A New Pony Ride for the Kid in All of Us
With a roar of its engine, a red Mustang GT burst onto the stage set up in Cobo Arena, as Ford Motor Co. introduced the latest pony car in its stable at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Out of the car stepped Bill Ford Jr., the approachable looking chairman of the board and the fourth member of his family to lead the company that has his name on the building.
"If I had only one car to drive for the rest of my life, it would be a Mustang," Ford said. "And I think this Mustang makes me even surer of saying that. What I love about this car is that it is so true to the concept car that so many of us fell in love with last year."
The Mustang has been an icon of Ford and American car culture since it was introduced in 1964 as a 1964 ½ model. Originally based on the good-selling, if bland Ford Falcon, the car was repackaged with a long hood and short deck and sold 1 million units in its initial 18 months, far beyond the original 80,000 that was forecast for the first year.
The Mustang helped spur the "pony car" segment that included the Plymouth Barracuda, Pontiac Firebird and Chevrolet Camaro, plus in some regard the American Motors (AMC) Javelin. Of those nameplates only the Mustang has survived, having been sold to 8 million customers in 40 years.
With a roar of its engine, a red Mustang GT burst onto the stage set up in Cobo Arena, as Ford Motor Co. introduced the latest pony car in its stable at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
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| The chairman of the board, Bill Ford Jr., introduces the all-new V8 powered 2005 Ford Mustang GT during the Detroit Auto Show. (Photo: Joseph Cabadas, Canadian Auto Press) |
"If I had only one car to drive for the rest of my life, it would be a Mustang," Ford said. "And I think this Mustang makes me even surer of saying that. What I love about this car is that it is so true to the concept car that so many of us fell in love with last year."
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| The 2005 Mustang takes many styling cues from the Ford Falcon-based original. This 1965 Mustang Fastback features Ford Racing Performance Parts new all-aluminum 5.0-L DOHC "Cammer" V8 crate engine fed with four 2-barrel Weber carburetors. Just a little something to show the blue oval boys still take care of old Mustangs too. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada) |
The Mustang helped spur the "pony car" segment that included the Plymouth Barracuda, Pontiac Firebird and Chevrolet Camaro, plus in some regard the American Motors (AMC) Javelin. Of those nameplates only the Mustang has survived, having been sold to 8 million customers in 40 years.