Often touted as the earliest muscle cars, the Pontiac GTO and Ford Mustang dropped for the 1964 model year. While the GTO earned its place in the muscle car hall of fame, the Mustang captured the hearts and minds of millions. Based on the compact Ford Falcon, with a 289 cubic inch V8 under the hood, the Mustang was such an immediate icon it coined the term for a new genre entirely: the pony car.
Unlike heavier muscle cars with big-block engines , the pony car was lightweight, compact, powerful, and destined for the automotive hall of fame. The 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 may have lit a long-burning fuse, but it was the Mustang that really kicked off the golden age of muscle. Six decades after its first release, the Ford Mustang stands as the sole nameplate of the muscle era to undergo uninterrupted production.
As it forges into the future with its seventh generation, let's look at how every Ford Mustang generation ranks from worst to best, based on performance, accessibility, design, and evolutionary impact. After a genre-defining start, the Mustang suffered from major missteps in its second generation. The redesign rolled off the factory floor at the height of governmental crackdowns on emissions and an OPEC oil crisis that drove gas prices through the roof.
But that was no excuse for how aesthetically displeasing the infamous Mustang II was. Based on a Pinto chassis with design cues seemingly taken from the AMC Gremlin, the Mustang II hoped to compete with compact imports lik.
