Ford introduced the Mustang to the world in 1964 at the New York World's Fair.  Standard equipment for this 1964 ½ "Pony Car" was a 170 cubic inch V-6 that produced 101 horsepower.  It featured a 3-speed manual floorshifter transmission, full wheel covers, a padded dash, bucket seats, and carpet.  There were optional V-8 engines that ranged from 164-390 horsepower.  There were only two models offered...a convertible and a two door hardtop.  The hardtop sold for $2368.

In the fall of 1964 Ford began to offer a 2+2 fastback.  On January 27, 1965,  the Shelby GT 350 debuted.  All of the 1965 GT 350s were white with no Ford or Mustang badging.  Blue rocker panel stripes displayed the GT 350 name.  The GT 350 was armed with a 306 horsepower V-8 and could do 0-60 m.p.h. in a scant 6.5 seconds.  The top speed was listed at 130-135 m.p.h.  This model was a little more costly, however, selling for $4547.

From April 1964 through August 1965 Ford sold over 680,000 Mustangs.  This was (and still is, to my knowledge) the all-time industry record for a model's first year sales.

Not wanting to mess too much with success, Ford made only minor changes for the 1966 model year Mustang.  The honeycomb grill was replaced by thin bars and the thick horizontal chrome bar was done away with on all models except the GTs.  Also, little changed for the 67-68 models.  The highlight of those two years was the debut of the GT 500.  It carried a 428 cubic inch V-8 that was rated at 355 horsepower.  Midway through 1968 the 428 Cobra Jet was released.

The year 1969 brought a few changes for the Mustang.  The body style change was quite noticeable and new models debuted.  There was the Mach 1, which had a 351 cubic inch V-8 that produced 250 horsepower.  Also, there was the Boss 302 packing 290 horsepower and the Boss 429 packing 360 horsepower.  Unfortunately, 1969 also saw the end of the Shelby Mustangs.

The decade of the 70's were like the Dark Ages of the Mustang.  The Boss 302 and the Boss 429 were both discontinued in 1970.  A new Boss Mustang, the Boss 351, debuted in 1971.  It hustled from 0-60 m.p.h. in 5.8 seconds and blasted through the quarter mile in 13.8 seconds.  However, it was very short lived.  The Boss 351 was discontinued halfway through the '71 model year.

Things remained pretty bleak from 1971-1973, but they got worse in 1974.  This was the year that the Mustang II debuted.  Quite a bit smaller than the original Mustang, a lot of critics called it a "souped up" Pinto.  Also, there was no convertible available and no V-8 engine, either.  The only choices available were a 2.3 liter (140 cubic inch) 4 cylinder, and a 2.8 liter (171 cubic inch) V-6.  Oddly enough, the Mustang II won the Motor Trend Car of the Year award in 1974.

The year 1975 brought few changes, easily the most notable was the revival of the 302 cubic inch V-8, although with only 122-139 horsepower.  A new model called the Cobra II was introduced in 1976.  All of these models were white with blue stripes on the hood, roof, and tail.  There was no performance difference, however.  The year 1978 brought the King Cobra, which was basically a Cobra II with a snake decal on the hood.

1979 brought a glimmer of hope that the Dark Ages were over.  The was a new and improved Mustang released that year based on the "Fox" chassis.  There were actually five different engines available that year.  There was the base 2.3 liter 4 cylinder, a turbocharged 2.3 liter 4 cylinder producing 131 horsepower , an inline 6 cylinder, the 2.8 liter V-6, and the 302 cubic inch V-8.

The decade of the '80s saw definite improvement in the Mustang.  In 1980 the turbocharged 4 cylinder was bumped up to 175 horsepower.  The McLauren Mustang also debuted in 1980, although it was rather costly...$25000.  The year 1982 saw the end of the Cobra and the rebirth of the GT.  The inline 6 cylinder engine was dropped in 1983, and a new 3.8 liter V-6 debuted.  Also, a Turbo GT was introduced, sporting 145 horsepower.  1983 also saw the replace of the running-horse emblems with blue Ford ovals.  Probably the biggest news of 1983 was the rebirth of the convertible...the first in ten years.

In 1984 the SVO (Special Vehicle Operations) was born.  It was powered by a 2.3 liter turbocharged 4 cylinder producing 175 horsepower.  1984 also saw the end of the Turbo GT.  In 1987 the SVO was dropped from the lineup along with the 3.8 liter V-6.  The 302 cubic inch (5.0 liter as Ford was calling it now) was upped to 225 horsepower.  In January of  1990 Ford produced 3800 Emerald Green V-8 LX convertibles (with white tops and white leather interiors).  Also, Ford began putting driver's side airbags into the Mustang in 1990.  In 1993, the last year of the "Fox" platform, Ford debuted the limited-edition SVT (Special Vehicle Team) Cobra.  This special Mustang produced 245 horsepower and sported 4-wheel disc brakes.  It also carried the running-horse emblem in the grille instead of the blue Ford oval.

The year 1994 saw the end of the "Fox" platform after 15 years and over 2 ½ million cars sold. The 2.3 liter 4 cylinder was dropped and the 3.8 liter V-6 was brought back.  The "Fox" platform was replaced with the "SN95" platform, which is what is currently being used today.