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The 1965 Ford Mustang could have looked a lot different

The 1965 Ford Mustang is unquestionably an automotive design icon, and nearly every generation of Mustang has some connection to that original car. Because it's such a universally-known vehicle, we were amazed to see all the different designs that were being considered. Head of Ford's archives Ted Ryan recently shared photos of design proposals for the original Mustang on Twitter that he and Jamie Myler found, and we reached out to them to find out more. As Ryan initially noted, the photos were taken on August 19, 1962, and they are proposals for the Ford Mustang. Apparently Ford had committed to doing a Falcon-based youth-oriented car at this point, and it did have plans to launch the car in 1964 for the 1965 model year. But after having little success with early design proposals, the company asked all of its design studios — the Advanced Studio, Lincoln-Mercury Studio and Ford Studio — to submit proposals. With only about two years before the planned launch, Ford was understandably short on time, and it's believed that the studios only had a month to create and present these designs. Lincoln-Mercury design proposal View 8 Photos The majority of the designs, a total of five, came from the Advanced Studio, and part of this was because they already had a couple of concept designs in reserve it could present. Two other models representing three design possibilities came from Lincoln-Mercury, and just one model with two options came from Ford. The Advanced Studio proposals are shown in the gallery at the very top of this article, and the Lincoln-Mercury and Ford proposals are in the gallery directly above this paragraph. The Advanced Studio's most radical design is the one that was clearly related to the Mustang I concept that would be shown later that year with huge wraparound rear glass, turbine-inspired bumpers and enormous side scoops. The other proposals from the studio were more conservative, featuring simple lines, grilles reminiscent of the Falcon, and one even borrowing the jet-thruster-style taillights made famous on the Thunderbird. Lincoln-Mercury had some impressively bold designs, particularly its fastback that had buttresses to extend the shape all the way to the tail. This car had two different side trim possibilities. The other Lincoln-Mercury design was toned down a bit, but had two interesting possibilities for side detailing, as well as some crisp, low-profile tail fins.

2020 Lincoln Aviator Review and Buying Guide | All-American sophistication

The new 2020 Lincoln Aviator lands into one of the hottest luxury segments – three-row family crossovers – and is not only an incredibly relevant product, but a fully competitive and appealing one too. It all starts with a uniquely characterful interior that's likely to earn the Aviator a fair share of takers by itself. Then there's the exterior styling, which is long and sleek with a tapered roofline courtesy of new rear-wheel-drive architecture developed in concert for the Aviator and also-new Ford Explorer. The two vehicles share common bones, but the skin and muscle are quite different. Emphasis on muscle, too, because the Aviator's powertrain options utterly blow away its competition (a 400-horsepower turbo V6 and the Grand Touring's 494-hp plug-in hybrid). However, despite those eye-popping performance numbers, don't expect the Aviator to be a firm-riding, sport-tuned SUV. All that power is there if you need it, but it's part of an overall competent, composed driving experience rather than one thatÂ’s tightly wound and over-caffeinated. Frankly, it's a recipe that should make a lot of sense to American luxury buyers. If you're looking for a big, luxurious family vehicle, put it on your shopping list. What's new for 2020? The Aviator is an all-new model that slots into a previously unfilled slot in the Lincoln lineup between the five-passenger Nautilus and full-size, truck-based Navigator. 2020 Lincoln Aviator Interior View 9 Photos What's the interior and in-car technology like? No other company's interiors look anything like the mid-century-inspired palace of cool you get in the Aviator. All versions are available with distinctive color schemes shown above, but the Black Label trim level stands out the most with its three available "themes" of "Chalet," "Flight" and "Destination" that get special colors and trim types. Perhaps the quality of some plastics and the fit-and-finish aren't up to Mercedes or BMW levels, but everything looks so special that it makes up whatever deficit exists. Most competitors just seem drab and generic by comparison. In terms of technology, every 2020 Aviator comes standard with a 10-inch touchscreen mounted so high on the dash and close to the driver that it actually seems larger. It runs the Lincoln-skinned version of Ford's Sync 3 interface, which is generally user friendly, though it perhaps doesn't look as cool and sophisticated as the all-digital gauge cluster (or the interfaces of rivals).

More than 800,000 Fords recalled for faulty Takata airbags

The Basics: Ford is recalling about 816,000 Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles built in the US for faulty passenger-side Takata airbags. The affected vehicles were all built in North America, with 654,695 recalled vehicles in the US and 161,174 vehicles in Canada. A wide variety of cars, trucks, and SUVs are affected. This is a planned expansion of an earlier recall. 2005-09 and 2012 Ford Mustang 2005-06 Ford GT 2006-09 and 2012 Ford Fusion 2007-09 Ford Ranger 2007-09 Ford Edge 2006-09 and 2012 Lincoln Zephyr and Lincoln MKZ 2007-09 Lincoln MKX 2006-09 Mercury Milan The Problem: Like every other Takata recall, the problem rests with faulty airbags that can potentially expel shrapnel, injuring or killing vehicle occupants. Millions of vehicles from dozens of automakers are affected, so don't think that Ford is alone on this one. Injuries/Deaths: Ford stated in a press release that there have been no injuries or death linked to the vehicles in this recall. All in all, 11 deaths and 180 injuries across a variety of automakers have been linked to these Takata airbags. The fix: Ford will contact owners soon, and the affected vehicles will have their airbags replaced by a dealer at no additional charge. If you own one: Wait for contact from Ford, then head to the dealer to get a replacement. If you're wondering if your vehicle is affected, go to this Ford website and enter their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). The recall reference number is 17S01. Related Video: News Source: FordImage Credit: Associated Press Recalls Ford Lincoln Mercury Auto Repair Ownership Safety Truck Coupe Crossover SUV Sedan airbag Takata airbag recall