DFB
Well-known member
- Aug 12, 2019
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Love At First Sight – A Man and His Red Mustang
The following is a love note to my gorgeous Race Red Mustang, a car that changed my life and became way more than a car to me. As my ownership of this amazing vehicle comes to end, it’s time to look back and reminisce over a car that I’m fairly sure I’m going to regret selling. So, in the words of another Kylie Minogue bop, Let’s Get To It…………………………
Step Back In Time –
My Mustang journey started back in early 2016 while visiting my local Ford dealer. At the time, I was not there to buy a Mustang, rather to enquire about putting my name down for an XR6 Sprint, the last high performance 6-cylinder Falcon to be made. The XR6 Sprint would have been the natural choice to have sitting alongside the XR8 in the garage. Sadly, by the time I decided this would be something I wanted to do, allocations for the Sprint series were all taken. No dice.
Fast forward to March 2016, I was back at the dealer to order a new Ranger workhorse. I signed the paperwork, then out of curiosity, asked what the deal was with Mustang’s. The S550 Mustang had been on sale for only a few months in Australia, but the waiting list was so great that orders were at least a 12-month turnaround.
Despite a few RHD-converted Mustangs that were sold in the late 60’s and early 2000’s, the Mustang had never been manufactured in RHD. That changed with S550, Ford deciding to take the Mustang global for the very first time. It’s safe to say Ford underestimated demand, especially for the Australian market! The combination of highly competitive prices, drop dead gorgeous styling and that thumping V8 beat, people were clambering to get their hands on a Mustang. The master stroke here being that Mustang was drawing people into Ford showrooms that would have never previously considered a Ford.
Back to the showroom, and after being clued up on the Mustang, I asked the salesman to give me a price for manual GT Hardtop in Race Red, no options…………….the cheapest V8 Mustang you could buy. He handed me the price, to which I said I would think it over, buying two cars in one day probably not a good thing to do…………………………………….
Two hours later, I was back at the dealer with my deposit in hand and instructions to put me on the waiting list. So yes, I bought two cars in one day.
Count The Days -
That Ranger arrived a month later, the Mustang being so far out, well I put it to the back of my head and forgot about it……………………..
As the days and months went by, I gradually got more and more excited. The first big milestone was hearing the car had come off the production line on the 21st of December 2016. Then, after being shipped from Baltimore in early 2017, the anticipation only grew. My uncle and I tracked vessel Figaro as it traversed the east coast of America, down through the Panama Canal, then onwards to Australia. The banter between us during this time I will never forget…………………..
“Figaro last seen off Mallacoota dodging large icebergs……….”
“FIGARO JUST HIT A PENGUIN OFF PHILLIP ISLAND……………..the penguin is sinking”
After the Figaro made deliveries in Brisbane, Syndey and Melbourne, my car was then quarantined by biosecurity for stink bugs. Just when I thought the wait was over, the car spent what seemed like an age to be decontaminated and released to the dealer. On Monday, the 27th of March 2017, my Mustang finally arrived at the dealer, delivered with two other Race Red Mustang GT’s. I of course made the trip to see the car for the first time…………..
Love at First Sight -
After rushing the car through pre-delivery, on Tuesday, the 28th of March 2017 at 9am, the Mustang was finally mine, 12 months and 7 days after ordering.
Firing it up in the showroom was an event in itself, and to my great pleasure, the hearty V8 reverberated off the walls and windows. I then snicked first gear and idled it out into the service department for the customary introduction to the service team…………….to which they rolled their eyes and said, “not another one”, reference to the 3 other Fords I already had passing through their service department. It was then time to get the show on the road…………………
A Love Affair -
It’s safe to say my relationship with the Mustang has been a Love Affair. Like any new love, your first interactions are of curiosity mixed with some trepidation, but over time you become more and more intrigued, more comfortable as you get to know one another. My first drive of the Mustang was like that, a bundle of nervousness as I adjusted to the ultra-low driving position and a hood that stretched right out in front of me. This was also my first (and only) performance car with a manual transmission, a world of difference compared to the manual daily driver Ranger with a diesel engine. In actual fact, it would take me months to learn how to drive a manual V8 Mustang, the clutch feel and automatic dial up of revs as the clutch was released was very unnatural to me.
