The Ford Mustang was the result of a intramural design competition among Ford Motor Co.’s 3 design studios - Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, and Advanced Design.
Under the goals set by then Ford GM Lee Iacocca that were quite a departure from Henry Ford’s “You can have any color as long as it’s black” mantra, the 3 studios set out to design a car weighing no more than 1100 kgs, would be no longer than 180 inches and would seat 4 on comfortable bucket seats and multiple power, comfort, and luxury options - all at a <$2500 price.
Based on a winning design from Lincoln-Mercury, the 1st generation Mustang rolled out of Dearborn in March 1964. Even though they were all stamped with a 1965 VIN, the early Mustangs are known by their “1964½ Mustang” name since the 1st cars rolled out right in the middle of the normal 1964 model year,
Later that year, in August 1964, Ford shut down and re-tooled the Mustang production line to add refinements such as an alternator. And with the re-tooling, the 1964 1/2 Mustang died and the 1965 Mustang was born.
As for this model, this is a 1:36 casting by Kinsmart. The details and the finish are on par with the price I paid. But hey, this is a model with a story and that’s good enough for me!
