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We Test Ford's New Mini Mustang
This report by Tom McCahill, Brooks Brender & Bob Beason
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A bunch of the boys were whooping it up at Lee Iacocca's Saloon. After a while they wandered next door to the livery stable and found a half-wild horse. "Gee," somebody said, "that's a Mustang, isn't it?"
Well, maybe that's not exactly the way it should go. But that was back around 1964 and it's a fact that Iacocca, then the Ford Division general manager, was as hot as a red pepper for a new little pony he'd dreamed up and Ford was now producing as the Mustang.
When we first tested the Mustang, right after its highly-publicized birth, wee predicted big things for it. Ford sold 418,812 of those little ponies in the first year. It was a record for any first-year offering that's never been equalled.
Well, Lee (now president of the whole Ford Motor Co.) and his boys have been back to the livery stable again and, from the looks of things, they got there by way of the saloon. The cayuse that they've brought back this time carries the name - Mustang II - but plays a whole 'nother game. If it was really sired by that original Mustang, the mother must have been a pedal car. The Mustang II, with a rip-snorting father, sneaks quietly on the scene as a small - or at least smallish - rig with mild manners and a shy smile.
It is our prediction that the Mustang II is as likely to break its father's first-year sales record as Mayor Daley is to beat Secretariat at a mile and a half. It may make a good bit of profit for Ford - and that's the real heart of the matter - and it may have been a logical way to get rid of a doddering uncle who's causing problems but has a good name and just might remember you in his will.
There's no doubt that what the Mustang stood for in its eight model years is a concept that today is about as popular as Chinese checkers. Oh, there are a bunch of people who still get vibes from Boss 302, Z28, The Judge and that kind of gorilla-on-wheels thing. But a lot more obviously are digging more civilized transportation and amongst the more desired cars are the smaller ones. So, with the flick of the tail, the Mustang becomes a smallish car. Unfortunately, right now the smallish car field is as crowded as a saloon on free beer night and that just might make for some problems for Mustang II.
You could call this rig a sporty deal without stretching the truth too much. But sportiness in cars has gone off in nine directions, everything from the Ferrari to the MG to the waning muscle cars. The just-mentioned Pantera seems to be some new kind of bucket for the super-nut.
At the other end of all this you find a bunch of little coupes and sedans that have some sportiness, including better-than-average roadability and handling. In the group would be some BMWs, Toyotas, Datuns, Capris and so on. Not real sports but semi-sports, usually with good workmanship. It's into this bunch that Ford wants to shove its second-generation horse, with a promised base price of under $3,000. Besides the basic Mustang II, by the way, there will be models that include such little names as Mach 1 and Ghia. I'd like to hear how Ghia fits in but, since Ford now owns the Ghia works, I guess they can stick the name on anything they damned well please, including a TV set by Philco, which they also own.
This new pony is almost 20 in. shorter than the '72 and some 6½ in. shorter than the original model back there in 1964. The Mustang II swings a wheelbase of 96.2 in., which makes it more than a foot shorter in this department than the original and, of course, even shorter-shorter than in '73.
The power plants follow the same course. The main or standard twirler is a nice little 4-cyl. rig (with metric dimensions - the first such made in this country). But there is an option - a V6 that is just a burp bigger than the regular Four. To be specific, the Four runs to 2,300cc (140 cu. in.) and the blockbuster V6 tips the scales at 2,800cc (171 cu. in.).
As your sharpies can soon figure out, the two engines are as near in size as a lapful of kittens. Ford claims 110 hp for the Four but at this writing hasn't put a figure on the V6, which is a slightly-enlarged 2,600 Capri mill from Germany.
With just a fleeting fear of treading on somebody's toes at Henry's old nut and bolt house, I should point out that nearly any Mustang of the past, even with one wheel in the junkyard, in performance would eat either of the new offerings like a barracuda in a guppy tank.
The Mustang II in its standard 4-cyl. suit took 15.5 sec. to get to 60 mph and needed 20 sec. for a standing quarter. All of which is not apt to swing too many gee-whizzes. Nevertheless, this new little horse is as cute as a girl with freckles when parked and could make Iacocca's sales boys happy without turning a wheel. It's just that if the guy isn't sold on a parked pony the salesman who tries to seal the deal with neck-snapping performance should take up pro football instead. He'd have a better chance.
To test these new little horses, I met your editor, Bob Beason, in Dearborn and we descended on the Ford Proving Grounds for a first-hand look-see. For this earth-shaking set of thrills, Bob flew in from New York with Dick Barnett, one of his green-eyeshade gang, and I took a bird up from Florida with a slightly-moth-eaten Brooks Bender.
Now before you think that this was a hell of a waste of manpower, let me state that so do I. Actually, the extra help came in handy because I'd recently had some scalpel work on my leg and Beason showed up with a broken heel. Passing tourists might have taken it for an encampment of the GAR.
Style-wise, the Mustang II may leave you sucking your Tums. More than anything else, in physical shape this new pony looks like that first Mustang, even to the famous fake scoops on the sides. It's the first time I can recall that a car company of major proportions has so drastically changed a car, dug up some bits of styling nostalgia from the past ... and kept the same name. In the automotive business, that's what they call progress.
I'd have to say again that the car is ... cute. That's about the only word I can hang on its looks.
The two front bucket seats are excellent and comfortable and our test job also had a deep-pile carpet that might help you collect dimes that fall out of the pockets of friends. Speaking about comfort, one thing I didn't like was the fact that the brake and clutch pedals were too small and too close together.
The instruments are excellent and include a tach, fuel and alternator and temp gauges plus a speedo and odometer. All were easy to read.
The roadability was hardly fantastic but better than ordinary for the average rig of that size. The power rack and pinion steering - which is a rare in Detroit as orchids in Nome - was excellent. The hardware was good and so was the windshield. Trunk space was excellent, considering the size of the car. There is one hatchback model that comes with no rear seats that should be excellent for collecting bodies if that happens to be your line.
In summing up, the new Mustang IIs are interesting if not exciting. They're even a bit sporty in looks, though it tends to be kind of a neighborhood sportiness, for zipping down to the miniature golf links or to a Dairy Queen. Quality, which Ford has talked so much in connection with this car, does seem close to tops. Though some kid down the block may blow you off with his 8-year-old pony, fear not. He just can't be as up-to-date as you are.
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