In a word: Car names II Horses, hens and P’ups
Most experts agree the Ford Mustang was named not after the horse, but after the P-51 fighter plane of the World War II.
By Jim WitherellSpecial to the Sun Journal
Read Article
This week, we’ll conclude our look at the etymology of some car names, starting out with a couple well-known American marques before moving on to the stories behind the names of some of their foreign competitors.
In 1964 Ford introduced its iconic Mustang, which most experts agree was named not after the horse, but after P-51 fighter plane of the World War II. Still, the Mustang’s logo became a horse, a wild horse running to the left, presumably to the Wild West where it can run free. But as sporty as the new car was, it wasn’t sporty enough for former racer Carroll Shelby, who called the Mustang “a secretary’s car,” and convinced the suits at Ford to let him soup it up.