New Mustang Builds on Car’s Historic Appeal
Like it or love it, it’s pretty clear that the new 2015 Ford Mustang will continue to build on the same passion for ownership that has defined the pony car for nearly 50 years.
You need look no further than the popularity of the new Mustang at last month’s SEMA Show as a testament to its appeal in the world of aftermarket. The new model continued right where the old one left off, winning the show’s Hottest Car of the Year Award for the third time in a row.
The passion for the new Mustang certainly runs deep. Just ask Joshua Garcia, owner of a 1966 289 Mustang, who’s anxiously anticipating the day he can purchase a 2015 Mustang in the near future. The Southern California native especially likes that the new Mustang is very different than the previous models.
“The Challenger and Camaro are no comparison,” says Garcia while discussing the 2015 model and its competitors.
A fan of the Mustang since he was young, Garcia (pictured with his car above) said the car has been a part of his family for decades, noting that his grandfather owned a 1964 1/2 Mustang.
“I grew up with one of them as a kid and have been liking them ever sense,” said Garcia who’s had his Mustang since 2006. “I can’t see myself driving something else.”
Garcia bought his ’66 from a coworker for about $1,000 who’d had the car for ten years. For the last eight years, Garcia’s been restoring the ’66 with his dad and his 23-year-old brother (who has Down syndrome). The Garcia family also has a ’65 baby blue equipped with an inline six engine.
Mike Guymon, who owns a yellow 1972 Mustang and a green model of the same year, echoed many of Gracia’s sentiments, saying his three children have been asking him when he’s going to buy one of the new models.
“I’ve loved Mustangs since the time I was about 11-years-old and my dad use to take me to a Ford dealership in Santa Monica and I’d sit in the cars while he would go shopping,” recalls Guymon. “I knew from the time I was eleven I was going to have one of those cars.”
Guymon said he rebuilt the engine in one of his 1972 Mustangs with his dad when he was about 26-year-old. And that passion for the Ford pony car has been passed down to his kids, who also share a deep love of Mustangs.
“My kids love these cars,” says Guymon. “I have two boys and one girl and they all like working on the car. It’s a great father-son time and father-daughter time.”
Now, Guymon, who has lived through a couple of generations of the Ford pony car, is trying to figure out how to fit a new Mustang into his budget to help carry on the family tradition.
“My children have all said that they want me to put in my order. I like yellow so I really like that Grabber Yellow. I think it’s beautiful,” said Guymon. “I’ve enjoyed these cars, all of them. It’s something that gets planted when you’re very young and it stays with you your whole life.”
With the 2015 Mustang now being sold globally by Ford, I’m sure there’ll be many more family ties like the Garcias and Guymons being built with the new model in 2015 and for years to come.
Below is a gallery of some more Mustangs from the past, showcased at the launch of the 2015 model this summer in Los Angeles.
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Photos [Marcus Amick]