The success of the original Ford Mustang was both spectacular and transitory. A huge success when it debuted in 1964, it was moribund by the early seventies. Sales sank ominously, and many of its direct competitors died off.

What happened? The Baby Boomers who had embraced the "pony cars" with such enthusiasm were getting older and having babies of their own, and the Mustang no longer met their needs. The original Mustang had had tidy dimensions, acceptable pep, and decent fuel economy; if they weren't as roomy as a Falcon, they had enough space for young marrieds with small children. By 1971, the Mustang had grown bigger, fatter, and thirstier, and if anything, it was more cramped than before. Its demographic began to forsake their Mustangs and Camaros for smaller, cheaper compacts like Ford's Maverick or the new Chevrolet Vega.

As early as 1968, even Ford stockholders had begun complaining that the Mustang was getting too big, losing sight of its original market. Lee Iacocca, who had championed the original Mustang, promised to look into it. He saw that the market was shifting, and concluded that the Mustang in its current form would soon be obsolete. The larger-than-life 1971-73 models were already under way by then, but Iacocca authorized a radical change for their successors.


The original was 181.6 inches (4,613 mm) on a 108-inch (2,734-mm) wheelbase, weighing about 2,900 lb (1,315 kg) with a V8 engine. By 1973, it was 193.8 inches (4,923 mm) long, and a modestly equipped V8 car weighed more than 3,400 lb (1,540 kg). Neither interior space nor visibility were strong points.

THE LITTLE JEWEL

The 1974 Mustang was downsized significantly, a daring move at the time. Now based on Ford's humble Pinto subcompact, the new Mustang II shed nearly 14 inches (356 mm) of overall length and around 300 pounds (136 kg) of curb weight. The V8 engines were gone, although a small-block 302 V8 (4,940 cc, although Ford later advertised it as "5.0") was offered in Mexico; it rejoined the American line-up in 1975.

In engineering terms, the Mustang II, which Lee Iacocca called "the little jewel," was a kludge. It rode a slightly stretched Pinto platform, with extra sound insulation and a hastily contrived front-suspension subframe to reduce ride harshness. Even the engineers who designed the chassis admitted it was heavier than it needed to be, and its ride and handling were more junior Thunderbird than Boss 302. Sharing the same engines as the much lighter Ford Capri, it was also slow: even with a manually shifted V6, 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) took more than 14 seconds.

Fortunately for Lee Iacocca, the new Mustang arrived just before the first OPEC oil embargo in the fall of 1973. After a sluggish start, the smaller, more fuel-efficient Mustang II racked up nearly 386,000 sales.


Ford offered an assortment of over-decorated, performance-themed Mustang IIs, including this ostentatious King Cobra edition, but their actual performance was sluggish; none had more than 139 hp (104 kW). (Photo © 2009 Bull-Doser; released to the public domain by the photographer)

FIGHT THE FUTURE

Even before the Mustang II went on sale, Ford was already thinking about its eventual successor. In early 1973, Ford started work on a new platform known internally as "Fox," which was slated to replace the compact Maverick, the U.S.-market Granada (itself based on the Maverick), and the Mustang. At one point, there were apparently plans for a smaller version to replace the Pinto, but the Fox/Pinto was canceled early on.

Product planner Hal Sperlich, who had recently led the development of the European Ford Fiesta, thought the Fox should be a "world car," sharing its underpinnings with the British Ford Cortina and German Taunus. He also pushed hard for front-wheel drive, which would improve fuel economy by making the cars lighter and more space efficient.

Sperlich had Iacocca's patronage, but he clashed with other Ford executives, including chairman Henry Ford II. Henry hated small cars, and he was wary of front-wheel drive. He had eventually approved the $1 billion FWD Fiesta program, with great reluctance, but he balked at front-wheel drive for U.S.-market cars. It seemed too radical and too expensive for his liking.

Ford's concerns about costs became all the more acute in 1974. The energy crisis sparked by the OPEC oil embargo hit the auto industry like a tsunami. For a time, all new car sales were down significantly, and American consumers, fearful that the supply of oil might be turned off at any moment, turned their backs on big cars. Henry Ford responded by slashing $2 billion from Ford's product development budget, declaring that he would keep the company afloat by limiting costs.

