The second generation Mustang based on the "Arizona platform" is described on the back of the promotional card. "Arizona" was the code name of the platform design which was a modified version of the Maverick. The text reads, Ford met the challenge of high fuel prices and new emissions standards with Mustang II, built on the Arizona platform that also underpinned the Pinto. Lee Iacocca, now president of Ford, championed this new Mustang as "the right car for the right time." Judging by its sales success, Mustang II was just that. Ford dealers sold more than a million of them during its five years of production. The award-winning 1974 Mustang II also happens to be the only year in Mustang's history to date when a V8 engine was not available. Model lineup was the base Hardtop, the 2+2 Fastback, the more upscale Mach 1 2+2, and the Ghia Hardtop. V8 power - a 302 - returned in 1975, available in any of the models. It produced 122 hp with a 2-barrel carburetor - just 14 hp lower than the 302 in the vastly bigger and heavier 1973 car. Ford launched the Cobra II in 1976 to elevate Mustang's power image. Few in the company had high expectations for this limited-edition option package, but Cobra II sold so well it became a regular production option for 1977 and '78. Its 302 V8 produced 139hp, which was about the same as the 1973 Mach 1's 302. The last hurrah for Mustang II was 1978's King Cobra - the first Mustang to sport the "5.0" designation for the 302's metric displacement.

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• Posted: 05/17/2014
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