Fifteen Years Ago, Ford Staged A Huge Mustang Comeback - Time To Celebrate the marque's 1994 rebirth!

Long about 1990, we began to wonder about the Mustang's future.  We'd had a brief scare long about 1986 when it looked like Mustang might become a Mazda-based front-wheel-drive subcompact based on what Ford insiders were telling us at the time.  Mustang Monthly Editor, Donald Farr initiated a massive letter-writing campaign that created a flash flood of more than 90,000 letters to Ford from loyal followers who love Mustang. 

The message? 

Don't you mess with our Mustang!

Message received...

The Mazda threat became the now defunct Ford Probe introduced in 1989.  Probe is history - Mustang isn't.

When it looked like Ford might chloroform the Mustang long about 1990-91, a determined street tough East Detroiter in Ford management named John Coletti stepped up and presented Ford with an offer it could not refuse - to save Mustang and redirect the floundering nameplate's future.  Project SN-95 was born - and on a shoestring budget few believed would work.  Coletti amassed a team of passionate, talented people to make the new Mustang happen.

Team Mustang went to work researching what Mustang was supposed to be, returning this marque to its roots, taking a close look at what they liked and did not like about the car - collectively developing an all-new Mustang for 1994.

They beefed up the FOX platform to create FOX-4, a stiffer platform - the best ever. There were refinements to suspension.  And there was something known as body tuning to smooth out the ride, quiet road boom, eliminate cowl shake, and stiffen up the cruise.  The car felt good, solid, predictable.   

When the 1994 Mustang went to market right after Christmas of 1993, it was a huge success.  Ford body slammed the airwaves with an advertising campaign on a par with the original in 1964.  "It Is What It Was - And More..." - going with a then and now retro theme that got people excited about Mustang again.

We're going to take a look at SN-95 15 years later on this year in Mustang Monthly because it's time to revisit one of the most successful Mustang launches in the marque's history.  We'd like to hear about your memories of the SN-95 introduction, your photos, your memorabilia.  We'd like to know if you still have your SN-95 (meaning 1994 Mustang)  Write to us at Jim.Smart@sorc.com or SN-95 Memories, c/o Mustang Monthly Magazine, 9036 Brittany Way, Tampa, Fl 33619.