The decision was ill timed. In December 1975, the U.S. Congress responded to the energy crisis by authorizing the first Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rules, calling for the average fuel economy of all new American cars to increase from around 13 mpg (18 L/100 km) to 18 mpg (13 L/100 km) by 1978 and 20 mpg (11.8 L/100 km) by 1980. To meet those standards, the domestic automakers were going to have to introduce smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. Compacts like the Maverick and Pinto, which American automakers had tended to regard with contempt, would now have to become their bread and butter. Henry Ford had cut the development budget at a time when Ford most desperately needed new products.

Henry Ford favored conservative, conventional, modestly downsized versions of Ford's existing platforms. Sperlich and Iacocca disagreed, arguing that that would cost too much and provide too little benefit. Iacocca, who had never cared for economy cars either, pointed out that offering small, frugal front-drive models would not only make Ford more competitive, but also permit the company to continue selling bigger, more profitable cars. To Iacocca's immense frustration, Henry Ford remained intractable.

Hal Sperlich, who had never been adept at corporate politics, made the mistake of continuing to push after Henry had made up his mind, expecting that Iacocca could protect him. Henry was tired of Iacocca, however, with whom he was barely on speaking terms, and he was tired of Sperlich. In October 1976, Henry forced Iacocca to fire him. Sperlich joined Chrysler in March 1977, where he led the development of the front-drive K-cars and the T-115 minivans.

THE FOX PLATFORM

Although it was far less sophisticated than Sperlich and Iacocca would have liked, the rear-drive Fox platform was reasonably modern when it first appeared, not far in concept or engineering from contemporary European or Japanese family cars. It still used a live axle -- as did contemporary Volvos, Toyotas, Mazdas, and Alfa Romeos -- but it was lighter and more space efficient than its Maverick and Granada predecessors. It had rack-and-pinion steering, MacPherson strut front suspension, and a new rear suspension with coil springs and trailing arms, replacing the Maverick's Hotchkiss layout.

The front suspension was an unusual variation on the standard MacPherson strut design. (Curiously, although it was former Ford chief engineer Earle S. MacPherson who patented the MacPherson strut, Ford had never used it in an American model.) Developed by engineers Bob Burns and Bob Negstad, the Fox's front suspension used the shock absorbers as upper control arms, but mounted its springs on the lower control arms, rather than on the struts. Ford claimed this allowed lighter steering and a better ride, but its main advantage was permitting a lower fender line and a wider engine bay. The latter point was particularly important, because the Fox platform would be offered with a diverse array of engines, including the 2.3 L (140 cu. in.) Lima four from the Pinto, the 2.8 L (170 cu. in.) Cologne V6 from the Capri, Ford's traditional 3.3 L (200 cu. in.) straight six, and the familiar small-block 302 (4.9 L) V8.

The first Fox-platform cars were the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr, which debuted for the 1978 model year, replacing the Maverick and Mercury Comet. In exterior dimensions, they were about the size of Volvo's 240-series, roughly splitting the difference between the old two-door Maverick and the four-door Granada. They were far from pretty, but their boxy styling made good use of the modest dimensions. They were also reasonably light; even a four-door Fairmont with V8 and automatic weighed a reasonable 3,000 lb (1,360 kg).


The Fairmont sedan was 193.8 inches (4,923 mm) long on a 105.5-inch (2,680-mm) wheelbase, 1.3 inches (33 mm) longer than a Volvo 242 sedan. Despite its rectilinear styling, the Fairmont's low beltline, large glass area, and interior details like stalk-mounted light and wiper controls made it feel more European than American. With the V8, which had all of 137 net horsepower (102 kW), it could do 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) acceleration in 9.4 seconds, with a top speed of 106 mph (171 kph) -- sprightly for a family car of the time. (Photo © 2009 IFCAR; released to the public domain by the photographer)

The Fairmont and Zephyr were far from sporty -- CAFE and emissions standards meant that muscle cars were no longer on the menu -- but they had adequate performance. Ford opted for a firmer, more European feel to the ride and steering than was customary for American sedans of the time, but handling and braking were unexceptional, even with the European Sedan Option (ESO) package, which had stiffer underpinnings and front and rear anti-roll bars.

Ford had high hopes for the new cars, projecting a first-year volume of 687,000 units. Actual sales fell short of that mark by nearly 75,000 cars, still hardly bad. The Fairmont and Zephyr continued to do reasonable business through 1983, after which they were restyled and renamed LTD and Marquis, surviving until 1986. Their platform, however, proved to be one of Ford's most prolific. Ford eventually used the Fox platform on eleven different car lines -- including the Mustang.

