FAUX MUSTANG

CAUTION:  The following post is not art related.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

2014  Ford Mustang

I recently saw the unveiling of the 50^th Anniversary Ford Mustang.  
Wow – 50 years and still going strong.  Makes me reminisce - - - -

  

I’m somewhat of a “car gal”.  I’ve always prided myself on being able to discern various makes and models as they came up or passed me on the roadways.  Nowadays that’s getting harder to do, since so many of the car bodies resemble each other.  Oh, how I long for the old “muscle car” days – radios blaring Beach Boys, Righteous Brothers and the Mamas and Papas - long hoods with something to brag about underneath them - big, shiny cars with lots of character.  They just don’t make ‘em like they used to!  Well, not quite, anyway - Kudos to Ford for the newer Mustangs that replicate the look of my beloved ’67 beauty, and to Chrysler for reviving the ‘Cuda and Charger!

I’ve always appreciated the roar of a revved up 8-cylinder engine (remember those!), the purr of a fast car passing me on the highway.  My all time favorite car was a 1967 289 engine, 3-speed stick shift Mustang convertible, which I wish I still had.  I actually sometimes have a dream (always the same) that I just realize the car is still in a building on our property and I hop in.  He starts, I’m thrilled, and off we go.  Then I wake up.  (I’ll be in a blue funk for a while on those days). 

Picture a raven haired 18 year old beauty behind the wheel!

While he was still in high school, my son purchased a mid-90’s edition of a Mustang 5.0 which he still has, although he only enjoys it on occasion.  I like that car.  As he comes home I can track his progress (within about a 3 mile range) on a summer night with the windows open! 

His problem, you see, is that he got it TOO revved up and it’s a loud and bumpy ride. 

Mine, however, was just perfect!  And the hasp on the convertible lock could be used to open soft drink bottles.

For those of you too old to know what this means:  soft drinks (pop, soda) used to come in glass bottles with crimped on tops (think beer bottle) and the metal parts of the car that came together when you clamped shut the convertible top worked perfectly to open the Coke bottles when we went to the drive-in movies.  (Oh dear, now I guess I have to explain what a “drive-in movie” is – and no, it does not involve someone forgetting to set their brake and their car rolling through the Cineplex lobby!)

Anyway . . . . sometimes, on a perfect blue sky day, when a favorite song comes on the “oldies” station, I suddenly become 18 again, driving my beloved Mustang.

Now, the car I currently drive is a fine piece of German automotive engineering - except for the placement of the CD player/radio/drink holder combo – which I think is the Germans’ way of getting even for WWII. 

Note that the drink holder is (in)conveniently located just above the disc slot.  You push on that little image of a cup in the center and it pops out.
You put your drink in it.  THEN - when you want to put in a CD - you can't!!!
Well, you can if you have extra hands on board to help - someone to hold the drink while you push in
the drink holder and insert the CD into the slot.  Or, if you have 3 hands, it's quite convenient!
It's also hard to dial in the radio when the cup holder is in use.
But if you crane your neck "just so" and look in between where the cup is just below the cup holder
you can see maybe 2 digits of the current radio station!
Yep, those Germans got even with us with their design of the dashboard of the 2002 Jetta!!!

She’s a 5 on the console stick shift.   Automatics are for sissies – anyone can drive an automatic.  That includes young children who decide to take Mom’s van for a spin in the driveway and end up demolishing the garage or running over their siblings.  Think how much safer our world would be if all cars had to be stick shifts – little tykes couldn’t press the clutch in and shift at the same time, now, could they.  And old people (i.e., those at least a generation older than me) wouldn’t be able to accidentally stomp on the gas pedal and plow through innocent crowds during parades and fairs.

A beautiful blue 2002 Jetta TDI Diesel - quirky little thing - but with over 135,000 miles on her, she's still going strong!

Any hoo . . . . She (yes, she’s definitely a “She”) and I get along just fine.  We are both quirky and somewhat temperamental.  Neither of us likes the cold, and even though she’s parked in a semi-heated garage, she gets a bit cranky when the temperature drops below freezing.  She’s not showing her age much, although she’s got a few blemishes on her.  She’s also a diesel, which means she may, or may not, oblige me when I step on the accelerator.  Some days she zips along - others not so much.  (I get it – I have my up and down days, too).  But, she’s (usually) speedy enough for me – reaching 75 mph from the top of the ramp to the interstate – seriously, how much faster do I need to go??  She gets me from one place to another on time, if not in great style and she’s generally reliable (we all have our days now and then!)  She can stop on a dime, make a U-turn without hitting a curb and fit through small spaces others dare not go.

And, sometimes, on one of those perfect blue sky days, when a favorite song comes on the “oldies” station, and I become 18 again, She turns into my beloved ’67 Mustang. 

Then, together She and I navigate the highways in top form.  Speed limits become mere suggestions, lanes are made to be changed, and radios are meant to be turned up.

“Cruisin’ along in my automobile . . . . with no particular place to go” (thank you Chuck Berry!)

1967 Mustang 289 Convertible - Best Car Ever Made - hands down!
(And I still wish I had it)