Finance

Here's a great example of how much cars have changed in 50 years

William Fierman

2016-05-04T22:12:09Z

FordMustang6515Display_8469_HR — I miss round headlamps. Ford

Ford provided an excellent illustration of how its famous Mustang has aged over the 50 years it's been around.

The company bolted together two halves of the iconic muscle car — one from 1965 and the other from 2015 — at an exhibit at the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum in Alexandria, Virginia.

The exhibit is also a good display of just how much cars have changed over half a century.

In 1965, a major technological innovation on the Mustang was the self-cancelling turn signal, according to Ford.

The 2015 Mustang, on the other hand, included several new innovations, like knee-level airbags packaged inside the glovebox door.

The years between the two models provided innumerable innovations across the automotive spectrum in safety, efficiency, reliability, comfort, and, of course, performance.

The list of now common features that would have been unimaginable to a Ford engineer in 1965 is long. Try cupholders, GPS, or air-conditioning as standard ...

... or safety, for occupants and pedestrians.

2015 was also the first year in which Ford offered the Mustang in right-hand drive.

Zero to 60 times? 7.3 seconds in 1965 versus 4.5 in 2015 (for the base V8 models)

Base prices: $2,427 in 1965 and $23,600 in 2015. Yup, add a zero.

While the exterior has certainly evolved, it still evokes the world-changing styling of its great-grandfather. And that's a good thing.