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Ford Mustang
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1964 |
Country: |
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Engine: |
6 and 8 Cylinder |
Capacity: |
170ci - 289ci |
Power: |
101-210 bhp |
Transmission: |
Manual and Automatic |
Top Speed: |
145-189 km/h |
Number
Built: |
160,000 |
Collectability: |
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The date was April 17th, 1964. Intermediate
sized muscle cars, with big block engines were gradually
replacing the full sized muscle car. Lee Iacocca, Ford's
General Manager, had always envisioned a small sports
car to be the next hot item in the street wars.
Ford decided
that instead of improving their lackluster intermediate,
they would do the competition one better and introduce
a whole new breed of automobile, the pony car.
Originally
designed as a two seater in the European tradition, Iacocca
realized that true success depended on volume sales. Therefore
the Ford Mustang was introduced as a 1965 model
that was based on the compact Falcon to lower production
costs.
It came with an obligatory back seat and a multitude
of options that would give the buyer an opportunity to
customize their purchase, and generate extra profits
for Ford. Plymouth faithful stress that their Barracuda
beat the Ford Mustang to the market by two weeks.
But it was the Mustang which racked up over 22,000 sales
on its first day and one million sales in its first two
years, that turned the market and people's attention
to the pony car.
The pony car class that the Ford Mustang
helped create is the only class of muscle car that still
exists today.
1964 Ford Mustang |
Facts: |
First Mustang unveiled on 17th April of 1964 |
Base price: US$2,360.00 |
Cars made before September of 1964 were considered 1964 1/2 |
1964 1/2 models included only the convertible and coupe |
Engines: |
170 Inline 6 - 101 bhp |
260 2bbl V8 (early) - 164 bhp |
289 4bbl V8 - 210 bhp |
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