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After 15 years of the incredibly famous Fox Body Ford Mustang, some enthusiasts were happy to hear about an intended redesign, the 4th full redesign of the model's existence. The Fox Body Mustang brought the model line back up from near ruin, caused by the 4 cylinder, low performance Mustang II, and emissions standards that hurt the performance of the classic Mustangs. Though some hoped for a redesign through several years of the Fox Body, the look should be credited with putting the Mustang back atop the pony car market once again, right where it belonged.

The 1964-2009 Ford Mustang has spent 42 years as one of the leading names in the American performance car market, and one of the best selling cars in US history.  While the sleek, sporty lines get the attention, the Ford Mustang never fails pack a strong-running engine. Ford also always offers at least one small, efficient, economical Mustang engine for those more concerned with the look of the Mustang than they are with brute performance. Here a brief overview of the engines offered over the years since the Mustang was introduced.

The 2001 Ford Mustang Bullitt, like the movie car, was simply a "S-95 New Edge" Mustang GT with some styling changes on the inside and outside along with a slight increase in power due to a different intake manifold.

The exterior of the Mustang Bullitt featured a brushed fuel door, blacked-out "coral" around the pony on the front grille section, power coated red brake calipers with a silver "pony" emblem, more aerodynamic rear body scoops, BULLITT badge on the left rear of the vehicle, and an altered C-pillar. The C-pillar on the other 2001 Mustangs followed the same line on the top and bottom; on the Bullitt, the side of the C-pillar against the rear quarter window angled back in towards the bottom, giving them a similar shape to that found on the 1968 Mustang GT. And in keeping with the exterior cues of the 1968 Bullitt car, the 2001 units offered no fog lights or rear spoiler.  The 2001 Bullitt was offered in three colors: True Blue (723), Black (1,818), and Highland Green (3041). 

The 1964 Ford Mustang entered the automotive world and became an instant success, offering a fairly inexpensive and fun 210hp V8 engine inside something brand new. The Mustang found its way onto television, magazine covers, and even the head of the field at the Indianapolis 500 in its first few years. Few of those appearances would have as long lasting an impact as its cameo in the 1968 movie, Bullitt, about San Francisco cop Lieutenant Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen) who kept the city under his thumb with the aid of his Highland Green 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390. This movie is popular due to its use of the dark green fastback as well as a late-movie chase scene throughout the extreme topography of San Francisco streets, pitting the 1968 Mustang GT against a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T driven by a pair of suspected murderers.

Few changes were made for the 2002 Ford Mustang aside from the addition of new color options and a new steering wheel wrap for standard Mustangs. Ford did upgrade the sound system in the 2002 Mustang GT with a powerful new Visteon Mach 1000. In the US, the standard Cobra was left off the slate again due to the release of another special addition Cobra, Ford's 2003 SVT Cobra. One Hundred 2002 Mustang Cobras, all manufactured with right hand drive, were shipped to Australia and were identical to the 2001 Mustang Cobra, with the exception of a crude extra set of fog lights between the head lights and the normal fog lights. The 2002 Saleen Mustang lineup remained steady, introducing the S-281 Extreme , which was a 425 horsepower beast. The 2002 Roush Mustang remained relatively unchanged from the previous year excluding the 360R, a Roush Stage 3 with custom graphics. Of note, sales figures dropped once again, this time to around 142,000 units.