Pony car
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The Ford Mustang defined the term "pony car". |
The
pony car is a class of
automobile launched and inspired by the
Ford Mustang in
1964. It describes an affordable, compact, highly styled car with a sporty or performance-oriented image.
The pony car (and of course the Mustang itself) had its beginnings at
Ford Motor Company in the late
1950s following the demise of the original, two-seat
Ford Thunderbird. While the Thunderbird's transformation into a larger, four-seat
personal luxury car, starting with the
1958 model year, proved to be successful in sales terms, dealers and buyers alike lamented the loss of the two-seat 'Bird, which served as an image leader for the company and a traffic-builder in showrooms, attracting buyers who would ultimately purchase more mundane automobiles. For several years Ford explored various plans for reviving some equivalent of the early Thunderbird.
An added impetus came from
Chevrolet, with the popularity of the
Corvair Monza late in
1960. The initial Corvair had been positioned as an economy car, but it was much more successful with the plusher trim and sportier image of the Monza model, which sold around 144,000 in
1961. Ford responded with sportier Futura and Futura Sprint versions of its
Ford Falcon, and
Chrysler Corporation with the
Plymouth Valiant Signet and
Dodge Dart GT.
Some executives, however, principally Ford's
Lee Iacocca, believed that sporty versions of mundane
compact cars only scratched the surface of the potential market. During this period there was a strong influx of young buyers with disposable income and a taste for vehicles with a younger image than a standard
sedan, and Iacocca's marketing studies revealed that if a unique-looking sporty car could be offered at an affordable price, it would find many buyers. Ford's response to this demand was the Mustang, launched on
April 17,
1964, which proved to be an enormous success, selling 680,000 cars in its first extended model year.
The Mustang provided the template for the new class of automobiles. Although it was based on the
platform of the Falcon, it had a unique body (offered as a
hardtop coupé and a
convertible) with distinctive, "long hood, short deck" proportions. In basic form it was mechanically mundane, with a 170 cu. in. (2.8L)
six-cylinder engine and three-speed
manual transmission. It carried an attractive base price of $2,368, and had an extensive option list offering a range of
V8 engines,
Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission or four-speed manual,
radios,
air conditioning,
power steering, and other accessories. A V8 Mustang with all available options would cost about 60% more than a basic Six, which made it an extremely profitable model for Ford.
The requirements were therefore set:
* Attractive, sporty styling
* Affordable base price
* Extensive options, including
six-cylinder and
V8 engines
* Aggressive, youth-oriented
marketing and
advertising.
While most of the pony cars offered more powerful engines and performance packages, enough to qualify some as
muscle cars, a substantial number were sold with six-cylinder engines or mundane, "cooking" V8s, with the high-performance models largely limited to
drag racing,
road racing, or racing
homologation purposes.
Despite the immediate success of the Mustang, many (including some within Ford) feared that the bubble would soon burst, and other manufacturers were relatively slow to respond. The first competitor was the
Plymouth Barracuda, which actually went on sale on
April 1,
1964, about two weeks before the Mustang. The Barracuda was not a direct response to the Mustang, which had not yet debuted (although Chrysler was certainly aware of the upcoming model), but a low-cost way to expand the sporty appeal of the Valiant. Chrysler's precarious financial situation meant that the Barracuda was compromised, with insufficient distinction from the Valiant and styling that drew mixed reactions; its sales were a fraction of the Mustang's. (Some mentioned then if the Barracuda was successful, the term for this class of automobile might have been "fish car," rather than "pony car.")[
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Initially,
General Motors believed that the restyled
1965 Corvair would be an adequate challenger for the Mustang, but when it became clear that the Corvair itself was doomed, the more conventional
Chevrolet Camaro was introduced, going on sale for the
1967 model year, at the time the Mustang was entering its second generation. They were presently joined by the Camaro-based
Pontiac Firebird, the
Mercury Cougar, and, in
1968, the
AMC Javelin.