MUSTANG III

The shape of the next Mustang was another matter of contention in the mid-seventies. Buyers did not seem adverse to the idea of a smaller pony car, but even the most generous observers considered the Mustang II a trifle anemic. By 1976, sales of the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird had begun to recover handily, and the bigger, sleeker Camaro outsold the Mustang by a significant margin in 1977 and 1978. It was once again time for a change.

For cost reasons, the Mustang needed to share an existing platform. Since the second-generation Pinto had been canceled, the new Mustang would receive a shortened version of the Fox platform, sharing most of its hardpoints with the Fairmont. It would also share its body with a new Mercury Capri; American sales of the German-built Capri II had been disappointing. (Ford never imported the European Capri Mk 3 to the States.)

Each of Ford's styling studios offered design proposals for the new Mustang, as did the Italian styling house Ghia, which Ford had acquired in the early seventies. The different proposals were bewilderingly varied, suggesting some deep-seated uncertainty about what the Mustang was supposed to be. Many of the more outrageous, swoopy concepts were kiboshed by the need to share the Fairmont platform, while the conservative, angular proposals looked like the shrunken Fairmont coupes they would have been.

It was designer Jack Telnack who finally set the direction for the new Mustang. Telnack was from the Detroit area, but his Ford career had taken an international turn, first with an extended stint at Ford's Australian subsidiary, then with a three-year tenure as design director for Ford Europe. He returned to America in the spring of 1976 as head of advanced and international styling. Telnack, who had worked on both the original Mustang and the 1971-73 generation, was dismayed by the conservatism of the design proposals. He pushed for a more aerodynamic shape, with what he considered a European flavor. Stylistically, it was a big departure for Ford, flying in the face of Henry Ford II's preference for vertical grilles and upright roofs.

To get the shape he wanted, Telnack had to finagle permission to alter some of the Fairmont hardpoints. Such changes were not unheard of at GM, where Styling had more power, but they were rare at Ford, where the "package" dimensions set by Engineering were generally sacrosanct. Telnack also successfully pushed for a three-door body style with a wraparound hatchback, akin to the contemporary Honda Accord and Volkswagen Scirocco. Marketing studies comparing the three-door to a more conventional notchback roofline were inconclusive, so Ford eventually opted to offer both two-door and three-door versions.

Getting Henry Ford II to sign off on the slanted nose took finesse, but Henry eventually decided that he liked the look. The Mustang was hardly a radical-looking car, but Telnack said it opened the door for the more dramatic aero styling of later designs, like the 1983 Thunderbird and the first Ford Taurus. For his efforts, Telnack was promoted to Director of Design in September 1978, just before the new Mustang went on sale.


To promote the new Mustang, Ford arranged for it to become the pace car for the 1979 Indianapolis 500. (ad scan courtesy Alden Jewell)

MORE AND LESS

The new Mustang and Capri went on sale in the fall of 1978 for the 1979 model year. Contrary to the general trend of the times, they were somewhat bigger than their predecessors, although they were still smaller than the 1964 car. The Mustang, however, was usefully lighter than its Pinto-based predecessor, shedding about 200 pounds (91 kg), despite its larger dimensions. That was fortunate, for it had most of the same engines as the Mustang II, or, for that matter, the '78 Fairmont.

The main addition was a new turbocharged version of the 2.3 L (140 cu. in.) four. Still carbureted, it produced 132 horsepower (98 kW), only 8 hp (6 kW) less than the 302 (4.9 L) V8. At the time, most conventional wisdom said that CAFE would obsolete V8 engines by 1985, and Ford, like Buick and later Chrysler, looked to turbocharging as a way to combine reasonable power and fuel economy. On paper, the turbo four didn't seem a bad bet, especially since it was around 150 lb (68 kg) lighter than the V8, but its driveability left much to be desired. Mustang buyers were wary of it, particularly once it became clear that its reliability was also sub-par.

The 1979 Mustang and Capri were 179.1 inches (4,549 mm) long on a 100.4-inch (2,550-mm) wheelbase, about 4 inches (102 mm) longer than the Mustang II. They were still significantly smaller than the contemporary Camaro and Firebird, which dated back to 1970. With the V8, the Mustang's performance was now back in the same league as the small-block V8 Mustangs of the sixties: a manually shifted V8 Mustang could do 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in less than 9 seconds, a notable improvement on the Mustang II. The turbo four was only slightly slower.

