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Origins of the breedThe pony car (and of course the Mustang itself) had its beginnings at Ford Motor Company in the late 1950s following the demise of the original, two-seat Ford Thunderbird. While the Thunderbird's transformation into a larger, four-seat personal luxury car, starting with the 1958 model year, proved to be successful in sales terms, dealers and buyers alike lamented the loss of the two-seat 'Bird, which served as a halo car (image leader) for the company and a traffic-builder in showrooms, attracting buyers who would ultimately purchase more mundane automobiles. For several years Ford explored various plans for reviving some equivalent of the early Thunderbird. An added impetus came from Chevrolet, with the popularity of the Corvair Monza late in 1960. The initial Corvair had been positioned as an economy car, but it was much more successful with the plusher trim and sportier image of the Monza model, which sold around 144,000 in 1961. Ford responded with sportier Futura and Futura Sprint versions of its Ford Falcon, and Chrysler Corporation with the Plymouth Valiant Signet and Dodge Dart GT, as well as American Motors (AMC) with the 440-H and Rouge versions of the Rambler American. Some executives, however, principally Ford's Lee Iacocca, believed that sporty versions of mundane compact cars only scratched the surface of the potential market. During this period there was a strong influx of young buyers with disposable income and a taste for vehicles with a younger image than a standard sedan, and Iacocca's marketing studies revealed that if a unique-looking sporty car could be offered at an affordable price, it would find many buyers. Ford's response to this demand was the Mustang, launched on April 17, 1964, which proved to be an enormous success, selling 680,000 cars in its first extended model year.
Defining the classThe Mustang provided the template for the new class of automobiles. Although it was based on the platform of the Falcon, it had a unique body (offered as a hardtop coupé and a convertible) with distinctive, "long hood, short deck" proportions. In basic form it was mechanically mundane, with a 170 cu. in. (2.8L) six-cylinder engine and three-speed manual transmission. It carried an attractive base price of $2,368, and had an extensive option list offering a range of V8 engines, Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission or four-speed manual, radios, air conditioning, power steering, and other accessories. A V8 Mustang with all available options would cost about 60% more than a basic Six, which made it an extremely profitable model for Ford. The requirements were therefore set: Attractive, sporty styling; Affordable base price; Extensive options, including six-cylinder and V8 engines; Aggressive, youth-oriented marketing and advertising.;
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