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Motor City Musings

by John M. Clor, Ford Performance

Mustang by Design: Gale Halderman’s Story Is One Worth Knowing

Originally Published in Mustang Times / Reprinted with Permission from John M. Clor, Ford Performance

If there’s one thing that I enjoy on a weekend as much as attending a car show, it’s being home to just go through my mail, cut the grass, wash the family cars, take my Mustang out of the garage for a quick spin and perhaps watch some automotive shows on the MotorTrend cable TV channel. Except that I get invited to so many club shows each year that I rarely get days like that. And when one did magically appear on my schedule last summer after some long weeks and days leading up to the Woodward Dream Cruise, well . . . it rained.

But that was simply God’s way of telling me it was the perfect time for me to sit down and read the recently released hardbound book, “Mustang By Design: Gale Halderman and the Creation of Ford’s Iconic Pony Car.” I had wrestled an advance copy away from co-authors Jimmy Dinsmore and James Halderman (Gale’s cousin), who I had talked into attending the Mustang Memories show at Ford World Headquarters the day after Woodward. Actually, I had asked them to first head over to Gale Halderman’s place in Tipp City, Ohio, to pick him up and drive him up to Dearborn for the show. MOCSEM had added a “Best In Show” award last year called the “Gale Halderman Award,” and it would only be right that Gale himself chose his favorite car among the 900-plus Mustangs and Fords on display behind FoMoCo’s famed “Glass House.”

For Mustang fans, Gale Halderman is best-known for his contribution to the design of the prototype that was eventually chosen as the production 1965 Mustang. Under the direction of his then-boss Joe Oros, Halderman went home after a long day at the Ford Design studio and sketched out the now-classic shape of the original Mustang on his kitchen table. That sketch was chosen as the design direction for the all-new Mustang sporty car dreamed up by product planner Hal Sperlich and pushed into production by his Ford Division chief, Lee Iacocca.

Halderman was then tasked to skillfully guide Mustang through the feasibility process, from a clay-model dream to a manufactured reality. After spearheading the 2+2 Fastback, he received the Industrial Design Society’s Design Award for his work on the 1965 Mustang, and served as styling chief for the Mustang for eight more years. Mustang design advances under his leadership are said to include the ’67 SportsRoof and the ’71 Notchback and full Fastback designs. The rest, as they say, is history – even as his contributions to Ford went well beyond Mustang. For me, the story of Gale Halderman and the Ford Mustang is a very personal one.

My view is likely best-explained in the book’s foreword, which many people I know don’t bother to read when they get a new Mustang book. I really struggled writing that foreword for this wonderful book about Gale’s life. I entitled it: “Gale Halderman: Designing the Mustang, From the Horse's Mouth.” And since you’ll likely skip it when you buy it, here’s what I had written:

When Jimmy Dinsmore asked me if I would write the foreword to this book on the life story of Gale Halderman, I was both honored and excited. But I must admit that the request was bittersweet. That’s because years before this tale about Halderman’s remarkable Ford career came to pass, the idea of such a project kept buzzing in my brain. It actually traces back to April 17, 2014, when Gale and I had driven down to the Mustang’s 50th anniversary celebration at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The Mustang Club of America had approached me about traveling from Detroit to Tipp City, Ohio, to pick up Gale and drive him to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he could serve as the historical Mustang VIP for the event attended by tens of thousands of Mustang owners and fans from all over the world. As a published Mustang author and a representative from Ford, my role was to manage the visitor experience at the track’s Media Center. My event title was “Early Mustang History Committee Chairman – Charlotte” (while fellow Mustang author Bob Fria held the same title for the MCA’s sister event in Las Vegas). But essentially I was the ringmaster/emcee for two days’ of history presentations and meet-&-greet sessions from several Mustang luminaries.

They included Matt Anderson (Transportation Curator at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn); Kevin Marti (renowned Mustang documentation guru); Art Hyde (former SN95 & S197 Mustang Chief Engineer); Jack Telnack (former Ford Design VP & design chief for the Fox Body Mustang); Neil Ressler (former Ford Product Development VP & co-founder of Ford SVT); and of course, Gale Halderman, principal designer of the original Mustang. It was to be an immersion in Mustang history from Ford insiders like never before. And Gale Halderman proved to be the star attraction.

I should have known that my time with Gale during the Mustang’s 50th birthday celebration was going to be epic. At our first pit stop/fill-up on the trip down to Charlotte, I was walking back to the car from the cashier’s counter only to notice that my VIP passenger, Gale, was now sitting in the driver’s seat.

