60th anniversary: See the Ford Mustang through the years

Ford Motor Co. celebrated the Mustang's 60th anniversary on Wednesday with the pony car now in its seventh generation, having become an icon of the American auto industry.

The Ford Mustang debuted April 17, 1964, at the New York World's Fair and has carved out a unique legacy in the decades since its launch, even as its features have changed over time.

"Mustang has stylistically and performance-wise been a vehicle that appealed to the masses — anybody who wants a cool-looking car that goes fast, Mustang is there for you," Ford Heritage Brand Manager Ted Ryan told FOX Business.

Here's a look at the Mustang's evolution since its debut 60 years ago:

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"Out of the first million that were sold, 43% were sold to women because, as Carroll Shelby derisively said, 'It's a secretary's car.' Well, it could be — you could put a little 289 engine in and have a three-speed automatic, but you could also go up to the V8. You could turn the Mustang into whatever you want it to be, and it's really reaching back into its DNA today," Ryan said.

"We know so much about the audience that we were catering to," Ryan said. "From [late Ford exec Lee] Iacocca's speech that night when it premiered to the media, he talks about building a car for the baby boomer generation. Our marketing had failed so miserably with the Edsel, but on this one we got it right."

Ryan noted that Ford has a significant amount of documents from the era in its archives that shed light on the automaker's intent with the Mustang.

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"The code name of the project was the 'Special Falcon Project,' and throughout those notes it would say 'a sporty, stylish vehicle that will appeal to a younger buyer,'" Ryan explained. 

"In a lot of cases, first-time buyers, because suddenly we know there were more college-educated buyers because of the GI Bill, more double incomes because of women entering the workforce, which spells out the fact that 43% were sold to women. So they were looking for a car for a new generation."

Ryan noted that although the third-generation Fox Body Mustangs, which were built on the chassis of Ford's Fox platform, were "much-maligned," they marked an era "where Mustang really kind of rediscovered its groove with increased horsepower and the ability to go fast."

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"Mustang's a core part of the lineup, it's a halo product for the brand, it draws people into Ford," Ford Mustang Brand Manager Joe Bellino told FOX Business. 

"Whether you're racing a Mustang and you need to tow it to the track, you're using a Super Duty or F-150, or your second car is an Explorer," he added. "It's grown with families, it transcends families — my dad had a Mustang, I have a Mustang — it kind of gets passed down from generation to generation."

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"In the last few years, especially with the seventh-gen, we've got a Mustang that appeals to everybody," Bellino said. "We've got an EcoBoost four-cylinder, we've got a V8, we've got a Dark Horse, we've got a GTD, so we've got this huge range of offerings."

"It's as much a part of our lineup now as it was 60 years ago, and it's going to be 60 years into the future, too," he added.

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