Editing Ford Mustang (section)

== Name ==
[[File:1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 SportsRoof 428 Cobra Je t w P 51 Mustang Fighter Red Frt Qtr.jpg|thumb|right|A 1969 Ford Mustang Mach I and a P-51 Mustang]]

Executive stylist [[John Najjar]], who was a fan of the World War II [[P-51 Mustang]] fighter plane, is credited by Ford with suggesting the name.<ref name="fordpr">{{cite press release|url= http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=18000 |title=Mustang Racing History |publisher=Ford Corporate Media |date=December 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130728225520/http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=18000 |archive-date=July 28, 2013 |access-date=April 3, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://mustangs.about.com/od/faq/f/faq_name.htm |first=Jonathan |last=Lamas |title=Was the Ford Mustang named after a horse? |publisher=About |access-date=April 3, 2014 |archive-date=February 10, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170210154908/http://mustangs.about.com/od/faq/f/faq_name.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Najjar co-designed the first prototype of the Ford Mustang known as the "[[Ford Mustang I]]" in 1961, working jointly with fellow Ford stylist [[Philip T. Clark]].<ref>{{cite web |first1=Douglas A. |last1=Bakken |first2=David R. |last2=Crippen |title=Automotive Design Oral History Project: Remembering John Najjar |url= http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Design/Najjar3_interview.htm |page=3 |publisher=University of Michigan |year=1984 |access-date=July 22, 2012 |archive-date=July 31, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200731194427/http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Design/Najjar3_interview.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Mustang I made its formal debut at the [[United States Grand Prix]] in [[Watkins Glen, New York]], on October 7, 1962, where test driver and contemporary [[Formula One]] race driver [[Dan Gurney]] lapped the track in a demonstration using the second "race" prototype.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dan Gurney Driving Ford Mustang I Experimental Sports Car, Pacific Grand Prix, Laguna Seca, October 1962 |url= https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/383916 |publisher=The Henry Ford |access-date=May 4, 2022}}</ref>

An alternative view was that Robert J. Eggert, Ford Division market research manager, first suggested the Mustang name. Eggert, a breeder of [[quarterhorses]], received a birthday present from his wife of the book, ''The Mustangs'' by [[J. Frank Dobie]] in 1960. Later, the book's title gave him the idea of adding the "Mustang" name for Ford's new concept car. The designer preferred Cougar (early styling bucks can be seen wearing a Cougar grille emblem) or Torino (an advertising campaign using the Torino name was actually prepared), while [[Henry Ford II]] wanted T-bird II.<ref name=Witzenburg>{{cite journal|last=Witzenburg |first=Gary |date=April 1984 |title=The Name Game |journal=Motor Trend |page=86 }}</ref> As the person responsible for Ford's research on potential names, Eggert added "Mustang" to the list to be tested by focus groups; "Mustang", by a wide margin, came out on top under the heading: "Suitability as Name for the Special Car".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eggert |first1=James |last2=Hanh |first2=Thich Nhat |last3=McKibben |first3=Bill |title=Meadowlark Economics: Collected Essays on Ecology, Community, and Spirituality |year=2009 |publisher=North Atlantic Books |isbn=978-1-55643-767-0 |pages=65–66 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qg7A_j6f_cMC |access-date=September 14, 2020 |archive-date=January 13, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220113131633/https://books.google.com/books?id=qg7A_j6f_cMC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Pierce, Kate (May 26, 1994) "Name That Car," Automotive, page C.</ref> The name could not be used in Germany,<ref name=Witzenburg/> however, because it was owned by [[Krupp]], which had manufactured trucks between 1951 and 1964 with the name "Mustang". Ford refused to buy the name for about {{USD|10,000|year=1964}}{{inflation-fn|US}} from Krupp at the time. [[Kreidler]], a manufacturer of mopeds, also used the name, so Mustangs were sold in Germany as "T-5s" until December 1978.