Without question - Mustang not only created a market of sporty four-place automobiles known as pony cars, it spawned a lifestyle that lives to this day. Understanding people who took the Mustang pledge.
Going where the Mustangers go...
Understanding Mustang culture born in April of 1964 with no real sign of ever letting up takes a whole lot of thought. When I got my first crack at writing about Mustangs in 1978, it was just spare time fun and it was strictly about "classic Mustangs" - which was a new term at that time because Mustangs were little more than old cars at the time. Four years later, Mustang Monthly Editor, Donald Farr, would give me my dream shot - to write about the darned things for a living. At the time, I gave it five years, figuring it would run its course and I'd be doing something else when my Mustang Monthly gig was up. It has been 26 years, friends, and someone still pays me to do this.
What does that tell you about the passion people have for these cars that has been going on for 46 years? It tells you Mustang mania has never wavered. It has experienced one slowdown in the 1970s, but has never wound to a halt.
So what about those "Mustangers" who experienced it all approaching five decades ago? For one thing, and I have to admit this to you - I can't stand the term "Mustanger" - just way too corny for something as extraordinary in history as Mustangdom. I prefer "Mustang Enthusiasts" or "Mustang Buffs". Despite my contempt for this word, it and its people endure across the generations. A person age 80 has something in common with someone who is 16. They both love Mustangs. And - it isn't always the old guy who wants a '65. Sometimes, a senior citizen has just gotta have a 2011 with the new 5.0L V-8 for sewing wild oats. The kid just getting a driver's license may not be so bent to have a new Mustang GT. Instead - one of the classics.
As production of 2011 Mustangs gets underway shortly at Flat Rock, Michigan at the Auto Alliance plant, it inspires us reflect on those who started it all when LBJ was President and websites were something spiders made in the crawl space underneath your house.
They were "in" people sassy enough to want to invite others along for the same spiritual journey with an automobile that still makes my eyes wet. The "in" trip began at Watkins Glen in 1962 when Ford showed up with a little two-seat guy called Mustang - a little concept car that ran. It roared around the track with the authoritative sound of a V-8 because it had V-4, which sounded much the same. People got excited and wanted to know who made this car.
The original two-seat concept car was a marketing experiment that paid off because 25,000 to 30,000 people rallied around this tiny little sports car at Watkins Glen that wasn't even practical for the average person let alone a family. The little two-seat Mustang concept car showed up in magazines and newspapers. Masses wanted a piece of the action - and so it went.
Mustang development continued aggressively at Ford quietly and behind the scenes. The 1963 Mustang II concept car was the next teaser.
When Mustang arrived in Ford showrooms on April 17, 1964, there had never been an introduction like it. And - with plenty of arrogance - we say there has never been an introduction like it since either.
Original Mustangers were members of the jet set, so to speak. They were average people who got a shot at something cool - way cool - just signing on the dotted line, setting up monthly payments, and taking delivery of an exciting new car from Ford Motor Company. Those with plenty of cash who could afford something even more exciting chose Mustang instead - a sexy short-deck, long nose automobile too good to pass up.
With Mustang - they belonged.
So who were original Mustang buyers in the 1960s? Most were young - two-thirds of them. Nearly 10-percent were between 55 and 64 because Mustang made them feel young again. Mustang buyers covered the spectrum from the very rich to even the financially strapped. Half of all Mustang buyers had annual incomes above $10,000. A lot of them bought Mustangs not just as second cars, but as third cars just to have one. One-third were professional or management. More than half were college educated. Nearly half were into some kind of sports activity.
A whole bunch of them joined car clubs or Mustang clubs. They hit the road in them by the thousands. Mustang was something to show off. It was something to be seen in. It changed car culture forever because it was something to show you didn't have to build like a hot rod. You could buy one, leave it as it was, or bolt on groovy add-ons to personalize your ride.
Were you a part of the original Mustang mania. Do you fit the description above? If so, lets hear it. Write to us at www.mustangmonthly.com or Jim.Smart@sorc.com, or put a pen to paper and tell us all about it at Mustang Monthly, Pony Express, 9036 Brittany Way, Tampa, Fl 33619.