The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its seventh generation, it is the fifth-best selling Ford car nameplate. The namesake of the "pony car" automobile segment, the Mustang was developed as a highly styled line of sporty coupes and convertibles derived from existing model lines, initially distinguished by "long hood, short deck" proportions.
Carroll Hall Shelby was an American automotive designer, racing driver and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, which he modified during the late 1960s and early 2000s. He established Shelby American in 1962 to manufacture and market performance vehicles. His autobiography, The Carroll Shelby Story, was published in 1967.
Pony car is an American car classification for affordable, compact, highly styled coupés or convertibles with a "sporty" or performance-oriented image. Common characteristics include rear-wheel drive, a long hood, a short decklid, a wide range of options to individualize each car and use of mass-produced parts shared with other models. The popularity of pony cars is largely due to the launch of the Ford Mustang in 1964.
Joseph E. Oros Jr. was an automobile stylist for Ford Motor Company over a period of 21 years — known as the Chief Designer of the team at Ford that styled the original Mustang, and for his contributions to the 1955 Ford Thunderbird. Oros was also an artist, sculptor, painter and industrial designer, having designed appliances and other products.
The Lincoln Capri is an automobile that was sold by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company from 1952 until 1959. A full-size luxury car, the Lincoln Capri derives its name from an Italian island in the Gulf of Naples. Introduced as a premium trim variant of the two-door Lincoln Cosmopolitan, the Capri was introduced in 1952 as a stand-alone model line serving as the premium Lincoln. With the introduction of the Lincoln Premiere, the Capri replaced the Cosmopolitan as the standard Lincoln product line.
The Chevrolet Corvette (C1) is the first generation of the Corvette sports car produced by Chevrolet. It was introduced late in the 1953 model year and produced through 1962. This generation is commonly referred to as the "solid-axle" generation, as the independent rear suspension did not appear until the 1963 Sting Ray.
The Ford Falcon is a model line of cars that was produced by Ford from the 1960 to 1970 model years. Though preceded by the Rambler American, the Falcon was the first compact car marketed by the Big Three American manufacturers.
The Rambler Marlin is a two-door fastback automobile produced in the United States by American Motors Corporation from 1965 to 1967. A halo car for the company, it was marketed as a personal luxury car.
The Rambler Tarpon was a concept car, a compact-sized sporty youth-oriented 2+2 hardtop coupé developed in 1963 by American Motors Corporation (AMC). The bright red with black roof design study made its public debut at the 1964 Chicago Auto Show. The car served to foretell the fastback design elements of the larger Rambler Marlin that was introduced in 1965.
The mainstream Ford line of cars grew substantially larger for 1957, a model which lasted through 1959. The Crown Victoria with its flashy chrome "basket handle" was no more, and the acrylic glass-roofed Crown Victoria Skyliner was replaced by a new model, the retracting-roof hardtop Skyliner.
The Ford Vega was the winning entry in a Ford-sponsored automotive design contest completed in 1953. Only one example was created.
The first-generation Ford Mustang was manufactured by Ford from March 1964 until 1973. The introduction of the Mustang created a new class of automobiles known as pony cars. The Mustang's styling, with its long hood and short deck, proved wildly popular and inspired a host of competition.
The second-generation Ford Mustang, marketed as the Ford Mustang II, is a two- or three-door, four-passenger, front-engine/rear-drive pony car manufactured and marketed by Ford from 1973 until 1978. Introduced in September 1973 for model year 1974, the Mustang II arrived roughly coincident with the oil embargo of 1973 and subsequent fuel shortages. Developed under Lee Iacocca, it was an "entirely new kind of pony car." Ford "decided to call it Mustang II, since it was a new type of pony car designed for an era of high gas prices and fuel shortages."
The fifth-generation Ford Mustang (S197) is a pony car manufactured and marketed by Ford from 2004 to 2014, for the 2005 to 2014 model years. Assembly took place at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Flat Rock, Michigan. The fifth generation began with the 2005 model year, and received a facelift for the 2010 model year.
Royston Charles Lunn was an engineer in the automotive industry. He had forty-one years in the design development and production of vehicles and most notably served as the head of engineering at American Motors Corporation (AMC) from 1971 to 1987. Lunn is credited as being the "father of the modern SUV" and "the godfather of the Ford GT40".
Leonard Bailey was a British automobile designer.
L. David Ash was an American automotive stylist who worked variously in the Lincoln, Continental, Edsel and Ford studios at Ford Motor Company. He is known for his contributions to the styling of the Ford Mustang, Ford Thunderbird and Continental Mark III — and his innovative work on the Plexiglas skylights of the 1954 Ford Victoria Skyliner and Mercury Monterey Sun Valley — forerunners of today's moonroof. Ash, who ultimately received the title of Chief Stylist at Ford, died July 2, 1991.
Philip Thomas Clark (1935–1968) was an American automotive designer who worked for both General Motors and Ford, and was responsible for ground-breaking designs such as the Ford Mustang and the Ford Capri.
John Najjar was an American designer and executive stylist at Ford Motor Company. He is credited for having co-designed the first prototype of the Ford Mustang known as Ford Mustang I with Philip T. Clark.
The Ford Mustang II is a small, front-engined (V8), open "two-plus-two" concept car built by the Ford Motor Company in 1963. Although bearing the same name as the first generation production Mustang, the four-seater Mustang II which closely resembled the final production variant that would appear in 1964, was intended primarily for the auto show circuit. After debuting at the 1963 Watkins Glen Grand Prix, the Mustang II had a short lifespan as a show car before being relegated to the task of "test mule". The sole example still exists, albeit in storage at the Detroit Historical Museum.
