The first-generation Mustangs grew in overall dimensions and engine power with each revision. The 1971 model featured a drastic redesign. After an initial surge, sales steadily declined, and Ford began working on a new generation Mustang. With the onset of the 1973 oil crisis, Ford was prepared, having already designed the smaller Mustang II for the 1974 model year. This new car shared no 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 from September 1962 to April 1964.[5][6] — while Iacocca himself championed the project as Ford Division general manager.
Drawing on inspiration from the mid-engined Ford Mustang I concept vehicle, Lee Iacocca ordered the development of a new "small car"[7] to vice-president of design at Ford, Eugene Bordinat.
Bordinat tasked Ford's three design studios (Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, and Advanced Design) to create proposals for the new vehicle.[8]
The design teams had been given five goals[9] for the design of the Mustang: It would seat four, have bucket seats and a floor-mounted shifter, weigh no more than 2,500 pounds (1,100 kg), be no more than 180 inches (5 m) in length, sell for less than US$2,500 (equivalent to $25,346 in 2024)[10], and have multiple power, comfort, and luxury options.
Design
[edit]The Ford design studio ultimately produced the winning design in the intramural contest, under Project Design Chief Joe Oros and his team of L. David Ash, Gale Halderman, John Foster, and George Schumaker. This design was called the Cougar by the design team.[11][12][7]
Oros states:
I then called a meeting with all the Ford studio designers. We talked about the sporty car for most of that afternoon, setting parameters for what it should look like — and what it should not look like — by making lists on a large pad, a technique I adapted from the management seminar. We taped the lists up all around the studio to keep ourselves on track. We also had photographs of all the previous sporty cars that had been done in the Corporate Advanced studio as a guide to themes or ideas that were tired or not acceptable to management. Within a week we had hammered out a new design. We cut templates and fitted them to the clay model that had been started. We cut right into it, adding or deleting clay to accommodate our new theme, so it wasn't like starting all over. But we knew Lincoln-Mercury would have two models. And Advanced would have five, some they had previously shown and modified, plus a couple extras. But we would only have one model because Ford studio had a production schedule for a good many facelifts and other projects. We couldn't afford the manpower, but we made up for lost time by working around the clock so our model would be ready for the management review.[11]
In a 2004 interview, Oros recalls the planning behind the design:[13]
I told the team that I wanted the car to appeal to women, but I wanted men to desire it, too. I wanted a Ferrari-like front end, the motif centered on the front — something heavy-looking like a Maseratti [sic], but, please, not a trident — and I wanted air intakes on the side to cool the rear brakes. I said it should be as sporty as possible and look like it was related to European design.
David Ash
[edit]L. David Ash is often credited with the actual styling of the Mustang. Ash, in a 1985 interview speaking of the origin of the Mustang design, when asked the degree of his contribution, said:
I would say substantial. However, anyone that says they designed the car by themselves, is wrong. Iacocca didn't design it. He conceived it. He's called the father of it, and, in that respect, he was. I did not design it in total, nor did Oros. It was designed by a design group. You look at the photograph taken at the award banquet for the Industrial Designers' Society where the Mustang received the medal; it's got Damon Woods in it (the group that did the interior), and Charlie Phaneuf (who was with Damon), and it's got myself and John Foster (who was with me), it's got (John) Najjar in it.[14]
So nobody actually did the car, as such. Iacocca in his book flat out comes and says I did the car. It's right there in print, "It's Dave Ash's Mustang." Bordinat will tell you I did the car. This book tells you I did the car, but, in actual fact, I had a lot of help, and I don't think anyone ever does a car by himself, not in these times anyway.
Since it was introduced four months before the usual start of the 1965 production year and manufactured alongside 1964 Ford Falcons and 1964 Mercury Comets, the earliest Mustangs are widely referred to as the "1964½" model by enthusiasts.[21] Nevertheless, all 1964½ cars were given 1965 U.S. standard VINs at the time of production, and—with limited exception to the earliest of promotional materials[22]—were marketed by Ford as 1965 models.[23] The low-end model hardtop used a "U-code" 170 cu in (2.8 L) straight-6 engine[24] shared with the Falcon, as well as a three-speed manual transmission, and retailed for US$2,368 (equivalent to $24,008 in 2024).[10] Standard equipment for the early 1965 Mustangs included black front seat belts, a glove box light, and a padded dashboard.[25] Production began on March 9, 1964. Mustang Serial Number One (5F08F100001 from the pre-production batch) was sold on April 14, 1964, at the George Parsons Ford dealership in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.[26] Official introduction followed on April 17 at the 1964 World's Fair. The V8 models were identified with a badge on the front fender that spelled out the engine's cubic inch displacement ("260" or "289") over a wide "V." This emblem was identical to the one on the 1964 Fairlane.
Several changes to the Mustang occurred at the start of the "normal" 1965 model year in August 1964, about four months after its introduction. These cars are known as "late 65's". The engine lineup was changed, with a 200 cu in (3.3 L) "T-code" engine that produced 120 hp (89 kW; 122 PS). Production of the Fairlane's "F-code" 260 cu in (4.3 L) engine ceased when the 1964 model year ended. It was replaced with a new 200 hp (150 kW) "C-code" 289 cu in (4.7 L) engine with a two-barrel carburetor as the base V8. An "A-code" 225 hp (168 kW; 228 PS) four-barrel carbureted version was next in line, followed by the unchanged 289 HiPo "K-code" equipped with a 4-barrel Autolite 4100 carburetor that was rated at 271 hp (202 kW; 275 PS) at 6000 rpm and 312 lb⋅ft (423 N⋅m) at 3400 rpm.[27] The DC electrical generator was replaced by a new AC alternator on all Fords (a way to distinguish 1964 production from the 1965s is to check if the alternator light on the dash reads "GEN" or "ALT").
he Mustang GT version was introduced as the "GT Equipment Package" and included a V8 engine (most often the 225 hp, 168 kW, 228 PS "289"), grille-mounted fog lamps, rocker-panel stripes, and disc brakes. In the interior, the GT option added a different instrument panel that included a speedometer, fuel gauge, coolant temperature gauge, oil pressure gauge, and an amp meter in five round dials, but the gauges were not marked with numbers.[28] A four-barrel carbureted engine was available with any body style. Additionally, reverse lights were an option added to the car from August 1964 production.
The Mustang was initially available in hardtop or convertible body styles, but a fastback model was considered during the car's early design phase. In 1965, the Shelby Mustang was introduced, available only in a newly introduced fastback body version with its swept-back rear glass and distinctive ventilation louvers.[29] In 1965 Ford built 15,079 Mustangs that featured the GT Equipment Group.[30] For 1966, Ford built 25,517 GTs.[31] According to Jim Smart production guide, the fastback would have been the most common, followed by the coupe and then the convertible.
1965 Mustang AWD prototype
[edit]In 1965, Harry Ferguson Research purchased three Mustang hardtops and converted them to 4x4 in an attempt to sell potential clients on their FF AWD system.[38] A similar system was used in the Ferguson P99 Formula One race car, and would go on to be featured in the Jensen FF that is considered the first AWD non all-terrain passenger car. As in the Jensen FF, the AWD Mustangs also featured anti-lock braking that would later be known as ABS.[39] The Dunlop Maxaret system was modified from its original use on airplanes.
