It was certainly the right car at the exact right time. A bullseye that has yet to be repeated.
I agree, and in my opinion this is precisely the problem with the domestic auto industry.
The biggest hit in US auto history took little effort, and was more marketing than substance. Not that the Mustang was bad, but it was indeed a glorified Falcon.
To this day, domestics are looking for cheap and easy hits in the same manner, limiting their effort and investment.
They have to let go of the idea that it will ever be as easy to build a hit as it was that one time.
It was certainly the right car at the exact right time. A bullseye that has yet to be repeated.
I agree, and in my opinion this is precisely the problem with the domestic auto industry.
One could argue that the Chrysler minivans from the 80's was a bullseye ... station wagons were passe, so the introduction of this new segment changed the way families thought of transportation ever since.
Oh, yeah. There was nothing like that Mustang craziness in 1964. They had people camped out at the dealerships. I remember a guy playing cash for one and having the dealer put it up on a lift until the paperwork was done so that nobody else could get to it.
The Chrysler minivans were a big hit but not that lustworthy thing that the Mustang was.
I remember my uncle buying one for my aunt and how big a deal that was.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Thought about it when I read that the Tiida gets a turbo engine option overseas. A Cube Turbo would be fun and practical, plus it looks 100 times better than a Juke.
I have to believe that even today you could do that kind of thing - take an existing product, play with it to create a new niche and basically print money.
Iacocca was a genius with that.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
And Trump tends to bankrupt things from time to time. And he started with a huge pile of money from Daddy, so I am not convinced he has much business acumen.
One thing not yet mentioned that made the original Mustang so popular was the incredible variety of ways it could be configured. Want a cheap but sporty-looking set of wheels? 101 hp 6, 3 speed stick, maybe a radio, $2500 or so. Want a cute little runabout for driving to work and the store? Same engine, automatic transmission (if desired), power steering and brakes for easy driving, maybe the pony interior to spruce it up some. Want a stormer (in a straight line)? 271 hp V8, 4-speed, various performance equipment (some of which were a very good idea). Have it your way, whatever your way was. Actually, the base V8, automatic, power whatever, and additional options to taste made a nice reasonably priced car with more than adequate performance.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
A buddy's dad waited six weeks to get the one he wanted in 1965.
It was blue with the pony interior. Loaded including A/C. He picked the "D" engine that was the 289 with a 4 BBL. Four speed with the full length console if I recall correctly.
Topped off with red stripe tires on those beautiful chrome wheels that were an option. Man, what a sweet car that was! Metallic blue.
In memory of Warren Weiant I'll guess VW. He drove a VW squareback and claimed a lot of good things about VWs that I never really could see. The new super beetle offered some "free" dx service from the dealer in '71. I don't know what the catch was -- other than keep you coming back to the dealer! Maybe just putting a bit of distance between new buyers and backyard mechanics was reason enough or the onset of clean air legislation put VW on the path early. Did anyone else get there ahead of them?
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
I'm actually thinking the Chevette was the first car you could have your Chevy dealer mechanic "plug into" for diagnosis. Don't know if that's specific to your question or not though.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
I'm going with VW also, around 1971; they had ads about a "security blanket" for the car, which included a plug-in diagnostic port (akin to todays OBD ports, but in the trunk compartment, which of course was up front in the rear-engine cars of the time).
The system must not have worked out, because when I bought my 1975 Rabbit, there was no diagnostic port.
I think VW had the first on board computer, and Datsun had something more advanced in the mid seventies.
But GM came out with the first OBD system in '80 or '81, with that years Cadillac having the first system that could actually show trouble codes and data in the Climate Control display.....
Uplander, you are the champ! The Chevette was the first car in America to have on-board diagnostics. This comes right from Beverly Rae Kimes, so it's a good source for this information.
Here's a link to the samba forum regarding the VW diagnostic plug. It includes a youtube linked tv commercial for VW which features Buzz Aldrin hosting a demonstration of a '72 VW bug being tested.
I also found the old "84 MPG! ... Honest 25 mpg" VW tv commercial on youtube. Now that was funny stuff!
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.
