Ford Motor Company (F) Ponies Up, and the Birth of a Sweet Empire

A sports car for the masses
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) celebrated the production of its millionth Mustang on March 2, 1966. The iconic “pony car” had been launched only two years earlier, making it an unqualified success for any model. Ford’s earliest smash hit, the Model T, had reached the same milestone seven years after entering production despite being the overwhelming choice of the early American auto buyer.

The pent-up desire for something with speed and sex appeal was undeniable in an America with a growing interstate highway system and a rising suburban middle class, and Ford’s new model, priced at about $2,300 ($16,300 when adjusted for inflation), hit an untapped sweet spot in the auto market. At exactly a third of median family incomes in the mid-1960s, the first-generation Mustang was more affordable than its current incarnation, which now costs costs at least 42% of median household income. That might also explain why later sales, while consistently strong, have never approached the runaway success of the first Mustang. Sales of the pony car have declined from 169,000 in 2001 to a low of just 70,000 in 2011.

Despite this slowdown, the Mustang is still Ford’s longest-running car nameplate and one of its all-time best-sellers. The 9 millionth Mustang drove off its lot in 2008 — at this point, Ford had sold an average of more than 200,000 Mustangs every year for 44 years.

The article Ford Ponies Up, and the Birth of a Sweet Empire originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Alex Planes.

Fool contributor Alex Planes holds no financial position in any company mentioned here. Add him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter, @TMFBiggles, for more insight into markets, history, and technology.The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Ford.

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