The new Mustang's suspension was much the same as the Fairmont's, with the option of Michelin TRX tires (a curious metric-size radial also used by some contemporary BMWs). American critics were pleased with its handling, which wasn't bad on smooth surfaces, but the four-link rear axle was not particularly well located, and did not handle bumpy pavement gracefully. The Mustang and Capri also inherited the Fairmont's mediocre brakes, which became one of their weakest points.

Whatever its ups and downs in recent years, the launch of a new Mustang inevitably drew a lot of press attention, and the clamoring of its loyal fan base. First-year sales of the new car were just under 370,000; nearly double those of the final Mustang II.

That was nearly the only good news Ford got in 1979. The new Mustang and the newly downsized Panther-platform full-size cars got off to a good start, but then a new energy crisis, triggered by the revolution in Iran, sent gas prices soaring and buyers scurrying back to subcompacts. All Ford could offer those customers were a limited number of U.S.-market Fiestas and the aging Pinto, which was now badly tarnished by the growing controversy over gas-tank fires. Ford's market share dropped to its lowest point since World War 2. Things got even worse for 1980, as Ford's total volume -- which had remained steady in 1979, despite the drop in market share -- dropped by more than half a million units. By year's end, the company had lost $1.54 billion.

That was exactly what Lee Iacocca had been afraid of, but by the time his fears came to pass, he was gone. Iacocca had made Ford a great deal of money over the years -- conceiving the Mustang, the original LTD, and the Lincoln Continental Mark, among others -- but he had challenged Henry Ford II too many times. After a final confrontation in the summer of 1978, Henry fired him. Iacocca officially took "early retirement" on October 15, 1978, not long before the new Mustang went on sale. In November, he followed Hal Sperlich to Chrysler.

Weary, in poor health, Henry Ford II made three decisions that would affect the future of the Mustang. First, he reluctantly authorized the front-drive Erika project, which would spawn the U.S.-market Escort and the compact Tempo/Topaz. Second, despite his profound distrust of the Japanese, in late 1979, he authorized the purchase of a 25% interest in Toyo Kyogo, the parent company of Mazda. Finally, shortly before retiring as chairman in 1980, he decided that Ford was once again going racing.


The actual metric displacement of Ford's familiar 302 cu. in. V8 was 4,942 cc, but Ford preferred to round up to 5.0 liters.

A DAY AT THE RACES

Henry Ford's grandfather ran his first auto race in October 1901, and Ford had been involved in official and unofficial competition ever since. The golden age of Ford racing, however, was the 1960s. After an unsuccessful attempt to buy Ferrari in early 1963, Ford launched its "Total Performance" campaign, an all-out assault on nearly every form of motorsport -- notably including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which Ford won four years in a row between 1966 and 1969.

Ford North America abandoned its competition program in November 1970. Racing was (and remains) a very expensive sport, and the company needed the resources to face federal emissions and safety standards. Ford of Britain and Ford of Germany continued to race in a more limited fashion throughout the seventies, but in America, even the remaining stocks of performance parts were scrapped, leaving many private racers out in the cold.

Henry Ford's decision to return to racing ten years later was a curious one. The company was losing money at a frightening rate -- more than $3.5 billion between 1979 and 1983 -- and new CEO Philip Caldwell had begun a brutal cost-cutting program that eventually trimmed $2.5 billion from the company's fixed costs. Nonetheless, Ford desperately needed good publicity, particularly as the Pinto fuel-tank scandal escalated.

At the suggestion of Ford Public Affairs VP Walter Hayes, who had been Ford's head of public affairs in Europe in the sixties, Ford launched a new organization called Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) to oversee its competition efforts. Announced in September 1980, SVO was funded by the Public Affairs department and headed by Michael Kranefuss, former director of motorsport for Ford of Germany. SVO was small, with a staff of about 30, and it operated with an unusual degree of autonomy in the stratified corporate environment of Ford. Its mission was to support private racing teams using Ford cars and engines; develop performance parts; and create high-performance production cars, profits from which were supposed to fund the group's other activities.


The Mustang SVO was designed for flush-mounted composite headlights, but they were still not legal in the U.S. when the SVO debuted, so 1984 and early 1985 cars had sunken, rectangular sealed beams instead. Other Fox Mustangs inherited the SVO's "drooped" nose and composite headlights in 1987, although they had one or two slots between the headlights, giving them a different look.

