From the article: Was the Ford Mustang named after a horse?
Was the Ford Mustang named after a horse? John Najjar, the original designer of the Mustang I Prototype, is said to have named the vehicle after the legendary P-51 Mustang fighter plane from World War II. Although this is the "official" story, many people believe the Mustang was named after the horse. In fact, Lee Iacocca is said to have stated this several times while discussing the vehicle in interviews. Tell Us What You Think
Mustangs
- I was a Ford salesman at the time. We were shown the new car and the movie screen showed the car with the horses running aside the Mustang? So what is right I am not sure. I always thought that it was the horse.
- —Guest Dean G
The plane
- The Mustang was named after the War World 2 fighter plane the P-51 Mustang
- —Guest Mustangman
Mustang (Original)
- Personally I think it was named after the airplane, i'm literally watching a show right now about the p-51 Mustang (airplane), its the #1 airplane of all-times, so I think it was named after the Plane.
- —Guest MustangLady-Love
Mustang
- Check wikipedia "alternative view" and footnotes. The Mustang was named by Robert J eggert market research director for Ford. The name came from a book about horses called "The Mustangs"
- —Guest Karl
SMU Mustangs
- The story that, "Iacocca and several Ford execs were at an SMU football game which pitted the Mustangs against the Michigan Wolverines. Although the Wolverines were off to a solid start, the Mustangs gave them a run for their money. Although Michigan was victorious in the end, Iacocca was won over by the team's spirit. He supposedly walked into the locker room and said, "Today, after watching the SMU Mustangs play with such flair, we reached a decision. We will call our new car the Mustang. Because it will be light, like your team. It will be quick, like your team. And it will be sporty, like your team," is told as factual on the campus of SMU. I earned three degrees from SMU, and would love to know why Iacocca will not deny or confirm the story.
- —Guest GREEKMBA
