1982 saw the return of the Mustang GT, only this time it was developed on the Fox platform. Ford also introduced the HO engine, too, which was a very popular move. The Mustang GT HO engine won the quickest domestic car vote in 1982 and it was also really cheap too. 1982 certainly put Ford back on the map with this Mustang and it came with a new advertising slogan “The Boss is Back.”

High Ho its of to the races we go and fans started taking notice that Ford was coming out of its doldrums and waking up to the fact that if you want to sell performance cars you have to produce a car that performs. The HO motor was a hit and would start to draw back some of those highly disappointed fans lost in the previous to years do to lack of attention. The better performing motor equipped with the weight reduction had the rumblings of better things to come.

Taking a dip in popularity, the Mustang that was developed in 1981 was just as poor, if not more so than the 1980’s version. The engine choices were not very good and people just did not trust Ford anymore after the previous year’s engine problems. There was a change in 1981, however, as the Vehicle Identification Number was introduced.

1981 was a year that added insult to injury after the poor performing 1980 Mustang. Ford was starting to lose it’s hold on the American performance car market and would end up wishing it had listened to Stang fans a little closer. When VIN numbers turnout to be a big deal the car has to be somewhat forgettable to say the least. This would mark the end of the years Ford fans would want to forget and a somewhat brighter future was on the horizon.

After the success of the 1979 Mustang, Ford stepped it up a little with the version in 1980. However, things did not go to plan and the performance of the car was quite poor. But, on the plus side, it did sell quite a lot of them and so profits wise the Mustang didn’t do too badly.

For many Mustang fans though it marks the beginning of the forgettable years. The decade many Mustang enthusiast would just assume forget and move on to the 90’s and greener pastures and better roads. The fact that the Mustang survived these years is though a testament to the American driving publics love affair with the Pony Car.