USA Today Article
4/16/04, 09:03 AM
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An interesting article on the Mustang USA Today. Some highlights/excerpts:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2004-0...ustang-40_x.htm
Original Concepts:
On Styling:
Iacocca's Reaction:
Bureaucratic Paperwork:
The SN95:
Mustang's Overall Importance:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2004-0...ustang-40_x.htm
Original Concepts:
Designed as a low-price, high-style car that, in a radical departure for the times, would attract women and men equally, Mustang's appeal was immediate.
Oros told his crew, "We're not going to design a macho car. We're going to design something that ladies would love to drive and men would, too."
The sporty car would use Italian styling touches for excitement.
• Elegant, narrow bumpers, instead of the fat ones popular at the time, would wrap around, almost to the wheels.
• Delicate grillwork would jut out at the top and slant back at the bottom to give the car a dashing, forward-thrusting look instead of the fat lip imparted by the protruding bumpers of the time.
• A hefty emblem — a galloping horse, as it turned out — would adorn the grille, as on a Maserati.
The sporty car would use Italian styling touches for excitement.
• Elegant, narrow bumpers, instead of the fat ones popular at the time, would wrap around, almost to the wheels.
• Delicate grillwork would jut out at the top and slant back at the bottom to give the car a dashing, forward-thrusting look instead of the fat lip imparted by the protruding bumpers of the time.
• A hefty emblem — a galloping horse, as it turned out — would adorn the grille, as on a Maserati.
Oros was primed when Iacocca, of Italian descent, visited the studio. "I told him what we were doing: Italian front bumper, Italian look, Maserati-type grille. Well, he really brightened up. ... When he got excited, which he did, his cigar started twirling. And it started twirling."
"I (Frey) never filled out the paperwork. At Ford, that's a court-martial. They called me in after (Mustang had been on the market) six months and said, 'Frey, where's the paperwork on this car?' I just said, 'Mustang speaks for itself: 1,100 a day, gross profit of 400 or 500 bucks each,' " he says. "Mustang made two-thirds of Ford Motor Company's profit the first year it was on sale."
Reprising the original approach, a small core of Mustang enthusiasts at Ford worked in an old warehouse away from Ford headquarters to redesign, on their own, a Mustang cheap enough to keep it in production. That version was launched as the 1994 model and remains today.
He believes the car is worth more than its profit. "The Mustang's always made money, but its importance has always been way beyond financial. It's a halo car for other products. Its contribution to the company always has been greater than its sales," he says. "If you have a brand, an icon, like Mustang, and you treat it like just another vehicle, you're making an enormous mistake."
4/16/04, 09:48 AM
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Originally posted by BlueStangVert@Apr. 16th, 2004, 9:34 AM
Click on Interactive documentary: Mustang turns 40 then on Credits and you'll see this web site listed!
Click on Interactive documentary: Mustang turns 40 then on Credits and you'll see this web site listed!
4/16/04, 10:14 AM
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Originally posted by rhumb+Apr. 16th, 2004, 9:51 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (rhumb @ Apr. 16th, 2004, 9:51 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-BlueStangVert@Apr. 16th, 2004, 9:34 AM
Click on Interactive documentary: Mustang turns 40 then on Credits and you'll see this web site listed!
Click on Interactive documentary: Mustang turns 40 then on Credits and you'll see this web site listed!
At:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2004-0...ustang-40_x.htm
and click the link underneath the Mustang photos.
4/16/04, 11:52 AM
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Here is a few quotes from the article... you could say that the Mustang became a reality and a success in spite of Ford executives and the bean counters.
Iacocca, in the Mustang Monthly interview, recalled that during the early months, before Mustang was a sanctioned project, the team members did their normal jobs at Ford, then met on Mustang business at the Fairlane Motel at night and in a Ford storage room by day, "because they weren't allowed to be working on a car that wasn't approved."
As head of the Ford brand during Mustang's gestation and birth, Frey kept the project under wraps so Ford executives, burned by the failure of the 1958-60 Edsel, couldn't say no to another radical idea. Then, when the idea was well along, he had to sell it to Chairman Henry Ford II.
It took five tries, Frey says. Finally, the blunt-spoken Ford "came over to me in the styling studio and said, 'Frey, I'm tired of hearing about your f——— Mustang. I'm going to approve it, and it's your hiney if it doesn't sell."
"The whole project was bootlegged. There was no official approval of this thing. We had to do it on a shoestring," Frey says.
As head of the Ford brand during Mustang's gestation and birth, Frey kept the project under wraps so Ford executives, burned by the failure of the 1958-60 Edsel, couldn't say no to another radical idea. Then, when the idea was well along, he had to sell it to Chairman Henry Ford II.
It took five tries, Frey says. Finally, the blunt-spoken Ford "came over to me in the styling studio and said, 'Frey, I'm tired of hearing about your f——— Mustang. I'm going to approve it, and it's your hiney if it doesn't sell."
"The whole project was bootlegged. There was no official approval of this thing. We had to do it on a shoestring," Frey says.
4/16/04, 01:29 PM
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Yeah, quite interesting. I wonder how all the macho, dyed-in-the-wool muscle-car heads are going to take the fact that the Mustang was:
* Was specifically NOT to be a macho car.
* Designed as much for women as men.
* Aimed for a long, low, lean European look.
* Used Italianate styling touches such as elegant, narrow bumpers and delicate grillwork.
I'm obviously stirring the pot here a bit, but it does go to show those who consider the Mustang as nothing but a super-macho muscle car and a paragon of purely American style that it was designed to be just about the opposite -- a relatively svelte and stylish sport coupe that was very much European inspired in both its styling and its well-balanced approach to performance.
* Was specifically NOT to be a macho car.
* Designed as much for women as men.
* Aimed for a long, low, lean European look.
* Used Italianate styling touches such as elegant, narrow bumpers and delicate grillwork.
I'm obviously stirring the pot here a bit, but it does go to show those who consider the Mustang as nothing but a super-macho muscle car and a paragon of purely American style that it was designed to be just about the opposite -- a relatively svelte and stylish sport coupe that was very much European inspired in both its styling and its well-balanced approach to performance.
4/16/04, 02:01 PM
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You're right Rhumb, and I don't think that the Mustang is designed to be a muscle car today. I think the Camaro was--powerful engine but few creature comforts--so it did well with drag racers but not too well at all with the general public. Ford understands that you can't build an engine and slap a car around it; a great car has got to be a great combination.
4/16/04, 02:21 PM
#12
Rhumb, it is pretty agreed that the Mustang is not the most macho car in its class. It has actually a combination of style and muscle, depending how it is optioned out. I would say that a lot of the current sales (V6 coupes) are to people who want a sporty, fun car as opposed to a "boy racer"
Camaro/Trans Am could be considered very macho, but sales were almost all to men and look where those cars are.
Camaro/Trans Am could be considered very macho, but sales were almost all to men and look where those cars are.
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