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The part about Lee Iacocco introducing the Mustang reminded me about this passage from In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters b

The part about Lee Iacocco introducing the Mustang reminded me about this passage from In Search of Stupidity: Over 20 Years of High-Tech Marketing Disasters by Merrill R. Chapman > In the auto industry, a classic example is the Ford Falcon. The brainchild of "whiz kid" Robert McNamara, the Falcon was designed from the get-go as a "people's car." In other words, it couldn't go very fast, it got good gas mileage, and it was economical to run. Extolling these virtues was the car's deliberately plug-ugly design, one that proclaimed the vehicle was in the service of the lumpen proletariat, those who only drive and serve. The lumpen proletariat didn't appreciate the sentiments the Falcon reflected, and although people who couldn't afford anything more bought the Falcon, they drove the car without joy and bought few of the optional accessories that made selling the car profitable. > On the other hand, the Ford Mustang when it was released in 1964 was a phenomenon, and Ford couldn't make enough of them to meet demand. Mustangs were fun, sexy, and desirable. Mustang owners were intelligent and cool people with a great sense of value, the type of folks you wished would invite you to a barbecue at their place. Of course, the Mustang also wouldn't go very fast (though it looked like it could), got good gas mileage, and was very economical to run. This is because it was, underneath its alluring sheet metal, nothing more than a reskinned Ford Falcon. But by dint of good design and the addition of key features that proclaimed the car wasn't for old farts (such as a snazzy steering wheel and bucket seats) and sporty options (such as high-profit, high-performance engines), the Mustang became a car you could aspire to whereas the Falcon was just a cheap set of wheels.

plink 7y ago
“whereas the Falcon was just a cheap set of wheels.” A cheap set of wheels that notoriously disappeared Argentinian activists.
- mulmen 7y ago
  I don’t understand the reference, can you elaborate?
  - ahi 7y ago
    They were the vehicle of choice for Argentinian death squads: https://www.reuters.com/article/argentina-dictatorship-falcon/suspected-death-squad-cars-found-at-argentine-base-idUSL2E8QR0OQ20120327?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews&rpc=401 https://www.reuters.com/article/argentina-dictatorship-falco...
  - bspn 7y ago
    Outside of the US, the Falcon continued to be mass-produced in a number of international markets (and in some, like Australia, became wildly popular) and one of those markets was Argentina where it was used by both the police and paramilitary death squads which I assume is what the reference was to.
flunhat 7y ago
Bobby Baker, who was one of Lyndon Johnson's closest aides, had this to say about Robert McNamara (who was Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War): "The biggest disaster in the history of this country was [Robert] McNamara. Henry Ford was my good friend and he said, “The best thing that ever happened to me was getting rid of that bastard.” He almost wrecked Ford back then, and he really wrecked the Defense Department. The Vietnam War - President Johnson did not know how to get out - that was the greatest tragedy of his Presidency." Source: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/836424-baker-text.html#document/p22 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/836424-baker-text.ht... (The whole interview is really worth reading and is full of sordid tales about the Senate in the 1960s).
- scottlocklin 7y ago
  Baker is himself a pretty fascinating figure for a peep into the insane corruption of mid-20th century US politics. Basically the fella was a pimp who ran a private intel/blackmail service using his ladies.
  - paganel 7y ago
    > insane corruption of mid-20th century US politics Not sure things have changed that much in the meantime, to be honest. Nowadays you've got the US Dept. of Education being run by the sister of the guy that runs one of the biggest and most despicable mercenary companies in the world, and regarding sex-related blackmail I still regard the escort-related thing that happened to Eliot Spitzer as a blatant set-up. If it matters I'm not an American and I've never set foot in the States, these are just my opinions on the American political life as seen from half a world away.
    - scottlocklin 7y ago
      I agree with you completely (as an American), and I always bring up Bobby Baker specifically to get fellow Americans thinking in this direction. I mean, this is known -it's even in his Wikipedia entry. Imagine all the filthy tricks going on elsewhere in the modern day with small recording devices. Spitzer was probably a setup. I also look at Dennis Hastert as being controlled by someone. He was eventually convicted of money laundering to cover up raping a young boy. American media acted like it never happened!
pilsetnieks 7y ago
Curiously, in the Soviet Union the Volga - the Soviet copy of the Ford Falcon - was the most desired car of all. An ordinary citizen had nearly no chance of acquiring one because most went to party functionaries, government organizations, and, for some reason, taxicabs.
- inawarminister 7y ago
  I guess exclusivity has its own value.
tirumaraiselvan 7y ago
Similar distaster (like Falcon) happened in India with Tata Nano. It was touted as India's "cheapest" car. It definitely was the most economical car ever introduced and there was lot of hype of how it was going to enable 4-wheels for every household. Except nobody bought. A car is more than its functionality. It is also a symbol.
g00s3_caLL_x2 7y ago
I own a 63 1/2 with a 170 c.i.d. It just putts, lol. No torque at all.
noelherrick 7y ago
I don't really think it was as dramatic as you're making it sound - the Ford Falcon sold 1 million cars in the first two years, and the Ford Mustang sold 1 million cars in 18 months. The Falcon continued to be sold for years afterwards, and it appears that there are many enthusiasts who would reject the definition of the styling as plug ugly. Also, if you read the article, it makes it sound like McNamara understood Iacocco's genius salesmanship, and promoted him into a position he could be effective. In the same article, it talks about how Iacocco was president during the Pinto debacle, so it would seem that he had both successes and failures. Overall, I think we need to have a little more balanced view than a simplified retelling of history that says that Iacocco was a hero and McNamara was a tone-deaf robot. Both contributed greatly to Ford and both had their blind spots.
cafard 7y ago
I drove a Falcon to high school one year. It was a perfectly fine car, it got very decent mileage for that day, and one could comfortably get in and out of the back, which I don't think was the case for Mustangs. On the other hand, Steve McQueen never chased bad guys through San Francisco in a Falcon...