Kranefuss began by re-bodying a Zakspeed racing Capri from European Group 5 competition as a Mustang, which made a promising showing in the IMSA GT class. This was followed by forays into NASCAR, Baja off-road racing, NHRA drag racing, Trans-Am, Formula One and CART, often with considerable success. By early 1981, SVO had also begun work on its first (and, ultimately, only) production car.

MUSTANG SVO

Almost inevitably, SVO's production car was based on the Mustang. It was the only vaguely sporty model in Ford's lineup at the start of the eighties; the aero-styled 1983 Thunderbird and 1984 Lincoln Mark VII were still in the future.

In 1980 and 1981, the stock Mustang's performance was at a low ebb. Still in serious danger of missing its CAFE requirement for 1980, Ford de-bored the 4.9 L (302) V8 to 4.2 L (255 cu. in.), with a miserable 119 horsepower (89 kW). The turbo engine was still available, but Mustang buyers, who'd never been enthralled with it in the first place, shied away. It was quietly dropped in 1981, although it returned in 1983, now with fuel injection. Sales were still very low.


Prominent hood scoop feeds cool outside air into the intercooler. Early SVOs have an air-to-air intercooler, while the 1985 1/2 and 1986 models, like this one, have a more efficient air-to-water unit. By cooling the pressurized charge before it enters the intake manifold, the intercooler makes the charge denser, increasing power.

Despite its limited public acceptance, SVO decided to base its "Special Mustang" on the turbo four. Turbos still seemed the way of the future, and the 2.3's lighter weight promised better handling than the V8. Furthermore, a turbocharged road car would be useful for homologation purposes. The SVO engineering team fortified the 2.3 engine with Ford's new EEC-IV electronic fuel injection, an air-to-air intercooler, and more boost, up to 14 psi (0.97 bar). It now required premium fuel, but engineer Bob Stelmaszczak also developed a dashboard boost/spark limiter switch, allowing it to survive onregular unleaded if necessary. With full boost pressure, the revamped turbo engine now rated 175 horsepower (131 kW), a healthy increase on the earlier turbo and a good deal better than the anemic early-eighties V8s.

SVO's budget for the special Mustang was only $7 million, but the engineering team made good use of the Ford parts bin and various aftermarket suppliers. The SVO Mustang got a new steering rack from TRW; adjustable Koni shocks; a Borg-Warner T-5 gearbox with Hurst linkage and Dyken heavy-duty clutch; bigger four-wheel disc brakes; Lear-Sigler sport seats; and new 16-inch wheels. There was not much money for cosmetic changes, but it got a new front fascia with a drooped nose, fog lamps, and provision for flush headlights. SVO also added a new hood with a scoop for the intercooler, and an outré biplane rear spoiler.


The SVO's rear spoiler was controversial within SVO. The promotions staff wanted to use the dramatic biplane wing of the Sierra XR4i, but their boss, marketing manager John Clinard, was very nervous that it would become the SVO's stylistic albatross, like the grille of the '58 Edsel. The XR4i's spoiler had a similar shape, but the upper wing was mounted higher on the tail.

Convincing Ford's regular engineering department to supply the new pieces at a cost SVO could afford was not easy. Despite those obstacles, development proceeded apace, and in June 1982, SVO took two prototypes to the Quaker State Oil Longest Day of Nelson 24-hour endurance race. They fared well at first, but both cars suffered overheating problems, and required new engines midway through the event. Still, their performance was promising, and their handling was markedly superior to the contemporary V8 Mustang.

NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES

SVO's production Mustang was originally supposed to appear as a mid-year 1982 model, but it was delayed -- and nearly died entirely -- because Ford came very close to terminating the Fox Mustang on which it was based. In late 1980, the company seriously considered canceling the Fox-body Mustang and Capri at the end of the 1982 or 1983 model year and replacing them with a front-drive model, based on the next-generation Mazda 626. From a financial standpoint, it was a logical idea, particularly since CAFE requirements were slated to rise to 27.5 mpg (8.6 L/100 km) by 1985. The Mustang was such an iconic product for Ford, however, that many engineers, designers, and executives balked at replacing it with a Japanese-engineered car. The idea was shelved, although it would resurface a few years later.

