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".
