Donald Frey, designer of the original Ford Mustang, dead at age 86
3/25/10, 12:26 AM
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Don Frey
I didn't see this posted anywhere, and just wanted to make it known...
One of the pioneers behind the Mustang and everything it evolved into passed away on March 5th at the age of 86. Tho he left in 1968 he was one, if not the- head designer for the original mustang.
Much respect sir.
RIP.
Ford issued a statement on Donald Frey and his automotive career: "Don was an outstanding engineer with a keen eye for innovation and creativity. While often remembered for his work on the original Mustang, he also made valuable contributions to Ford's success as general manager of the Ford Division and vice president of product development."
http://www.insideline.com/ford/musta...y-86-dies.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_N._Frey
Frey on the left with Iacocca
One of the pioneers behind the Mustang and everything it evolved into passed away on March 5th at the age of 86. Tho he left in 1968 he was one, if not the- head designer for the original mustang.
Much respect sir.
RIP.
Ford issued a statement on Donald Frey and his automotive career: "Don was an outstanding engineer with a keen eye for innovation and creativity. While often remembered for his work on the original Mustang, he also made valuable contributions to Ford's success as general manager of the Ford Division and vice president of product development."
http://www.insideline.com/ford/musta...y-86-dies.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_N._Frey
Frey on the left with Iacocca
Last edited by 2010MustangGT; 3/25/10 at 12:29 AM. Reason: Pic
3/28/10, 09:38 AM
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& to think he was involved with the makong of the first CD Rom ! as well like the Mustang back then look how many of those sold !
https://themustangsource.com/showpos...73&postcount=1
https://themustangsource.com/showpos...73&postcount=1
Last edited by GottaHaveIt; 3/28/10 at 09:43 AM.
3/28/10, 01:35 PM
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excerpts from "Iacocca, an Autobiography" c 1984
With the Cardinal out of the way [the cancelled European V4], I was free to work on my own projects. Right away, I brought together a group of bright and creative young guys from the Ford Division. We started getting together once a week for dinner and conversation at the Fairlane Inn in Dearborn, about a mile from where we worked.
We met at the hotel because a lot of people back at the office were just waiting for us to fall on our faces. I was a young Turk, a new vice-president who hadn't yet proved himself. My guys were talented, but they weren't always the most popular people in the company.
Don Frey, our product manager and now head of Bell and Howell, was a key member of that group. So was Hal Sperlich, who is still with me today in a top position at Chrysler. The others included Frank Zimmerman from marketing; Walter Murphy, our public-relations manager and my loyal friend throughout my years at Ford; and Sid Olson from J. Walter Thompson, a brilliant writer who was once a speech writer for F.D.R. and, among other things, coined the phrase "The Arsenal of Democracy."
The Fairlane Committee, as we called ourselves....
The more our group talked, the more concrete our ideas became. Our car had to be obviously sporty and distinctively styled, with just a dash of nostalgia. It had to be easy to indentify and unlike anything else on the market. It had to be simple to maneuver but still capable of seating four people, with enough room left for a fair-sized trunk. It had to be a sports car but more than a sports car. We wanted to develop a car that you could drive to the country club on Friday night, to the drag strip on Saturday, and to church on Sunday.
In other words, our intention was to appeal to several markets at once. We had to broaden our base of potential customers because the only way we could afford to produce this car at a terrific price was to sell a ton of them. Rather than offer serveral different versions of the same product, we agreed that the only sensible course was to develop one basic car with a wide range of options. That way, the customer could buy as much economy, luxury, or performance as he wanted - or could afford. [modding is in Mustang's DNA
]
But the question was: could we afford the car? An all-new car from the ground up would cost $300 to $400 million. The answer lay in using components that were already in the system. That way we could save a fortune in production costs. The engines, transmissions, and axles for the Falcon already existed, so if we could adapt them, we wouldn't have to start from scratch. We could piggy-back the new car onto the Falcon and save a fortune. In the end, we would be able to develop the new car for a mere $75 million.
