The fastest pony in the land - A brief history of the Ford Mustang
As American as apple pie, the Mustang has been around since 1964, some models were amazing, others were horrible, but its stood the test of time. The 64 1/2 Mustang was beautiful, and if you got the 289 V8 it was pretty quick as well. It was different from the hulking muscle cars of the time, it was lighter and a bit more nimble.
The Mustang was great, but it was about to get better
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In 1965 Carroll Shelby took the Mustang and tuned it to make 306 hp, and the Shelby G.T. 350 was born. This was the Mustang to have in 65 and 66, and in 67 the G.T. 350, or you could get G.T. 500 with a 428, but the Super Snake was the best, packing a 427 and producing 650HP, sadly only one was made. The Mustang was getting larger throughout the late 60s and early 70s, it was now more of a muscle car than a pony car.
Second generation 1974-1978
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In 1974 the Mustang was redesigned, it was much smaller, more like the original 64 Mustang. Many regard this as the worst Mustang ever, and I have to agree. The oil crisis had made the V8 limp, and the curves were not appealing at all, the cobra looked decent enough, but without a powerful V8 under the hood, it was more of a tuned pinto, not worthy of the Mustang name.
Third generation 1979-1993 The Fox body
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The third gen Mustang is likely the most popular, everyone has had one of these, even myself. The G.T.s came with the 5.0 V8 which made decent power, but Ford also produced the SVO, which had a turbocharged four cylinder, which made almost identical horsepower, despite having half the cylinders. Just say fox body, and everyone will know what you are talking about.
Forth generation 1994-2004
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The 1994 Mustang was redesigned, and the 94 and 95 GTs were the last to sport the 5.0, I still remember the "No mo 5.0" campaign, it was replaced by the 4.6 in 96. These were nice cars, I remember going to a car lot when I was 18 and looking at an electric green cobra, I would've loved to have owned that car at the time.
Fifth generation 2005-2014
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For 2005 the Mustang was redesigned, Ford continued to use the 4.6 V8 through 2010, but in 2011 the 5.0 returned. Ford made a bold decision in 2013, with the GT500, it made a massive 662 horsepower, making it the most power production mustang, and the most power V8 at the time. I hope Carroll Shelby got to see this one before passing in 2012, because I'm sure he would've loved it.
Sixth generation 2015 - Present
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The latest Mustang is unlike any Mustang before. The new design is more European than American, it is also the first Mustang with independent rear suspension. The V6 is the weakest of the engines, making only 300hp, while the 2.3 ecoboost makes 310, and the 5.0 produces 435, Ford also made the decision to offer right hand drive for the first time. It is the best Mustang we've seen yet, but I have a feeling Ford isn't done.
The Mustang has been around for 52 years, and it keeps getting better, and even though the Mustang isn't my favorite car, I have always loved them.
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1964 - awesome year :)
My daughter saw the badge on the dash of my new Mustang (delivered 10 June 2016) and she realised we share the same birth year. "Mum," she said. "You were destined to own this car."
Yup, pretty much :)
Yea, you can't fight destiny. I remember when I first started watching topgear, I was surprised how popular the Mustang, and other muscle cars were in Britain, and other countries.
Awesome post!
The 1st generation is the best in my books. I did a photo shoot with a die cast model I have of the Mach 1. I wish I had a real one though.
https://steemit.com/steemitphotochallenge/@freeinthought/american-muscle-steemitphotochallenge-10-minimalism-entry-2
I almost had a 71 Mach 1, but sadly could not come up with the funds to get it.
I used to drive a 1965 Mustang when I was in Kansas City, MO for 2.5 years. It was my first car.
I was a good drive but after an minor accident on the snow, it was not behaving. I downgraded to Hyundai Excel after 1.5 years. :-)
Nice, was it the V8, or 6 cylinder?
It's a V8.
Nice!
I'm used to driving less "powerful" vehicles since. Last 2 was a Honda Jazz (or Honda Fit in USA). Now, Nissan Qashqai (or Nissan Rouge in USA) - probably the last car for me.
Yea, I'd like to have a nissan GTR