plink 7y ago

“whereas the Falcon was just a cheap set of wheels.” A cheap set of wheels that notoriously disappeared Argentinian activists.

mulmen 7y ago
I don’t understand the reference, can you elaborate?
- ahi 7y ago
  They were the vehicle of choice for Argentinian death squads: https://www.reuters.com/article/argentina-dictatorship-falcon/suspected-death-squad-cars-found-at-argentine-base-idUSL2E8QR0OQ20120327?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews&rpc=401 https://www.reuters.com/article/argentina-dictatorship-falco...
- bspn 7y ago
  Outside of the US, the Falcon continued to be mass-produced in a number of international markets (and in some, like Australia, became wildly popular) and one of those markets was Argentina where it was used by both the police and paramilitary death squads which I assume is what the reference was to.

flunhat 7y ago

Bobby Baker, who was one of Lyndon Johnson's closest aides, had this to say about Robert McNamara (who was Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War): "The biggest disaster in the history of this country was [Robert] McNamara. Henry Ford was my good friend and he said, “The best thing that ever happened to me was getting rid of that bastard.” He almost wrecked Ford back then, and he really wrecked the Defense Department. The Vietnam War - President Johnson did not know how to get out - that was the greatest tragedy of his Presidency." Source: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/836424-baker-text.html#document/p22 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/836424-baker-text.ht... (The whole interview is really worth reading and is full of sordid tales about the Senate in the 1960s).

scottlocklin 7y ago
Baker is himself a pretty fascinating figure for a peep into the insane corruption of mid-20th century US politics. Basically the fella was a pimp who ran a private intel/blackmail service using his ladies.
- paganel 7y ago
  > insane corruption of mid-20th century US politics Not sure things have changed that much in the meantime, to be honest. Nowadays you've got the US Dept. of Education being run by the sister of the guy that runs one of the biggest and most despicable mercenary companies in the world, and regarding sex-related blackmail I still regard the escort-related thing that happened to Eliot Spitzer as a blatant set-up. If it matters I'm not an American and I've never set foot in the States, these are just my opinions on the American political life as seen from half a world away.
  - scottlocklin 7y ago
    I agree with you completely (as an American), and I always bring up Bobby Baker specifically to get fellow Americans thinking in this direction. I mean, this is known -it's even in his Wikipedia entry. Imagine all the filthy tricks going on elsewhere in the modern day with small recording devices. Spitzer was probably a setup. I also look at Dennis Hastert as being controlled by someone. He was eventually convicted of money laundering to cover up raping a young boy. American media acted like it never happened!

pilsetnieks 7y ago

Curiously, in the Soviet Union the Volga - the Soviet copy of the Ford Falcon - was the most desired car of all. An ordinary citizen had nearly no chance of acquiring one because most went to party functionaries, government organizations, and, for some reason, taxicabs.

inawarminister 7y ago
I guess exclusivity has its own value.

tirumaraiselvan 7y ago

Similar distaster (like Falcon) happened in India with Tata Nano. It was touted as India's "cheapest" car. It definitely was the most economical car ever introduced and there was lot of hype of how it was going to enable 4-wheels for every household. Except nobody bought. A car is more than its functionality. It is also a symbol.

g00s3_caLL_x2 7y ago

I own a 63 1/2 with a 170 c.i.d. It just putts, lol. No torque at all.

noelherrick 7y ago

I don't really think it was as dramatic as you're making it sound - the Ford Falcon sold 1 million cars in the first two years, and the Ford Mustang sold 1 million cars in 18 months. The Falcon continued to be sold for years afterwards, and it appears that there are many enthusiasts who would reject the definition of the styling as plug ugly. Also, if you read the article, it makes it sound like McNamara understood Iacocco's genius salesmanship, and promoted him into a position he could be effective. In the same article, it talks about how Iacocco was president during the Pinto debacle, so it would seem that he had both successes and failures. Overall, I think we need to have a little more balanced view than a simplified retelling of history that says that Iacocco was a hero and McNamara was a tone-deaf robot. Both contributed greatly to Ford and both had their blind spots.

cafard 7y ago

I drove a Falcon to high school one year. It was a perfectly fine car, it got very decent mileage for that day, and one could comfortably get in and out of the back, which I don't think was the case for Mustangs. On the other hand, Steve McQueen never chased bad guys through San Francisco in a Falcon...