Almost no American car is more iconic and coveted than a vintage Ford Mustang. Take a trip back in time and celebrate the 60th anniversary of this popular car with a new exhibit at the Crawford-Auto Aviation Museum.
“Wild Horses: 60 Years of Ford’s Mustang” opens Nov. 14. It features 20 examples of every generation of the Mustang, from the little coupe launched by Lee Iacocca, to the 2024 Dark Horse and its 500-horsepower Coyote V-8 engine.
The Mustang was an immediate hit when it was introduced in April 1964 as a 1964-1/2 model. Enthusiasts embraced the car’s rear-wheel drive, relatively lightweight, seating for four, and the availability of four different engines and three different transmissions in a coupe or convertible. Ford hoped to sell a quarter-million Mustangs in the first 12 months of production and sold nearly 700,000 in the first 18 months. In total, 10 million Mustangs have been sold, nearly twice as many as Chevrolet’s competing Camaro.
While millions have bought and embraced the Mustang, it’s also been a hit with Hollywood, racers and car builders. Steve McQueen’s Mustang GT was part of unforgettable chase scenes in the movie “Bullitt,” while a Mustang named Eleanor was the star of two “Gone in 60 Seconds” movies. Automotive racing legends like Carroll Shelby and Jack Roush used Mustangs as platforms to build celebrated street and race cars.
The Crawford’s “Wild Horses” exhibit was curated by Larry Davis, who serves as Crawford’s collection manager and is well-known among Mustang enthusiasts for his work as a concours judge with the Mustang Club of America. Davis was quick to thank members of the club and others who were loaning their cars for the exhibit.
“We’re grateful that so many owners have agreed to loan us their cars,” saysDavis. “We’ve got beautiful examples of each generation, from the early cars to the Mustang II and Fox-body cars, to GTs, Shelbys and the 60th-anniversary special edition. Everybody knows what a Mustang is, and I think we’ve put together an exhibit that people will enjoy and relate to.”
“Wild Horses: 60 Years of Ford’s Mustang” runs from Nov. 14 to May 4 and is made possible with funding from Spitzer Ford of Hartville, Spitzer Ford of Cuyahoga Falls, the Frederick C. and Kathleen S. Crawford Fund of the Cleveland Foundation, the State of Ohio, and the Cuyahoga Arts and Culture Fund. For more information, visit the Crawford’s website.
The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum is located in the Cleveland History Center, headquarters for the Western Reserve Historical Society, at 10825 East Boulevard, Cleveland.
