As the specialty-small-car sales leader for the previous decade, the Ford Mustang was poised to notch another successful year by the end of 1996. The original ponycar returned for 1997 with a new Passive Anti-Theft System that used a specially encoded ignition key with “72 million billion possible codes” to stymie thieves. Minor color changes inside and out were the other alterations, along with a new, more ergonomic shift handle when you chose the optional automatic transmission. The rest of the Mustang carried over. Base cars had a 3.8-liter pushrod V-6 that was good for 150 horsepower; the GT got a 215-horsepower SOHC V-8, while the muscular Cobra burned rubber with a 305-horse DOHC V-8.
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