The Mid to late 1970's marked the dark ages of performance
vehicles. In 1973 Government emissions standards forced Ford to remove all of their V8 engines. For the first time, in
order to pass the now government mandated emissions standards, "Engineers fit emissions control equipment--better known as
pollution control devices--to all the engines and included exhaust gas circulation (EGR) pumps in 1973, which returned some
of the burned exhaust back into the cylinder. This combined with fresh, unburned fuel to reduce combustion chamber temperatures
and decrease nitrogen oxides emissions, one of the key elements in smog" (Mustang The Complete Story, pg 233).
The Fuel Crisis marked the end of the muscle car era.
On October 17, 1974 OPEC stopped providing oil to all the nations that supported Israel in the three week Yum Kippur
war. Gas prices rose from 38.6 cents per gallon to 60(yes that was a lot then). The speed limit on the highway was reduced
to 55mph. The White House was also talking about not allowing people to drive on Sundays. Ford was left
with no choice but to adapt their mustang ways and make their cars much more fuel efficient. Despite the drop of nearly
200 horsepower and the price increase from approximately 3000 to 4500 dollars Mustang sales tripled. In fact, the 1974 Mustang
was named Motor Trend's Car of the Year. Convertibles were also removed from the 1974 model due to federal safety regulations.
In 1975 Congress established Corporate Average Fuel
Economy (CAFE) standards for all cars made 1978 and on to meet fuel economy quotas which would increase every year. The 1976
Mustangs were nicknamed the "MPG" because of their great fuel economy. In 1976 catalytic converters became mandatory nationwide(for more
on catalytic converters see my "Catalytic Converter" page).
The fuel embargo ended five months after it began
but the rising inflation forced gas prices to continue to rise; they were now reaching 75 cents per gallon.
Although gas prices went up again, people didn't really care any more because the average salary had doubled. Sales of
the fuel efficient mustangs began to drop. For this reason performance began to return to the Mustang in 1977. The V8 engine
returned in the Special Monroe Handler and King Cobra edition which sold fairly well.
In 1978, the new CAFE specifications came to play
and sales of the performance mustangs dropped, while the fuel efficient normal models rose. By the end of 1978 gas prices
were at a record high of one dollar per gallon.
During the second generation of the Mustang, everything
in the automotive world had been reversed. Gas prices tripled, Engines went from big to small, and cars went from small to
big.
Despite the downfall of the majority of muscle cars,
the Mustang made it through the dark ages of performance.
