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74 Mustang - Young Car With a Tradition and a Future

INTRODUCTION AND EARLY SUCCESS As the statistics accumulated, it became apparent that more than 40 per cent of all Mustang buyers were in the $5,000-to-$10,000 income bracket, suggesting that the advertising theme of "unexpected price" had been effective. At the other end of the range, it was notable that almost 15 per cent of all buyers had incomes of $15,000 or more per year. Clearly, something besides the low price drew these customers to the Mustang. Nearly two-thirds of the early Mustang buyers were married. Fifty-two per cent had some college education, and another 38 per cent were high school graduates. The Mustang was drawing its support from segments of the population with great stability and solid purchasing power. The car's future looked bright. The statistics also showed that customers were enthused about options. Eighty-five per cent of all Mustang sold were equipped with white sidewall tires, 80 per cent with radios, 71 per cent with eight-cylinder engines, 50 per cent with automatic transmissions and 10 per cent with the "Rally Pac," designed specifically for the customer who drove his car more "for the fun of it" than for utility. The decision to make a variety of options available was vindicated in the marketplace. The Mustang was appealing to a wide variety of owners. It was obvious that the car had aroused strong emotional attachment in many types of car buyers, even though its original target had been a particular segment of the market. In its first 12 months on the market, Mustang achieved 418,812 sales - an all-time industry first-year sales record. By March, 1966, the millionth Mustang had been built. By November of that year, sales had passed the one-and-a-quarter million mark. Mustang was the third best-selling car in the industry. A key to Mustang's success was in Ford penetration of the total auto market. (When Falcon was introduced in 1959, its market "share" quickly shot up to 11 per cent of the market, but other Ford lines declined by about the same amount.) Mustang broke the share barrier. Its market penetration rose from zero in March, 1964 to 1.9 per cent in April, its first partial month on the market; to 3.2 in May, 4.0 in June, 4.5 in July, 5.8 in August, and 5.6 in September when strike-caused shortages began to distort the picture.

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