The Ford Mustang, a highly popular muscle and sports car made its debut when the production Mustang was first shown in public inside the Ford Pavilion at the New York World's Fair; that magic date was April 17, 1964. The car was available for sale at Ford dealers that same day.

Initially a 3-speed manual transmission was standard and the Mustang quickly became a pillar of American automotive law sporting dash and styling at an affordable price.

From the early notchback coupe or convertible through to the V8 Shelby Cobra GT500, Mustangs have progressed through nine generations of improvements. They shared engineering techniques with the Ford Falcon, the smallest model of the fleet and many components from the Falcon were "borrowed" in order to keep costs down.

Mustangs were distinguished by their iconic running horse motif in the grille, (the horse runs in the opposite direction in which horses run at the American horse-tracks.) Side scallops along the flanks and taillights divided into three sections also feature.

The Ford Mustang was so popular in America that it sold 559,451 units in 1965 alone; the car inspired great passion amongst its enthusiasts.

Over the years, the Mustang grew in size and choice of interior colors and styles increased in number. As mentioned the car progressed and updated through nine generations, these being:

1st Generation - 1964 to '66.
2nd " " - '67 to '68.
3rd " " - '69 to '70.
4th " " - '71 to '73.
5th " " - '74 to '78.
6th " " - '79 to '93.
7th " " - '94 to '98.
8th " " - '99 to '04.
9th " " - 2005 to Present.

New models were released in each subsequent period and they included the Mustang coupe, SVO, Cobra, Fastback convertible, Mach 1, Grande, the very exclusive Boss 302, Boss 429 and Shelby GT-350.

The Mustang achieved great success on racing tracks across the world; a big motor in a small car lead to the perfect combination for racing.

The history of the Ford Mustang follows a long and very proud tradition as a signature model of the great American automobile company.

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