“You don’t want me to drive anymore?” I asked him.

“Just hop in,” he answered. “It’s just that you’re kind of a follower, and I’m more of a passer!”

Gale further explained that I seemed just too unwilling to set the cruise above 73 mph, so I was being demoted to riding shotgun. But make no mistake – it paid off. In the hours on the road that followed, I filled the time by asking Gale hundreds of questions about the Mustang’s design and development. Gale offered stories of incredible insight that I’d never heard before, nor seen in any of the over 100 Mustang history books that I own. I just wish now that I was wearing a wire at the time.

I first met Halderman and his late wife, Barbara, on a Saturday afternoon about a decade ago when they attended a Mustang history presentation I was giving at the Roush Museum in Livonia, Michigan, followed by a book-signing for my own hardbound history, “Mustang Dynasty.” I was thrilled when the Haldermans came up afterward to talk to me. Gale later invited me to the Dearborn Country Club for a private lunch and a long chat about Mustang history. There, he recounted for me the story behind Mustang's original design team, and we talked about contributions from people like Joe Oros, Phil Clark, John Najjar, David Ash, Hal Sperlich and of course, Lee Iacocca. Of course I asked countless questions and got a treasure-trove of insider stories about Mustang’s past -- directly from a guy who was actually there. It was an incredible afternoon that I’ll never forget.

That special day led to sharing many more lunches and phone calls to talk about the Mustang, having frequent dinner sessions and even attending Mustang events together ever since. Gale was also the catalyst for my eventual meeting with Hal Sperlich, the product development genius who dreamed up the whole Mustang pony car idea for Ford in the first place. For my money, Halderman and Sperlich are among the biggest “stars” remaining from the original Mustang era. These guys are Ford treasures, and you can’t imagine how much I remain in awe just having an occasional chance to talk to them. But of all the guys still around from those early years of the Mustang, no one has been more accessible than Gale Halderman.

When Gale had first shown me photos of the barn on his homestead outside of Dayton, Ohio, that was filled with personal Ford and Mustang artifacts, I had begged him to allow me a look inside. He agreed. I was so impressed with what I had both seen and learned there that I wrote a column in the MCA’s Mustang Times magazine about my visit. Today, thanks much to the efforts of Gale’s daughter Karen and granddaughter Lauren, a “Halderman Barn Museum” tour ranks high on any Mustang-lover’s bucket list.

After almost every interesting exchange I’ve had with Gale about the Mustang over the years, my ongoing fear was that I wouldn’t be able to retain all of it in my head. We’d often say we should pick a day to sit down and document all his Mustang stories.

“Heck, Gale,” I told him, “we should write a book about your Mustang experience!”

But Gale responded as his usual humble self, saying that no one would be interested in such a book. That’s one time when I’m sure he was wrong.

Although in recent years Gale and I had talked more and more about the possibility of sitting down and finally taking pen to paper to put his Mustang memories into words as part of a book project, that time simply never came along for me. Thankfully, the idea had also dawned on Gale’s cousin, James Halderman, who happens to be an accomplished auto writer that pens an online technical newsletter. After one meetup in Dearborn, Gale told me that James had enlisted his newsletter’s editor, journalist Jimmy Dinsmore, to be the co-author on a book about the creation and evolution of the original Ford Mustang. Jimmy’s job was to tell Gale’s story, and Jim’s was to provide the technical aspects of the Mustang and take photos to help make the story come alive. To their credit, they got the job done . . . and wonderfully so.

Like many of the incredibly talented people who had touched the Ford Mustang during their automotive careers, Gale Halderman’s story is a notable one. I’m pleased I got the chance to share with the authors some of the stories I was able to collect over the years, as well as to supply some archival Ford photos for this book in the hope it will help you better appreciate Gale Halderman.

A couple of summers ago, I had spotted Gale at the annual "Mustang Memories" show hosted by the Mustang Owners Club of South Eastern Michigan in the massive parking lot behind Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, where some 1,000 Mustangs and Fords had gathered for a daylong Blue Oval celebration.

Looking out over a veritable sea of colorful Mustangs of every vintage at the show, I tuned to him and said, "Look, Gale – just look at what you have helped to create! Have you ever stopped to think that had you sketched a 'turd' instead of a classic beauty for that first Mustang, that this lot would be empty – and nobody would be here today?"

Halderman smiled and gave out a chuckle. "I've never really thought about it in that way,” he said, “but yes, I suppose you're right! None of us could have ever expected THIS all these years later ... at the time we felt we were just doing our job."

