The 1965 Ford Mustang was unveiled to hundreds of reporters by Lee Iacocca at the New York World ’s Fair on April 13 , 1964 . The Mustang had been defend by Iacocca , an challenging auto salesman who rose through the ranks on smarts and self - pledge to become head of the Ford division .
The World ’s Fair entry was part of a sweeping promotional material initiative , and Iacocca , center stage that day , was in his element . His address is serves not only to introduce the Earth to a new kind of car , but also hints at the power of a new generation .
The nation ’s lamentation over the November 1963 character assassination of President Kennedy was just beginning to lift . The Beatles ' sensory American TV introduction had come in February ' 64 . Into this purport of youth and replenishment maltreat the Mustang , itself doom to encounter a character in define the 1960s . Here are excerpts from Iacocca ’s historic speech :
We value your coming here to share this moment with us , one of the most important occasions in Ford Division account . by the way , this is Ford ’s first international press institution . Here in New York we have newsmen from Canada and Puerto Rico as well as the United States . And while we meet here , the Mustang is being introduced in 11 European capitals to some 2000 reporters , editor program , and photographer .
From the offset , the Mustang has been an exciting venture for all of us . We have n’t been able-bodied to contain our excitement entirely , with the outcome , I ’m happy to say , that the populace has fascinate some of our fever . We hope it ’s highly transmittable .
We ca n’t intend of any [ Ford ] product … that has generated more advance interest than the Mustang . People in every state and from as far aside as England , Malta , and Australia have written to ask for more information about the railroad car . Many were quick to regularise it raft unseen! … One customer we may have to let down . He wants a Mustang [ with ] a 427 gamey - performance engine in it . We ’ve forwarded his name to Project Mercury at Cape Kennedy .
Let me put the Mustang into perspective . First , it is a entirely fresh line of merchandise of elevator car – freestanding from Ford , Fairlane , Falcon , and Thunderbird …. Second , Mustang will be usable in two - door hardtop and transformable models with probably the longest list of options and accessories ever extend on a new car .
Third , the Mustang will have an astonishingly low cost – so low-spirited we plan to infix it with an intensive safari of price advertising . The suggest retail price for a two - doorway Mustang hardtop with standard equipment , delivered at a Detroit dealership , will be just $ 2368 . fourthly , the Mustang will be built at two assembly plants – Dearborn , Michigan , and San Jose , California .
at last , we be after to outfit the Mustang into our curriculum of carrying into action upshot . We ’ll use it in such renowned road rallies as the Midnight Sun in Sweden , the Alpine in France , and the Spa - Sofia - Liege between Belgium and Yugoslavia .
We do n’t exact the Mustang … can be all things to all people . But we do believe it will be more thing to more people than any other automobile on the road .
Iacocca go on to explicate why the Mustang would become so popular , and made some astonishingly prophetical watching about the grocery for his new car . Move on to the next Thomas Nelson Page to learn how Lee Iacocca saw the future .
For even more on the Ford Mustang of yesterday and today, check out the following articles:
Iacocca Gives Away Mustang’s Secret
Lee Iacocca introduced the 1965 Ford Mustang to a throng of reporters at the New York World ’s Fair on April 13 , 1964 . He trumpeted the fresh car ’s design and price , and outlined the come advertising campaign . He then pop off on to explain just why the Mustang was such a revolutionary vehicle . We rejoin Iacocca ’s comment as he account the changing needs of the car - buying public , and how the Mustang fits in :
The closed book lie in in its singular versatility . For a modest toll it can be an scotch compact car with traditional Ford tone and all the flare of a high up - priced , highly styled European route car . For a little less - lowly terms , customer can buy high performance to check the flair . The Mustang straddles price bracket in a room that will enable buyers to lay it reckon on their item-by-item needs , require , and pocketbooks .
From the commencement , thickset - auto customers have wanted pail seats , deluxe trimness bundle , high - performance engine , four - on - the - floor spliff shifts , and just about every other option we could devise . [ They ] wanted introductory sparing compacts , to be sure . But they also need to be able to habilitate them up to fit their own individual taste . The compact - railcar market reverberate the flavor of youthfulness – unseasoned Americans out to have a respectable time .
By next year , 40 per centum of the U.S. universe will be under 20 age of geezerhood , and the 16 - 24 group is growing quicker than any other segment . Not only are there more young people , they are settling down at an other age , marrying , and having menage .
We plan the Mustang with young America in head . We like to think that in the unconscious process we have achieve a Modern proportion in American motoring – perhaps in humans motoring . We believe we have succeeded in wrapping up – in one package – all the element of what we call " total functioning . " Best of all , we bid the package at a modest cost .
You know , it ’s easy to project a railcar with a spacious interior if you are willing to sacrifice exterior flair . And it ’s also well-fixed to design a car with a racy , sporty exterior if you ’re willing to throw out a duo of seats or give up most of your torso space . The magic is come up the correct combination of roominess and gamey style – and that ’s precisely what we cerebrate we ’ve carry out with our new melodic phrase of railcar . Lady and gentleman’s gentleman – the Mustang !
