Minneapolis Street Sighting: Ford Mustang

Introduced in 1964, Ford's Mustang became an instant success story for Ford. A variety of engines and trimlines meant there was a Mustang for everyone--mild to wild, grocery-getter to dragstrip-star. In the 196s, even the base Mustangs looked decent, but as time wore on, the base cars got further and further down the chain of "economy car with a name", rather than a cheapened muscle car. In the 1970s, the Mustang gave way to the Mustang II, and since 1974, base Mustangs have never been looked at in the same light.
In 1979, the Fox-body Mustang made its debut. Although there were V8 cars, the less-stellar six-cylinder and four cylinders made up the brunt of production. Going on the fact this car has no trim badging, full-faced wheelcovers (hubcaps), and is painted a rather pedestrian color, I'm going to assume that this packs the oh so wonderful 85 horse straight six. Yes, you read that right. EIGHT-FIVE STAMPING HORSES.
While I am a fan of the Fox in all of its iterations, be it Lincoln Mark VIIs, Ford Fairmonts, Ford LTDs, Mercury Capri, or whatever, the early four-eyed Mustangs look the best of them all. Not too many are around anymore, so I'll take any four-eye I can feasibly find. I'd love to find a Cobra, a Mustang GT, or any shape of Capri, but the likelihood of that is probably nil. I guess I'll make do with the economy special I shot instead.









As far as Malaise-era base models go, this Mustang isn't too bad. Full-faced wheelcovers are so much a part of this car as is the 1980s-era detailing. Flat body, simplistic trim, and very few creases and styling theme mark a time when cars were drawn on paper, and complex surfacing wasn't yet the "in" thing. While most would criticize this Mustang for looking too plain.. you have to remember that cars as a whole looked quite a bit boxier and generic than they do today--okay maybe that's debatable--and as result, used decaling and add-on trim to look sporty, Mustang included.
This is the opposite of a sports car though. Caked in all its bare glory, this little pony was intended for school runs, grocery shopping, and in-town driving, and not much more. After all, what else do you expect from a lousy 3.3L six with barely enough torque to spin one rear tire.
I usually don't fawn over base model cars, but for some odd reason, this little 'stang has just enough going for it to be featured here. These models aren't seen very often, much less is more-or-less decent condition. No doubt I'll snap another if I see it.