With the 73 Mustang things definitely changed for Ford. This was the last car of the 4th generation and it really did well with sales. Thus there were a total of 135,000 units sold, and 10,000 were sold just in the first day.
Even more front bumpers were now required by the federal government in order to have low speed shunts sustained without taking any damage. Even though other car manufacturers out there coped with this new requirement, their cars ended up looking a bit odd, but that was not the case with the new 1973 Ford Mustang. This model really did well and it managed to have some improved looks compared to other versions, even though it had to wear the front bumpers now.
Even though when it came to the Sprint package and it wasn’t all that special, and no one would remember it, there was still something that the base models could pick up on now. This was the Mach 1 which came through an optional Décor Group and it was priced at $51. Also for the first time, there was a twin scoop hood available for it. For it there was a dual tone paint used which was a matte silver or black finish and if you wanted that on your Mustang, you needed to pay a mere $35. Another thing that was still down to the optional level was the Ram Air hood (which was functional) and it was sold with the 2 barrel 251 for the mere $58.
Tires were also very much taken into consideration and the polished aluminum wheels were now sold for a price that ranged from $111 to $142, successfully replacing the old Magnum 500 steel styled tires.
But when it came to the engine Mustang had to stick with the regulations and thus it ended up having its engines revamped. This lead to a power decrease which no one really wanted, but there wasn’t anything that could really be done due to the new laws. As a result of this, the 2 barrel engine went down to 173 HP and the 4 barrel version went to just 259. It wasn’t much, but for many this was quite a serious disappointment.