When did Chevy stop building
When did Chevy stop building the Corvette? The Camaro sure, and like the Mustang the Corvette were also facing the question of if their production should continue, but both he Corvette and Mustang soldiered on, and became leaders in their market. It is good that you bring up the point that the Mustang was almost a Mazda Probe rebody, and that Ford was planning to drop the Mustang's V8 until loyal fans demanded that it remain. Also I agree that the Mustang II was a true low point for the Mustang, and the current Shelby GT500 shows how far the Mustang has improved since that sad time. It says much of the Mustang's iconic success and name recognition that Ford would want to leverage that name for other models. I share your dislike for Ford using the Mustang name in a crossover, but Porsche similarly looked like they would ruin the iconic Porsche name when they started badging new SUVs with their marque, but it actually elevated the SUV class, and helped it become so popular today by redefining both SUVs and Porsches. I still don't like that move either, but history showed that it helped Porsche survive and prosper, and go on to build some of the best sportscars and high performance cars in the world. I have no doubt that the iconic Mustang name (and car) will continue to thrive and inspire future generations for a long time to come.