The Ford Mustang turns 44

The 1964 Mustang

On this day in 1964,the very first of that quintessential classic American "muscle car" ,the Ford Mustang,rolled off the assembly line and into automotive history.The legendary former chairman Lee Iacocca & the Ford product manager,Donald Frey,had a simple and affordable yet powerful "pony"car in mind and built the first 'Tangs on a Falcon chassis-in fact the early models closely resemble Falcons of the same model years.The Ford Mustang is now in its FIFTH generation and oddly enough,the 2008 models are a close yet modern likeness to the original first generation car.In April of 1964,the new Mustangs were featured at the New York Worlds Fair and the motoring world has been in love ever since!

I owned a 3rd generation(93) LX model,fast-back, and while it was only equipped with a 2.3L 4 cylinder engine,it was still a peppy and dependable car to drive and own.It was by far the best American car I have ever owned and I ended up selling it after my daughter was born because it just was not big enough and it needed body work that I just did not have the time or money to deal with-I evolved into a "minivan Mom" you could say but I still love the Ford Mustang.Over the years,there have been many varieties of Mustang models introduced,The Boss,the Shelbys,Saleens,Cobras,etc,etc and even the most basic model today can be upgraded thanks to the huge amount of aftermarket parts companies dedicated to classic Fords.

At a time when it is rumored that the GM is cutting out the Camaro/Firebird model line,and everyone is either driving SUV's or buying foreign,it is comforting to see that the Ford Mustang remains a profitable and competitive car in an everchanging market.

If I had to choose my "dream" Mustang it would have to be hands-down a 67 GT Cobra,"Eleanor" from the movie"Gone in 60 Seconds"-following a close second would be the later model 3rd generation Steven Saleen GT.Heres to another 44 years of pony!