Mustang of the week #3

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I found so many good Mustang photos on Flickr (preparing for this series of posts) that I created a Flickr group for it. Then I started wondering if it wouldn’t be cool to give some more background about the photographer instead of just sharing the on great photo. So from now on this weekly post will highlight one of the photographers in that Flickr group, and I will be asking them the same 5 questions.

First up is Evan aka evvvvs from Melbourne, Australia!

1. Which of your own photos in the Flickr group you like most?

I don’t have a favorite but if I had to pick one, this might be it. Both of these beautifully restored cars were recent concourse trophy winners. Congratulations Tony & Jim!

2. Is there a particular story around one of your Mustang photos that you would like to share? Something that happened when you took it? Or something related to the response you got on the photo so far?

I guess this photo stands out a little. The striking black paint work & the fact that it’s the same model as my own car, really dragged me in. I met Laurie the owner on this particular night & we had a good long chat about our cars. We bump into each other regularly at local events & he’s always got a kind word to say about the photos I post on Flickr. It’s great to get that sort of feedback from the owners of the cars you shoot.

3. Do you own a Mustang yourself? Which model? And would you like to have one if that’s not the case yet?

Yes, I own a 1965 A-Code Coupe which I’m currently restoring.

4. Do you have a specific love for photographing Mustangs? Or is a coincidence? Or a passion for cars in general?

I certainly do. I have a passion for early Mustangs & while I can’t enjoy mine (resto in progress) I figure I might as well enjoy the finished projects of fellow Mustang owners!

5. Which one of the other photos (in the Flickr group) are you jealous of as a photographer?

I think this shot by Steve Kay is pretty special:

Thanks Evan! Nice choice on the photos and good luck with the restoration of your own Mustang. Oh and Evan, I think I like this one most, but it’s a tough choice to make :)

More goodness next Friday.

Finest Mustang photos

As you might have noticed I started a new series last week called: Mustang of the week. This series is set up to highlight the most gorgeous Mustang photos on Flickr. I already had some favorites ready for posting but since I need one per week I decided to search for more… preparation right ;) Result? I found at least enough photos for the next 2 years, so I set up a Flickr group for these photos inviting everyone in that I found.

So here’s your choice. Check out the Mustang of the week post every Friday, check out the Flickr group… or do both :) Some really great photos in there, seriously! And if you have a photo you think fits well in here, let me know. I must admit I am quite picky though.

Mustang of the week #1

I’ve been adding favorites on Flickr every time I stumbled upon some of the most beautiful Mustang photos out there. That made me think of a new series, to posting one of these great shots every Friday, here’s number one. Feel free to send me a link to your magnificent Mustang photo, it might end up here one Friday. Email mustangblog [at] hotmail [dot] com.

Original to be found here, photo taken by DagsDownunder

The Ford Collection

During a phone conversation with Scott Monty a few days ago, Scott talked about the FordCollection.com website, a site that sells … well Ford ‘stuff’. Scott is head of social media at Ford Motor Company and since we’re in the same business (although totally different regions and products) and we share some of the same Mustang passion (with the difference that I think he drives one and I definitely don’t) we had some extra good reasons to catch up.

Anyway – I was looking between the Mustang related items in the store and noticed this tin sign, which I had seen at classic car shows in the past as well. Only the price ($12) is much lower than what I have seen so far. Luckily I didn’t order right away because a few days later I came across the Steedshop.com that sold the same sign for $10.88 and had information about international shipments (something I couldn’’t find at FordCollection.com.

I will try to order something at both online shops and will let you know which comes out best (at least for international). One thing is clear from the start – if you want choice, Steedshop.com is the best option.

The original Pony Car

From 1967 Chevrolet, Pontiac, Dodge, … started making muscle cars eager to participate in the Mustang’s success. They were all dubbed Ponycars but we all know there can only be one original and that was the Mustang of course.

First Mustang off the assembly line

I found some interesting facts on this site during my last Mustang searches, the first one sounds a bit strange to me given the Mustang was released sometime mid 1964 so if you know what this is about let me know in the comments:

1962 – Ford unveils a new car at the start of the U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, the Mustang
1963 – While waiting for the introduction of the Mustang, Ford introduced the Falcon Sprint package with a V8, tachometer and special trim
1963 – Ford tries and fails to buy Ferrari
1965 – Ralph Nader’s “Unsafe at Any Speed” published
1966 – The millionth Mustang is built just before its second birthday in March
1966 – Wilson Pickett releases the hit single “Mustang Sally”
1966 – Mustang sales were over 6% of the total U.S. car market

Can you imagine that? Six percent of the total U.S. car market not to just one brand, but to one single model. If this is true it offers some good news for me. Meaning it’s okay if it takes some more time before I ever get to buy one as there are plenty of them ;)

One more note on that 1st Mustang. Did you know that was bought by an airline captain called Stanley Tucker who had seen the car at his local dealership and that he wasn’t even aware this was the first one? Apparently Ford tried to buy it back soon after it found out the car was sold but that Stanley Tucker didn’t let go until (after 2 years of driving and 10.000 miles) he got a new full-option 1966 model from Ford. And also not just ‘a’ 1966 model, but the millionth Mustang manufactured. You can now go see the 1st Mustang ever made – unrestored – in the Henry Ford Museum. You gotta love stories like these.

Mustang Cruise

What do you do when you want to bring a whole bunch of Mustang Lovers together at one place? What do you do when you want to set up a gathering of motorheads, people that love the sound of raw horsepower, … you get them on a boat!

