How Ford’s EXP Saved the Mustang
Back in the early eighties, Ford was struggling. Henry Ford II had just retired, Lee Iacocca left for Chrysler, and Ford’s chief designer Eugene Bordinat had just stepped down as well. Things were not looking good for the Blue Oval. Add to that the fact that Ford saw the youth market was growing, and that much of its normal customer base was no longer buying cars, and you have the perfect storm for a car company to go out of business.
Ford was scrambling. Fuel prices and emissions regulations were strangling the auto industry and the desire for V8 muscle cars had long since passed. What was Ford to do to stem the changing tide? What happened next spanned nearly a decade and would go on to have repercussions even to this day.
Ford looked at the likes of Honda and Toyota, who were dominating the industry. They looked to these automakers for inspiration, and what they saw were little, two-door, FWD cars that the Japanese automakers couldn’t keep on the shelves.
Ford decided that because of the success of Toyota’s MR2, and Honda’s CRX , what the company needed was a similarly small FWD coupe. So the Blue Oval went about building a new car and created the now rather forgotten Ford EXP. The EXP was very much in the same vein as the CRX and MR2, but featured odd styling that wasn’t exactly in fashion.
While the EXP did sell in fairly good numbers, the car never was the commercial hit Ford wanted. However, sales were good enough that it warranted a high output version that used the SVO Mustang motor. But with lackluster performance, and insurance rates beginning to rise on small two-seater cars, it never would sell all that well. Here’s a clip to show you how bad the performance really was.
So at the end of the eighties, Ford faced a huge dilemma. While the EXP’s sales weren’t great, at least not in the eyes of the marketing executives, the company needed a new sportscar. And here’s where I might lose you, because what I’m about to say might be a bit controversial.
The Ford EXP Turbo Coupe saved the Mustang. Now before you get the pitchforks, hear me out.
When both the EXP and Mustang were on sale, Mustang sales figures were in the dumps. This was partially due to the same issues that the EXP had: lackluster performance, high gas prices, a recession economy, and not that great of a design. It didn’t capture the hearts and minds like the original had. Ford was ready to drop the architecture altogether.
In the late Eighties, Ford began working on the next generation Mustang. Ford decided that they should ditch the front engine, RWD Mustang platform and that elevating the EXP to a new level with a Mustang badge would definitely be the best option. It would feature a sleek, fuel-efficient, FWD design that would replace the aging muscle car.
However, halfway through Ford building the new Mustang on the EXP’s architecture, Mustang loyalists got wind of Ford’s plan. And because of that, they began a massive campaign to save their beloved car. In addition to buying up all the Mustang stocks from their local dealers, gas prices began to decline, and a massive letter campaign was started.
Normally this wouldn’t have worked unless it was in a Hollywood movie, but since the Mustang is still alive, all the effort paid off, and Ford decided to scrap the EXP plan altogether.
You see, without the Ford EXP, the next generation Mustang would have never received the green light. Rather, we would probably be stuck with something closer to the Fusion, but with a Mustang badge on it. It’s crazy to think how one crappy little car saved one of the most iconic badges ever from just being a footnote in Ford’s history books.