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Think this is the photo some of you was thinking of, " glad i saved it " ;)
Thank you - thank you - thank you! I LOVE that pic!! ::thumb::

Kit - I'm the one who started the comparison between the '70 & '71 with that very picture in mind, so don't blame Dana. ;) As well, you've apparently not read the articles I was referencing regarding the lack of respect to the '71-'73s - the one I'm particularly disappointed about was a double-whammy, dissing both the '71-'73s and the Mustang IIs in an article meant to be positive about the Mustang IIs.

Totally agree about staying on-topic - let's not turn this into something more than it is.

Thin Lizzy - you last sentence is priceless... and I agree 100%. rofl

 
Compared to the older Mustangs the 71-73 was bigger, but compared to it's competition at the time it wasn't. Do people go on about the size of the 71 Plymouth Barracuda and GTX, AMX Javelin, Charger or Challenger?
I certainly agree Lizzy and expressed a similar point in another, earlier thread.

 
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Compared to the older Mustangs the 71-73 was bigger, but compared to it's competition at the time it wasn't. Do people go on about the size of the 71 Plymouth Barracuda and GTX, AMX Javelin, Charger or Challenger?
I certainly agree Lizzy and expressed a similar point in another, earlier thread.
I agree with both of you. As I pointed out the 70 is pretty much the same size and NOT A WORD about it being a BIG BODY from media types and some or most of its lemmings. I think its fascinating how many lemmings went along with the mantra then and NOW without checking the facts. The dang car was just designed so well it looks fast sitting still and it looks HUGE by itself. Park it next to my 67 convertible you SEE the reality.

 
Dana that's a good observation mate. These cars do look huge on there own but park 1 next to any other mustang and the difference is irrelevant. Our cars always look slicker, meaner, lower, faster than all the other models too my mind.

 
I had a nice talk with the Editor of mustang monthly before... Atleast the guy was nice enough to respond and have a decent conversation about my concerns over 71-73...I emailed them cause they put a story years and years ago, a time line story of all stangs..and when it come to 71-73 first words i read is pretty much...The 71-73 mustangs ballooned too almost 4000 pounds...I was like wtf? I emailed them and had a conversation with the editor...and i told them..curb weight is diffrent than a fully loaded car..He replied said he would really look into what i said...i think a lot of times, we take info at face value and forget to recheck for our selves.

I do not blame him totally for the miss information...Could of been any trusted tech who said "Man they was 4,000 pound fat whales!! with out double checking the information ;)

 
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Is it possible that the a magazine chooses to mirror the options of the majority of its readers rather than make an attempt to replace fiction with fact. PIDOOMA number, if 75% of readers don't care for our years might a magazine simply go along and look like their slant is in touch with that majority? If the paying audience responds negatively to 71-73 articles by saying "stick to 65-70" I can understand the editorial staff trying to give them what they want. If that's the case though then the publication should be open about its lack if love for our cars.

 
The Mustang "hobby" shunned our 71-73s for many years, never really considering them a part of the "classic" group. It typically was the 65-70 years given the respect, and the 71-73s were unfairly labled as not a "real" Mustang because of how little it held on to the classic styling of those that came before it. Mustang was on a growth plan from the beginning and the 71-73 version continued in that direction. Coupled with the radical new styling of the 71, this Mustang was just too new and different for some who would have preferred it look more like its predescesdors.

For those of you either not old enough to remember, or those that just weren't aware of it then, the new 71 design was indeed a radical departure from previous models, and radically different from any other American car.

It was a polarizing design. Most loved or hated it initially...not many ho-hum reactions at first.

We have all become used to it over the years, but that flat back window and chopped-off trunk was quite bizzarely unique when it debuted.

The fact that it was so new and unique, coupled with the poor sales of all pony and muscle cars in general makes it easy to say that the poor sales is a direct result of Ford selling the wrong car...blaming the cars size, styling and design are easy scapegoats, and the media ran with that.

But it was really the quick and dramatic change in market tastes that caused the poor sales. Buyers weren't just shunning Mustangs, they were shunning every pony and muscle car.

