Images: Ford

Even before sales of the 2015 Ford Mustang began, we already knew the Blue Oval had built a big hit. But just how big a hit even we hadn’t guessed, as the 2015 Mustang just had its best sales month in years, with 13,144 units sold in April. That’s even more than last month, when 12,633 2015 Mustangs found new owners,, and more than enough to leave the aging Camaro and the Dodge Challenger far behind.

The April sales tally brings total 2015 Mustang sales to 42,955 in just 4 months, more than half of the 82,635 Mustangs sold through the entirety of 2014. If this pace keeps up, Ford should easily eclipse 100,000 sales this year, which would be the first time Mustang sales hit six-figures since 2007 . While we expect the monthly sales tally to eventually taper off, April’s Mustang sales were nearly double the 6,909 of the Chevy Camaro and the 6,771 Challengers moved last month.

At a time when hybrid, hydrogen, and electric cars are getting a lot of media attention, American muscle cars are enjoying a surge in popularity. Aided by low fuel costs and range-topping extreme-performance models like the Shelby GT350, Challenger Hellcat, and Camaro Z/28, people are buying Mustangs and other muscle machines in growing numbers. Yet Ford has found a way to reach across generations in a way the Challenger and Camaro just don’t, making the 2015 Mustang as appealing to Baby Boomers as it is with Millennials (you too, Gen X).

Both the Camaro and Challenger are overdue for replacement, and once those new models arrive, the 6th-generation Mustang will have a lot more competition, both on the track and the showroom floor. It’ll be interesting to see how sales figures stack up a year or two from now.