All this sounded great, but not everyone thought it could be done. Dick Place, a product planner, said that making a sporty car out of a Falcon was like putting falsies on Grandma. Still, I assigned Don Frey and Hal Sperlich to play with the idea. They experimented with several different models but in the end concluded that the new car's design and exterior had to be completely original. We could keep the platform and the engine from the Falcon, but as we say in Detroit, the car needed a whole new skin and greenhouse - the windshield, side glass, and backlite.
> As you can see, no mention of a "secretary's car". Mustang was designed for wide appeal.
>> On another site there's this long thread about how the 01 Bullitt was developed by 'secret meetings' and how unique that was in the Auto biz. They go on and on about it. But as you can see here, Mustang was born out of 'secret meetings'.
Thank you Don Frey and members of the Fairlane Committee...
With the Cardinal out of the way [the cancelled European V4], I was free to work on my own projects. Right away, I brought together a group of bright and creative young guys from the Ford Division. We started getting together once a week for dinner and conversation at the Fairlane Inn in Dearborn, about a mile from where we worked.
We met at the hotel because a lot of people back at the office were just waiting for us to fall on our faces. I was a young Turk, a new vice-president who hadn't yet proved himself. My guys were talented, but they weren't always the most popular people in the company.
Don Frey, our product manager and now head of Bell and Howell, was a key member of that group. So was Hal Sperlich, who is still with me today in a top position at Chrysler. The others included Frank Zimmerman from marketing; Walter Murphy, our public-relations manager and my loyal friend throughout my years at Ford; and Sid Olson from J. Walter Thompson, a brilliant writer who was once a speech writer for F.D.R. and, among other things, coined the phrase "The Arsenal of Democracy."
The Fairlane Committee, as we called ourselves....
The more our group talked, the more concrete our ideas became. Our car had to be obviously sporty and distinctively styled, with just a dash of nostalgia. It had to be easy to indentify and unlike anything else on the market. It had to be simple to maneuver but still capable of seating four people, with enough room left for a fair-sized trunk. It had to be a sports car but more than a sports car. We wanted to develop a car that you could drive to the country club on Friday night, to the drag strip on Saturday, and to church on Sunday.
In other words, our intention was to appeal to several markets at once. We had to broaden our base of potential customers because the only way we could afford to produce this car at a terrific price was to sell a ton of them. Rather than offer serveral different versions of the same product, we agreed that the only sensible course was to develop one basic car with a wide range of options. That way, the customer could buy as much economy, luxury, or performance as he wanted - or could afford. [modding is in Mustang's DNA
]But the question was: could we afford the car? An all-new car from the ground up would cost $300 to $400 million. The answer lay in using components that were already in the system. That way we could save a fortune in production costs. The engines, transmissions, and axles for the Falcon already existed, so if we could adapt them, we wouldn't have to start from scratch. We could piggy-back the new car onto the Falcon and save a fortune. In the end, we would be able to develop the new car for a mere $75 million.
All this sounded great, but not everyone thought it could be done. Dick Place, a product planner, said that making a sporty car out of a Falcon was like putting falsies on Grandma. Still, I assigned Don Frey and Hal Sperlich to play with the idea. They experimented with several different models but in the end concluded that the new car's design and exterior had to be completely original. We could keep the platform and the engine from the Falcon, but as we say in Detroit, the car needed a whole new skin and greenhouse - the windshield, side glass, and backlite.
> As you can see, no mention of a "secretary's car". Mustang was designed for wide appeal.
>> On another site there's this long thread about how the 01 Bullitt was developed by 'secret meetings' and how unique that was in the Auto biz. They go on and on about it. But as you can see here, Mustang was born out of 'secret meetings'.
Thank you Don Frey and members of the Fairlane Committee...
3/29/10, 02:08 PM
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Donald Frey, designer of the original Ford Mustang, dead at age 86
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