Talk Back Tuesday: Could the Ford Mustang Ever Happen
Again

In case you missed it, the Ford Mustang turned 45 last Friday. It was August 17, 1964 when the car debuted at The New York's World Fair, effectively creating a new category of vehicle -- the Pony Car.

In the next three years over one million Ford Mustangs were sold. Think about that for a minute -- one million units in three years. We're not talking a million full-sized trucks or four-door family sedans. The Mustang was a two-door coupe with clearly sporting intentions. That would be like selling one million Hyundai Genesis coupes in the next three years (like the original Ford Mustang, the new Genesis is a sporty, rear-wheel-drive coupe that offers good value and performance).

Now I like the Genesis coupe, and judging by our site traffic reports and anecdotal evidence so do many of you. But one million units in the next three years? Not gonna happen.

But then a lot of things have changed over the past four-and-a-half decades. GM once owned over two-thirds of the U.S market with mulitiple models hitting the million-plus mark in three-year sales. Back then many Americans had never heard the words "Honda" or "Toyota" (let alone "Hyundai"), as both the manufacturer and model count was substantially lower. Did you know there are over 40 manufacturers and 330 U.S. vehicles for sale as 2009 models?

Which brings me to today's question: Could a future performance car ever see the level of economic and cultural success that the Mustang has seen over the past 45 years?

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