For a some folks, seeing a gen1 Mustang—along with Tri-Five Chevys—has become boring, the result of over-exposure. Curiously, it’s somewhat the opposite effect with me; the more I learn about cars, their genesis, development, engineering, styling, etc., and perhaps most interesting for me, their effect in the marketplace, the more I can appreciate just looking at one. My respect for such a genuine game-changer like the Mustang only expands with time, knowing how rare that happens.
It’s been a while since I’ve found something worthy of shooting and sharing from our many summit assaults on Skinner Butte, but this very original ’65 was worthy of one more veneration.
You either experienced the Mustang phenomena—like a few other key sixties events—or you didn’t. That’s not to say you can’t appreciate it if you didn’t, but it will never be quite the real thing. To see a massive collective mania take off and self-generate for several years, on this scale, was highly memorable. The closest comparison is the Beatles, except that Mustang mania affected a wider demographic. Everyone wanted one, to one degree or another. Nobody dared diss them, despite their limitations.
Of course that’s all coming from the perspective of a 12-14 year old kid. One that had been a pretty staunch GM guy and something of a Ford cynic. But here it was, the hottest car in the land, at a time when there were a lot of other hot cars.
It’s utterly obvious, but what made it so hot was its sheer affordability. And the fact that there was no stripper Mustang with dog dishes and no bright trim and cheaply upholstered bench seats. Yes, we could all tell whether it had a six or V8 from two blocks away with our still-perfect 20-20 vision, or just from the sound if it was taking off. But even a six was…ok, if not exactly lustworthy.
Seeing this reminded me of jamming into one that a kid I know got to drive (his Dad’s), cruising Towson on a hot Saturday night. Unfortunately we didn’t have a Skinner Butte to drive up to; we were stuck at Ginos drive in. But in the moment, riding in that Mustang with the windows open on a hot summer night was awesome. Cheap thrills.
Put me in the “I don’t remember the Mustang phenomenon” camp. I was not quite 4 years old on April 17, 1964 when these made their grand debut. I barely remember the 1960 Dodge Dart Seneca that my Dad was driving at the time. I became car aware when he was about to trade that Dodge in on his first love, a Chevy.
The ‘65 I remember most was the Impala, another phenomenon of the time. Didn’t they sell over a million of them each year? Dad got a ‘66 fastback coupe at the time, and from that point on, I was car aware.
I didn’t really notice Mustangs at the time for the same reason… I was a Chevy guy now.
Oh my how that would eventually change.
That ‘65 looks positively tiny compared to the cars around it. Something not really noticed in the longer lower wider days of yore. When it really hit me how small these were was when I pulled into a convenience store years ago in my 2007 and parked next to its retro-inspiration, a 1967 Mustang. Man did my car look huge in comparison!
I’m in the other camp. I was 11 when they came out and recall a visit my father made to some friend’s house. Can’t recall if Maryland or up in Pennsylvania. Whatever, the man’s daughter had a brand new white 1965 Mustang convertible with red interior of which I got a ride in. Like a brand new duckling that image was forever imprinted in my mind. All I thought about was my first Mustang when I turned 16 in a few years. Ultimately I ended up with my now 55 year old Cougar.
So am I bored seeing them? To be fair the only place where I would see tons of them is at a car show for both 1st gen Mustangs and Tri-Fives. I don’t go to shows so actually seeing one of them out on the open road is quite rare nowadays around where I live. Well other than the one a few blocks away that hasn’t moved in the last five years and may never after talking with the owner. However, when I do see the rare 1st gen Mustang on the open road it always brings a big smile to me face.
LOL, my father had a 1960 Dodge Seneca, in 1960, as a company car in all blue for one year. That was the car that introduced me to that new car smell back then.
That ‘65 looks positively tiny compared to the cars around it. Something not really noticed in the longer lower wider days of yore. When it really hit me how small these were was when I pulled into a convenience store years ago in my 2007 and parked next to its retro-inspiration, a 1967 Mustang. Man did my car look huge in comparison!
When I first saw the picture and headline I read it as “Skinnier butt outtake”, and I’m like “yep”. There was a time 60s compacts didn’t really appear very compact, but today’s compacts look massive, cars have grown in height which is begrudgingly understandable but they seem way wider than they used to be as well.
