Happy National Mustang Day! On this day in 1964, Ford unveiled the Mustang to the public at the New York World's Fair. It was billed as an everyday sports car that people of modest income could afford. It went on sale shortly thereafter as a 1965 model for a reasonable price of $2,500. Helping keep the cost down was architecture shared with the Falcon and the Fairlane. Several style, performance, and convenience features were offered too, providing abundant customization opportunities. It was the right car at the right time to take advantage of a youthful US population and a strong economy.
The rest as they say is history.
Initial estimates suggested that Ford would sell around 100,000 Mustangs during the car's first year on sale. In truth, they surpassed that number after three months. Ford sold an additional 318,000 units during its first model year, and built its one millionth Mustang after only 18 months. The success of the Mustang forced Chevrolet, Pontiac, Plymouth, Dodge, and AMC to create their own sporty coupes. While competitors have come and gone, the Mustang has soldiered on continuously to this day. It is among the most recognizable nameplates on the road and sells in 146 global markets.
Ford saw this day as the perfect time to announce that the Mustang will be taking over for the Fusion in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. A short video posted by Ford Performance shows the new Mustang racer being prepped for competition.
In a separate announcement, Ford has revealed that the Mustang will replace the discontinued Falcon in the Australian Supercars Series. Looks like 2019 will be the year of the Mustang at the race track.
