Old v new Mustangs in ‘sliced’ display

Published May 5, 2016

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By: IOL Motoring Staff

Alexandria, Virginia - It's a unique way to showcase the shared DNA of today's Ford Mustang and the original Pony Car.

Ford and the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum have created a side-by-side display by 'slicing and splicing' a 1965 Mustang and a 2015 model - right down the middle.

The split-personality Mustang is part of a new, permanent exhibit at the museum - part of the US Patent and Trademark Office - that illustrates the story of intellectual property and highlights the importance of patents in the development of technology over the decades.

When the Mustang was launched, nobody bothered to apply for styling patents. It was only after 18 months - with more than a million Mustangs already sold! - that Ford realised it had created an icon, and began applying for styling patents over time.

The 2015 Mustang is covered by 36 styling patents, ensuring that the shape stays unique to Ford - but it also has a number of functional patents, for features such as the airbag structures and 911 Assist software.

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Even the 1965 Mustang used many of Ford's existing functional patents, including its rear-seat speaker and power-operated convertible fabric roof, as well as one that we have come to take for granted: US Patent 3 271 540, for the very first self-cancelling indicator.

The display combines about 60 percent of a brand-new 1965 Mustang convertible (yes, the early body-shells are back in production by Dynacorn in California, under licence from Ford) with about the same percentage of a right-hand drive 2015 Mustang, each including the driver's seat and centre console.

Visitors to the museum can sit in either side of the display and compare the cars' features, from the AM-only radio, roll-up windows and (optional) colour-coded retractable seatbelts in the 1965 car, to the working touchscreen display in the current model, while listening to the sound of the original 289 Windsor V8 and comparing it to today’s five-litre V8 at idle.

You can also watch videos illustrating some of the patented features on the cars, and audio tracks describing others - including the passenger knee airbag, launch control and, believe it or not, a built-in 'soft spot' in the driver's seat cushion to make space for the wallet or cellphone in your back pocket and prevent it from digging into your hip bone.

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