60’s Nostalgia – Ford Mustang

In 1964, the Ford Mustang was a fresh concept.

Ford wanted something more accessible than the two passenger Thunderbird and gambled on the market. The new Mustang had a back seat with room for four and just a bit of spunk in the design. Rather than the long low silhouette of the Thunderbird, the Mustang had a long hood and short trunk making it look powerful like a cat ready to pounce.  It was a screaming success, selling more cars in the first quarter than Ford had projected for the year. It spawned imitators like the Camaro and Barracuda and a new class of automobiles – the pony cars. Today the Mustang is still a credible product line for Ford and even with several revisions in the car, you know a Mustang when you see it even today in the 21st century. Part of Ford’s marketing for the Mustang was to feature the Mustang in a James Bond movie – Goldfinger.  In the video below watch the Mustang chase Bond’s evil Aston-Martin. Ford was aiming high for its new creation. The spunky American versis the old establishment Aston-Martin.  Who do you pick?  Especially when the AM cheats!

This was the first time movies were used to market a car. The first Mustang was replaced in 1974 by the second generation suffering like all US card from the new government regulations for air quality. The less said about the 70’s cars the better.