Chances are you’re already turned off by the title of this story. But since it says “Mustang”, you clicked through anyway, right? Well, at first glance we didn’t check out the video either, eventually we did, and learned a few things. Despite what current enthusiasts feel about the Mustang II – and there are plenty of you who would like to forget that Ford Motor Company ever released this car – it was in fact a great car by Ford’s standards, especially when you realize just how many were sold. Even today, three of the five years of Mustang II production remain in the top ten Mustang sales years ever – betcha didn’t know that one!

The Mustang II model sold 600,000 cars in its first year, more than any Mustang to that point except the car’s first full model year in 1965. It won Car of the Year awards and kept the nameplate alive, something that may not have happened if Ford hadn’t taken the drastic step to downsize it, with corresponding smaller, more fuel-efficient engines. Sound familiar? Rumors are that the 2015 model to be released soon will also be lighter than the model it’s replacing.

In the runup to the Mustang’s 50th Anniversary celebration slated to take place next year, Ford has been touting the car’s history, and the Mustang II, whether you like it or not, plays a huge part in that history. As the horsepower war came to an end in the early 1970’s, Ford was tasked with putting a smaller car on the road; one that weighed less, handled better, and returned to the Mustang’s midsize roots.

Rack and pinion steering and disc brakes were standard on the cars for the first time in their history, a huge step up from the numb steering boxes and drum brakes of cars from prior model years.

The 1978 King Cobra had the very first engine from any manufacturer to be advertised in liters of displacement, and in fact set the stage for the 5.0 of today.

There were a number of other technological achievements, all of which pushed the Mustang II into the forefront of the automotive community of the day – and people bought them in droves. Most of them have already taken their turn in the crusher at this point, but without this car, we might not have been in a position to celebrate 50 years of Mustang enthusiasm next year.