Now you all know I’m a Mustang addict, there’s nothing I would like to have more than a Mustang and cruise the country with it. I’m not too sure about a Mustang cruise though. And that’s exactly what Catch A Wave Productions (in collaboration with Mustang Club of America and others) is organizing… for the second time nevertheless.

“Celebrating the Pony Car’s 45th Anniversary: Join the 2^nd Annual Mustang Lovers’ Cruise to the Caribbean Feb. 1-8, 2009

You’ve cruised the main drag on the weekends in your early days and likely have participated in many a cruise night since – but there’s an upcoming cruise being planned that you simply MUST experience – especially if you’re a true Mustang enthusiast. Catch A Wave Productions, in conjunction with the Mustang Club of America (MCA), and Mustang Enthusiast, RestoMod, and Automotive Traveler  agazines, are taking car cruising to the high seas with their 2^nd Annual "Mustang Lover’s Cruise," celebrating the 45^th birthday of America’s most famous – and most popular – Pony Car.”

I must admit, apart from missing the link between a spending time at see on a boat to celebrate your love for a car, I’m just not such a big fan of cruises to begin with. But if you are and if you like the Mustang maybe this is just what you’ve been looking for. Here’s a link to a PDF with all the information you need in that case.

Mustang Blue

After my Mustang for Men (2) post something interesting happened, and quite frankly something I didn’t expect at all. In this post I wrote about the new Estee Lauder frangrance carrying the Mustang brand, and how I think it’s nice and all but also how I didn’t buy the sales pitch. So to be clear, I wasn’t very impressed.

That changed quickly though and I’ll tell you why. Not even 2 or 3 hours after I posted this, Tracy Royal from Estee left this comment. As a geek marketer that alone impressed me already quite a bit, still today only few brands engage in social media and Estee was definitely not amongst them (at least to what I had seen so far). Anyway, I sent Tracy an email with my address and a week later I received a delivery from Estee:

  

Now all of this is not very expensive for a company to do but nevertheless it still is very impressive. So what about the fragrance itself? It’s not bad actually. It ain’t extremely special but I don’t think it should be either, I’ll use it. And trust me, if it were shit I would have told you just the same you know, that’s the right I keep to myself on this blog.

So Tracy, you impressed me with your swift reply on my post and the Mustang Blue fragrance is pretty alright, allow me to make one suggestion to you though. I still don’t buy the marketing/PR piece you created, I think it’s too fabricated, it’s not real enough. “The Mustang fragrance had a tremendous reception from Mustang fans as well as others who appreciate the iconic American brand”… don’t say so, show me. And maybe some more pro-active outreach in the online Mustang communities would have been good as well. Anyway, your interaction with me was very real though, and that makes a lot of difference. Respect.

Bullitt Mustang (2)

My buddy Cameron points to a recent Autoblog review of the 2008 Bullit Mustang which they were able to test.

It’s nice to see the video Autoblog made of this but I must say there’s something that I find more interesting. A recent post I did about the Bullitt Mustang sparked a little commentary from 2 Bullitt owners about their experience with the car. Amazing. Make sure you check out the comments of this post and see what ‘Ed Ross‘ and ‘Just me‘ think of their first days and weeks with the Bullitt. Thanks guys!

When I think of the passion we all share I still wonder if FordPerformance.com really was the best Ford could come up with.

Ford Performance

Coinciding with the 44th birthday of the Mustang, Ford launched a new web initiative called FordPerformance.com to reach out to and connect with Ford enthusiasts, albeit mainly focused on the performance cars. I think it’s fair to say I’m somewhat of a Ford enthusiast so that appealed to me.

It took me a while before I got time to check out this new site, but I did today and must say I was disappointed. It was nothing like I thought it would be, and probably could be. The site features the 3 main clubs such as the International Mustang Bullit Owners Club or the Mustang Club of America and also their events.

There’s a short section on the different Ford models that fit in this FordPerformance.com initiative, but no new insights unfortunately. Think about some of the backstory that could have featured here on how these cars came about, the people behind them etc… But no, nothing of that, just some specs on each car.

Then there’s a section on performance parts which just links of to FordRacingParts.com and finally there’s the cool stuff section (which I check out first I must admit) which is more like a tiny little web shop to buy Mustang posters or a GT500 owners cerficate. How cool is that?

For cars such as the Mustang and the passion of their drivers and owners in general, this sites is nothing more than a portal to the 3 partner clubs and the online parts store. And if you’re a regular visitor of this site, and thus share some of the passion, I guess you understand just as much as I do that there is so much more they could have done to reach out to and connect with this community.

Bummer Ford. Back to the drawing board I would say and next time don’t just talk to the clubs, I bet they got what they wanted. Talk to owners and enthusiasts like myself, people who do the actual evangelism, whether they own one or not.

Mustang church

Say what?! Jalopnik said it best with their title to go with this story: “Mustang church puts the fun back in to fundamentalism“. Brilliant.

The initial story was reported by Tom Strongman about the 74 year old Charles Ales who built the Mustang Church of America and Museum on his property.

“This is “the only church in the world dedicated to the Mustang car and Jesus Christ,” Ales said. “I’m going to preach goodness. Treat other people like you want to be treated, make this a better planet and make this place a better world than when you found it.”

The church will not be complete and ready for dedication until late this summer or early fall when parking and landscaping are in place. Ales has commissioned an 8-by-10 foot mural to be mounted behind the altar showing Jesus Christ behind the wheel of a 1966 Mustang.”

The Museum/Church has a collection of about 8 Mustangs, both old and new. Last but not least, when asked about blessing other muscle cars as well, Ales replied “I bless only Fords”. Talk about a true Ford/Mustang evangelist.

Only in America.