Maztang

Code name given to Ford's late-1980s abortive replacement for the rear-drive Mustang that was to share a front-wheel-drive platform and four-cylinder engine with the Mazda 323 (hence the term "Maztang"). Ford was forced to back off and left the Mustang as a rear-drive V8 ponycar.

Mustang enthusiasts deluged the Ford Glass House (world headquarters) in Dearborn, Mich. with angry letters and phone calls protesting against turning the hottest ponycar on the market into a "Maztang" with a wimpy four-banger under the hood. Ford was forced to back off and left the Mustang as a rear-drive V8 ponycar on the old Fox platform, even gave it a new bodyshell in 1994 and redesigned the entire car from the wheels up in 2005.