Few cars have charged the imagination quite like the Ford Mustang. Since its debut at the New York World’s Fair in 1965, the Mustang has been one of the top-selling sports coupes in America, flying out of every Ford dealer across the country. Immortalized in song by Wilson Pickett’s Mustang Sally and the film Ford v Ferrari, the Mustang was responsible for starting a trend of coupes called “pony cars,” sporty models that delivered exceptional performance and hot looks at a surprisingly affordable price. The Mustang matched a powerful engine to a fastback design, with a back seat with just enough room for the kids or some beverages for the ride.
Other models soon followed from different automakers, such as the Dodge Challenger, Mercury Cougar, Pontiac GTO, Chevy Camaro, Plymouth Duster, and AMC AMX. But like so many other models in the pony car class, the Mustang may be heading to the end of the road and returning to the stable. Signs that might be omens show Ford could be going in a different direction from one of its iconic models.
Declining Sales May Put the Mustang Out to Pasture
When the Mustang hit the road in 1965, it was a bigger success than anyone at Ford could have imagined. Ford expected to sell about 100,000 Mustangs that first year, so the company was shocked when 22,000 rolled out of dealer showrooms on the first day of sales. The Mustang was not only off and running, it was galloping.
But it seems like the full-on sprint for the Mustang may be over. In the first two months of 2024, Ford sold only 7,886 Mustangs. Those numbers would drop even further in early 2025, with sales of just 5,191 cars during January and February. That is a decline of a staggering 34.2 percent. Those kinds of numbers are not sustainable.
Making matters worse for the Mustang, Ford currently offers the Mustang with three different engines and six different trims, as well as the Mustang GT with a standard engine and three different trims. Many of these models also offer a convertible option. That is a great deal of variations that must be produced on a model that isn’t selling well. Beyond that, while the 2.3L EcoBoost turbocharged I-4 on the base Mustang has a standard ten-speed automatic transmission, the other two engines, the 5.0L Coyote V8 GT and the 5.0L Coyote V8 Dark Horse, offer the choice of a six-speed manual transmission and a ten-speed automatic transmission. It is one thing for Ford to offer so many different options for the best-selling F-150 pickup truck, but it is quite another story to provide this many choices for the Mustang, considering its dwindling sales.
Twilight of the Pony Cars
Sports cars were once a ubiquitous sight on America’s roads and highways. These models were popular with young drivers who wanted a coupe that looked cool, moved fast, and made driving fun. But after its heyday in the 60s and 70s, the pony car fell out of favor. Rising gas prices and changing emission standards made pony cars impractical. Most brands canceled their models except for a few exceptions, like the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro.
That all changed a few years ago. Sports cars came back in favor, with automakers now able to provide good fuel economy and great horsepower and acceleration. Turbochargers provided a way to boost performance without increasing engine size. Chevy turned its popular Corvette into a mid-engine supercar, while Dodge brought back the Challenger and Charger. Suddenly, it looked like pony cars were making a comeback. But it was not to be.
Both General Motors and Stellantis announced that they were discontinuing the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger at the end of the 2024 model year. While Chevy used the word “retire” with respect to the Camaro, it is clear that we are seeing the end of this model that has been thrilling drivers since it premiered in 1967. With the Corvette now a supercar, this leaves the Mustang as the last remaining pony car still in production.
An Electric Future?
The Mustang Mach-E went on sale in 2021 as the first model extension of the Mustang in a long time. However, this was a horse of a different color. Unlike the conventional gas Mustang coupe, the Mustang Mach-E is a compact battery-electric vehicle (BEV) in the form of an SUV. Even though it doesn’t use gas, it still delivers the speed and acceleration you could want in a Mustang, able to go from 0-60 mph in just 3.3 seconds. That is faster than the 2025 Mustang GT, which gets to 60 mph in a still impressive 4.2 seconds.
In recent years, Ford has signaled a move to BEVs. It has invested billions into BlueOval City, its campus in Tennessee designed to build BEVs and the lithium-ion batteries that propel them. It could be that the future of the Mustang will be a BEV pony car. Stellantis has already made this move by offering the Dodge Charger as a BEV sports sedan, so such a change would not be surprising. As it is, the Mustang Mach-E has demonstrated that you can get the exceptional speed and acceleration you want in a BEV. In fact, the Mustang Mach-E is currently outselling the conventional gas Mustang coupe.
The Mystery of the Mustang Mach 4
Ford caught the attention of automotive industry experts when it filed for a trademark on the name Mach 4 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This filing on February 25, 2025, is the first step in creating a new model for a brand’s lineup. Automakers like to know they have the exclusive right to use a name for one of their vehicles, and filing for a trademark will grant them this right. The reasoning is twofold. First, they don’t want to use a name owned by another person or entity since they would have to either change the name or pay royalties. Second, they want to prevent others from taking the name and using it for a competing vehicle or on a product that might dilute the value of the name.
There are some interesting things about the filing. First, it originated in Jamaica on August 27, 2024. It is unclear why Ford chose to file in this island nation first. Second, the goods that will be covered by the trademark are “motor vehicles, namely gasoline and electric automobiles, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, and their structural parts.” This is a very broad definition, but consistent with trademark filings as companies want to know they have as much coverage for their intellectual property as possible.
There are rumors that the Mach 4 name could be the first step in Ford’s creation of a Mustang sedan. This would be the first time the Mustang had a conventional four-door design, not counting the compact SUV Mustang Mach-E. Also, the word “mach” in the name may be tied to the Mustang Mach-E, with the new Mustang Mach 4 being another BEV in the Mustang lineup.
A Glimmer of Hope for the Mustang
We have been here before with the Mustang. This isn’t the first time industry insiders have been writing the obituary for this venerable pony car. Those old enough to remember the 1980s can tell you all about the missteps made with the Mustang of that era. It all started with the Mustang Fox in 1979, an underpowered notchback coupe that was also kind of ugly to boot. The convertible Mustang Aero wasn’t much better, continuing to be underpowered and having a design that was as sexy as a retirement home bingo game.
The Mustang overcame the problems of the 1980s, which were due in large part to increasing emissions standards and fuel economy concerns. By the early 1990s, the Mustang was back where it started, with a popular and iconic design. Those who love the Mustang may see this as a temporary setback, with the Mustang roaring back into prominence instead of riding off into the sunset.
