may be aimed to fill the void created when the Thunderbird went to four-passenger size for 1958. It may also be a 4-passenger vehicle, but on the ‘two-plus-two’ basis popularized by certain European Gran Turismo cars.” That prediction appeared in the March 1964 issue of Car Life magazine and accompanied a four-page story reviewing the many Ford experimental and show cars that preceded the actual Mustang. The Torino nameplate predicted here didn’t see use on a Ford passenger car until 1968. The alternate spelling (Turino) hadn’t been used yet.
105 The Mustang sales success story was obvious within weeks of its Friday, April 17, 1964, introduction. Practically overnight, the word mustang went from the name of a legendary World War II fighter plane to a synonym for marketing brilliance. Restaurant owners got onto the bus with quips such as, “Our hotcakes are selling like Mustangs.”
106 To clarify some of the confusion surrounding important dates in the Mustang timeline, here’s a review of milestone moments: March 9, 1964: The Dearborn Assembly Plant (DAP) begins Mustang production in Michigan. July 13, 1964: To help meet West Coast demand, Ford’s San Jose, California, plant begins Mustang production. July 14, 1964: Author Steve Magnante is born. (HA! You caught it!) February 1, 1965: Yet another Ford plant assumes Mustang production as the Metuchen, New Jersey, plant goes online to bolster East Coast supply. To learn which plant assembled your 1965–1966 Mustang, read the second character in the VIN: F = Dearborn; R = San Jose; T = Metuchen.
107 The night before its Friday, April 17, introduction, the world’s first Mustang TV ad appeared simultaneously on all three major television networks at the top of the 9:00 p.m. time slot. The 60-second spot featured a snazzy red 260 V-8 convertible shown in a series of static and action settings. Ford paid NBC, CBS, and ABC dearly for the blanket exposure, but was rewarded with more than four million showroom visitors by the end of that weekend.
108 At the time of the Mustang’s television debut on the evening of April 16, 1964, only 8,160 had been built. The number was calculated to ensure that every U.S. Ford dealer had at least one Mustang to display in his showroom. Tales of impromptu bidding wars breaking out among showroom visitors are based in fact. One Garland, Texas, Ford dealer basked in the once-in-a-lifetime experience of having 15 would-be customers bidding on his one and only Mustang demonstrator. The winning bidder slept in the car until his check cleared.
109 More than 6.9 million vehicles rolled off the end of Ford’s Metuchen, New Jersey, assembly plant between 1948 and 2004. That’s a huge accomplishment for a factory that, technically, doesn’t exist! Here’s the deal. When it first opened in 1948 as part of Ford’s massive post–World War II expansion, Edison Township, New Jersey, was so small that it lacked a post office. Ford traditionally named its assembly plants after the municipality of their mailing addresses, so the company named the 100-acre factory after the closest town that did have a post office, Metuchen, New Jersey. The Metuchen plant built Mustangs through the 1971 model year.
110 Traditionally relegated to second place (after Chevrolet) in total market share among domestic carmakers, Ford had cause for celebration when Mustang sales pushed Ford into first place in 1966. With 2,426,617 1966 Fords built (607,568 of them Mustangs), Chevrolet lost its lead with “only” 2,142,035 1966 domestic passenger car sales. The release of the Camaro in 1967 slowed the Mustang’s charge and sent Ford back to second place in 1967 (1,948,416 Chevys sold versus 1,731,227 Fords).
111 Lee Iacocca’s initial estimate that 100,000 Mustangs would sell in its first year was pushed up to 240,000 units as the April 17, 1964 release date approached. Even that proved to be uncharacteristically off target. By September 1, 1964, the 100,000 unit marker was surpassed and by mid-September of the following year (as the 1965 model year closed), the now-legendary 680,989 sales total was achieved. It was an all-time auto industry record for first-year sales.