With these delays, the Mustang SVO didn't appear until mid-1984. It was well received by the enthusiast press, which waxed poetic about its sophistication and handling. The SVO was lighter and better balanced than the V8 Mustang, and its bigger tires and re-tuned suspension and steering made it decidedly more agile. It had much better brakes, and it was quick, too, capable of 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in about 7.5 seconds, with a top speed of 134 mph (216 kph). Unfortunately, the SVO was also expensive. With a base price of $15,585, it cost over $6,000 more than a V8-powered Mustang GT, a sum that at that time was enough to buy an entire Ford Escort.

By the time the SVO appeared, the V8 Mustang was quickly recovering its former strength. The arrival of the Escort had given Ford some breathing room on its CAFE, leading to the reintroduction of the 302 (4.9 L V8) in 1982. It had 157 hp (117 kW) at first, which climbed to 175 hp (131 kW) in 1983. The addition of fuel injection for 1984 actually trimmed horsepower to 165 (123 kW), although drivability and fuel economy were much improved. For buyers primarily concerned with straight-line performance, $6,000 was a hefty premium for 10 extra horsepower (8 kW) and notably less torque. The V8 was primitive compared to the turbo four, but it was also far more pleasant to deal with. The SVO's engine was powerful, but it was also rough, noisy, and generally unpleasant, with annoying turbo lag.


The SVO weighs a bit under 2,900 lb (about 1,310 kg), nearly 200 lb (91 kg) lighter than a Mustang GT. Since most of that savings is off the nose, its weight distribution is also notably better. The SVO has adjustable Koni shock absorbers, which give it substantially improved body control compared to the standard Mustang.

The Mustang SVO was left in a cruel bind. In performance and technology, it was competitive with imported sports coupes like the Nissan 300ZX and Toyota Supra, and it was closer to a Porsche 944 than either side cared to admit. Buyers of such cars, however, had long since dismissed the Mustang as a knuckle-dragging throwback, and in their eyes, the SVO was still a Mustang. Mustang loyalists, meanwhile, more concerned with stoplight drag racing than handling and stopping, preferred the vastly cheaper, torquier V8. SVO sales were sluggish; although SVO had an annual production capacity of 10,000 units, they sold only 4,508.

We should note that Mustang sales in general were very gloomy during this period. Despite the revival of the 302, annual sales for 1982-85 were well under 150,000 units, as bad as in the dark days of the early seventies. Strong competition from the newly redesigned Camaro and Firebird was part of it, but the growing ranks of thriftier, more sophisticated imports had also taken their toll on Mustang sales.

UNATTENDED ENCORE

The SVO returned for 1985, gaining a couple of useful improvements mid-year. First was more power: various engine revisions, notably a new air-to-water intercooler, boosted power by 30 hp (22 kW), to 205 (153 kW). To help put that power to the ground, the SVO got shorter gearing and a new quad-shock system, with an additional set of horizontally mounted dampers to control axle hop. The SVO also finally received the flush headlights for which it had been designed, improving its drag coefficient to a reasonable 0.38.

Despite those improvements, and a price cut of about $750, sales were even worse than the first year: less than 2,000. The big problem was that the regular Mustang's V8 was now up to 210 hp (157 kW), more power than the SVO at a much lower price. The following year, both the SVO and V8 were cut back to 200 hp (149 kW), but the SVO was still more than $4,000 costlier than a standard GT. Ford sold 3,382 SVOs for 1986, which would be its final year.

Thanks to the modest development cost, the SVO Mustang did not lose money; the break-even point was only 8,500 cars, and total sales were 9,844. It was hardly an overwhelming success, though, and it did little to underwrite the costs of competition.


The mid-eighties Fox-body Mustangs are a half inch (13 mm) longer than the '79, but its dimensions are otherwise similar. The SVO Mustang has unique 16-inch wheels and plastic rocker panel cladding, but its body is otherwise the same as the three-door Mustang GT. The SVO was not offered with the two-door notchback body or the convertible.

The other reason for cancellation of the SVO was -- once again -- the apparently imminent demise of the Fox Mustang. By late 1983, Ford was again planning to drop the Fox-body pony cars in favor of a front-drive Mazda design, this time at the end of the 1986 model year.

FOX SPRINGS ETERNAL

As before, many Ford employees took umbrage at the idea of replacing the Mustang with a Japanese design. Someone leaked the news to the press, which unleashed a torrent of angry letters from outraged Mustang fans. The United Auto Workers union was even more offended, mostly because it meant that Mustang production would shift from UAW factories in Dearborn to the nonunion Mazda plant in Flat Rock, Michigan. Ford finally relented, and promised the union that Mustang production would stay in Ford plants through at least 1993.

