Happy 40th Birthday Mustang!

April 19, 1964: A day that will live in infamy. Ford introduces the Mustang at the World's Fair.

It's amazing how this car threads itself throughout my life. My friend Scott has a cherry red '65 (I think) coupe. There's nothing like crusing Broad Ripple on a nice night with the oldies station on in that ride.

My car in college was a black '84 Mustang with the 3.8 liter V-6. It couldn't corner worth anything, but in a straight line it was okay. The hatchback design was perfect as I could move half my dorm room in it by myself. I could also squeeze Scott into the truck so 6 of us would see Dracula when it came out. I'll never forget him screaming that not only was he underneath the stoplight, but could also see the 18-wheeler bearing down on us!

My friend Katie had a cherry red '96 (I think) GT convertible. A woman with a V-8 powered convertible and knew how to drive a stick shift; that is grounds for a marriage proposal! A woman who understands that cars are more than appliances are to be treasured. Everytime I see a red Mustang convertible with the '94 - '96 body style I think of her and still wish that she could have survived the World Trade Center.

The completely revitalized '94 was Motor Trend's Car Of They Year and if I had any sort of decently paying job upon graduation I would have nabbed that baby insurance premiums be damned! It was tugging on my heart at the Ford dealership when I was looking at the Ranger that I could afford and did like, when across the floor was a perfect V-8 GT in the shade of green that I lusted for.

Interestingly enough a brand new redesigned 2005 model with a 300 horsepower V-8 will be introduced this fall. I graduate again in 2005. Seems like the more things change, the more they stay the same!