The Mustang’s 61st birthday is happening as this is being written. When the pony car was introduced, there were not many models out of Detroit that had been around for decades—perhaps the Buick Special, Oldsmobile 98, Cadillac Series 62, and Chrysler New Yorker and Imperial may have been it. Do you see any youth appeal in those?
Times were different in 1964; the demographic and psychographic was demanding new models and features. No, not all the below AutoHunter Picks are Mustangs, nor are they models that existed for decades, but the Dodge and the Fairlane-based Ford certainly are products of youth culture much like the Mustang. The Brit among the bunch? It relied on a different impetus, one that doesn’t need to make sense for our needs—we simply want you to enjoy a nice mix of cars.
1966 Dodge Coronet 500 Convertible
This was the moment Dodge began to realize offering a mid-size car with a big engine wasn’t cutting it against the Pontiac GTO. Dodge needed an image car, which would become the Coronet R/T in 1967. Otherwise, the Coronet 500 was the sporty Coronet featuring standard bucket seats and a console for two-doors.
The 383 four-barrel this one has was rated at 325 horsepower, so it has some grunt. We know 3,626 of these were built for the U.S. market, of which 640 had this engine and tranny, so this car has rarity on its side, too.
1969 Ford Cobra Hardtop
There’s something to be said about meeting the competition on better terms. The Cobra’s 428 Cobra Jet simply outclassed the Plymouth Road Runner’s 383. But what stands out about this Cobra Hardtop (besides arousing the debate “fastback or formal roof?”) is that it is equipped with air conditioning—a rarity for a budget muscle car—and it was originally ordered with radial tires.
Very, very few American cars were available with radials at the time and, if you glance at the Marti Report (go to the auction page for that), very few Cobras were built with them.
2007 Shelby GT500 Convertible
Mustangs and Shelbys of this era can get confusing. Remember the 2006 Shelby GT-H? That was produced by Shelby American. The 500-horsepower 2007 GT500, on the other hand, was built by Ford’s SVT unit.
This supercharged convertible has only 310 miles on it, so it’s pretty much a new car. It’s one of 2,695 convertibles built, of which 650 were made in the black/black combination. For fans of S197 Mustangs and/or the spirit of a previous era, this is a real find.
1973 Truimph Stag Convertible
I know nothing about these cars other than what they are. They don’t seem to be popular in the U.S., at least in comparison to the TR series. So you can imagine my surprise when I read this car had a three-liter V8. Is that a typo? Maybe the Stag had a six of some sort?
Nope, these had V8s. And, if the numbers I saw are to be believed, only 2,871 were imported to the U.S. over several years, so domestic-market ones are truly rare. The Stag is clearly an unusual 2+2 for those who love British cars or are intrigued by small V8s.