To be continued.............................
The following is a love note to my gorgeous Race Red Mustang, a car that changed my life and became way more than a car to me. As my ownership of this amazing vehicle comes to end, it’s time to look back and reminisce over a car that I’m fairly sure I’m going to regret selling. So, in the words of another Kylie Minogue bop, Let’s Get To It…………………………
Step Back In Time –
My Mustang journey started back in early 2016 while visiting my local Ford dealer. At the time, I was not there to buy a Mustang, rather to enquire about putting my name down for an XR6 Sprint, the last high performance 6-cylinder Falcon to be made. The XR6 Sprint would have been the natural choice to have sitting alongside the XR8 in the garage. Sadly, by the time I decided this would be something I wanted to do, allocations for the Sprint series were all taken. No dice.
Fast forward to March 2016, I was back at the dealer to order a new Ranger workhorse. I signed the paperwork, then out of curiosity, asked what the deal was with Mustang’s. The S550 Mustang had been on sale for only a few months in Australia, but the waiting list was so great that orders were at least a 12-month turnaround.
Despite a few RHD-converted Mustangs that were sold in the late 60’s and early 2000’s, the Mustang had never been manufactured in RHD. That changed with S550, Ford deciding to take the Mustang global for the very first time. It’s safe to say Ford underestimated demand, especially for the Australian market! The combination of highly competitive prices, drop dead gorgeous styling and that thumping V8 beat, people were clambering to get their hands on a Mustang. The master stroke here being that Mustang was drawing people into Ford showrooms that would have never previously considered a Ford.
Back to the showroom, and after being clued up on the Mustang, I asked the salesman to give me a price for manual GT Hardtop in Race Red, no options…………….the cheapest V8 Mustang you could buy. He handed me the price, to which I said I would think it over, buying two cars in one day probably not a good thing to do…………………………………….
Two hours later, I was back at the dealer with my deposit in hand and instructions to put me on the waiting list. So yes, I bought two cars in one day.
Count The Days -
That Ranger arrived a month later, the Mustang being so far out, well I put it to the back of my head and forgot about it……………………..
As the days and months went by, I gradually got more and more excited. The first big milestone was hearing the car had come off the production line on the 21st of December 2016. Then, after being shipped from Baltimore in early 2017, the anticipation only grew. My uncle and I tracked vessel Figaro as it traversed the east coast of America, down through the Panama Canal, then onwards to Australia. The banter between us during this time I will never forget…………………..
“Figaro last seen off Mallacoota dodging large icebergs……….”
“FIGARO JUST HIT A PENGUIN OFF PHILLIP ISLAND……………..the penguin is sinking”
After the Figaro made deliveries in Brisbane, Syndey and Melbourne, my car was then quarantined by biosecurity for stink bugs. Just when I thought the wait was over, the car spent what seemed like an age to be decontaminated and released to the dealer. On Monday, the 27th of March 2017, my Mustang finally arrived at the dealer, delivered with two other Race Red Mustang GT’s. I of course made the trip to see the car for the first time…………..
Love at First Sight -
After rushing the car through pre-delivery, on Tuesday, the 28th of March 2017 at 9am, the Mustang was finally mine, 12 months and 7 days after ordering.
Firing it up in the showroom was an event in itself, and to my great pleasure, the hearty V8 reverberated off the walls and windows. I then snicked first gear and idled it out into the service department for the customary introduction to the service team…………….to which they rolled their eyes and said, “not another one”, reference to the 3 other Fords I already had passing through their service department. It was then time to get the show on the road…………………
A Love Affair -
It’s safe to say my relationship with the Mustang has been a Love Affair. Like any new love, your first interactions are of curiosity mixed with some trepidation, but over time you become more and more intrigued, more comfortable as you get to know one another. My first drive of the Mustang was like that, a bundle of nervousness as I adjusted to the ultra-low driving position and a hood that stretched right out in front of me. This was also my first (and only) performance car with a manual transmission, a world of difference compared to the manual daily driver Ranger with a diesel engine. In actual fact, it would take me months to learn how to drive a manual V8 Mustang, the clutch feel and automatic dial up of revs as the clutch was released was very unnatural to me.
To be continued.............................