As a full-fledged Chevy guy then, I much preferred a '76 or '77 Vega to the same year Chevette. The Vega was (somewhat) improved by that time. I knew a girl who had a Chevette Scooter--a used one. She thought the glovebox door had broken off. I told her they weren't built with one.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
If you like the Vega but you didn't like the possibility of flying shrapnel from an exploding engine tearing into your flesh, you could have opted for the Astre, with the "Iron Duke" 4 cylinder engine ( also of Canadian parentage originally, I believe).
By the end of the '50s you could choose among my models depending on whether you wanted a French sword, something unvanquishable, or someone that mourning becomes. Who am I?
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
I invented a new kind of engine. I sold the patents based on my "pitch" that this was an invention that was ready for prime time---but it wasn't, and the poor folks who bought it had to spent an enormous amount of money and energy trying to make my creation marketable.
I remember with my '86 Monte Carlo, if you unbent a paper clip and stuck the ends in the right spots in some connection under the dashboard, it would make the check engine light to flash in sequence, which corresponded to a trouble code.
On my '88 LeBaron, all you had to do was turn the ignition key on-off-on several times, and then the check engine light would flash sequence, and all the trouble codes were two digit. So for a code "33", it would flash three times, pause, and then flash three more. And at the end of every sequence, it would flash an "End of Codes" signal, which was "5-5"
My '79 New Yorkers have a diagnostic plug in the engine bay, by the air cleaner. It's a big, wide thing, like those old printer ports from something like an old TI 99-4/a computer.
Comments
I agree, and in my opinion this is precisely the problem with the domestic auto industry.
The biggest hit in US auto history took little effort, and was more marketing than substance. Not that the Mustang was bad, but it was indeed a glorified Falcon.
To this day, domestics are looking for cheap and easy hits in the same manner, limiting their effort and investment.
They have to let go of the idea that it will ever be as easy to build a hit as it was that one time.
I agree, and in my opinion this is precisely the problem with the domestic auto industry.
One could argue that the Chrysler minivans from the 80's was a bullseye ... station wagons were passe, so the introduction of this new segment changed the way families thought of transportation ever since.
The man who changed the Indy 500 forever!
The Chrysler minivans were a big hit but not that lustworthy thing that the Mustang was.
I remember my uncle buying one for my aunt and how big a deal that was.
I'm asymmetrical.
I an so envious that my sibling gets a turbo motor, I could Puke.
Thought about it when I read that the Tiida gets a turbo engine option overseas. A Cube Turbo would be fun and practical, plus it looks 100 times better than a Juke.
Too bad he's too old to run for President. Seriously.
"Buy a car, get a check!"
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Iacocca was a genius with that.
Trump could do the same thing but he has too much baggage AND, he's a hothead.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
A buddy's dad waited six weeks to get the one he wanted in 1965.
It was blue with the pony interior. Loaded including A/C. He picked the "D" engine that was the 289 with a 4 BBL. Four speed with the full length console if I recall correctly.
Topped off with red stripe tires on those beautiful chrome wheels that were an option. Man, what a sweet car that was! Metallic blue.
"I was the first car sold in America to have on-board diagnostics"
Who Am I?
Correct Answer Gets the "Shiftright Memorial I-Bow-Down-Before-You" Award.
The system must not have worked out, because when I bought my 1975 Rabbit, there was no diagnostic port.
But GM came out with the first OBD system in '80 or '81, with that years Cadillac having the first system that could actually show trouble codes and data in the Climate Control display.....
I also found the old "84 MPG! ... Honest 25 mpg" VW tv commercial on youtube. Now that was funny stuff!
Second prize is two Chevettes.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
Who am I?
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
On my '88 LeBaron, all you had to do was turn the ignition key on-off-on several times, and then the check engine light would flash sequence, and all the trouble codes were two digit. So for a code "33", it would flash three times, pause, and then flash three more. And at the end of every sequence, it would flash an "End of Codes" signal, which was "5-5"
My '79 New Yorkers have a diagnostic plug in the engine bay, by the air cleaner. It's a big, wide thing, like those old printer ports from something like an old TI 99-4/a computer.