Fox-Body Mustangs Were Once The Hottest Sensation Since The 1965 Mustang. Outshined by the 2005-10 Mustang, They've Taken A Back Seat. Should You Buy One?
Well of course you should buy one if you're passionate about them. Few Mustang generations have captured the spirit of the original first generation Mustangs quite like the 1979-04 fabulous Foxes.
Dunno about you, but we're passionate about our memories of the 1980s at Mustang Monthly. For one thing, that's when Mustang Monthly Editor Donald Farr and I got our dream tickets and started our careers doing what what we're both deeply nuts about for a living - to write about Mustangs. Our good friend, Larry Dobbs, made that dream possible. Thank You, Larry, for rolling the dice on a couple of Mustang Melvins who have never stopped being excited about the subject we're all so darned fond of. Someone pinch us - we're still doing it 25-30 years later. Why? Because Mustang never stopped being the hottest pony car going - the genuine American original. We didn't do that - Mustang did that.
What makes Mustang so doggone hot? Those 1979-04 Mustangs that bridged the beginning to the S197 generation Mustangs Ford is building now. For 25 years, which is a very long time, Ford kept the Mustang name alive by continuing to improve and refine the Fox platform to the pinnacle car it was on the marque's anniversary in 2004. Not only did we celebrate 40 years of Mustang in 2004, it was a groovy wrap-up to 40 years of Dearborn Assembly Plant production history. Ford closed the Dearborn Assembly Plant on May 10, 2004 with its last vehicle - the last 2004 Mustang Ford would ever build there before locking the doors and beginning a new era at the Flat Rock, Michigan plant a few miles away.
So why buy a 1979-04 Mustang? Because they're just as much fun to own and enjoy as any other generation. What's more, because Ford produced so many of them, they're an excellent value - priced just right for hard economic times when scratching together a couple of crusty bills to buy a Mustang is particularly challenging. The greatest values going are 1994-04 Mustang GT convertibles - plentiful and affordable. And when we think of sexy memories from the big hair 1980s, there's value there too - 1985-93 Mustang GT and LX convertibles. These cars have stabilized, holding their value quite well.
For one thing, don't buy a Mustang and treat it like a real estate - thinking you're going to build equity and make money off of it some day. Buy a Mustang for what they do best - creating great fun and that rush of euphoria while you're at the wheel. And when it's time to come home, don a folding lawn chair, position yourself just right in the garage or on the driveway, and gaze at the greatest investment you could make these days - an investment in your own happiness. Quit worrying about the almighty buck.
Why buy a 1979-04 Mustang? For all the reasons you would buy a Mustang to begin with. For the good times to be had by investing in America's Favorite Fun Car. And 45 years later, it remains the champion of the masses.