The 1965 Mustang was the most successful vehicle launch since the 1927 Model A. Ford originally planned to sell 100,000 Mustangs in 1965 and ended up selling nearly seven times that figure. What made the Mustang such a huge seller in 1965?
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The Mustang was the most successful launch since the 1960 Falcon.
This book shows everything that was done to make the Mustang a success:
https://books.google.com/books/about/Mustang_Genesis.html?id=2857BwAAQBAJ
Cliff Notes version is that Ford invested heavily in market research after sensing changing psychographics and demographics in the American market. More women were owning their cars, Boomers were starting to drive, more two-car families, and a demand for sportiness (buckets/console) no matter what age.
Try comparing the 1965 sales price with inflation to salary as a ratio.
Lots of secretaries needed cars and no one had specifically made one for them before.
New class of car and marketing?
Direct from Car & Driver 1965 reprint:
181 inches long.
271 horsepower V8.
2877 pounds curb weight.
0-60 in 5.2 seconds.
$2,589 base MSRP. $188 for HiPo V8. $32 for air conditioning.
That’s just $25,304 in todays money.
A tremendous bargain.
Everything was so much more affordable. :/
A tremendous bargain.
The median US household income in 1965 was $6900/year.
Christ, $25,000? Man, having even just a bit of money back then must’ve been pretty cool. I think the closest you could come to a $25,000 Mustang today is by making your payments up to that point.
Or you know, just buying a used one. Hell, you can even just ste-
Because it had all of the right features.
It was based on a compact car (Falcon) so cheap to make and sell.
It had four seats so it was practical.
It could be economical (200 I6) or sporty (289 V8).
It could be a coupe or convertible (and later, fastback).
It had loud styling which appealed to a younger generation.
It was marketed and released just as the first Baby Boomers were coming of age.
It was priced that it could be a second car, a kids car, a first car, or a car for someone downsizing.
It was an eye-popping, exciting wonderment of a car at a competitive price at the right time. I vote for more of these.
Those cars go for insane prices here in my country nowadays, albeit over 50 years old.
It was attractive looking, reasonably priced, could be generously optioned, and was savvily marketed.
Back in its day, it was the Swiss Army Knife of cars. It could be kitted out as either a civilized and economical commuter, a pavement scorching hot rod, or anything in between. Hardtop, fastback, convertible. 6 cylinder, V8, automatic, stick shift. Plain or flashy.
It was one platform that could do it all, and did.
According to Ken Miles; All the secretaries wanted one…
It came at the right time at pretty much the peak of post-war success, it was cheap enough and it came with loads of options. Advertising it heavily also helped.
Cars were a lot bigger of a deal back then. The Mustang was like a ground breaking new model, the market wasn’t so saturated like it is now, so every new model like that was a pretty big deal. Also the Ford GT I think launched around the same time, it was a big time to be into Ford
In its base form it was a simple sporty car with a fuel efficient 6 cyl engine, the majority bought it for not going fast. But to quote sadly (let the good times roll)
Cool like European cars but with a better 6 cylinder than Europe could offer. The v8 was affordable and reliable. Drive it over mountains and through the desert day after day, a TR4 couldn’t come close. America at its best.
I would point to the Mustang’s extensive options list, allowing a level of factory customisation that was previously unheard of.
This was Iacocca’s stroke of Genius that gave the Mustang very broad appeal, and the sales rolled in. I’d also argue that every successful “Pony Car” since has also had an extensive options list.