It's saved the Mustang which sales had plummeted. It financially helped Ford. The 1974 Ford Mustang was one of the best selling years of the Mustang. Over a million were produced. The car is beloved by many. The criticism you mention or from a people that think a mustang is a muscle car. The Mustang is a car for everyone....it's sporty looking, it doesn't have to be fast, but it can be.
"The right car at the right time". The mustang 2 was created because of the gas prices, not coincidentally in time for it. And the larger mustang before it was NOT like a mid-sized car. It was the result of the evolution into a muscle car.
The Mustang II launched Sept. 73 for model year 74 and OPEC started cutting production in Nov 73. Both things can be true that it got bigger because it evolved into a muscle car and it was mid-sized.
It takes a few years to engineer and develope a new car model. Ford got lucky that they decided to downsize the Mustang years prior to the oil crisis, they had no way of knowing that was going to happen. They certainly didn't design, engineer, and tool the Mustang II in a month. The opinion that Ford was responding to the oil crisis is a common notion.
Unfair to compare the 1974 II to the 1964.5 … compare ‘71-‘73 to ‘74. My dad had a ‘64.5 and as a little child I was cool with the styling of the II. It was the 71-73 that made my head spin. Then again the 71-73 convertible that the older brother of a neighing schoolmate in 85-86 drove wasn’t too bad. But I was older. We were in the fox body years. The behemoth 71-73 was retro. And it was a drop top. No I don’t see myself as a hypocrite. Things change with time. I’d like to have both a 73 and 74. Good luck with that. 😂
Although there is definitely a power gap from 1970 to 1974 (c’mon .. cylinder count and displacement, so of course) , nonetheless it is worth pointing out that there was a change in horsepower reporting (blah blah SAE) : gross hp gave way to net hp. Again, that won’t close the gap much but don’t totally shame the later cars. If anything, seeing today’s hp figures (net) and comparing them to 1960s (gross) shows how well technology and further engineering have delivered decisive improvements over time.
My lasting memory of the Stang II is when I was a freshman in college in about 1983 one was parked near my dorm, the paint was either faded or peeling off in great swaths and I thought "what a hunk of junk" this car couldn't have been more than about 5 years old...
The mustang || sold like hot cakes it was the right car at the right time yes in 75 it had a 302 with only 140 HP the Corvette that year had a 350 with 165 HP and almost 1000 lbs more,
@@garagetrouble I was actually looking at a 2015 at one point as my daily driver but the seller said that he has to add oil so I ended up with my 1989 convertible instead as my daily
@whiyeyailfox1 - Interesting comment since it is currently the best selling sport coupe......in the frickin world dude! Like they say though, opinions are like A..holes, everybody has one!