I had to look up the width of a 65 Mustang at just over 68 inches. Then I looked up the width of my 2004 Focus and it was 67 inches. I always thought it looked small in parking lots even by today’s tighter limitations in sizing the spots.
Nice to see a survivor wearing it’s original hubcaps. I remember lots of Mustangs looked like this in the 80’s: Tired paint, saggy rear end.
Outstanding find!
It’s hard to tell with the paint so faded but if that color is Tropical Turquoise, it’s a rare color. One of the least favorite colors that year but I always liked it.
The first Mustang in our small town in Indiana was Tropical Turquoise with black interior, six cylinder (I think it was the 200), automatic, radio, whitewalls. The car caused a sensation everywhere it was parked. My cousin got a new 67 in fall 66. A similar color now called Frost Turquoise. Both cars were factory ordered. I did not know it was a rare color as it was reasonably popular in our area, strangely enough. Much later a friend here in SoCal had a 65 Thunderbird in the same turquoise. Miss the variety of colors you saw back in the day.
I do remember the launch of the mustang in early 64. I was 12, almost 13, actually, in May. I did like them, but my lust for a GTO was stronger, likely due to the presence of Pontiacs in the parents garage since 59. A friends father bought an early Mustang convertible, Red over red. Traded it in on a new 66 hardtop GT. in a medium steel blue, the one my friend drove, he being the oldest in our group. We used that to go to the Beatles concert in August of 66m at Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. 3 mop topped teens. 1, 16, the other 2, 15 going to a Beatles concert in a Mustang. Was consummate mid 60s. I did like mustangs. but the 67 Cougar really got my attention. Still, I was a GTO guy. Of course, my Brother in law buys a new 66 Mustang Conv. in Springtime Yellow, Pic is of my Parents standing next to it in the driveway of our home. The car in Which I learned to drive at 15. He then gave it to my Sister and bought a new 67 GTO.. But I do have memories of driving a Mustang convertible.
I recently came across some photos of my wife’s family’s springtime yellow 1967 Mustang.
This one was taken in about 1970 on a roadtrip from Missouri to Wisconsin. There were 5 people making that trip – my wife and her brother (both toddlers), their parents, and their grandma.
Luggage filled the trunk and the rooftop carrier, while my father-in-law strapped the spare tire to the trunk-mounted luggage rack. They made frequent trips like this. The Mustang remained in their family for 27 years.
(If the dimensions seem a bit off, it’s because I took this photo of slide projected on the wall.)
Sister and brother in law had this “yellow stang”, in fast back version. Was the first car when they married in “67”.
Was a stunner!!
Unrestored or non hotrodded tri5s or early Mustangs will get me to look every time especially RHD local delivery tri 5s, those are really collectable here tho they are all 4 door cars, Early Mustangs were rare but not now they are simply everywhere and usually overestored or clones of K code cars,
That 65 is in good nick for its age and still in use, even better.
I turned seven in the late autumn of 1963. It wasn’t a good week … President John Kennedy was assassinated just a few days earlier and no one felt like celebrating. And my big birthday treat, going to the San Francisco Imported Car Show (yes, the show was segregated then), didn’t happen because the show was cancelled. We did not have a TV so other less serious “pop-culture” events that happened around that time were totally off my radar until they had worked their way into everyday life. The Beatles were one example; no Ed Sullivan for us, so it took a trip to England a few months into 1964 to fully realize the effects of their arrival. But when we got back to the US in the fall of ‘64, the Mustang was far more ubiquitous than the Beatles, but still very buzz worthy. The 12 months starting in late November 1963 still stick with me. 1965? No memories except a few pop songs and vertical stacked headlights on big Fords.
I was a few years older but my memories of that fall are also coloured by the shock and darkness of the assassination, as well as the revelation of ‘an amazing group from England’ coming through on crackly AM radio at night.
I don’t know what the title meant to her, but I’ve always found the Rickie Lee Jones song ‘On Saturday Afternoons in 1963’ very evocative.
Certainly I remember the spring event of the Mustang introduction. In my 14th year I was already anxiously anticipating getting a driving license two years hence. I was quite car aware. And I preferred Fords – due to T-Birds and what I thought (and still do) was the very good looking ’63 full sized Fords.
