9781422279601

M U S T A N G

Obviously fake air scoops flanked either side of the grille, and it is here that the Mustang was let down by poor design and quality. The squarish headlight bezels were separate units. as were the fake scoops, and rarely did the pieces match each other or the fenders. Most motoring journals noticed the problem and said so, sometimes in very unforgiving terms. Ford took notice and the offending pieces were redesigned and made as one in 1967. The Basic Mustang Iacocca wanted the Mustang to have a huge list of options to encourage buyers to individualize their cars. This was so successful that there are hardly two Mus- tangs exactly alike. For instance, with the wheel covers there was a standard set and five optional ones. The standard wheels were 13-inches in diameter, and had a bead width of 4 inches. Fourteen-inch wheels were standard with the handling package. Front and rear bumpers were slim and nicely styled, but useless a colli- sion. They were set against the body metal and offered little or no protec- tion. The sides had unique sculpturing. The scooped appearance began as a line from the beginning of the front fender, and continued and became more pronounced as it ended in front of the rear wheel arch. Here, the scoop curved acutely downward and was finished off by a simulated air intake. Then the scooped indentation came back on itself, finishing just behind the front wheel opening, just below the Mustang pony emblem mounted on a red, white, and blue slim vertical bar. Three vertical chrome bars mounted together, covered the tail lights on either side. Though they appeared to be three separate lights, they were actually one unit, cleverly designed to give

Apart from revised, simulated rear-quarter air scoops and the absence of the chrome bars in the grille, the 1966 Mustang hardtop coupe is identical to the 1965 model. This particular car has the standard I-6 engine.

12