Ford Mustang Through The Years
Design themes are established鈥攂lunt 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鈥檚 Bullitt deifies the 鈥?8 Mustang GT390 fastback. 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鈥?gasp! 鈥攁 four-cylinder. No V-8 is offered for 1974 at all . Mustang adopts new 鈥淔ox鈥?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鈥檚 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. New 鈥淔ox-4鈥?platform is massively updated for stiffness. Hatchback body disappears for good. Styling intends to evoke the original鈥檚, 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鈥攚orst of all鈥攖he 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. Chevy Camaro and Pontiac Firebird, Ford鈥檚 last pony-car competitors, are discontinued for 2003, but Mustang forges on.
All-new body really evokes original. 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鈥檚 V-8 makes an even 300. Reborn GT500 model produces monstrous 500 hp, thanks to supercharging, and limited-edition GT500KR model offers 540 hp. Body receives major nip and tuck to look even more like the first gen, and it works. Suspension updates effectively tame the archaic live-axle rear end, especially with optional Track Pack. Newfound technology includes navigation system and Sync infotainment. Sixties-style sequential turn signals appear, and 19-inch wheels are offered for the first time. GT V-8 output rises to 315 hp. GT500 gets KR鈥檚 540-hp state of tune. In many ways, 2010 Mustang is as appealing as original. In many others, it is even better.
Tandem rear axles and a GVW of up to 51,000 lbs mark this as a CT-950. Ranchero returned with few changes for 1961 except for the optional availability of a 170-cubic-inch six to replace the standard 144-cid unit. Because so much was new for Ford trucks in 1961, most trucks received only minor updates for 1962. However, for true Ford fans, these changes were noticeable. The Ford Ranchero received a bit of a cosmetic face lift, and after experimenting with fused cabs and Styleside beds, Ford's F-Series Styleside trucks began returning to separate cab and bed construction. The Ford Ranchero greeted 1962 with a fresh face that included a new flush-mounted grille and pointed front fenders, but little else changed. The 1962 Ford Sedan Delivery likewise sported the Ranchero's new look, but also saw few other alterations. Ford had entered the diesel market in 1961 with Cummins-powered versions of the H-Series high tilt cab, designated the HD-Series.