This was a cultural event and the “media” knew it. Iacocca was celebrated. Mustang was on the cover of more magazines than just car rags. When photographed the car just couldn’t help but look good (and it still does with patina on a hill in Oregon). For my life the Mustang has been more significant than other mid-’60s markers: Beatles & rock music; Vietnam; LBJ and Nixon; hippies & pot.
Two years later I got my license and took the test on my mom’s new ’66 Mustang coupe (six, three speed – but still a Mustang).
And I am still attracted to the ’64 – ’68 Mustangs at car events, especially the interior variations and colors. In contrast I ignore completely what I consider to be boring and uninteresting “tri-fives”, Camaros, Chevelles and Mopar/hemis.
Mustangs matter.
Bench seats no, but basic Mustangs did come with dog dish hubcaps, at least in 1967. I’ll never forget the only shopping expedition my father ever made to buy a new car (during my childhood, at least) and seeing the price-leader 1967 Mustang I wanted him to buy in the showroom. It was this exact color and spec, though may have had whitewalls.
Of course, we ended up with a leftover 1966 Buick Special four-door instead, in the black the dealer hadn’t been able to sell. Dad was a doctor with very similar tendencies to the elder Niedermeyer.
I sure remember when the Mustang was introduced. I was 16 and had gotten my drivers license in January. I saw my first one at our small town Ford dealer the day before introduction. Prior to that I did not know Ford was introducing a new car line. I thought it was nice but didn’t think they would sell many. Pretty soon they were everywhere. I had my first ride in one, a white convertible the following fall with a couple of girls who were looking for my brother. That summer we were on vacation in Colorado and got to see the filming of a commercial for the soon to be introduced fastback. I have seen a clip from that many times. It shows the car running up an inclined road. I dated a girl in college who owned a ’66. I finally bought my first one in ’71. It was a low mileage ’67 in the same turquoise as the one pictured. Since then I have owned 6 of various generations. I have finally settled on my ’66 coupe.
By the way, yes it does look very small when parked next to my 2009 Mustang.
My high school Civics (US Government) teacher had one exactly like this example. Same color, similar patina even though it was only about six or seven years old. We talk a lot about how much faster/cleaner/economical/safer etc modern cars are, but to me the quality of most modern paint … at least it’s ability to hold a shine … is right up there with those other attributes.
Count me among the people who have gotten bored with first generation Mustangs — I’m pretty sure they are the most commonly restored cars in the US (Although first generation Broncos might be vying for that title now).
But I can see the appeal of this specific Mustang, an actual survivor, not one that’s been restored to pristine condition, or restomodded.
I like the GT rear valance panel and dual exhausts. That’s a tasteful modification that I’ve considered doing to mine in the past, but it’s probably not worth the effort. If I could order a new ’65 Mustang, I think I’d go with a Caspian Blue GT Fastback with a four-speed (A or K-Code, either way is fine).
I’m a little bored with them at car shows, but I still like seeing them on the road.
Tri-fives and early Mustangs bore me in the sense that I’ll probably ignore them at a car show or TV auction or museum or whatever, but seeing them in the wild is a different story. It’s like overplayed music, I get so sick of it I tune it out, but every now and then you leave it on and hear a part of the song you never hear because you’ve usually skipped by then and remember “oh yeah this rocks!” Same goes for these cars, they’re over represented among classic cars, but it’s not unearned.
This is a really good analogy.
The original Mustang was Top 40 radio in automotive form: a middlebrow concept that was never clever or daring enough for cognoscenti and that was quickly surrounded by a whole raft of similar product. It’s not until it’s plucked out of context that its individual virtues really become apparent.
Since I almost never go to car shows, my reaction to them, especially when they’re original, is not tainted. It’s why I don’t go to car shows actually; it keeps my perspective a lot fresher.
Those ‘65s seemed to always have that open arc of a seam between the left front headlight surround and the painted grill shell.
A full set of knock-off hubcaps in the “wild” is not often seen. They are expensive and desired, and a whole set takes only seconds and a big screwdriver to abscond with.
A sighting in the “wild” is so much better than at a show. As I like to tell people, a less than perfect paint job matters much more to the owner than it does anyone else. Mostly there and all one factory color is really good enough for a a Mustang living wild and free.
