<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Chronology </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Successor </Th> <Td> Ford SN - 95 platform Ford D2C platform Ford MN12 platform Ford D186 platform Ford CE14 platform </Td> </Tr> <P> The Ford Fox platform is an automobile platform that was used by Ford Motor Company in North America for various compact and mid-size vehicles for the Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln divisions . Using a rear - wheel drive, unibody chassis configuration, the Fox platform was used by Ford from 1978 to 1993; a substantial redesign of the Ford Mustang extended its life another eleven years to the 2004 model year . With the exception of the Panther platform, the Fox platform is the longest - produced vehicle architecture by Ford Motor Company . </P> <P> Designed to be relatively lightweight and simple, the Fox platform was originally intended as the replacement for derivatives of the original Ford Falcon architecture (dating from 1960); the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zepyhr were introduced to replace the Ford Maverick and Mercury Comet, respectively . As downsizing expanded beyond full - size vehicles at the end of the 1970s and early 1980s, the Fox platform came into wider use, included in many redesigns and central to several Ford product line revisions . </P>

How did the fox body mustang get its name
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