Its funny to me. As an original owner, I have witnessed this cars reputation and then legacy first-hand ever since late 1970, when I bought it.
When the 71s debuted in 70, the 65s were already starting to be heralded as "classics". It is mostly because of the enormous popularity of the original. By 1970, that popularity cooled off so much that the Mustang was treated as "just another car" by most everybody. The radical Daytona/ GT40 inspired styling was so bizzarly different that it garnered polarizing opinions...most either loved it or hated it. In 65,.they all loved it, there were no haters. And no previous Mustang to compare it too either.
The 71-3 had to live up to the 65, and it never could have. You can't live up to the publics unrealistic and inflated memory of a legend. Even if you made the legend originally.
Here are some examples:
KISS: Phenomanally popular in 1977, record stores could not keep albums in stock. Three short years later in 1980, they could barely sell anything. 5 years after that...all done. But they soldiored on, and could never live up to thier legendary status. Even though they were making music at least as good as before, often far better.
STAR TREK: The original was a cheap, low budget show than barely survived for three short years from 66-69. Every Star Trek product tocome after was better in every way: better production values, stories, acting, directing...everything. But none compares to the original in the publics eye.
40 years later and the radical 71 styling has been gotten used to, doesn't look so radical anymore. The problem wjth the 71 styling that most dont quite remember is that it looked very similar to the 71 Torino, and that WAS a bigger car. Most viewed the 71 Mustang then as more of a smaller off-shoot of the Torino platform than a rightful next-gen Mustang in its own right.
I never cared, the 71 was then, and remains to this day my favorite of all Mustangs.
And you think getting parts for 71-3s is tough today! You should have been around in the late 80s-early 90s. There was nothing!