Technically I'd debate that as the Mustang is definitely at LEAST mid-sized. It weighs more than a 1970 Pontiac GTO, despite the use of aluminum to save weight. And sadly the 5.slow is a monster engine nowadays. Don't tell my Fiesta ST that the Mustang is a small car with a small engine.
I’m new to the the muscle car world. It’s great that Ford sells lots of Mustangs but it’s not really important to me personally. The one thing that is important to me is the sound of the engine of my GT500 every time I turn it on.Mustang Claims Back-to-Back World’s Best-Selling Sports Car Crowns, Retains Best-Selling Sports Coupe Title for 6th Straight Year
DEARBORN, Mich., April 13, 2021 – For the second straight year, Ford Mustang – which celebrates its 57th birthday this Saturday – is the world’s best-selling sports car. The famed pony car also retained its title of best-selling sports coupe for the sixth straight year.
Led by a surge in sales in high-performance Bullitt, Shelby GT350, Shelby GT350R and Shelby GT500 models, Mustang led all competitors with 80,577 global sales in 2020, according to the most recent vehicle registration data from IHS Markit*. That sales total represents 15.1 percent of the sports coupe market, up from 14.8 percent a year earlier.
“Mustang enthusiasts love their performance cars, and they showed that yet again,” said Hau Thai-Tang, chief product platform and operations officer, Ford Motor Company. “In a challenging year for the entire auto industry because of the global pandemic, Mustang performed very well, increasing its share in the global sports car segment.”
Sales of the high-performance Bullitt and Shelby variants were up 52.7 percent in 2020 from a year earlier, according to Ford internal data. Ford looks to continue its success with limited-edition models with the new 2021 Mustang Mach 1 entering the lineup.
The United States remains the strongest global market for Mustang, representing about three-quarters of total sales. Texas (8,600 vehicles), California (6,200 vehicles) and Florida (5,864 vehicles) remain the top U.S. markets.
Also helping Mustang retain its title as top-selling sports car were increased sales in various European markets. According to Ford internal data, 2020 sales in Hungary were up 68.8 percent over 2019; sales in the Netherlands (38.5 percent), Denmark (12.5 percent), the Czech Republic (5.6 percent) and Austria (4 percent) all increased.
All-electric Mach-E SUV continues Mustang momentum
Outside of the sports car and sports coupe segments, the all-new Mustang Mach-E all-electric SUV exceeded sales expectations in February and March on its way to opening 2021 with strong first-quarter retail sales totaling 6,614.
Demand only increased as the weather warmed, and Mustang Mach-E units in late March spent an average of only seven days on dealer lots.
Mustang Mach-E customers, nearly 70 percent of whom are trading in their keys of competitive brands, lean toward premium Mach-E models. The Mustang Mach-E 4X all-wheel-drive-equipped models are outselling rear-wheel-drive units, while vehicles with extended-range batteries are more popular and are capable of up to an EPA estimated 305 miles** with rear-wheel-drive.
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*Note: IHS Markit global vehicle registrations are compiled from government and other sources and capture 95 percent of global new vehicle volumes in more than 80 countries. Sports cars, as defined by IHS Markit, include all vehicles in the IHS Markit Global Sports Car segment. Mustang is America’s best-selling sports car over the last 50 years, based on Ford analysis of 1966-2020 total U.S. new vehicle cumulative registrations for all sports car segments supplied by IHS Markit.
**Based on full charge. Actual range varies with conditions, such as external environment, vehicle use, driving behaviors, vehicle maintenance, lithium ion battery age and state of health.
It's not really the categories that have changed but the cars and where they fit. Today's cars cross so many boundaries it is difficult to pin them to a single category. Back in the sixties no one would have called my Fairlane GTA390 a sports car.
Yes, the "purists" will say a sports car is ONLY 2 seats; but for most of us "practical" people, you can pretty much only seat 2 as the rear seats basically is for kids (haven't seen a new Mustang with four 6'5" guys sitting comfortably in it, worse yet in a Camaro's rear).