The 71.also had a lot of design inspiration that was similar to the new Torino, and that caused some media to just portray it as a smaller version of the ( bigger) Torino. This also did no favors for the history of the 71-73s.

But the popularity slowly crept up and as the whole "Mustang" phenomonon picked up steam, the 71-73s gained in popularity. The "new" bastard-child in Mustang-land became the lowly "Mustang II". That poor car had more insults and hatred heaped on it than our 71-73s ever had to endure.

Then...more years, growing legend...the "II" gets love, the 5.0 GT revives respect for new Mustangs in the market, and now it seems anything with the word "Mustang" stuck on its fender seems worthy of "legendary" status.

I have been to car shows and amongst the sea of beautiful classic old Mustangs are brand-new Shelby GT-500s and GT-350-Hs' with paper dealer tags on them, parked amongst the "classics".

Somehow that seems not quite right to me. Like they are trying to steal a little "classic car cred" by proxy.

Along with most of you, my car has history, miles and patina. That is what makes a classic. A brand new car has none of that.

The years have made the 71-73s much more familiar and less radical-looking, and the styling has finally become fully appreciated for how stunning it really is. It was very ahead-of-its-time back then...today it looks "right".

Back in the 80's many casual observers at local hang-outs were surprised it was "so old". They typically said " it looks like a new car (80s), not like an old car fron the 60s or 70s".

I am not swimming in the "it's too big" waters anymore, but the main reason I always loved this over other Mustangs was its styling. Mechanically it was good, but no different really from anything else available then.

But the styling was awesome. It looked more substantial, more designed expressly for high-perfomance than previous 'Stangs. The naca scoops weren't tacked on, but designed in. The flat roof made it look long and sleek...built for speed. Very "aircraft" inspired to me.

I agree: the media over the years has regurgitated the same "bullet points" about every generation of Mustang, ad nauseum. The "too big" stuff about 71-73s has unfortunately become the too-often opening remark in any article about them.

Nobody who sees my car has ever said to me they thought it was "too big". Mostly, what I hear is compliments about "this was always my favorite bodystyle".

 
I had a nice talk with the Editor of mustang monthly before... Atleast the guy was nice enough to respond and have a decent conversation about my concerns over 71-73...I emailed them cause they put a story years and years ago, a time line story of all stangs..and when it come to 71-73 first words i read is pretty much...The 71-73 mustangs ballooned too almost 4000 pounds...I was like wtf? I emailed them and had a conversation with the editor...and i told them..curb weight is diffrent than a fully loaded car..He replied said he would really look into what i said...i think a lot of times, we take info at face value and forget to recheck for our selves.

I do not blame him totally for the miss information...Could of been any trusted tech who said "Man they was 4,000 pound fat whales!! with out double checking the information ;)
Good work, now Mustang Monthly will put a hit out on you for blasphemy :D Like you said at least he listened or made it look like he was paying attention. Heck he could get an education and write the article from this thread! We've all contributed more facts that are true than they have for 40 years.

Thanks Luke!

I get "wow what is that" (has anybody realized our cars REALLY dont have a lot of nomenclature on them to seriously identify what it is?)

"hey cool car"

"how do you see out the back window"

and for SOME reason I never get "that is a big ole car" parked next to ANYTHING American Classic unless it might be an AMC product. Fact only when its by itself, ...I've heard the commentary but always as a question. When I give them the run down of comparisons as I have here. They look at me with amazement. that BIG BODY heavy car is impressive. I'll put and have, my car and power with quite a few cars expecting to win! Ask my buddy about his 468 in the 71 CHEVELLE. yes I walked all over him. he was pizz'd!!!

 
I am totally with you on the lack of nomenclature on 71-73s. It is very sparse. I suspect it was part if the minimalist "european" influence Ford talked about in the 71 brochure.

Personally, I recognize NOTHING that even seems a little european inspired in the design. To me it has always looked more italian-flavored. I can definitely see Lambo Miura and Gallardo in it, and some Ferrari too.

