Mark Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 The Mustang II wasn't a bad idea, given the times. The '71-'73 cars had definitely gotten "too fat". The only mistakes were that the wheels/tires should have been a bit bigger, the V8 should have been part of the plan ('74 didn't have it, '75 was redesigned pretty extensively to get it in), and the fuel tank and muffler should have been tucked up a bit further. Other than that rear view with that stuff hanging out below the bumper (and the undersize wheel openings) those were actually nicely styled cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1972coronet Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 I was surprised to realise that he was still with us ! I thought that he'd passed some years ago ! At least he left a great legacy behind , starting with , but not limited to , his tenure at Ford , and the venerable Mustang . Bringing Shelby aboard to spice-up the factory offerings was another brilliant move ! He definitely came from the old school . That was no small feat turning Chrysler around ; he did it in record time ! While I was no huge fan of Chrysler's ad nauseam K-Platform derivatives , I do admire just how much the organisation squeezed out of that platform , esp. the Caravan ( I always thought that the Dodge Ram Caravan was so cool ! A contemporary panel van for work use --- haven't seen one in over 30 years ) . My parents bought a 1986 Plymouth Horizon at the end of the '86 model year ( Sept. 1986 ) . It was charcoal grey metallic with two-tone grey interior , and a full-compliment of options , except one : it was equipped with a 5-speed manual ! Me mum was a bit perturbed about that one , but she "re-learnt" how to operate a manual trans in quick order . That car lasted a good while , with only its clutch needing replacing at ~35,000 miles (again , mum practising via trial-by-fire how to get a feel for the function of the clutch ) , and new tyres at ~41,000 (the original Good Year Vectors -- remember those ? -- performed well ) . Godspeed , Mr. Iacocca ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 2 hours ago, 1972coronet said: I was surprised to realise that he was still with us ! I thought that he'd passed some years ago ! At least he left a great legacy behind , starting with , but not limited to , his tenure at Ford , and the venerable Mustang . Bringing Shelby aboard to spice-up the factory offerings was another brilliant move ! He definitely came from the old school . That was no small feat turning Chrysler around ; he did it in record time ! While I was no huge fan of Chrysler's ad nauseam K-Platform derivatives , I do admire just how much the organisation squeezed out of that platform , esp. the Caravan ( I always thought that the Dodge Ram Caravan was so cool ! A contemporary panel van for work use --- haven't seen one in over 30 years ) . My parents bought a 1986 Plymouth Horizon at the end of the '86 model year ( Sept. 1986 ) . It was charcoal grey metallic with two-tone grey interior , and a full-compliment of options , except one : it was equipped with a 5-speed manual ! Me mum was a bit perturbed about that one , but she "re-learnt" how to operate a manual trans in quick order . That car lasted a good while , with only its clutch needing replacing at ~35,000 miles (again , mum practising via trial-by-fire how to get a feel for the function of the clutch ) , and new tyres at ~41,000 (the original Good Year Vectors -- remember those ? -- performed well ) . Godspeed , Mr. Iacocca ! My brother's horizon went 194,000 miles no trouble was an automatic. The Mustang is a great legacy and my 2016 Carivan was still the number one selling van that year. I believe he was a very smart man.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 Iacocca was the first to get into demographics. Prior to that, the manufacturers would develop a car (Edsel, for example) and then figure out who to sell it to. Iacocca identified a group of potential buyers, and then created a car suited to their likes (the Mustang). IMO, the Mustang wasn't the roaring success so many people think it was. Sure, Ford sold 400,000 of them the first year, but the bulk of those sales came at the expense of the Falcon and Fairlane. Had all of those sales been "conquest" sales (at the expense of other manufacturers) Ford would have passed Chevrolet. The Mustang was inevitable, it was just a matter of who would come up with it first. The Plymouth Barracuda was actually first, but the styling wasn't unique enough compared to the Valiant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 2 hours ago, Mark said: The Plymouth Barracuda was actually first, but the styling wasn't unique enough compared to the Valiant. The Barracuda wasn't even a real "ponycar" until 1970. It didn't have the long hood/short deck proportions of the Mustang, Camaro, Firebird, and Cougar--it was just a sportier compact. (Believe it or not, the same thing is true of the Javelin. Look at it sometime--its overall proportions are more akin to a '68-'74 Nova than to a Mustang or Camaro.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 Actually the Javelin was an offshoot of the AMX which was a concept car as early as '66. AMC knew that the AMX wouldn't sell in the numbers as a two seater so they "stretched" the AMX a bit to come out with the Javelin which since it could hold five, would sell better. That explains the reason it looked the way it did. AMC wanted to intro the Javelin first in late '67, then the AMX followed I believe in early calendar '68. And yes, it does resemble more of a Nova than anything else, but AMC being a small company couldn't spend the bucks to come out with two very unique body shells, so a fair amount of sharing needed to be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky Posted July 6, 2019 Share Posted July 6, 2019 Here's an interesting write-up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Handley Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 Started my Daytona. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 19 hours ago, Snake45 said: The Barracuda wasn't even a real "ponycar" until 1970. It didn't have the long hood/short deck proportions of the Mustang, Camaro, Firebird, and Cougar--it was just a sportier compact. (Believe it or not, the same thing is true of the Javelin. Look at it sometime--its overall proportions are more akin to a '68-'74 Nova than to a Mustang or Camaro.) Yeah, but because the Mustang caught everyone's eye first, it's "long hood/short deck" styling set the bar. Had the early Barracuda been "it" (and if AMC had built the American-based Tarpon), then a big glass fastback rear end would have been the design standard. And we'd be calling them "fishy cars" instead of "pony cars"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuces Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 On 7/3/2019 at 9:34 AM, Snake45 said: I'd be up for that! I need to start building something.... ? I'm in!!!!.... ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Handley Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 Ralph Gilles posted this on his Instagram today, it's the hearse that carried Lee Iacocca's body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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