"Ultimate Automotive Survivors" list (w/Festiva!)

[Safety Guy]

The Pinto based Mustang II certainly wasn't the cream of the crop, but I recall a plain white V8 coupe (302 probably) model still running around east Columbus about ten years ago in really nice looking shape.

Back then they seemed pretty popular!

Karl

[Safety Guy]

Here's a nice looking one! Read the article:

http://rpmcanada.ca/performance/index.php/race-rods-crazy-about-the-mustang-ii/

From the article:

"Although the Mustang II was Ford’s answer to the Energy Crisis of the early 1970s, it was introduced at least two months ahead of the fuel crisis. The thinking of Ford’s engineers, and in particular, Lee Iacocca, the father of Mustangs, was that they needed to get back to its roots with a new car similar in size and performance to the original Mustang introduced in 1964. The new car was built to compete head-on with the best from Japan and Europe.

History has not been kind to the Mustang II and the car is not popular with many carnuts or enthusiasts. True, the performance was lacklustre and the smaller size made it maligned as the ladies’ Mustang, but it did get much better economy and was a much better handling car than the previous models. Earlier models had swollen to whale-like proportions and, most importantly, sales had dropped off. The Mustang II initial sales were very impressive and it soon became available with the V8 again."

Silk purse/sow's ear kinda stuff!

And here's an article that just doesn't get it:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/10/1028_50_ugliest_cars_of_past_50_years/10.htm

(Look around at their comments on other cars.)

Guess who drove a Mustang II on TV?

Karl

[superduder]

how did yugos last for 20 years?

The yugo is a ctually the Fiat Panda,
Made since 1980 and still made and sold in russia and a few other places.
And they're not too bad of a car,
If you don't treat it like it's a disposable toy.
J

[Evil D]

The II gets a bad rap because it was the successor to the legendary '60s cars. Even the early '70s cars where legendary compared to the II, but you can't blame the car, blame the fuel crisis/economy/etc. It was the right car at the right time and without it the Mustang wouldn't be here today.

To this day Ford likes to pretend the Fox Mustangs never existed, yet they single handedly spawned an entire aftermarket industry and kept Ford afloat throughout the '80s.

[freshtiva]

they couldn't even give it a nice picture to go with the article. What a shame...

x 2

[scitzz]

I have owned not one, but two Mustang II's. While they may be a brick through the air, I felt they handled better than any other Mustang before them. Then again, I ride goofy foot, AND I like the way a Festiva steers.....

I have also rebuilt/restored more classic Stangs than I can conveniently count....

[Safety Guy]

The proper way to "judge" the Mustang II would be to compare it with all the other cars that were offered at that time.

Comparing it with modern cars will invite too easy negative judgements. Being around 16 to 18 during that time, I had fairly positive views on them.

Karl