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In fact, there were so many options, both dealer- and factory-fitted, that it seemed as if virtually every Mustang was different. It was the first “personal car,” which buyers could “tailor” to their own requirements or ego. The reality was that with over 400,000 Mustangs sold in the first year, many would be identical, but the customers thought differently. One other point was crucial to the Mustang’s feel-good factor: all of the cars, even the cheapest six, had bucket seats, a floor shifter, and a sporty three-spoke steering wheel, three items guaranteed to make an immediate (and favorable) impact in the showroom. To American car buyers in the early 1960s, these were icons of sporty, upscale cars. They might have added a little to the cost of each and every Mustang, but first impressions count, and they were well worth having. The Mustang made so huge an impression in its first fewmonths that one could have forgiven Ford for leaving the design as it was, and concentrating on churning out units as fast as possible for, after all, it could sell every single one. But Ford had rested on its laurels once too often and did not relish a repeat. So, three months into production came that Hi-Po V8; three months after that a third body shape, the “2+2” fastback, appeared, complete with fold-down rear

A 1965 Mustang Fastback characterized by its long, downward sloping roof.

14 Mustangs & Camaros