And that's pure Gale Halderman -- still humble about his contribution to American automotive history, grateful for the opportunity to have a role in it, and pleased that his design has stood the test of time. I am honored to know him and call him a friend, and pleased that because of this book, you may get to know him, too.

So that was my foreword – but it doesn’t even begin to tell the story behind this new book. I happen to own nearly 100 Mustang books, and have even written a couple of them myself. As a student of the Mustang’s heritage for much of my adult life, I’ve got a pretty good idea of how the car came to be and how it has survived all of these years. But let’s face it – the Mustang is a legendary car, so it’s to be expected that people who had touched it along the way will take credit for things – even things that didn’t happen and things that they didn’t do. The problem is, sorting out Mustang fact from Mustang fiction can be difficult, as not everything I’ve read in books is supported by Ford people I’ve talked to who have actually worked on the program.

And that’s where this book differs from all the rest – and why I had so much wanted to write it. Gale Halderman was there from the beginning. He not only played a major role in making the Mustang a success, he was on the inside when many of the critical decisions were made about the car. So this book is not only a story of Gale’s life – it’s a firsthand account of how the car came to be. And it’s coming from someone who was actually there – so it’s right from the horse’s mouth, if you’ll pardon the pun.

The promo for the book does a great job of explaining what you should expect once you start reading, but for me it was going to be a comparison test. How will the stories told in this book mirror what Gale himself had told me -- and what Hal Sperlich had validated for me? So yes, the publisher, Car Tech, does a nice job of setting the stage for the reader:

“Without question, the 1964-1/2 Mustang is one of the most important and influential cars in automotive history. When Ford launched the Mustang, it created an automotive revolution. Award-winning designer and stylist Gale Halderman was at the epicenter of the action at Ford, and, in fact, his initial design sketch formed the basis of the new Mustang. He reveals his involvement in the project as well as telling the entire story of the design and development of the Mustang.

“Authors and Mustang enthusiasts James Dinsmore and James Halderman go beyond the front doors at Ford into the design center, testing grounds, and Ford facilities to get the real, unvarnished story. Gale Halderman offers a unique behind-the-scenes perspective and firsthand account of the inception, design, development, and production of the original Mustang. With stinging losses from the Edsel fresh in minds at Ford, the Mustang project was an uphill battle from day one. Lee Iacocca and his assembled team had a herculean task to convince Henry Ford II to take a risk on a new concept of automobile, but with the help of Hal Sperlich s detailed market research, the project received the green light. Henry Ford II made it clear that jobs were on the line, including Iacocca s, if it failed.

“The process of taking a car from sketch to clay model to prototype to preproduction and finally finished model is retraced in insightful detail. During the process, many fascinating experimental cars, such as the Mustang I two-seater, Mustang II prototype, Mustang Allegro, and Shorty, were built. But eventually the Mustang, based on the existing Ford Falcon, received the nod for final production. In a gala event, it was unveiled at the World’s Fair in New York. The Mustang received public accolades and critical acclaim, and soon it became a runaway hit. After the initial success, Ford designers and Gale Halderman designed and developed the first fastback Mustangs to compliment the coupes. The classic Mustang muscle cars to follow, including the GT, Mach 1, and others, are profiled as well.

“The Mustang changed automotive history and ushered in the pony car era as a nimble, powerful, and elegantly styled sports coupe. But it could so easily have stumbled and wound up on the scrap pile of failed new projects. This is the remarkable and dramatic story of how the Mustang came to life, the demanding design and development process, and, ultimately, the triumph of the iconic American car.”

The iconic American car, indeed! So as the thunderstorms rolled across the Detroit metropolitan area that afternoon, I eagerly dove into Mustang By Design headfirst, and didn’t put it down until I had reached the Index in the back. And in my humble estimation – it’s a gem.

Yes, all of Gale’s firsthand perspective is in here, and so many of those wonderful stories that Gale had shared personally with me are recounted in detail on these pages. Gale’s respect for Ford Design chief Gene Bordinat and his deep friendship with his studio boss and co-designer, Joe Oros, can be felt at each turn, and rightfully so. Plus, there are plenty of interesting sidebars in the book about the people and projects that any real Mustang fan would want to know about.

