Post by C5 Steve on Aug 22, 2012 13:23:31 GMT -6
Generation I: Introduction through Model Year 1973
22,000 orders taken on the first day of sale, April 17, 1964.
417,000 orders in first 12 months, one million by March 1966.
Design themes are established—blunt nose, long hood, short rear deck, scalloped sides.
Offered in notchback, fastback, and convertible body styles.
Iconic Mustang nameplates are born: Shelby GT350, Shelby GT500, Boss 302, Boss 351, Cobra Jet, Mach 1, and KR. Steve McQueen’s Bullitt deifies the ’68 Mustang GT390 fastback.
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Generation II: Model Years 1974–78
Mustang II: The Pinto-based Mustang that we, and probably even Ford, would like to forget.
The second-gen Mustang is nearly 500 pounds lighter, a response to the 1973 oil crisis and the overgrown final first-gen models.
Iconic Mustang design themes prove ill-suited to smaller dimensions.
Convertible is abandoned, and T-top is available on fastback model.
Engines downsized to include— gasp! —a four-cylinder. No V-8 is offered for 1974 at all .
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Generation III: Model Years 1979–93
Mustang adopts new “Fox” platform from Ford Fairmont sedan in 1979, grows several inches in key areas but is still a wimp under the hood.
Boxy styling is improved over that of Mustang II but remains far from elegant and evokes little of the original’s design themes.
Convertible returns in 1983. T-tops quietly get lost in the Ford garage, never to return.
New SVO version appears in 1984 with turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
1987 brings sexier styling. LX model with 225-hp V-8 becomes a certifiable performance bargain. Wire wheels and whitewall tires remain available until 1992.
New SVT team builds SVT Cobra and Cobra R models that set new standards for Mustang performance in 1993.
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Generation IV: Model Years 1994–2004
New “Fox-4” platform is massively updated for stiffness. Hatchback body disappears for good.
Styling intends to evoke the original’s, although the result looks much like a Gen III Mustang that melted in the sun.
Ford experiments with hideous colors, like grass green, school bus yellow/orange, and—worst of all—the Mystic purple/green/gold metallic available on SVT Cobras.
Fresh DOHC 4.6-liter V-8 appears in GT and SVT Cobra (remains to this day). Output levels quickly rise to 300-plus hp.
SVT team gets its legs, producing SVT Cobra with an independent rear suspension in 1999; IRS technology proves short-lived on the Mustang. Throwback Bullitt model is born in 2001.
Chevy Camaro and Pontiac Firebird, Ford’s last pony-car competitors, are discontinued for 2003, but Mustang forges on.
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Generation V: Model Years 2005–Present
All-new body really evokes original. Buyers go bonkers.
Mustang production moves from ancient Dearborn factory but stays in Michigan, moving to Flat Rock.
Ford plays with colors again, this time inside the car, with 125 goofy color choices for dash lights.
New-for-2009 glass roof option is next best thing to T-top.
Base V-6 makes 210 hp, and GT’s V-8 makes an even 300. Reborn GT500 model produces monstrous 500 hp, thanks to supercharging, and limited-edition GT500KR model offers 540 hp.
22,000 orders taken on the first day of sale, April 17, 1964.
417,000 orders in first 12 months, one million by March 1966.
Design themes are established—blunt nose, long hood, short rear deck, scalloped sides.
Offered in notchback, fastback, and convertible body styles.
Iconic Mustang nameplates are born: Shelby GT350, Shelby GT500, Boss 302, Boss 351, Cobra Jet, Mach 1, and KR. Steve McQueen’s Bullitt deifies the ’68 Mustang GT390 fastback.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Generation II: Model Years 1974–78
Mustang II: The Pinto-based Mustang that we, and probably even Ford, would like to forget.
The second-gen Mustang is nearly 500 pounds lighter, a response to the 1973 oil crisis and the overgrown final first-gen models.
Iconic Mustang design themes prove ill-suited to smaller dimensions.
Convertible is abandoned, and T-top is available on fastback model.
Engines downsized to include— gasp! —a four-cylinder. No V-8 is offered for 1974 at all .
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Generation III: Model Years 1979–93
Mustang adopts new “Fox” platform from Ford Fairmont sedan in 1979, grows several inches in key areas but is still a wimp under the hood.
Boxy styling is improved over that of Mustang II but remains far from elegant and evokes little of the original’s design themes.
Convertible returns in 1983. T-tops quietly get lost in the Ford garage, never to return.
New SVO version appears in 1984 with turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
1987 brings sexier styling. LX model with 225-hp V-8 becomes a certifiable performance bargain. Wire wheels and whitewall tires remain available until 1992.
New SVT team builds SVT Cobra and Cobra R models that set new standards for Mustang performance in 1993.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Generation IV: Model Years 1994–2004
New “Fox-4” platform is massively updated for stiffness. Hatchback body disappears for good.
Styling intends to evoke the original’s, although the result looks much like a Gen III Mustang that melted in the sun.
Ford experiments with hideous colors, like grass green, school bus yellow/orange, and—worst of all—the Mystic purple/green/gold metallic available on SVT Cobras.
Fresh DOHC 4.6-liter V-8 appears in GT and SVT Cobra (remains to this day). Output levels quickly rise to 300-plus hp.
SVT team gets its legs, producing SVT Cobra with an independent rear suspension in 1999; IRS technology proves short-lived on the Mustang. Throwback Bullitt model is born in 2001.
Chevy Camaro and Pontiac Firebird, Ford’s last pony-car competitors, are discontinued for 2003, but Mustang forges on.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Generation V: Model Years 2005–Present
All-new body really evokes original. Buyers go bonkers.
Mustang production moves from ancient Dearborn factory but stays in Michigan, moving to Flat Rock.
Ford plays with colors again, this time inside the car, with 125 goofy color choices for dash lights.
New-for-2009 glass roof option is next best thing to T-top.
Base V-6 makes 210 hp, and GT’s V-8 makes an even 300. Reborn GT500 model produces monstrous 500 hp, thanks to supercharging, and limited-edition GT500KR model offers 540 hp.
