About This Stamp
Over the last six decades, fast and fun pony cars have become a uniquely American obsession. Since their emergence, these performance coupes and convertibles have brought a youthful spirit to the automotive world.
These stamps celebrate five iconic U.S. automobiles — the 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302, the 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T, the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, the 1967 Mercury Cougar XR-7 GT, and the 1969 AMC Javelin SST. Painted using oil paint on panels, the stamp artwork, with bold colors and dramatic light, captures the energy and mystique of pony cars.
In the mid-to-late 20th century, American automakers began catering to a segment of their customer base that was rapidly growing — younger drivers. They craved sporty, affordable cars that looked and felt different from what was in their parents’ garages. Several manufacturers initially produced models that fit that description, but the pony car trend didn’t begin in earnest until 1964.
Pony cars were hot. But in truth, the new classification of vehicle didn’t actually have a name until Car Life editor Dennis Shattuck is thought to have given it one. Inspired by the Ford Mustang, he coined the term “pony cars” to describe the sporty, affordable, and customizable automobiles that were becoming wildly popular.
More recently, automakers have reintroduced many of the beloved models first launched in the genre’s heyday. Today, adventurous young — and young-at-heart — drivers enjoy the thrill of driving pony cars.
Zack Bryant designed the stamps with original art by Tom Fritz. Greg Breeding served as art director.
The Pony Cars stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps. These Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp Art Director
Greg Breeding
Greg Breeding is a graphic designer and principal of Journey Group, a design company he co-founded in 1992, located in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was creative director until 2013, at which time he began serving as president and continued in that role through 2023.
Breeding’s fascination with modernism began while studying design at Virginia Commonwealth University. His affinity with the movement continues and motivates his ongoing advanced studies at the Basel School of Design in Switzerland most every summer.
As an art director for postage stamp design since 2012, Breeding has designed more than 100 stamps covering a diverse array of subjects, from Star Wars droids and Batman to Harlem Renaissance writers and the transcontinental railroad.
His work has been recognized in annual design competitions held by Graphis, AIGA, PRINT magazine, and Communication Arts.
Breeding lives in North Garden, Virginia, with his wife and enjoys nothing so much as frolicking on the floor with his grandchildren.
Stamp Designer
Zack Bryant
Zack Bryant was strongly influenced by street art and the music scene while growing up in Richmond, Virginia, where he played in bands and designed show posters and album art. He attended James Madison University's College of Arts and Letters, studying abroad in Eastern Europe and graduating in 2004 with a focus on graphic design. After teaching and freelancing, he joined Journey Group in Charlottesville, Virginia, as a production designer; he now serves as Principal and Studio Director. Bryant also manages a small farm just outside Charlottesville, where his family raises heritage breed pigs, ducks, sheep, chickens, and goats.
Bryant's design projects for the U.S. Postal Service include Heritage Breeds (2021) and Pony Cars (2022).
Stamp Artist
Tom Fritz
Raised in the 1960s and ‘70s in San Fernando, California, Tom Fritz’s vivid recollections of the motorcycle and automotive cultures of the time shaped the motor sport artist he would become.
For more than 20 years after graduating with a degree in two-dimensional art from California State University Northridge, Fritz worked as a designer and illustrator in the defense industry (ITT, Litton Industries, and Northrop Grumman) while accepting freelance commissions on his own time. Today, he paints from his studio in Ventura County, California.
After producing the widely acclaimed 1998 Harley-Davidson Annual Report series, Fritz was commissioned by Harley-Davidson in 2001 to paint an image commemorating their 100th anniversary. He has painted portraits of Harley-Davidson executives and has been commissioned to capture in art the history of the well-known motorcycle company.
One of the pre-eminent motor sport artists of his time, Fritz’s style is renowned for the narrative drama he brings to his work, illuminating the relationship between man and machine. He gives his structured and richly colored compositions an impressionistic feel, taking his subject matter beyond the traditional limitations of its genre.
In recognition of his work, Fritz is a seven-time recipient of the Automotive Fine Arts Society’s prestigious Peter Helck Award and is a member of the induction committee for Mattel’s Hot Wheels Hall of Fame at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
Fritz’s work can be found in many private and corporate collections around the world including those of General Motors, Ford Motor Company, the Automobile Association of America, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, and Pittsburgh Paint and Glass.
Fritz’s first stamp designs for the U.S. Postal Service, Muscle Cars (2013), were followed by his stamp designs for Pony Cars (2022).