The Beginning
When did the Ford Mustang enter the automotive world and who’s responsible? In order to fully understand this, we must first roll back the clock and take a look at the rise of the Ford Motor Company. It was incorporated in 1903 by Henry Ford but was originally called “The Henry Ford Company” (1901).
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The first gasoline engine was made in 1885 by Karl Benz but it was Mr Ford who created the first automotive assembly line and figured out a way to make cars affordable for many Americans. In 1908, Ford Motor Company began mass-producing it’s “Model T” car and produced over a million cars over the next 20 years. Amazing!
Ford Mustang – The Name
Where did the Ford Mustang get it’s name? Ford officially credited the name to the WWII Mustang P-51 fighter jet plane. The name was suggested by John Najjar, who co-designed the Ford Mustang along with Philip T Clark.
The Mustang prototype was built in 1961 and made it’s debut at the Grand Prix in Watkins Glen, New York on Oct 7th, 1962. This model was a 2-seater concept car and evolved into the 4-seater Mustang Mach II in 1963. The very first production Mustang was sold to Stanley Tucker and the year was credited as 1964 1/2.
Ford Mustang First Generation
Ford Motor Company began producing the Mustang on March 9th, 1964 in Dearborn, Michigan USA. It was first sold to the public on April 15th, 1964.. even before it was introduced at the World’s Fair on April 17th of the same year. Word spread like wildfire. The Mustang was HOT!
The classic 2+2 Fastback was added to the Mustang line in September of 1964. What a beauty! The Fastback has it’s own little place in classic car history.
Record Breaking Sales
At the advertised price of $2,368, Ford Motor Company projected sales at under 100,000 cars for that first year. It far exceeded this projection by selling almost 400,000 Mustangs. In it’s first 18 months, one million Mustangs were built! A great American automotive brand had been established!
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