Emerging from the shadow of the Ford Motor Company’s most spectacular failure, the Edsel, the Mustang was a coup that anticipated the spirit of the times with a new direction in car design and record-breaking sales.
Now Ford celebrates the Mustang’s 50th anniversary with the car’s very own documentary. The director, David Gelb (“Jiro Dreams of Sushi”), makes a case for the Mustang as the American dream on four wheels. He has a point, and a few fun facts to share. (The automaker provides the financing and an executive producer, so the appearance of fairness might be superficial.)
In “A Faster Horse,” we witness a bit of history as well as the car-making process. Sketches evolve into a 3-D clay model of the exterior that the engineers then whittle into shape. Others modify the working parts under the hood or tune exhaust systems to make the characteristic Mustang rumble when the engine revs.