Talk:Pony car

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Wouldn't the mid-1950s original Ford Thunderbird and the Studebaker Avanti be considered pony cars, even though they predated the Mustang?

I'd say not. Both were too expensive and were pitched at an older, more affluent demographic. I'd call them early forms of the personal luxury car. RivGuySC 22:56, 20 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I would agree. The success of the Mustang and its imitators was because they were substantially more affordable than the T-Bird and the Avanti -- the Avanti's base price was nearly $2,000 higher than the Mustang, which put it out of reach of many buyers. ArgentLA 10:52, 30 October 2005

It is well known, accepted, and documented that the Ford Mustang established the term "pony car". Please provide sources before changing this article to state that the Chevrolet originated the term "pony car". This means identifying proof that the particular model you identify as coining the "horse-related" term was available for sale .. not just a concept car. Note that the Rambler Tarpon was shown to the public before the Ford Mustang went on sale. The original Plymouth Barracuda preceded the Ford Mustang to market by two weeks. Nevertheless, this market segment is called "pony car" -- NOT the "fish car" market segment! Why? Because of the impact of the original Mustang on the automobile marketplace. CZmarlin 03:41, 2 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

this is not a personal blog, and its clear when the word mustang appears 3 or more times 1 paragraph that its bias for mustang lovers. its wikipedia not a mustang fan site. mustang did not copyright the word pony nor car so the proof is weak.

if in fact mustang inpired the term pony car then it should be under origins not the head line. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.169.201.145 (talk) 23:32, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

There is sufficient referenced documentation from third party sources that the origin and inspiration of the pony car term came from the Ford Mustang. To deny this in the head of the article is to avoid the obvious. Thanks! CZmarlin (talk) 10:41, 18 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I have removed the russian link in external as per WP:EXTERNAL. If you do not feel this edit was correct then revert and leave a note here as to how it fits in the article and wiki guidelines. Anubis1055 (talk) 04:23, 5 May 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.169.201.145 (talk) 23:28, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Plymouth revisited the concept of the original Barracuda in 1970 by creating a special coupe version of the Valiant called the Duster. Would the Duster be considered a pony car? Are there any documents referring to the Duster as a pony car? No signature (talk) 19:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

No. Watchdevil (talk) 22:44, 13 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I moved the following comment that was part of revision 300930735 by 71.218.2.133 from the article. It was added to the list of pony and muscle cars by automaker, but it is an opinion that belongs here.

This list is incorrect the AMX had a shorter wheelbase of 97 inches and is the pony car while the Javelin had a wheelbase of well over 100 inches and is the muscle car.

In my view, the correct classification for the Javelin is as pony car (it was the same size and marketed directly against the Mustang, Camaro, etc.), the AMX is more properly a two-seat sports car, while The Machine (AMC Rebel/Matador) the mid-size muscle car (although AMC produced a variety of other models). CZmarlin (talk) 21:27, 8 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

First off, I agree with all what CZmarlin said about the term Pony car, its origins, and believe that the article doesn't need editing in that sense. Other than that, do you guys really believe the Hyundai Genesis Coupe qualifies to be termed a pony car? Not forgetting that Pony cars are in reality affordable MUSCLE cars, not tuner cars. Whoever believes the Hyundai Coupe is a Pony car, why don't you include the Mitsubishi Eclipe? Lance? Honda Civic? And the list of tuner cars goes on and on and on...

Anyway, let me know what you think, and good article overall everyone :)

(Darkanius (talk) 15:35, 1 December 2009 (UTC))[reply]

Hi Watchdevil. Thanks for digging up the reference showing the link between the Capri and pony cars.

Here are a couple of tweaks I would like to make:

• re-wording "as a captive import absent of divisional badging" so that it is easier understood by non-car people outside the U.S.
• I do not think the Capri sports car being sold in Australia and South Africa is relevant to pony cars, so I think this sentance should be removed

On another topic, in the "Expansion and decline" section, I think the text in the length captions should be moved to the body, and the captions be just the model name and year. Do you see any issues with this? Cheers, 1292simon (talk) 23:48, 10 March 2019 (UTC) I do not think the original wording about the Capri being a captive import without divisional badging was a confusing issue to anyone. Watchdevil (talk) 19:39, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

My concern is that "divisional badging" is not easily understood by casual readers outside North America. So I think it would be better if the fact that it was sold without a Ford or Mercury badge could be explained with different wording. Cheers, 1292simon (talk) 10:21, 13 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

On second thoughts, I believe that explanations about the badging and how the imported model was marketed is a level of detail better suited to the article about the model itself, rather than an article that gives an overview of the whole segment. Cheers, 1292simon (talk) 08:40, 14 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Watchdevil. I think the following changes would improve the first paragraph of the 'Expansion and decline' section, so I would like to make them:

• Changing the size comparison from prose to dot points, for easier readability.
• Moving the Big Block Engine sentance to the following paragraph which also discusses engines
• Removing "Specialty car buyers were better educated and had more money than the average car buyer"
• Re-wording of various phrases (as copy edits, no intention to change their overall meaning).

Cheers, 1292simon (talk) 01:33, 16 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

In the intro, here's what it says are the "Common Characteristics" of pony cars: They "…include rear-wheel drive, a long hood, a short decklid, a wide range of options to individualize each car and use of mass-produced parts shared with other models." Huh? Except for the short decklid, this is pretty much a description of all the cars of the era. Surely there must be a better set of "common characteristics. (Judging from the name "pony car," I would guess they were all fairly small, which also explains the short decklid.) —MiguelMunoz (talk) 07:00, 4 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Hello MiguelMunoz,

Standard domestic cars during the 1960s typically featured long trunk lids not only to accentuate their length, but also to afford space for luggage. The Ford Mustang marketing began in 1964 and the car was revolutionary in featuring a long hood and a short rear deck and a small trunk space. It required special maneuvering to remove the spare tire because of the limited opening.

You can compare the relative proportions on the standard large and compact line of cars marketed by American Motors. Their pony car class car, the Javelin was introduced for 1968 and featured a very short rear deck.

Another feature of the pony cars was the almost endless options available. The standard cars offered certain levels of power trains along with appropriate levels of trim and convenience features depending on their size and market positioning. In other words, small cars were focused on frugal buyers and typically had limited basic options while large-sized cars provided many standard comfort and convenience features that were not available on smaller or more down-market models. For example, the original Mustang was based on Ford's economy model, the Ford Falcon. However, unlike the Falcon which was limited to basic options, the Mustang could be made as plain, fancy, economical, performance-focused, luxurious, etc. It was even promoted as "The car designed to be designed by you." The 1965 Ford Mustang was available with over 70 options from the factory. This was a highly effective method of increasing profits for the dealer and Ford, while the buyers got exactly what they wanted.

The variety of options, as well as the distinctive long hood and short rear deck, were unique to pony cars during that era. Of course, the styling was soon copied over to other cars as well as the making available more options. Nevertheless, these remain the distinctive features that characterized the original pony car segment.

Cheers! CZmarlin (talk) 23:42, 4 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I can't see how anyone could possibly justify the Barracuda to be the first pony car?? The Falcon has nearly all the same options and underpinnings found on a Mustang and Sprint V8 cars pre-date the Barracuda and Mustang. The Mustang was simply better than either in overall appeal, thus the pony car moniker! 98.17.163.219 (talk) 09:37, 6 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]