Monday, March 9, 2009
Mustang Dreams And Steve McQueen
A friend of mine recently retired from his job. His plan for the next few years? Restoring a vintage Ford Mustang! Apparently, it has been his dream car since his high school days. He has decided that the time is right for a project car, and I am so envious! I am crazy about Mustangs, and although I am still at the “mini-van mom” stage of my life, owning one of the classic pony cars is a dream I share with my friend.
The first Ford Mustang was introduced in 1964 at the New York World’s Fair. It was the first of the “pony class” of American cars, and man, was it popular! Original sales were projected at less than 100,000 for the first year, but in its first eighteen months, more than one million Mustangs rolled off the line. Forty-five years later, the Mustang is still in production!
Just a month after its introduction, the Mustang made its first appearance on the racetrack as the pace car for the 1964 Indianapolis 500. Later that year, it appeared in the James Bond film Goldfinger, the first time the car was used in a movie. But nothing tops the sensational 7-minute chase scene from 1968’s Bullitt, starring a very cool Steve McQueen behind the wheel of a lightning-quick 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 Fastback. If there was anyone out there who hadn’t noticed the Mustang before this movie, they were certainly paying attention now! (It was right about that time that I also noticed Steve McQueen!)
While I can’t retire and buy myself a Mustang right now, I’ve found a prominent place on my collector’s shelf for this fabulous die cast, and I hung this tapestry throw on the wall of my den to inspire me.
I have a few T-shirts to wear while I dream of the day I ditch the mini-van and cruise the streets in my very own Mustang, pretending I’m sitting next to Steve McQueen as all heads turn to notice us. I better start practicing my “cool” look!
posted by Betty at
9:07 AM
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