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SEEKING THE ANSWER Ford's Design Center in Dearborn, Michigan had blocked out the '74 Mustang's basic dimensions and set four seperate design studios to work at developing imaginative ideas. As the spirit of competition took hold, more than 150 creative sketches poured in. From them, an especially sport fastback design was selected and translated into a full-scale clay model. It was complete with rich persimmon-colored paint. Also among the 50 clay models eventually prepared for the program were three other fastbacks and a classical notchback, reminiscent of the original Mustang. These were the five concepts that drew most of the attention from top Ford management, with the sporty persimmon fastback attracting the most favor. Meanwhile, surveys continued in the Southern California area -- a region popular for this type of activity because its people are auto-oriented and a variety of car markets are available. Results confirmed the correctness of management's tendency toward the sporty fastback. Other designs, including the notchback, received less interest. Based on the respondents' interest, Ford decided to produce the fastback as the only 1974 Mustang. One final survey was scheduled for San Francisco to confirm the fastback's popularity. However, the results surprised the product planners. The notchback, a design that was almost left out of the show, had captured a majority of the first-choice votes. In fact, the notchback was only included after a last minute phone call from Mr. Iacocca. Apparently the San Franciscans, who show greater interest in classically designed cars, had responded to the more classic European look of the notchback. |
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