And the entire profile of the 71 sportsroof, if you squint and use a lot of imagination...looks just like a Pantera silhouette that has been compromised to incorporate rear seats and front engine/rear drive. You gotta'squint real hard.

I have pictures a customer's classic cars up in all my locations on my "wall of fame", and of course my old cars are up there too.

Sadly, many non-car enthusiasts will look at my Mustang and say "Nice car...what is it? A Camaro?"

The running horse/tri-bar logo is only in ONE PLACE on the exterior of a 71 Mach( the grill) and kind of small-ish, so it is not readily seen at a glance.

The horse by itself is on the gas-cap of other models, and all 72/73s, and some wheel centers...but I am not sure just the horse identifies it as a Mustang as definitively as it does in combo with the tri-bar.

At any rate, I like the subdued naming better than having it plastered all over the car.

That is one of the things I don't like about Harleys. No subtlety...on a vehicle as small as my buddy's new '14 StreetGlide they managed to stick HD logos, names and badges in 16 different places all visible to passerby as you ride down the street. I hate that. One discreet naming per "view" ( front, side, etc...)is aporopriate to me. More is obnoxious.

I have always appluded the graphics designers of the 71-73s for using some restraint, especially on the BOSS 351:

The hood decal only says "ram air", not "351 ram air"...and I assume that was because it also said "BOSS 351" in the same "view", so it would be redundant to have "351" on the hood also. I like that restraint.

However, I have seen more than a few BOSS 351s at car shows with "351 RAM AIR" decals on the hood, so some owners either don't know, don't care, or don't get it.

 
I think the horse and corral are pretty good indicators of "Mustang," aside from the tri-bar pony. "Mach 1" also started before our model years as well, so it's not something that exclusive to our model years... but was made "legendary" during the run - obvious, by seemingly everybody claiming all '71-'73s are Mach 1s.

Jeff: good point. But - whatever. After puttin' up with occasional table scraps and grumbling about it for so long, I just figured it's time to either shut up and keep expecting the same, or make some noise. At the end of the day, we haven't really lost anything - since, according to the long-established trend, we can only expect one or two more articles regarding '71-'73s during the remainder of this calendar year anyway. ;)

If it backfires and no more coverage is afforded, well then I guess I'll have my answer... and a lot of good ground cover for the parakeet cage. rofl

 
I have always thought they should do something on each generation in every issue. That is only 4 categories...not difficult if they make it a priority.

That way, there would be something of interest to EVERY OWNER of a classic Mustang in EVERY issue.

I think that would help thier circulation numbers.

 
ahhhh 4by, true the horsie is in the grill but its SMALL the Mach I on the side? Apparently 80 % of the people I've encountered dont know what that means. However I personally think the styling of the car promotes a larger appreciation for the whole car. Think about it...watch people stand back and admire it... its like they dont see the Mach I they see a cool stripe taking in the entire look without much close inspection until they've gandered at the car for a few moments. Its like looking at Vincent van Gogh Starry Night ...you stand back and take in the whole canvas and after a time you step closer to note the little details of the town verses The Mona Lisa by da Vinci ... you assume and close in immediately because its just a painting of a woman (like competitive cars are just cars) van Gogh did the Mach I, because you enjoy the whole look and details become secondary until you do YOU DONT SEE THE MUSTANG EMBLEMS !!!
Starry-night-cake3.jpg


:D :D :D Just my observation.

 
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I have always thought they should do something on each generation in every issue. That is only 4 categories...not difficult if they make it a priority.

That way, there would be something of interest to EVERY OWNER of a classic Mustang in EVERY issue.

I think that would help thier circulation numbers.
... And there ya go. My sentiments exactly. ::thumb::

Dropping the Fox-bodies-and-newer (in favor of covering in another more appropriate magazine) should afford the conditions you outlined. We'll see what happens, I guess.

 
They won't do that. When Petersen sold out the new owners of the title cheapened up the mag noticeably. Much less effort and pride taken than in years past.

They need new owners or new blood running the mag.

 
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