1976 Ford Mustang

The changes for the 1976 Mustang II were practically nonexistent. In addition, the Mustang had a pretty stale year at best. However, despite slow sales and few changes the 1976 Mustang II managed to sell 187,567 cars. This was a little less than one thousand than the year before which was a bit shocking. The trim options were a bit different for the new model year, but not so much that you could tell a difference from a '74 or '75 model at first glance. In general the options and packages for 1975 were still available in 1976. One change was that all the base models that boasted the 2.3 were dubbed MPGs in order to really stress their economical features.

1976 Mustang Standard Base models were dubbed the Mustang II MPG. The new name was to emphasize their efficiency and fuel economy to steal market share from other budget vehicles. Base model MPGs started out at $3,525 for the hardtop and the 2+2 started at $3,781. There were 78,508 standard coupes produced and 62,312 standard hatchbacks.

1976 Ford Mustang Ghia The Mustang II 1976 model still boasted the Ghia as its luxury vehicle after its introduction in 1974. The Ghia started out at $3,859 and there were 37,515 Ghia Mustang IIs produced in 1976.

1976 Ford Mustang Mach 1 The sporty Mach I was available again in 1976. Of course, even with the upgraded VC8 engine it was not the pony car of days past, but it did have a little more get up and go. The Mach I started at $4,209 and saw a production rate of 9,232 in 1976.

1976 Ford Mustang Cobra II The Cobra II's introduction in 1976 was popular to some extent. Marketing sure tried to increase its popularity as Farrah Fawcett drove one on Charlie's Angels. The power of the Cobra II was really no different than other similarly powered Mustangs, but its Shelby inspired design made it look nice. There were stripes on the lower sides and top of the vehicle that reminded Mustang fans of the GT 500. The Cobra II also sported grille badges like Shelby vehicles from the '60s as well as hood scoops and quarter window louvers. A spoiler on the rear deck lid as well as a spoiler below the front bumper were added. The spoilers also matched the exterior paint colors. Options for the Cobra II included a white or black exterior. The white exterior had an option of green, blue, or red stripes while the black exterior offered only gold stripes. Performance was not considered part of the Cobra II's standard equation as it came standard with the 2.3L four cylinder engine. However, the 5.0L was an option and many Cobra II buyers chose the more powerful engine.

Powertrain and Performance

Exterior

If you saw a 1976 Mustang II driving down the street you would be hard pressed to determine if it was a '74, '75, or '76 because the exteriors changed so little. However, there were some options on the '76 Mustang II that helped set it apart a bit.

The options from 1975 were available in '76 along with a new appearance package on the fastback called the "Stallion." The Stallion package included a black body with silver sides and rear deck. Stallion decals were added on the fender and the trim package also offered steel wheels. There was no horse on the black grille in the Stallion package and the lip moldings were not utilized either.

A Cobra II package was also available and was well recognized because it included a sports steering wheel, an imitation hood scoop, front air dam, flip out quarter rear windows, aluminum appliqués, large rear spoiler, steel wheels, and radial tires all on a V8 fastback. The black grille sported a Cobra emblem as did the wheel centers and the fenders. New exterior trim colors were available on the Cobra as well. The Cobra trim option cost an extra $325.

Exterior colors for the 1976 Mustang II included black, silver metallic, bright red, dark red, bright blue metallic, silver blue glow, medium ivy bronze metallic, dark yellow green metallic, light green, medium chestnut metallic, dark brown metallic, tan metallic, bright yellow, cream, medium gold metallic, and white.

Interior

The interior of the 1976 Mustang saw few changes. There were still plenty of options available, however, to create the interior you desired in your Mustang II. Some of these options included: AM/FM stereo, AM with tape player, SelectAire air conditioning with power steering, anti theft alarm system, fold down rear seat, deluxe color keyed seatbelts, digital quartz clock, leather wrapped steering wheel, electric clock, console, manually operated sunroof, electric rear window defroster, velour cloth trim, tinted glass, dual note horn, fuel monitor warning light, and plenty of others.

Of course, some of these options came standard with various trim packages or models while others were options or upgrades. Upgrading could really add to the sticker price of the vehicle so many times consumers just added a couple options they wanted most.

Interior trim levels for the 1976 Mustang included medium blue vinyl, light tan vinyl, red vinyl, medium blue vinyl, black vinyl, white vinyl, crème vinyl, black cloth and vinyl, medium blue cloth and vinyl, red cloth and vinyl, light tan cloth and vinyl, gold/crème cloth and vinyl, blue paid cloth and vinyl, red plain cloth and vinyl, tan plaid cloth and vinyl, gold/crème plaid cloth and vinyl, cranberry cloth and vinyl, and others. Some of these interiors were for the luxury Mustang IIs or were upgrades while others were standard fare.

Final Thoughts

The sales for the 1976 Mustang did not surge, but rather fell again although not quite as drastically as the previous model year. Ford was thankful for that, but still apprehensive about the Mustang's future and where it would end up. Regardless, the Mustang kept on and returned again in 1977. The model year 1978 would be the last one for the Mustang II.