In April of 2003, I went to my local Ford dealer to purchase a brand new Mustang. It was a dark shadow clear coat grey base deluxe model with a V-6. It also came equipped with the Pony package (the hood of a GT and aluminum rims) and the interior upgrade package. It was beautiful. It looked exactly like a GT, but at the price of a base model. The salesman was very helpful, pointing out many of the attributes the car possessed. When I took it off the lot however, I noticed that there was one thing that he failed to point out about my new ride. It wasn’t anything that was on the window sticker, but rather an intangible that came with the car. I had gone from being invisible when I was driving my nondescript foreign sedan, to being noticed for driving a new Mustang. I was suddenly Mustang Famous.

I first noticed this phenomenon the day after I bought the vehicle, when I saw a woman checking out either me or my new car as she drove by. I’m assuming she was looking at the car. Granted, this didn’t happen as much as I would have liked, but it was happening none the less. A few days later, on a sunny spring day, I was sitting at a red light, when a young girl in a sedan pulled up next to me. She said she liked my new car, and asked if I wanted to race. The fact that I had been to traffic school for too many tickets when I was about her age cured me of my need for speed. So, I politely declined.

I also noticed that whenever I would be driving, many other Mustang owners would wave to me as we passed each other on the road. I realized I was suddenly part of this fraternity that I never knew existed. I didn’t know these other Mustang owners’ names, or where they came from, but we did have this one great thing in common.

I also found out that people of all ages and backgrounds love Ford Mustangs. Little kids really love them. Once, I was driving down the street and a little guy, about four or five years old, came charging across his lawn. He stopped, pointed at my car, and said excitedly to his father, “Look dad, a MUSTANG!!” Most children would shout something like “Nice car mister!” when I drove by and wave. I would smile and give them a wave or beep my horn. It always amazed me when I saw the reactions of others to my car. Yes, I thought it was a good looking car, but I had no clue how many people truly loved Mustangs.