Ford’s Mustang was the sales phenomenon of the mid-1960s. Between April 1964 and the end of the 1966 model year, nearly 1.3 million of them were produced, presumably creating a banner period in FOMOCO’s history. With sales approaching the one-million-unit mark in early 1966, Ford cooked up a promotion called the Sprint 200, for which this nice-looking ’66 coupe is said to be one. But more on that in a moment. Located in Monroe, Washington, this ‘Stang is available here on craigslist for a reasonable $13,900. Kudos to “Curvette” for yet another nifty tip!
One problem of having a success story on their hands, like the Mustang, was Ford’s ability to keep up with demand. More buyers were interested in V8 Mustangs than in inline-6s because the 289 was available across the Ford and Mercury lineup. To drive more sales of the 200-cubic-inch I-6 ponies, the Sprint 200 was cooked up as a special option group that brought a bunch of cool options for only $40 extra, as long as you drove home in a Mustang six.
Your Sprint 200 came with the 200 I-6 (of course), along with special stripes, a chrome air cleaner instead of a painted one, a center console, and wire wheel covers. A 3-speed manual transmission was still standard, as was the “regular interior”. Ford also threw in the Safety Equipment Group, which added features like seat belts, backup lights, and an emergency flasher, which were mostly required by then anyway. We don’t know if the promotion successfully shifted buyer interest to the economical six models, but it sounded like a bargain if you were leaning that direction anyway.
The seller’s Ford has an automatic transmission and the snappy pony interior, so this car may have had plenty of options short of air conditioning. We’re told it’s 95% original, but everything looks so nice to be from the factory after 60 years and 100,000-plus miles. No mention is made of any repairs made or needed, and the four tires are nearly new. It’s a shame there aren’t any more photos because the car seems to deserve them.
Not mentioned here, was Fords promotion “Six and the Single Girl”, an ad campaign primarily on the west coast, to lure single girls to the Mustang. The slogan mimicked a popular book by a similar name, and was deemed too risky for the conservative Midwest. Since Mustang was primarily marketed as a mans car, and would never buy one with a 6, apparently, almost 1/3 of all 608,000 1966 Mustangs sold in ’66, were 6 cylinders. In fact, a 6 cylinder was considered a punishment for that R code Galaxie that got you into so much trouble. Wonderful find, and these are the cars for the future car hobby.
Secretary’s Special!
…wait…what’s a secretary??