112 As you marvel at Mustang’s sales success, it is important to remember that Ford worked with a somewhat stacked deck. By starting production in March 1964, yet identifying (and numbering) the cars as 1965 models, Ford enjoyed a 17-month model year. Regardless, there is no question that Mustang’s long-hood/short-deck configuration was a hit with buyers of all ages.
113 To see if there was any question that racing improved the breed and that performance sold cars, in the early 1960s Ford monitored a group of Ford dealers in the Southwest (NASCAR country). In 1962, sales from January through May totaled 52,000 cars. A year later, and with Ford’s Total Performance marketing campaign in full force, the same group of dealers sold 65,500 cars in the same time frame.
114 The September 1964 issue of Car Life featured a 1965 Mustang coupe road test. Equipped with the 271-hp 289 Hi-Po and Ford’s new Toploader 4-speed manual transmission, the results were favorable. “Indeed, while the HP packages (the stiffer suspension can be purchased with any engine) add upwards of $450 onto the base price of the car, it is still possible to get a rip-snorting, big-muscled go-pony for right around $3,000, a real bargain in performance.” Of the 680,989 1965 Mustangs built, (sadly) only 7,273 were equipped with the K-code 289 Hi-Po (561 of which were converted into Shelby Mustangs).
115 Taking the previous fact further, it is often overlooked that all Shelby Mustangs received a normal Ford VIN during initial assembly at Ford’s San Jose, California (1965–1967), or Metuchen, New Jersey, plant (1968–1970). You must remember to subtract the Shelbys from annual Mustang vehicle and option production totals so they are not counted twice.
116 “Present planning calls for a production run of 200 cars a month. These will be handled by Cobra dealers across the country. The competition models will be available directly from Shelby’s Venice, California, plant on a special-order basis only.” Well, Car Life staffer Jim Wright sure got it wrong! That’s the GT350 build and distribution strategy he spelled out in the April 1965 issue of the magazine. A mixed bag to be sure, the idea of 2,400 ’65 GT350s sounds great today (200 per month) even though the idea of numerous Shelby-authorized modification facilities spanning the nation seems like a recipe for inconsistent build content and quality. History has shown that Shelby stepped up and rented an aircraft hangar from North American Airlines, where he directly oversaw GT350 and GT500 conversion work through the end of the 1967 model run.
117 No doubt wanting to avoid a repeat of Studebaker’s disastrous Avanti launch in 1962 (a youth oriented sporty car similar in theme to Mustang), Ford made sure that the dealer pipeline was well stocked with fresh Mustangs when the April 17 launch date arrived. But despite building Mustangs at the rate of 530 units per day for a full six weeks before launch date, by midnight of the first selling day, every one of them was sold and deposits had been taken for another 6,000 (unbuilt) units. Studebaker president Sherwood Egbert had publicly predicted the exciting, new Avanti sports car would sell 1,000 units per month. But, when the Avanti’s official April 26, 1962, launch date came, dealers had no cars to sell. Persistent quality control problems with the fiberglass body forced repeated delays and massive frustration among would-be customers. Egbert’s lofty goal of 1,000 cars per month never had a chance to be tested. In total, a mere 4,643 Avantis were sold before Studebaker ceased domestic auto production in December 1963.
118 Just 571. That’s the number of days that passed between the final selection of the long hood/short trunk Mustang rendering and the first Mustang that rolled off the Dearborn, Michigan, assembly line on March 9, 1964. Readily accessible (but once top secret) photographs today show clearly recognizable Mustang styling models with dates as early as September 10, 1962. We now know that at least seven distinctly unique design proposals were in the running before the final choice was made. The mind boggles at what might have been.
119 Time magazine was granted an exclusive interview with Lee Iacocca that appeared in its April 17, 1964, issue. Here are some of his words: “By next year, 40 percent of the U.S. population will be under 20 years of age, and the 16 to 24 group is growing faster than any other segment. Not only are there more young people, they are settling down at an earlier age, marrying,