Dodge joined the party belatedly with the
1970 Dodge Challenger, an enlarged version of the Barracuda.
The pony car was primarily an
American phenomenon, but in
1969 Ford created a highly successful
European equivalent in the
Ford Capri. Sharing most of its underpinnings and its four- and six-cylinder engines with a mundane model (the
Ford Cortina), it had a combination of style and image very much in the spirit of the Mustang. The European Ford Capri (sold in the U.S. as a Mercury Capri through
1978 at Lincoln-Mercury dealerships) was last imported for the 1978 model year, and the nameplate was placed on a rebadged Fox-body Mustang until it survived through
1987. The
Toyota Celica, introduced in
1970, was aimed at a similar market, and could arguably be considered the first
Japanese pony car.
While sales were strong throughout the end of the
1960s, the greater value of the pony cars was in bringing buyers, particularly the crucial youth market, into the fold. In 1970
Car and Driver reported that while very few pony car drivers bought a second pony car, around 50% moved on to purchase another car of the same make. Nevertheless, even by 1969 sales were beginning to slide, dropping to 9% of the total market, from a peak of 13% in 1967.
As with most automobile redesigns, each subsequent generation of the pony cars grew somewhat larger, heavier, costlier, and more plush.
Big-block engines joined the option list, and both performance and comfort options proliferated. The
1973 Mustang, for example, was 8.5 inches (215.9 mm) longer, 5.9 inches (150 mm) wider, and over 600 lb (272 kg) heavier than the original edition. The Dodge Challenger, meanwhile, was only slightly smaller and lighter than Dodge's
intermediate cars. The added bulk left the standard six and V8 engines sorely pressed, while the introduction of powerful big-blocks underscored the limitations of the pony cars'
suspension,
brakes, and
tires.
By
1970 buyers were moving away from the pony cars, either toward smaller
compact cars (domestic or imported) or toward larger, more luxurious models. Performance of the hottest pony cars began to erode as a result of
emissions controls and the added weight of required safety features. The
1973 Arab Oil Embargo left the bulky pony cars out of step with the marketplace.
The Challenger, Barracuda, and Javelin were cancelled after
1974, and the Camaro and Firebird nearly died at the same time, although they received last-minute stays of execution. The Cougar became an upsale personal luxury twin to the Ford Thunderbird, while the Mustang was reinvented as a luxury compact based on the
Ford Pinto.
Despite mediocre performance, the GM pony cars experienced a resurgence in popularity in the late
1970s that insured their survival. The Mustang was redesigned with a renewed sporty image in
1979, prompting Mercury to reenter the pony car market with a
Mercury Capri twin based on the new Mustang. Chrysler, beset by financial problems, did not revive the pony car, nor did
American Motors Corporation, although Chrysler did offer other
front-wheel drive performance models with a similar spirit. The Mustang remained strong, although in the
1980s Ford gave serious consideration to replacing it with a front-drive model (which eventually appeared as the
Ford Probe instead). Emissions and fuel economy concerns led many of the latter-day pony cars to offer four-cylinder engines (sometimes with
turbocharging), although they were never as popular as six-cylinder and V8 models.
Declining sales and the popularity of light trucks and
sport utility vehicles led to the demise of the Camaro and Firebird after
2002. As of late 2005 only the original pony car, the Mustang, is still in production, although its popularity following its
2005 redesign means that the Camaro will apparently return for the
2009 model year and Dodge's Challenger could return as soon as
2007.
The dilemma facing automakers in offering pony cars (or their spiritual equivalent) today is that few have suitable platforms that are affordable enough to be viable. Unlike the mid-1960s, the large majority of modern compact cars are front-wheel drive, with four- and six-cylinder engines, and the widespread use of
monocoque construction makes engineering a specialized body an expensive proposition. Some would argue that the true modern equivalent of the pony car is the sporty compact, such as the performance models of the
Honda Civic and
Dodge Neon, although enthusiasts of the traditional, rear-drive, V8-powered cars are skeptical of such comparisons.
Pony cars of 1964-1974 are highly prized collectibles today, especially the high-performance models.
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Encyclopedia by Muscle Car Russian Muscle Car Site
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Muscle Car Facts- A year by year account of some of the greatest muscle and pony cars ever.
