This humble ‘ute’ claimed an astonishing world record for fuel economy in 1973

But 50 years ago, with the world in the depths of an oil crisis, efficiency was about saving money at the pump. That strive for efficiency and economy gave us abominations like the 1973’s Ford Mustang II, a lighter, more compact Pony car. Powered by a 2.3-litre inline four and based on the Ford Pinto platform, the MY73 Mustang II has gone down in history as a true stinker.

It was the start of an automotive era known as the ‘Malaise’ which saw American carmakers trying to compete with smaller, lighter, and more economical cars from Europe and Japan, giving the world memorable models like the Ford Pinto, AMC Gremlin and Chevvy Vega. Americans were unimpressed, as the oil crisis morphed into crises and their beloved V8 muscle cars found themselves increasingly neutered.

After the record-setting run, the car was acquired by the France family, better known as the owners of NASCAR. It sat in the France family’s museum at Talladega motor speedway for many years until being acquired 13 years ago by Cosmopolitan Motors which offered it for sale at a cool $US425,000 ($AU626,000). Unsurprisingly, there were no takers.