Stupid question of the week.

[raidmagic]

Where did the term "Fox body" come from when speaking of those year Mustangs. Thanks.

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

There's lots of debate but i don't think i've ever heard an official answer. It's one of those internal Ford things....just like i heard that the Chevy bowtie was taken from a wall paper pattern in Italy. Who knows

 

[iwashmycar]

i thought it was the platform.....named fox4 or 5 or something?

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Yeah it is the platform name, but where they derived the question i think is what he's asking.

 

[5.0 Nostalgia]

I remember reading the explanation somewhere. I think it was just a random name given to the Fairmont and Mustang platform back in the mid-70's when they began work on the new models. I think I read it in the Technical Reference and Performance Handbook. I will go check.

 

[Mike85000]

I thought it was the FX chassis platform and was dubbed "Fox" derived from "FX"

Could be wrong though.

 

[68stang351]

I've read in numerous Mustang books that talk about the official way that the "fox" chassis got its name. In the 70's when the Ford started development on the fox chassis, they wanted a chassis that they could build a car off of that could be used in multiple car lines, but they also wanted the chassis to outperform the wildly popular (in Europe) Rabbit. What kills a Rabbit? A Fox. I have several books here that state that as a fact.

 

[68stang351]

Here's a direct quote from one of the books:

"Sperlich saw in his mind a car for both Europe and the Americas. With identical engines, suspensions and bodies, the car would sell on both continents. Casting molds and stamping dies would be the same. Ford engineering would make it fuel-efficient as well as manufacturing and cost effective because parts would be interchangeable worldwide. The group launched this project to develop a common platform that would support both a sporty car and a four or five passenger sedan early in 1973. They code named it the Fox."


It was so named the Fox because it was supposed to be the Rabbit-killer in Europe.

 

[5.0 Nostalgia]

Here's what I got from the Ford book:

"Upper management personnel being rotated out of their European assignments came away from the Continent impressed by a 'foreign car' called Fox. The Fox was produced by Germany's Volkswagen offshoot, Audi NSU Auto Union AG, and the line was being destributed domestically by Porsche-Audi. As Ford's (Maverick-replacement) new-car team formed, it included some of those former Ford of Europe managers, and the Fox import became the Ford team's 'unofficial' development target. Not because the Audi Fox was the car that Ford wanted to build, but because Audi's Fox had a reasonable price structure and a variety of positive characteristics that posed achievable goals."

(The Official Ford Mustang 5.0 Technical Reference and Performance Handbook)

 

[68stang351]

Here's what I got from the Ford book:

"Upper management personnel being rotated out of their European assignments came away from the Continent impressed by a 'foreign car' called Fox. The Fox was produced by Germany's Volkswagen offshoot, Audi NSU Auto Union AG, and the line was being destributed domestically by Porsche-Audi. As Ford's (Maverick-replacement) new-car team formed, it included some of those former Ford of Europe managers, and the Fox import became the Ford team's 'unofficial' development target. Not because the Audi Fox was the car that Ford wanted to build, but because Audi's Fox had a reasonable price structure and a variety of positive characteristics that posed achievable goals."

(The Official Ford Mustang 5.0 Technical Reference and Performance Handbook)

I was also looking for that qoute because I know I read it somewhere but I forgot about that book.

BTW, isn't that one of the best books you've ever bought? I think everyone on this board should have a copy of it. It has an unbelievable amount of info (as far as parts i.d. and interchangeability) doesn't it?

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

I've read in numerous Mustang books that talk about the official way that the "fox" chassis got its name. In the 70's when the Ford started development on the fox chassis, they wanted a chassis that they could build a car off of that could be used in multiple car lines, but they also wanted the chassis to outperform the wildly popular (in Europe) Rabbit. What kills a Rabbit? A Fox. I have several books here that state that as a fact.

Now that you mention it that does sound familiar but you gotta admit it's pretty silly. It's not like the Rabbit was anything to associate with performance.

 

[5.0 Nostalgia]

I was also looking for that qoute because I know I read it somewhere but I forgot about that book.

BTW, isn't that one of the best books you've ever bought? I think everyone on this board should have a copy of it. It has an unbelievable amount of info (as far as parts i.d. and interchangeability) doesn't it?

Yeah. That is a must read for anyone with a Fox Mustang. Some of the part #'s they talk about are now discontinued (unfortunately). I think that actually makes this book even more important because anyone looking for OEM parts can use it for reference. This book is pretty much where I got a good deal of information about the changes year by year. It even tells you some of the bad features about these cars.