Jay,
The Mustang went through several versions before it became a sporty Falcon.
The first Mustang was a 2 passenger roadster using Ford of Germany components
and was a true sports car. Therefore, it's competitors were indeed the
Alpine, MG, Triumph, etc. The "Mustang II" was a sleek four passenger car
that eventually led to the production Mustang.
Jan
Jay_Laifman@countrywide.com wrote:
A Mustang press kit is now for sale on eBay. It is from 1962, and it is
telling sales people how to market the car and gives comparisons to the
Sunbeam Alpine Mark [sic] II. I'm surprised that they thought those sports
cars were there primary competition. But, perhaps in looking back, those
probably were the initial cars they were shooting for when they first
brought out the car.
Here is the text from the eBay ad and the link:
"Calling all Mustang lovers! This 1962 press kit documents the birth of the
Mustang! A black and white (halftone) photo shows the first Mustang along
with its creators, H. L. Misch, VP-Engineering, and Gene Bordinat,
VP-Styling. The caption claims that it is "the first car built by an
American manufacturer which fits into the European-dominated popular sports
car class." Also included in the kit are: the envelope with the Mustang
logo, two different versions of the Oct. 7, 1962 press release, the
Mustang's specs sheet, and a chart comparing the Mustang's specs to those
of the Alfa Romeo Spyder, the Fiat 1500 Cabriolet, the MG 1600 Mark II, the
Porsche 1600N, the Sunbeam Alpine Mark II, and the Triumph TR4. This is the
original press kit that was mailed to my father (a newspaper editor)in
1962!"
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=593079864&r=0&t=0
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