Putting the Mustang Out to Pasture

She's got a competition clutch, with four on the floor yeah, She purrs like a kitten till the lake pipes roar . . . She's my little deuce coupe; you don't know what I've got.

Little Deuce Coupe, by the Beach Boys, 1963

Celebrated by rock balladeers and the gods and goddesses of the California youth culture, the sleek but mighty sports cars with high-powered engines were the knights templar of the American highway in the early 1960s. Inspired by the sports car craze, Detroit automakers created a new breed of small, racy, relatively inexpensive "sports compact" cars for young and old alike. The first of the new group, the Ford Mustang, made a fast breakaway in 1964. It was rapidly followed by competing cars whose names evoked feelings of adventure and even danger: Plymouth's Barracuda, Chevrolet's Camaro, Pontiac's Firebird, American Motors' Javelin, Mercury's Cougar, and the Dodge Charger (later called the Challenger). Soon the sports compacts grabbed almost 11% of the nation's car market, and souped-up "muscle" versions were introduced for the "performance" minded.

This year, however, as U.S. auto sales head toward an alltime record of about 10.2 million units, the market for the sports compacts is sputtering (see chart). During the 1971 model year, their share of the market dropped to 5%, and in the past two months it has plummeted to 3.9%. At this year's Detroit auto show, which ended last week, the sports compacts were elbowed to the sidelines by family sedans, high-ticket luxury models and by two categories of lightweight, low-cost cars: the compacts (such as the Ford Maverick, Chevrolet Nova and American Motors Hornet) and subcompacts (such as Ford Pinto, Chevy Vega and Dodge Colt). Summarizing the change in taste, Chrysler Vice President Bob McCurry told TIME Correspondent David DeVoss: "The emphasis now is on practicality, quality and convenience, and it is the young people who are leading the parade."

Why the change? For one thing, the sports compacts got too big and expensive. Since 1964, the Mustang has grown 8 in. longer, 6 in. wider, and 630 Ibs. heavier, and its price has risen by $400, to about $2,800. Moreover, Government-required pollution-control devices are making the sporty cars sluggish. The toughest blow has come from the insurance companies, which have steadily raised the premiums on drivers of "high-performance" cars, including the sports compacts, because they--or at least their drivers--tend to be accident prone.

Automakers earn less profit on an ordinary compact than on a sports model, but they have found a way of cushioning the blow of declining sports sales. Ford, for example, now offers a "Grabber" model of its compact Maverick equipped with hood scoops, rallye stripes and a special paint job. It costs $175 more than an unadorned Maverick. Similarly, for $349 over the regular price, Chevrolet is marketing a "GT" version of the subcompact Vega with a black grille, racing steering wheel and sturdier wheel rims. Both models give the illusion of being fast sports cars, but beneath the paint they are still economy cars with little engines.

Shift in the Mix. Some auto-industry observers believe that Chrysler will drop both the Challenger and Barracuda next year. Though the Mustang and Camaro will probably be around a little longer, the end of the sports compact is in sight. Last week Ford temporarily closed down its Dearborn assembly plant, which turns out Mustangs and Cougars. The reason: to add faster-selling cars to the plant's product mix as the sports compacts decline.

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