Not surprisingly, sales reached an all-time low during this period of time. The mid-1970s represented a dismal time for the American automobile industry, and the emasculation of the Ford Mustang is perhaps the greatest example of what went wrong in the middle of this decade. Emissions regulations had stifled performance, and the convertible model had disappeared from the lineup. Reborn for 1974, the much smaller Mustang II rode on a Pinto platform to save development costs and improve fuel economy.
By the time the oil crisis of 1973 hit, the Mustang had lost its edge in terms of performance and appeal. But, like Elvis Presley, the Mustang had evolved from lightweight and simple agile to overweight and cumbersome.
By the late 1960s, the Mustang competed against the AMC Javelin, Chevrolet Camaro, Plymouth Barracuda and Pontiac Firebird. Ford sold hundreds of thousands of Mustangs, convincing General Motors and Chrysler Corporation to release their own variations on the theme. The Ford Mustang debuted in April of 1964 as either a coupe or convertible with six or eight cylinders under the hood, and became a national sensation.
