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Why change a good thing? This was the basic rationale that Ford applied to the making of the 1966 Mustang, and production lines were humming, trying to keep up with all the demand. Clearly, the Mustang was a phenomenon, establishing a new niche in the marketplace and still enjoying no real competition.
Chrysler's Barracuda never really caught on, and General Motors' answer to the Mustang, the Camaro and the Firebird, was still a good year away. Ford dealers were cleaning up. Differing little from 1965 Mustangs, the 1966 and rear quarter ornamentation designed to Mustangs came with a little more standard trim, simulated rear scoops. Most obvious were the rocker panel moldings. Those of us who grew up in the sixties remember those years as an optimistic time. The Mustang with its fresh styling and spirited performance was the right car for a large group of people who found the typical Detroit sedan boring. The Mustang with its smaller dimensions and lighter weight felt like a nimble sports car in comparison. The 1966 Mustang sold at a faster pace than had the record 1965: 607,568 units in twelve months versus 559,451 for the 1965, if you exclude the 1964 1/2s. |
The most noticeable change was the floating horse in the front grille, which gave the Mustang a cleaner look. On the sides, three chrome spires simulated a side scoop, but this ornament was deleted on the fastback and on all Mustangs that came with the GT package, as well as on those with the accent pinstripe.
Other visual changes included standard rocker panel moldings (except on the fastback), a redesigned gas cap and standard back-up lights (optional on 1965 Mustangs). For the interior, different upholstery patterns and colors were available, but the most significant addition was the use of the five-dial instrument bezel across the board for both V-8 and six-cylinder Mustangs. The standard wheel cover was redesigned, while the optional styled steel wheels used a chrome trim ring, Standard wheels were 14X4.5 inch (with four lugs) on six-cylinder Mustangs and 14 X5 inch on V-8s. Tire size was 6.95X14. The standard engine was the 200 ci six with the non synchromesh three-speed manual transmission. Optional were the 200 hp, 225 hp and 271 hp 289 ci V-8s as seen in 1965. The Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission was an option with the 271 hp Cobra 289. |
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