I don’t recall any other book that tells the story of a car from inside of the design studio quite like this one does – and all from the very man who made Mustang magic happen. And unlike what happened to Gale – where for years the media reports had overlooked him to give full Mustang design credit to David Ash or Oros – Gale gives due credit to those who styled Mustangs under his watch. The fact that Gale heaped praise on Ken Spencer, the stylist on the 1969 Fastback – one of my all-time favorite Mustangs – shows you the kind of upstanding man that Gale truly is.

These are the stories you could have only heard if you were in the back seat of Gale’s Lincoln during that ride down to Charlotte with me for the 50th and back; or had you spent all that time with us at lunches, dinners and car events for the past several years. Jimmy Dinsmore and James Halderman show a knack for letting Gale’s views come shining through in this book, without trying to temper his opinions. I’m so pleased they were able to capture the spirit of the same Gale Halderman that I have come to know and respect over the years.

Oh, sure, you could find nits to pick if you wanted to – just like those that can be found in my own two Mustang books. One common misstep misidentifies the 1967-68 redesign as the “second generation,” just as the 1969-70 is not the “third generation,” nor is the 1971-73 known as the “fourth generation.” And later in the book the generational platform are correctly identified. And no, Ford’s World Headquarters is not known as “The Glass Box” (It’s dubbed “The Glass House”), and Mustangs were not parked on the roof of Ford WHQ for that classic 1,000,000 Mustang photo from 1966 (they were parked in the front lot of The Glass House). But those minor details matter not in telling Gale’s story with this book.

About the only thing on my wish list would have been adding the tale of one of Gale’s early encounters with stylist Larry Shinoda. Gale had once told me that after Henry Ford II had hired Bunkie Knudsen away from GM to replace Lee Iacocca as Ford’s president for a time, Knudson brought Shinoda from GM to work in the Ford studios. When Bunkie was approving the 1970 Mustang design, he apparently wanted to lend credence to Shinoda in front of his new Ford peers by soliciting his opinion, asking, “What would you do differently, Larry?” Shinoda said he’d remove the hip scoop (one of Spencer’s favorite elements from the ’69 car) and just fill it in. And when Bunkie told Gale to make that change, his heart sank, as he liked the hip scoop, too!

Also, while I fully understand the difficulty and added expense of securing historical photos from the Ford Archives these days (which is why I had supplied so many of the photos for the book from my own archives that I had assembled at Ford over the years), I sure wish the authors could have replaced some of the renderings they used with real photos. In a book like this, actual studio shots of the clays for the 1967, ’68 and ’69 cars, plus those for the Fastback, Wagon, Four-Door and Bertone concepts, would have been far more impactful.

Beyond the visuals and the Gale’s own storytelling, the authors also did a nice job of putting Mustang in the proper context, both from the industry and the consumer side of things. Although I would have most certainly included the Mustang II in the sidebar discussing “The Mustang in Pop Culture,” those of you who know me may have expected me to say that. In any case, Farrah Fawcett’s influence on Cobra II exposure and subsequent sales are hard to ignore.

All in all, Mustang By Design provides a treasure trove of insight on the design story behind the iconic Ford Mustang, as well as insight into the life of one of Ford’s most iconic designers, Gale Halderman. There is much for you to enjoy on each and every one of this 8-1/2 x 11-inch hardbound’s 176 pages. Even if you wind up paying the full list price of $42.95, for my money, it’s a smart buy and worth every penny.

And if you’re REALLY smart, you’ll go out of your way to get Gale to autograph a copy for you – in that spectacular penmanship of his that is the hallmark of this true design icon . . .

Editor's Note: Veteran journalist John Clor has owned, raced, worked on and written about Fords and Mustangs for nearly 45 years. After a 15-year career at The Detroit News, Clor shifted to automotive journalism with stints at AutoWeek and later Edmunds.com. He joined the Ford Special Vehicle Team in 1995 and spent the better part of the next decade working on SVT Communications, PR and Marketing. Since 2007 he’s been managing a club outreach program and enthusiast communications for Ford Racing, a job he now does for Ford Performance, as well as managing enthusiast content on FordPerformance.com. Clor is an Iacocca Award Winner, author of the book Mustang 2015, plus Mustang Dynasty (2007 & 2009), and still appears in print as well as on TV, radio and in-person promoting Ford Performance. Clor is a Board Member of the MotorCities National Heritage Area, hosts his own local cable-access TV-turned-YouTube show, “Cars In Context,” and is the proud owner of two ’70s era Mustangs, including one he calls "a long-term project." The views and opinions he expresses here are his own, and do not necessarily represent the Ford Performance or the Ford Motor Company.

Mustangs and Fords in the News

Ford Motor Company Press Release