Book Review
REVIEW: FORD MUSTANG 60 YEARS – GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS
REVIEW: FORD MUSTANG 60 YEARS
GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS
Herndon, VA – It’s Saturday morning, and with the streets still damp (OK, they might be damp) my Miata stays in the garage while I grab the Grand Cherokee press loaner. I’m enroute to our local Cars and Coffee, and as I hit Georgetown Pike I fall in behind a metallic gray Mustang Fastback, built in ’65 or ’66. From the rear it looks to be a solid driver, but more significant: From my perspective its footprint is just about perfect. If – as an OEM – you’re going to build a legendary lineup, this is the perfect place to start.
That legendary lineup unfolds beautifully in author Donald Farr’s FORD MUSTANG 60 YEARS. In its 250+ pages, Mr. Farr juxtaposes significant cars from the Mustang’s sixty years of history with those people directly attached to that history. And in taking this approach, the author recognizes what many of us have long recognized: the car may be the star, but the story is made far more compelling with a strong supporting cast, and that often comes from the owners.
As you’d hope, Mr. Farr begins at the beginning. And for the Mustang, as is the case with virtually all automotive projects, those beginnings begin with a sketch. It’s July 1962, and Ford execs have decided they need a product with appeal to the Boomers, in that some of them are getting their licenses and will – one can assume – soon be buying their own cars. The mandate was straightforward: A curb weight of 2,500 pounds and a selling price of $2,500. Ford designer Gale Halderman’s rendering would win the day, going from drawing board to clay to showroom with almost no significant changes.
From there, Mr. Farr takes his now-you’ve-hooked-me readership to the Number One production Mustang, acquired by an airline pilot living – and you’ll never guess this! – in Newfoundland. Next up is the World’s Fair Mustang, one of the many Mustangs used by attendees to circulate the Ford Rotunda at New York’s World’s Fair. And then, of course, is a profile of the first Mustang – and its owner – sold on a Ford showroom.
As the public’s awareness of the all-new Mustang grew so did Ford’s promotional machinery. While a parade of Mustangs was carrying literally thousands at the World’s Fair, late in May a Mustang convertible was setting the pace at the Indianapolis 500. With Benson Ford behind the wheel – and Ford-developed engines providing the go-power for the Lotus-Ford Indy entries – the Mustang would begin to establish its performance cred in front of a few hundred thousand racing fans. A.J. Foyt would win (a victory for both Foyt and the traditional Indy roadster), but the die was cast for both mid-engine success and Ford’s domination of what would become the ponycar category.
Donald Farr and his editorial team have subdivided FORD MUSTANG SIXTY YEARS into seven sections, beginning – as noted – with the first gen, running from the ’62 sketch thru the ’73 model year, and ending with the intro of the seventh generation, introduced in 2024. If you were there for those sixty years there are a lot of memories, including – for me – seeing the Mustang on Ford showrooms in ’65, meeting Carroll Shelby at an Omaha Ford dealership in ’66 and, much later, our son Sean buying an early ’05 V8-powered GT while stationed in Germany. (And, not incidentally, given the rock star treatment when running down the Autobahn.)
If, of course, you’ve joined the Mustang story much later, Farr’s history does a viable job of bringing the reader up to date. But with all of that long history and commercial success, I’ll take that gray ’66 Fastback on a crisp fall morning…with a strong cup of coffee.
Quarto Publishing provided our review copy of FORD MUSTANG SIXTY YEARS. The U.S. retail is $55, and it’s available – with the 256 pages and 250 photos – from Quarto’s website, Autobooks/Aerobooks in Burbank, or your very own bookstore.