Ford went ahead with the Mazda-based coupe anyway, which emerged in 1989 as the Ford Probe. Although it took its name from a series of highly aerodynamic Ford concept cars, it shared its front- drive platform and four-cylinder engines with Mazda's 626 sedan and MX-6 coupe. Ford's 3.0 L (182 cu. in.) Vulcan V6 became an option in 1990, but other than that engine and the exterior styling, it was primarily a Mazda design.


The SVO's rear disc brakes were borrowed from the contemporary Lincoln Continental Mark VII, with a wider, heavier rear axle than other Mustangs; front discs were bigger than the regular Fox, as well. Other than the SVO, the only Fox-body Mustangs with four-wheel discs were the limited-production 1993 Mustang SVTs.

The Fox-body pony cars soldiered on. The Capri expired in 1986, after years of dismal sales, but the Mustang recovered nicely that year, thanks to cheap gasoline and a resurgent U.S. economy. Since its tooling costs had been paid off long before, it cost less than many four-cylinder rivals; an LX 5.0 was under $11,000. By 1987, the turbo engines were gone, but the V8 was up to 225 horsepower (168 kW).

The resurgent Fox Mustang seemed increasingly crude compared to its newer competition, and even the aftermarket tuners who clutched it to their collective breast had no illusions about the Mustang's flaws. For cheap speed, though, it had few rivals, and sales in the late eighties regularly topped 200,000 units a year.

Although it was still used in other Ford products, including the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, Mercury Cougar XR-7, and Merkur XR4Ti (an American version of the Sierra XR4i), the 2.3 L turbo engine was on its way out. Although it was powerful, Thunderbird and Cougar buyers were even more put off by its agricultural feel and modest low-end torque than Mustang fans had been. The Thunderbird offered the turbo engine through 1988, but most buyers opted for the more pleasant and tractable 302 V8.


Center-mounted high stop light (known, prosaically enough, as CHMSL) was standard on all 1986 Fords. We have no explanation for this car's mismatched taillight covers; the right is correct, the left was apparently borrowed from a stock GT.

The continued strength of the V8 engine was not without its costs. Ford failed to meet its CAFE targets for 1984, and they only avoided paying a penalty in 1986 because the Reagan administration agreed to roll back the standard from 27.5 mpg (8.6 L/100 km) to 26 mpg (9.1 L/100 km).  

THE HARDER THEY FALL

As much as Henry Ford II hadn't wanted front-drive compacts, the Escort and Tempo did good business for Ford, as did the front-drive Taurus. Thanks to those models (and robust truck sales), Ford made a dramatic recovery in the mid-eighties, racking up record profits.

As with Chrysler, however, Ford was again heading for a fall by 1990. A spree of ill-timed acquisitions, including the purchase of Jaguar for a hefty $2.5 billion, ate up the company's cash reserves. When the economy turned sour again by decade's end, Ford again lost ferocious amounts of money. In that climate, the Mustang's future was yet again in doubt. The Fox-body Mustang's last really good sales year was 1989, but Ford had little money to spare for a redesign.


Non-SVO Mustangs got a facelift in 1987, gaining flush headlights like those of the now-departed SVO. While the three-door hatchback tended to be the Fox Mustang's most popular body style, the two-door notchback sold well throughout the model's lifespan. Some buyers strongly preferred the two-door LX 5.0 package to the GT; it had the same engine and suspension, but it was lighter, cheaper, and less ostentatious without the GT's spoilers and ground-effects kit. (Photo © 2007 IFCAR; released to the public domain by the photographer)

Hoping to emulate Mazda's more efficient, less expensive design process, Alex Trotman, head of Ford's North American Operations, assigned engineer John Coletti to form a small, largely autonomous team -- a great deal like SVO -- to develop a new Mustang. By allowing the team to work outside Ford's normal design and engineering channels, Trotman hoped Coletti's group could redesign the Mustang for a modest $300 million, a fraction of Ford's normal development costs for a new model.

Coletti's team, which started work in January 1990, developed the new design -- known internally as SN-95 -- in less than a year. The time and budget constraints ruled out a completely new platform, so the team was left to revamp the now-elderly Fox. While the new Mustang bore little external resemblance to its predecessor, its chassis, now dubbed "Fox-4," was a direct descendant of the long-departed Fairmont.

