There was a '75 Ford Maverick in our circle of friends back in High School. It had the 302 that this miserable Mustang II needs in order to justify its existence and it was still a wretched piece of shit. Anyone who has ever turned a wrench on a variety of '70s cars can testify that the sunset of British automotive and the ascendancy of Japan and the crushing defeat of Detroit were not dictated by fashion. The Japanese cars of the era were tidy, innovative and fun to work on, the American cars were clumsy, shoddily built and stout in all the wrong directions ('70s American emissions controls, looking right at you) and the British cars of the '70s were built by saboteurs.
Funny thing is, for a brief moment, the Mustang Deuce (as in piece of shit, not two) was going to be based off the Maverick. For anyone with fifteen minutes to kill, the Wikipedia Article on the Mustang gives a great history on the car nameplate overall and of course, actually going to the Mustang II gives a more specific history. Here are some quick cliffnotes for anyone reading. - The OG Mustang was based off the Falcon Platform. Iacoca basically said "Fuck the bean counters, we're going to make a car that I think has spirit while still being reasonable." What he and Ford eventually created was an overnight success. - Towards the end of the of the first generation of the Mustang, it got fat. Reaaaaly fat. Sales started to suffer as people ditched the Mustang for Mavericks and Pintos. - Iacoca and Ford then created the Mustang II. It was small and almost as light as the OG Mustang and was able to meet the new, restrictive emissions standards. - Instead of competing against cars like the Camaro, it suddenly competed against cars like the Datsun 240z and the Chevrolet Monza. In its debut year, it got Motortrend's "Car of the Year Award," and it sold relatively well throughout its lifespan. As an aside, it was only without the 302 engine for one year. Though with all the extra emissions parts on the 302, Ford basically had a turd of an engine on its hand.There was a '75 Ford Maverick in our circle of friends back in High School. It had the 302 that this miserable Mustang II needs in order to justify its existence and it was still a wretched piece of shit.