I've had my '86 for 9 years and almost 70,000 miles, and every single mechanical failure I've ever had was directly related to something I had personally FUBARed myself.
In my experience, 99% of the time, when a Mustang owner has problems with his car:
1. He's too ignorant to know that it's his own fault.
2. Too stubborn to admit it's his fault.
3. Knows it's his fault and readily admits it.
The first couple years I owned the '86 I was a number 1, after that I was a number 2 for a little while, and for the last 5 years or so, I've been a number 3.
FWIW, I drove a Crown Victoria in college that had 275,000 miles on it when I finally got rid of it, and it was still very drivable. My Dad's had two F-series trucks since I was a kid, both of which went well into the 6-digit odometer range, and the most they were guilty of was rusty quarter panels. Those trucks saw regular towing duty, too, and were always parked outside. Fords can be very dependable, I don't know where you guys are getting this idea that they're not. I always thought general consensus was that Fords are one of the MORE reliable American vehicles.