Launched for the 1994 model year, at an eventual cost of $700 million, the SN-95 Mustang was not an outstanding seller, but it did arrest the sales slide of the early nineties. It outsold the faster, sleeker fourth-generation Camaro and Firebird, and it weathered the implosion of the coupe market, which claimed the Ford Probe in 1997. After a major facelift in 1999, it survived through 2004.

AFTER THE FOX

We're not sure how much Ford spent to develop the Fox platform in the mid-seventies, but they certainly got their money's worth. Ford used it for 16 years -- 26, if we include the Fox-4. By the end of its long life, it was quite dated, and some of its flaws (like axle hop) were never entirely corrected, but it was a great financial success.

SVO continued to do well in competition, but it never built another production car. It did explore several other projects, including a Thunderbird SVO and the Ghia-styled MN34 mid-engine sports car, which would have been powered by a bigger version of the Ford Taurus SHO's DOHC V6. The project died because Ford Division needed the money to develop a replacement for its Bronco II sport-utility vehicle, which eventually became the highly successful Ford Explorer.

Some Ford executives hadn't given up on the idea of offering hotter street cars, and in 1991, Ford sales and marketing VP Bob Rewey and chief technical officer Neil Ressler established the Special Vehicle Team (SVT), specifically to develop and market high-performance versions of Ford production vehicles. Naturally, its core product was a hotter version of the Mustang, known as the Mustang Cobra. SVT has been moderately successful, but it has had little new product in recent years, and there are persistent rumors that it will be shuttered.

What of the SVO Mustangs? The shabby, Pabst Blue Ribbon image of other Fox-body Mustangs has so far limited their collector appeal -- which strikes us as somewhat unfair -- but they still have a small but loyal following. The 302 Fox-bodies remain popular with tuners (and probably will until the last survivor has succumbed to corrosion), but if any eighties Mustang becomes a serious collectible, it will probably be the SVO.

Not being overly fond of either smoky burnouts or the peculiar Midwestern sport of "doing donuts," we've never cared much for Mustangs of this vintage. Shade-tree hot rodding is fine, but we prefer cars that have more polish out of the box. In that regard, the SVO did many things right -- its steering feel, shift linkage, and even the placement of the pedals were much improved over the standard LX 5.0. Sadly, the only things the regular Mustang inherited from the SVO were its aero nose and the quad shock system, which was never entirely effective at taming the V8's torque. The Mustang GT would have been a substantially better car with the SVO's improved suspension, brakes, and controls. It's too bad that there weren't many buyers willing to pay for them.

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NOTES ON SOURCES

Our account of Ford's woes in the 1970s, including the fate of Hal Sperlich, comes  primarily from David Halberstam, The Reckoning (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1986); Joseph White and Paul Ingrassia, Comeback: The Fall & Rise of the American Automobile Industry (New York: Simon & Schuster: 1995); and Lee Iacocca, Iacocca: An Autobiography (New York: Bantam Books, 1984). The primary source for our account of the development of the 1979 Mustang was "Jack Telnack: Chief Designer of the 1979 Ford Mustang" by the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide (16 February 2007, HowStuffWorks.com,  http://auto.howstuffworks.com/jack-telnack.htm, accessed 18 October 2009). Additional technical information came from Tom Wilson, "Fox Mustang 30th Anniversary - Big Three-Oh," (April 2009, 5.0 Mustangs & Super Fords, http://50mustangsuperfords.automotive.com/ 101486/ m5lp-0904-fox-mustang-30th-anniversary/ index.html, accessed 20 October 2009).

The details of the formation of the SVO and the development of the SVO Mustang come primarily from Randy Leffingwell, Mustang: America's Classic Pony Car (Ann Arbor, MI: Lowe & B. Hould Pub., 1999); Alexis Gossseau, "Ford Mustang GTP: too hot!" (10 August 2007, IMSAblog, http://alex62.typepad.com/imsablog/2007/08/ford-mustang-gt.html, accessed 19 October 2009); Steve Bauer, "The Fast and Furious Special Vehicles Team," Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords, March 2009, reprinted on the web at http://www.musclemustangfastfords.com/ features/0312mm_ford _special_vehicle_team/ index.html, accessed 20 October 2009. Leffingwell's book also provided information on the SN95 Mustang, with additional information from Ingrassia and White.

Some additional details on the SVO came from the Mustang SVO Owners Network website (c. 2002, http://www.mustangsvo.org/, accessed 19 October 2009). 

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