When people think of an American luxury car, one of the last models that comes up is the Ford Mustang, but in its early years, Ford Motor Company focused on comfortable interior and stylish trim as well as powerful engines.  When the first of the “luxury minded Mustangs” was released in 1969, it was called the Mustang Grande, and this luxury package was offered only as a coupe.  The luxury items included in this upgrade were things such as a wood grain dash and console trim, thicker plush carpeting, padded interior door panels, and Ford’s “Comfort Weave” upholstery.  However, with the automotive field changing due to (what they thought were) rising fuel costs and an impending fuel crisis, things were expected to change in the Mustang lineup.  While the big change would not come until 1974, with a redesign for 1971 not being a major one and the luxury Mustang was still labeled the Grande, once Ford did introduce the 1974 Mustang there would be an immense difference in the Mustang across all trim lines.

 The 1971-1973 Mustangs did not stray in styling far from the originals, but when Ford Motor Company introduced their exciting new compact Mustang, named the Mustang II, the performance market was stunned.  The throaty big block V8s were gone, and the biggest engine offered for the new design was a meager 171 cubic inch V6, which only offered 105hp.  However, the fuel crisis and rising gas prices made this new low performance Mustang a big hit, and the premium model of this new Mustang, having replaced the Grande, was the new Ghia.  The 1974 Ghia was still offered only as a coupe, and with the Mach1 being the performance model with the mighty 2.8L V6, the Ghia came standard with a weak 2.3L Inline 4 which made only 88 horsepower.  The price hike for the Ghia package was around 300 US Dollars, or around a 10% increase. However, considering that over a quarter of the Mustang II’s sold in 1974 were the Ghia, Ford surely did something right with this luxury compact Mustang.  While unheard of by today’s Mustang standards, items such as the option of a half or full vinyl roof (either could select a sunroof as well) and the polished chrome wheel covers gave this under powered pony a touch of class.  Body side moldings that ran the length of the car could be chosen to match the vinyl roof, and unlike the Mach1 and the other performance models which came along in 1975-1978, the Ghia did not have the pony on the grille.  Over the years of the Mustang II, the Ghia would remain relatively the same, as Ford Motor Company shifted their emphasis back to that of a performance car with the reintroduction of the Cobra name, as well as the return of the mighty 5.0, but over those five model years, the Ghia would get the cutting edge of luxury technology such as various power options and audio equipment. 

Ford, having recognized the sales slump beginning for the Mustang II was quick to respond, and with the redesign of 1979 the Mustang received a whole new look that would go down in history as one of the most popular Mustang body style ever offered.  The new “fox-body Mustang” looked nothing like the Mustang II, but there was the familiar Ghia option, which carried many of the same additions to a base model that the previous generation had offered, with the same 10% price increase for the package.  The one noticeable difference with the new fox-body Ghia was that it was available as either a hatchback or a coupe, and while there was never a convertible Ghia offered, in 1980 a new Mustang buyer could chose the “carriage top”, which gave the car the appearance of a convertible with the top up, for only 625 dollars.  Come 1982, the Ghia was no longer listed at a trim line, but as simply an upgrade package.  The standard Mustang now came with so many of the options previously offered specially for the Ghia package that the sales slumped heavily for the Ghia, and due to this slump, 1982 would mark the final year for that Ghia option.  That marked the end of the Ghia name altogether in the United States, but the moniker would live on overseas.

 In Europe, models such as the Mondeo, the Focus, and the Fiesta offer luxury packages which still carry the Ghia name, and throughout the years since its demise as a Mustang upgrade package and/or trim line, the Ghia name has found its way on to several concepts, such as the 1990 Ford Ghia Zig Concept (which never saw its way to production). 

Fietsa Ghia

The Ghia Zig Concept

Mondeo Ghia

While low by today’s standards, the Mustang II moved quite a few of the Ghia trim line, and while Ford no longer has a particular luxury model for the Mustang, as many options such as leather seats now come standard, the Ghia luxury coupe of the mid-1970s is one of the ways that Ford Motor company rolled with the punches of the fuel industry and kept the ball rolling on one of the most popular and best selling pony car ever.