Dale’s Daily Data: First Ford Mustang

One historian said no new car had ever received the publicity and attention that this one did.  One reporter said it was the most sensational introduction of modern times.  Along with the man who came up with the idea, it made the covers of Time and Newsweek, and the car appeared in every major business and automotive publication. It was the result of Ford Motor Company’s desire to build a small, sporty car and inexpensive enough to appeal to young car buyers.  The result – the Ford Mustang – the brainchild of a man that many people associate with Chrysler – Lee Iacocca.  He controlled all the publicity for the car and is considered the father of the Mustang. In reality, the Mustang wasn’t really a new line of car, because it was designed with the idea that it could be easily adaptable to existing Ford parts.   Years later, Iococca described it as basically a Ford Falcon under the hood with a whole new skin.  The media blitz when it was introduced used the words muscular, small, sporty, young.  It worked.   Over its first two years the Mustang earned over a billion dollars in profits for Ford.  The first Ford Mustang was produced on this day, March 10, 1964.