Friday 17 April marks the 60th anniversary of when the first Ford Mustang was unveiled at New York’s World Fair. Hitting the road in what they hope to be the biggest Mustang muster our region has ever seen, the ACT Chapter of the Mustang Owners Club of Australia will drive to Cooma and back on Sunday 21 April.
“It’s actually the longest-running Ford under one name badge that continues unbroken to this day, it was a huge success,” says John Perryman, spokesperson for the ACT Chapter of the Mustang Owners Club of Australia.
Businesses have come on board to support the cruise starting from the Suppeto Collective in Jerrabomberra opening their doors and car park to serve coffee and maybe a toastie or two before heading to Cooma.
“We’re meeting heading Alpine Ford in Cooma, where the dealer is emptying the showroom and lot to display the cars there,” says Lynette Lloyd, cruise organiser.
After a couple of hours at Alpine Ford, the congregation will make its way to the Wildbrumby Distillery near Jindabyne where the public is once again invited to join them and soak up the spectacle.
They hope to get a model that represents each year a Mustang was produced, though they know this might not be possible, there will still be a great display of the evolution of the vehicles. From the club’s oldest car, a striking red 1965 convertible to a modern muscle car hot off the factory floor last year.
John says the earliest models appealed to people for the compact design. Then in the ‘70s they shifted to a bigger, heavier muscle car design which gained even more popularity.
“Then conversely in the ‘80s they adopted the fox body designs, they lost a little bit of their elegance and it wasn’t really until the release of the S550 [2015] that they rediscovered their pedigree,” says John.
For John, the allure remains in those more classic styles, like the 1966 model that he owns. He says in the times of the Space Race and Jet Age, the care that went into the creation is obvious.
“It’s the driving experience and I like the fact that for the car’s in those days, I think that the designers put a little bit more thought into it,” he says.
For Lynette, the love for Mustangs was always there; she went to many shows growing up and her father flew a Mustang plane. When the S550 series was released, Lynette saw her chance to own a Mustang that she wouldn’t have to rebuild but was still connected to one of her favourite classic cars.
“When I bought a newer model in 2015, I was torn. You shouldn’t duplicate the name for something that looks so different, but the more I looked at them, the more I noticed quite a lot of similarities in the lines of the vehicle,” she says.
Blending luxury and power, Lynette says the Mustang can be a relatively inexpensive option for a muscle car that is decked out with the comfort of a high-end vehicle.
“It has a lot of power, but it still has all of the luxuries; the heated and air-conditioned seats, all the things you get in a modern car while keeping the lines of a Mustang and having that high-performance vehicle,” she smiles.
One for every taste, the Mustang has been thrown in the spotlight in films and pop culture throughout its history, from Steve McQueen in Bullet to Gone in 60 Seconds and an easter egg appearance in Misery.
“Not long after the first Mustang came out there was a car chase in Goldfinger, the Bond movie, a DB5 against a Mustang. That continued in Thunderball and then you look at some of the other films that Mustangs have appeared in as high-performance vehicles, getaway cars, good guy’s cars,” says John.
Whether you love the classic, the modern or want to see a car from your favourite film, you can join the ACT Branch of the Mustang Owners Club of Australia on the 60th Anniversary Cruise on Sunday 21 April; facebook.com/events/s/60th-anniversary-of-the-ford
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