Ford is planning one of the longest anniversary parties in history, and everybody who loves the Mustang is invited. The original pony car, creator of the class of affordable performance cars that produced many of the Detroit Three’s greatest vehicles, turns 50 April 17, 2014.

"Before we even started planning, Mustang clubs and fans were asking about the anniversary," said Steve Ling, Ford performance car marketing manager. "I get over 300 calls and emails a day about it."

Ford won’t make any major Mustang news at the New York auto show this week, but New York figures large in Mustang lore.

Lee Iacocca — then president of the Ford Division — revealed the car to journalists in New York, just days before its public debut at the 1964 World’s Fair. The original text of his speech includes nuggets like a quote from a 15-year-old calling the Mustang "better than Elvis or the Beatles."

Ford’s archives contain such unexpected treasures as the story of how a ’66 Mustang convertible wound up on the 86th-floor observation deck of the Empire State Building. Displaying a Mustang there sounded like a great idea when building management suggested it, but there was a catch: There’s no freight elevator to the 86th floor.

How to get the 15-foot Mustang into a 7-foot tall elevator? Ford’s answer: A team of engineers in white coveralls dismantled the car into four sections on West 33rd Street, carefully fit them into a passenger elevator and rebuilt the convertible more than 1,000 feet up in what was then the world’s tallest building.

Ford won’t reveal its plans for the Mustang’s 50th anniversary, but the Empire State caper proves one thing: The sky’s no limit when it comes to celebrating the Mustang.