Ford Mustang

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A red 1965 Ford Mustang fastback parked on grass in front of a weathered black metal-roofed building.

Ford Mustang

automobile

Also known as: Mustang

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July 18, 2026

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A red 1965 Ford Mustang fastback parked on grass in front of a weathered black metal-roofed building. — 1965 Ford Mustang The introduction of the Ford Mustang in late 1964 marked the emergence of a new breed of smaller American vehicles, known as “pony cars.”

The Ford Mustang is a type of automobile known as a "pony car." This term, first used for the Mustang, describes sporty, two-door hardtops with high performance and an accessible price range.1

The Ford Mustang was introduced by the Ford Motor Company on April 17, 1964, at the New York World's Fair. It was designed to appeal to the burgeoning baby boomer generation, offering an affordable yet sporty option. The car was a significant success, with Ford selling 418,000 Mustangs in its first year and over 10 million since its introduction.2

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Today in History—April 17
The Introduction of the Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang—a four-seat, two-door, V8 convertible—ferried fairgoers from prehistory to space on the Magic Skyway, a 12-minute, half-mile ride designed by none other than Walt Disney. The journey took passengers from dinosaurs and jungles all the way to the future, which naturally featured flying cars.
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The Ford Mustang—a four-seat, two-door, V8 convertible—ferried fairgoers from prehistory to space on the Magic Skyway, a 12-minute, half-mile ride designed by none other than Walt Disney. The journey took passengers from dinosaurs and jungles all the way to the future, which naturally featured flying cars.
Read More

automobile
American compact cars
The Ford Mustang, basically a Falcon modified into a sporty coupe, set the pace for a new genre of what came to be known as “pony cars.” A similar exercise in “market engineering” at General Motors created the “muscle car,” an intermediate-size car with a large…
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The Ford Mustang, basically a Falcon modified into a sporty coupe, set the pace for a new genre of what came to be known as “pony cars.” A similar exercise in “market engineering” at General Motors created the “muscle car,” an intermediate-size car with a large…
Read More

Henry Ford II
…failure, but two others, the Mustang and the Thunderbird, were immensely popular and are widely considered to be classics. By the mid-1950s Henry II had restored the company to financial health, and subsequently he greatly expanded Ford’s operations in overseas markets.
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…failure, but two others, the Mustang and the Thunderbird, were immensely popular and are widely considered to be classics. By the mid-1950s Henry II had restored the company to financial health, and subsequently he greatly expanded Ford’s operations in overseas markets.
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Unsafe at Any Speed
…the Buick Roadmaster and the Ford Mustang. He described features such as steering wheels whose design could easily impale a driver in a crash, poor exhaust systems, and the unnecessary pollution produced by badly engineered cars.
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…the Buick Roadmaster and the Ford Mustang. He described features such as steering wheels whose design could easily impale a driver in a crash, poor exhaust systems, and the unnecessary pollution produced by badly engineered cars.
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Bullitt
…was a dark green 1968 Ford Mustang GT fastback, and it helped make the Mustang one of the most popular sports cars in the 1960s and ’70s.
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…was a dark green 1968 Ford Mustang GT fastback, and it helped make the Mustang one of the most popular sports cars in the 1960s and ’70s.
Read More