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Introducing the 1965 Ford Mustang

Put on your space suits and diving bell helmets, for it's time to step into a time capsule. The 50th anniversary of a historic model, like, say, the Porsche 911 this year, is certain to bring flights of nostalgia. This historical trip with the 1965 Mustang, though - preliminary hype for next year's anniversary, we know - is a swell museum exhibit for anyone who enjoys bygone days of the automobile.
Lee Iaccoca gave a speech to motoring journalists on April 1, 1964 at the New York World's Fair to introduce a sporty car for younger drivers. His opening line: "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to one of the proudest moments of our lives." The company was so excited by what it had made that the Mustang was Ford's first "International Press Introduction," being introduced to some 2,000 journos around the world on the same day in the US and 11 European cities. Even through its difficult points, no one at the time could have known how well the Mustang would acquit that pride.
After the intro, the press drove Mustangs 750 miles from New York to Dearborn, MI, reading press kits that touted features like the "vertical, three-sectional taillights/turn signals," "170" six-cylinder engine with 101 horsepower and the available Cruise-O-Matic transmission.

Detroit automakers gain market share simultaneously for first time in 20 years

While monthly sales figures might be an easy way of tracking the progression of the auto industry and individual automakers, looking at market share might be more indicative of how each company is actually standing up against its competitors. For the Detroit Three automakers, they have collectively lost almost 30 percent of the market over the last 20 years, but now, for the first time since 1993, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have each posted market share gains at the same time.
According to Automotive News, Ford's share increased the most by 0.7 percent, GM was up 0.5 percent and Chrysler rose marginally by 0.2 percent, giving the Detroit automakers a total market share of 45.6 percent. As for the Japan's Big Three, the article reports that Toyota is up by 0.7 percent, Nissan is down the same amount and Honda has seen "little change."

AMC Trans Am Javelin SST, an ultra-rare underdog, is up for auction

Among the rarest of the American muscle cars that went racing in the early Seventies — cars including the Camaro Z/28 and the Boss 302 Mustang — the 1970 AMC Trans Am Javelin SST may be the most hard to find, and among the most valuable. Only 100 units of this unique Javelin were produced, and one of them is up for auction at the Mecum event in Dallas on September 20. The Trans Am Javelin was fashioned in a patriotic livery of tricolor paint — red, white and blue — and arrived after the American Motors Corporation had decided in 1968 to compete in the Trans Am racing series against Ford and General Motors. The company's chief driver, Mark Donohue, would dominate the 1971 season, taking seven wins in his Javelin AMX and that yearÂ’s SCCA Trans-Am Championship. AMC took the trophy with 82 points, well ahead of Ford's 61, Chevrolet's 17 and Pontiac's paltry 7. The example listed for auction came equipped with a 390-cubic-inch V-8 engine with 325 horsepower at 5,000 rpm and 420 pound-feet of torque, power steering and brakes, dual exhaust, BorgWarner four-speed manual transmission and Hurst competition shifter. Its “ram induction system” sealed a chamber around the air filter so that cool air from the functional hood scoop would be funneled into the intake. This JavÂ’s factory price was $3,995 — a mere $32,000 or so in today's money, though it was expensive by the standards of the time. The 100 Trans Ams were among 19,714 Javelin units built in 1970, so they started out rare, and today the surviving examples are highly collectible, if and when they come up for sale. No bid estimate is available yet. Related Video: Motorsports Chevrolet Ford Pontiac Auctions Automotive History Racing Vehicles Classics