Do you know what that Ford Mustang II was? If not, you’re not alone at all. This is a car that was only offered for a short time.

This car was one that Ford created as an answer to the gasoline crisis of the 1970s. The Mustang II is mostly a car that either brings back memories of hatred or a bit of a chuckle as people remember it but can’t believe they loved this car as much as they actually did at the time. With this name in the lineup from 1974 until 1979, the Mustang name was able to be a continuous badge used without interruption.

What Makes us Think of the Ford Mustang II?

The Mustang II was based on another model that we no longer see in the market which is the Ford Pinto. This made the car a compact sports car that had less power under the hood than the current Fiesta EcoBoost we see on the market today. The reason we think of this car right now is the rising price of gasoline. We look at the prices at the pump and see that oil companies are increasing the cost per gallon just before we begin to get our summer driving ramped up and in some places, the cost has reached over four dollars a gallon.

Sales Were Better Than You’d Expect

While the Mustang II was able to give us an uninterrupted pony badge from 1964 until the present, you might think this car wasn’t sold in large numbers when it was around. It actually saw sales of over 385,000 units, which made this version of the Mustang more popular than the Camaro of the time, which stood on its ideals to continue to be a gas-guzzling V8-powered monster rather than offer a relative efficiency without the exciting horsepower under the hood.

A Death Nell for the Ford Mustang II

Even though the Mustang II was the top seller between the Mustang and Camaro of the time, once the fuel crisis receded and the economy stabilized, the Camaro was able to recapture the dominance in the market and be the sales leader.

Because the Camaro was able to be the top seller for three straight years, Ford reverted back to a Mustang with the size, power, and excitement we wanted for the fun on the road and track in 1979. Even so, there were design elements of the Mustang II that made it to the new Mustang which aided in this new car in being lighter, smaller, and quicker than the Camaro.

Should We See a Ford Mustang II?

With the recent plan to cut the lineup of cars down to the Mustang wouldn’t it be a great idea for Ford to offer a Mustang II once again? This car could be smaller but similar in style and give us quick power similar to what we currently see in the Focus RS to make it easy to have the efficiency we want and still enjoy a powerful car that’s a lot of fun to drive. Maybe we’ll see this name once again, but when gas prices increase, the thoughts of the Mustang II come back and make us think.