as the market for high-performance muscle cars has shrunk since the 2000s. Currently, the number of units sold each year is less than 1/ 10 compared to that of the 1960s, when it was at the height of its popularity. However, it is still firmly established as an icon of American car culture and is one of the few internal combustion engine sports cars to feature a V8 engine and manual transmission.
Mustang, which has maintained its 60-year history, has applied a variety of new technologies to meet consumer demand and government regulations based on a strong fan base. The first Mustang achieved great success thanks to unrivaled marketing rather than innovative technology.
The Mustang was produced on the basis of the Ford Falcon compact car, but with its attractive design, excellent powertrain and numerous custom options, it sold an impressive 608,000 units in 1966.
Later, in 1967, the Mustang underwent a major redesign. The engine room was enlarged to accommodate a more powerful big block V8 engine. Furthermore, it became famous because it was used as a vehicle in a chase scene in the legendary film “Bullet” with Steve McQueen.
In 1969 the Mustang again underwent partial changes. The overall length and width have been increased and the overall height has been lowered to create a sportier design. Popular high-performance derivatives such as the Mustang Mach 1 and the Boss also appeared.
The last redesigned first-generation Mustang was released in 1971. It boasts the largest body style among Mustangs and was designed in a similar style to supercars popular in the 1970s. It features a huge 7.0-liter V8 engine. It boasted the best performance among the first-generation Mustangs, but due to the oil shock of the time, demand plummeted, making it the lowest-selling Mustang.
The second generation Mustang appeared in 1974. The main assessment is that the identity of the first generation Mustang was eliminated due to the oil shock of the time in the United States. Due to its underappreciated design, small body size, and engine downsizing, it is considered a rather disappointing vehicle for Mustang fans. However, by improving configuration and marketability in response to the oil shock, sales of the previous generation Mustang increased more than threefold.
The third generation Mustang appeared in 1979. It is called the “Fox Body Mustang” as it uses Ford’s Fox platform. It breathed new life into the V8 engine and supported various tuning parts. Although there is no trace of the first generation Mustang, decades later it is still considered a popular model.
The fourth-generation Mustang, launched in 1994, adopted a design that followed the trend of 1990s sports cars and boasts a curve-oriented design. The Cobra high-performance model was the first to use a DOHC engine.
The fifth generation Mustang was launched in 2005. It achieved great popularity by reinterpreting the design of the first Mustang in a modern way. At the time it was rated as the most American muscle car. He is the person who revived the muscle car market with a retro design that focuses on angular and straight lines. It has continued to be popular due to its design, athletic performance and price competitiveness.
The sixth generation Mustang appeared in 2015. The design of the highly successful fourth generation Mustang has been refined. In addition to the V8 engine, it is equipped with an economical 4-cylinder turbo engine, which increases the sales of the entry-level model by more than 50%. Athletic performance has been improved to a level comparable to that of German and Japanese sports cars.
The seventh generation Mustang introduced this year has a future-oriented design and is equipped with various cutting-edge options. We don’t yet know if it will be successful, but we will have to wait and see if it can recreate its past glory due to the discontinuation of production of competing models and the decline in global demand for sports cars.
Editor Jeong Won-guk wg.jeong@carguy.kr
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