After years of selling the Mustang as a compact but powerful coupe and starting the pony car craze, Ford decides to downsize the Mustang and downplay the performance for the fuel crisis.
The resulting car was an unholy combination of Pinto and Maverick looks wise, without of a thread of it's previous heritage. Not only fugly aesthetically, it was fugly mechnically being based off a Pinto chassis and suspension (albiet with more sound deadening). Base engine was a 2.3L four with 88hp, and the "high output" engine was a 2.8L V6 with 105hp. The V8 disappeared. Inially there were 4 models - base coupe (notchback) and hatchback, the Ghia coupe and the Mach 1 hatchback.
Leading this fugly parade was the Ghia coupe (top 2 photos, 1975 model). Trying to look "European" (hence the Ghia name), it sported such Mustang appropriate features as a vinyl roof with matching side mouldings, hubcaps and a chrome luggage rack on top of the trunk. Look was more "Thunderbird" than "Mustang".
Surprisingly (being slower, uglier and more expensive than the '73 models) it was a huge success with sales tripling that of the '73 models. A V8 was added in '75 (making 140hp), and in '76 the Shelby inspired Colbra II was added to the lineup (bottom pic), but did little to help it's looks. Actually - the Colbra made it worse in 1978 when it sported gaudy Trans-Am inspired graphics.
1 comment:
Brother Bean,
Your sermonette is dead-on concerning this "Mavernto" or "Pinterick", the illegitimate love child of said Maverick and Pinto, with a disproportionately high amount of Pinto genetics evident in the final mix. FORTUNATELY, NOT the GAS TANK, seeing how MANY of these wretched things were sold!
If you've ever seen the ORIGINAL "Gone In 60 Seconds", it centers around the final vehicle remaining to be added to the list of stolen cars, a 1973 Ford Mustang v8 "SportsRoof" (fastback).
Ironically, '73 Mustangs were a high-theft item BECAUSE of the Pintoish aberrations soon to be sold as a Mustang. People were genuinely afraid they'd never see a "REAL" Mustang again. This added fuel to H.B. Halicki's film!
I found the styling as lovely as polyester clothing and the general style of the times, which hovered between Herb Tarlek's (of 'WKRP In Cincinnati' fame) "Full Cleveland Look" (with the white fake leather wide belt and matching Pat Boone white patent-leather buck shoes) and the oft-time leisure-suited wide-collared gold-adorned "Lounge Lizards". Of which were countered with the "John Denver 'Far-Out' Crowd", who were adorned with bell-bottomed jeans, t-shirts, jean-jackets and sterling and turquoise Indian jewelry. Oh, yes, and long (blow-dried and filp-curled-under) hair. In their defense, at least the majority of THEIR clothing was COTTON!
But they were SAVING GASOLINE and making the AIR CLEANER for BAZILLIONS of innocent BUNNIES with their newfangled '75 Mustang IIs featuring the "ALL-NEW-TO-MANKIND-IN-GENERAL" CATALYTIC CONVERTERS!
The ads heralded this astonishingly high-selling thing with cheesy and corny ads proclaiming: "MustangII, Boredom- 0 (zero)", not unlike a sports announcer noting the final score of a local T-Ball game.
Muscle cars left over from the 60s got me through the Seventies, and I say a hearty "AMEN" to you, Bean!!!
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