Ford has 45 years of Mustang domination under its belt, and the Dearborn, MI automaker wants to keep the streak alive by catering to every demographic from baby boomer motorheads to eight year-old girls. Sure, eight year-olds don't drive, but Ford wants to appeal to them with a new line of licensed merchandise called "Pony Girl for Mustang."

Ford will reportedly target two age groups for its new female-oriented Mustang gear: 8-12 and 13-16 year-old persuasion.The galloping horse will be prominent on everything from jewelery and cosmetics to home decor and apparel. Besides Ford's trademark Mustang emblem, the products will be adorned with more feminine decorations in the form of butterflies, flowers, and stars. If you're reading this and rolling your eyes, don't. Ford is happy to point out that according to its research, girls agse 8-16 pick the Mustang as their favorite car more than any other set of wheels on the road. If a Mustang branded glue stick t-shirt helps to foster more interest, then it can't be half bad, right?

You may be wondering why Ford would spend any time on toys and apparel when auto sales are in a tailspin. Ford brand director John Nens points out that branding gives Ford millions of dollars in low-effort revenue each year, with much of the work being done by toy and clothes manufacturers. He also pointed out to Horse Talk that Ford sold 160,000 Mustangs last year, and Mattel sold over one million.

[Source: Horse Talk]