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Part of the beauty of Ford's new Mustang II is that it is not "the right car at the right time," but the right cars at the right time. For the new Mustang II is actually four distinct and different cars using the same nameplate; each buyer can individually tailor his car to his own tastes. There are two body styles, the so-called notchback two-door hardtop and the three-door 2+2, and each body style can be further subdivided into two well-defined models.
The base model Mustang II with a list price of $2895 is a two-door hardtop, but to call it a base car is to insult it. Standard features include an economical 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine, fully-synchronized four- speed manual transmission, rack-and- pinion steering, manual front disc brakes, and a walnut burl tone instrument panel complete with 6000 rpm tachometer and real gauges (not idiot lights) for the fuel, ammeter, and water temperature. The standard interior in most low-priced Detroit cars has long had a reputation for being perfect for taxi-cabs and rent-a-cars but not much good for anything else. Well, the standard Mustang II interior changes all that. Thick cut-pile carpeting covers the floor and runs up the sides of the deluxe soft vinyl door panels and the super-comfortable all-vinyl bucket seats are the low-back style with full- width headrests. Other standard items on the lowest-priced Mustang II are a soft vinyl headliner, full wheel covers, color-keyed urethane-covered bumpers and lots of bright exterior mouldings that you'd pay extra for on many other cars.
The next model in the lineup is the standard three-door 2+2 which features all the same items as the hard- top plus a swoopy fastback roofline, a large hatchback-type rear door and a fold-down rear seat. With the seat down this rear cargo area offers 27 cubic feet of storage space for everything from golf clubs to kitchen sinks.
The luxury model of the Mustang II, the Ghia, is based on the two-door
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hardtop body style but comes standard with many of its own distinctive features. There's a padded vinyl roof with Ghia emblems, dual color-keyed remote control mirrors, vinyl insert bodyside mouldings, special pinstriping, steel-belted whitewall radial tires, special' wheel covers, and a luxurious interior with deluxe vinyl or cloth bucket seats, special door trim panels, extra-thick carpeting, a super sound package for that typically quiet Ford ride, and a digital clock. With a suggested retail price of $3325, Mustang II Ghia becomes a new standard of small car luxury.
Topping out the lineup of Mustang IIs for '74 is the exciting Mach I model that's based on the three-door fastback but includes raised white letter steel- belted radials, styled steel wheels, the potent 2.8-liter V-6 engine, and a unique appearance with the black lower bodyside paint treatment. The Mach I combines performance car fun with the utility of a hatchback and the economy of a Mustang II.
Now that you've selected just the right Mustang II for your personality and pocketbook you can further enhance its beauty and functionality with judicious selections from the option list. There's enough optional equipment available to suit every taste, from the Rallye Package, competition suspension, forged aluminum wheels, and radial tires for the performance enthusiast to the tinted glass, air conditioning, automatic transmission, and super sound package for the Iuxury-minded. In between are items like the 2.8-liter V-6 engine that's standard on the Mach 1, power steering, power brakes, manually-operated sunroof, four different radios, luxury interior group, light group, protection group, digital clock and flip-out rear quarter windows.
With four different models and dozens of attractive options, Motor Trend's Car of the Year will appeal to a broad range of new car buyers in 1974. In short, Mustang II has something for everybody.
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FEBRUARY 1974
MustangII.Org
