We thought briefly about titling this post: Geeking Out: The Mustang II is the second-most popular ponycar of all time. But putting the universally ridiculed Ford Pinto-based Mustang II in the title is the ultimate traffic buzz kill.
For this the second installment of Geeking Out (click here for the first installment on Lamborghini sales), we looked at the total sales of all Mustangs in the model's nearly half-century run. And depending on how you slice the data, that hideous little heap is, indeed, in the second-place spot.
Follow the jump for an explanation and a heapin' helpin' of geekiness.
"But, look, the Mustang II column on the top chart is the shortest of all except for the current car," you say? Well, that's true. The Mustang II, which was produced for five years ('74 through '78), accounts for only 1,016,836 of a total of about 8.3 million total Mustangs built over the model's lifetime.
But have a look at the chart below.
Because some generations of Mustang ran for 10 years, some 15 and some only five, the only fair way to compare them is to calculate the average yearly sales within each generation. No surprise that the wildly successful first generation is still the king of Mustang sales. But every generation since then, average yearly Mustang sales have shrunk.
And before anyone pens a scorched-Earth comment about the utter falseness of our generational cutoffs, know that we have followed Ford's lead here in defining a generation not as a body style but instead on what platform underpinned the cars. So the Falcon-based 'Stang covers everything from a girly-white '641/2 convertible to a bloated 1973 side-burn transporter. The Mustang II covers 1974 through 1978. The Fox bodied cars were built from 1979 through 1993. The SN95 cars that were built from 1994 through 2004 are considered the fourth generation. And the 2005-to-present Mustangs use what's known as the S197 platform.
Here are a few other interesting thing revealed by the numbers:
* The Mustang's biggest selling year was 1966, when Ford unloaded 549,436 units. That's more than a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord sells in a good year. For perspective, Ford sold almost as many Mustangs that year as it did for the years 2005 though 2008 combined.
* The Mustang's worst-selling year was 1991, with a paltry 80,247 units moved. That's about 11,000 fewer Mustangs than Ford managed to unload last year in the amid the collapse of the American car market.
* The last time Mustang sales reached or exceeded 200,000 in a year was 1980. The last year Mustang sales topped 300,000 in a year was 1979, the year after the Mustang II was killed off.
subytrojan says:
01:19 PM, 07/22/09
Why no photo of the 1994-1998 Mustang?
F-bodies FTW!
dougtheeng says:
01:32 PM, 07/22/09
these breakdowns are interesting. keep'em coming.
bankerdanny says:
01:55 PM, 07/22/09
Interesting, but I have a hard time including the 71-73 Mustangs with the 1st generation.
Similarly the '94-04 car was pretty much the same under the skin as the 79-93 car with the primary difference the OHC engine vs the classic 5.0.
ctpax says:
01:56 PM, 07/22/09
so I've got an 05 Roush GT. The interior build quality is the poorest I've ever seen. EVERYTHING is rock solid there except for the seats. It rattles like a rattle snake and gets 17mpg overall but I still love it. I'm part of American culture.
bankerdanny says:
02:02 PM, 07/22/09
I see of course AFTER I comment that you have covered that exact issue. But with all due respect to Ford (and they're just the manufacturer what would they know), I think they're wrong too.
And what the heck do you mean about 'hideous little heap'? In it's day the late 80's - early 90's Mustang was a performance bargain. Sure my '87 LX 5.0 had a worse ride than my '71 Bronco, but darn it was fun to drive, sounded great, didn't cost much, got 25+ mpg on the highway and looked good too. In fact I liked it enough to purchase it over a more heavily optioned Acura Integra.
firstwagon says:
03:21 PM, 07/22/09
bankerdanny
I think the "hideous little heap" he's referring to is the Pinto based Mustang II (74 to 78).
lvranger says:
03:36 PM, 07/22/09
My first car was a 80 with the 3.3 I6. Looked just like the orange one in the pic but it was white. It was a dog but taught me a lot about driving. Kind of what you want in a first car.
No mustangs since then but they have a special place in my heart and I will own one again one day.
greenpony says:
07:38 PM, 07/22/09
That is one delicious Bullitt.
danielpund says:
07:06 AM, 07/23/09
bankerdanny,
Firstwagon is correct. "Hideous little heap" refers specifically to the Mustang II ('74 through '78).
As the former owner of a tan Ghia-edition Mustang II with a luggage rack and a half vinyl roof, let me assure you that, I know of what I speak on this issue. "Heap" was maybe too kind a description.
Daniel