My auto lust doesn’t kick in until the late 1970s, so it’s Fox Mustangs for me. I swear someone is making first generation Mustangs somewhere – they are about as common as a rose in a flower show. I have a lot of memories of cars I remember seeing when new, but sorry, no Beatles memories, no hippy memories, no Mustang memories – but I do have more than a few VW Beetle memories, having a father who drove them.
Yes, I feel left out of this discussion. Like listening to stories about Vietnam. Sigh.
I was born in fall 1964 so didn’t experience Mustang mania firsthand but soon after while growing up and developing my love of cars (and Fords!) I knew the Mustang was something else and special. My aunt and uncle had one, which I recall riding in in the early 1970’s. When I transferred my family’s old 8mm films to digital ten years ago I found a minute of footage of their car circa 1965, in the heyday of the mania, that was cool to uncover! (See screenshots)
As far as car mania goes, I think the 1986 Taurus (and Sable) came close to being another new car introduction that was very highly anticipated, widely covered in all sorts of press, and then sales backed it up as well, for years. That one I had a front seat to, and it was exciting being a big Ford fan and seeing them transform the average American sedan into some more European and exciting.
Your young Aunt reminds me of the girl’s in the Six and the Single girl ad campaign.
Yeah, Ford really caught lightening in a bottle with the original Mustang. Maybe not a great car with nothing but Falcon underpinnings, but that also meant a proven chassis, but it looked good, was cheap to buy and run so they sold a ton of them. Maybe not 63 Corvette or Type E Jag good looks, but affordable and accessible. And completely caught GM with their pants down so they sold even more.
I’ll still see an at least relatively original on the road every couple of weeks or so, not a common car, but far from rare in the wild where I live. And they’re a car that brings a smile to nearly everyones face, just seeing one.
I don’t remember the introduction, but I remember them suddenly being everywhere by the spring of 1965.
I won’t walk 10 feet to look at one at a show, but seeing one in the wild makes me stop and gaze. The car’s styling is virtually perfect, and has held up after all these years.
I was a young ‘un back then. I remember seeing the Mustang on display at the World’s Fair in NYC, and how excited I was to push my baby brother around in a rented stroller designed to look like the Mustang. I’ve always been a Ford and Mustang fan; the only Mustang years I sneer at are ’71-’73, where they were simply too big and ungainly. We 3 kids begged our parents to buy one in 1970 when Dad’s ’61 Chrysler gave up the ghost, but they wisely thought clearly and bought a ’70 Torino 4 door to supplement our ’66 Ranch Wagon.
I first saw the Mustang in a “Time” magazine I borrowed from the library to read during Freshman English class. I was smitten. Started working at the local grocery store for $.90/hr, until I had saved up enough for a decent down payment. Talked Dad into accompanying me to the Performance Ford store in Washington, Il, (Buck Strode) to order a dark green/black ’67 Fastback. Dad him-hawed around until closing time, when he spotted a demo ’67 Fairlane GT, Silver over red, 390/HD 3-speed floor mounted. The salesman suggested that we take it home overnight to see if it would be an acceptable substitute. Dad drove it from the dealership, and I dropped him off at home. Bought the Fairlane, and loved it until I was drafted in Feb. 1969. Dad sold it when I was transferred to Germany, and I never knew what happened to it. I loved that car. Never owned a Mustang.
My Mustang is no show car. I do take it to occasional local shows, but it is mostly to socialize and look at the other cars. Mine is mostly original except for 1 repaint and still has the original vinyl top. I bought it to drive and enjoy in the warm months and to use as an occasional daily driver. I do have to say that when I have it “out in the wild” it does draw attention. I have heard lots of Mustang stories from people who come up to me at the gas station. I have also heard a few times ” So you are the guy up on the corner with the red Mustang”. All of that is well and good, but what I really like about it is just the fun of driving it and having it around.
By the way, I can see how some people do have Mustang and ’57 Chevy ( I used to own one of those too) fatigue. Kind of like when I watch the car auctions. I get tired of Corvettes and ’69 Camaros.
CC effect cont’d. This pristine example (same colour!?) appeared on the street today, virtually around the corner. More pics in the Cohort.