First of all, thank you to all of you who so generously donated to make this trip happen. There's no way I could've gone without your support.

Sorry it's taken so long to get this posted; I've been pretty swamped going through the almost 200 photos I took.

Visit Mustang Shows: 2005 Mustang Launch Celebration for the entire set of photos.

After we got settled into the hotel Sunday night, we met for dinner at La Shish. I'm not going to say who all was there because I don't want to leave anyone out, but we had a great time. One guy there was Nick, a body engineer at SVT. We tried to get him drunk and make him give us secret info, but he wouldn't budge. (Nick, if you're reading this, I put in a good word for you to Hau.)



After dinner, Amy V6 took me to see some camouflaged 2005 Mustangs. One of the cars was a Lincoln LS with a 2005 Mustang front end, but the photo didn't come out.



Monday Bridget and I woke up at 4:30 our time to make it to AAI for the tour. These banners hang from the street lamps in Flat Rock:



Our tour group in the AAI lobby:



Me and a 2005 V6 in the AAI lobby:



Scott Hoag (led the Bullitt and '03 Mach 1 design teams, runs MRT), me, and Tony Alonso:



Photos weren't allowed on the production floor; these are from Ford:











Throughout the tour we saw five 2005 Mustangs without tops. Since Ford hasn't officially announced plans to develop a 2005 Mustang convertible, we were asked to ignore the "defective" cars. I later got permission to post these photos taken outside of AAI:





After the tour, we waited in a reception area which housed a red 1965 Mustang GT fastback and a black 1966 Mustang GT convertible.





While we waited, I interviewed Hau Thai-Tang. Here is the info he could give me:

The Mustang Source: Can you confirm the list of colors for 2006 posted on my site?
Hau Thai-Tang: I haven't looked at the list recently and I'm not sure of the names, but I can tell you that the color on the show car will be available next year.

TMS: I'm sure you get this question a lot, but when will we see 18" wheels?
HTT: 2006

TMS: Will they be the same fanblades as on the preproduction show cars?
HTT: Yes

TMS: Can you comment on upcoming special editions?
HTT: We will definitely have special editions, but not before 2006.

TMS: Which ones?
HTT: We have a long list we're considering.

TMS: What is the SVT/Shelby relationship? Will they be two different models?
HTT: Carroll has been working closely with SVT, but the relationship hasn't been resolved.

TMS: I hear Warner Brothers is tight-fisted with the Bullitt name. Will we see a Bullitt in this bodystyle? It's retro-1968 enough to pass for a Bullitt if it came in dark green paint. Is an unofficial Bullitt edition a possibility?
HTT: We have been getting a lot of requests for dark green, and we'll probably offer it soon. But we've done a Bullitt. We've done a Mach 1. There are so many other possibilities out there we want to explore.

TMS: Like a California Special?
HTT: It's on our list.

TMS: I hear the three-spoke steering wheel won't meet regulations for 2006. Is that true?
HTT: No, the 2006 Mustang will have the same steering wheel.

TMS: Will the convertible have a hard boot?
HTT: No, but the top will fold differently than before. Instead of folding back onto itself so you see the underside of the top when it's folded, it's a 'Z' fold.



TMS: Will the convertible top be vinyl or cloth?
HTT: Vinyl.

TMS: When do you expect the next body style change?
HTT: We'll stay with our regular schedule, and we'll keep this body for about five years.

TMS: There were some early rumors of replacing the 4.0 V6 with the Duratec. How long to you plan to keep the current V6?
HTT: We have no plans of replacing the V6.

TMS: What info can you give us on commercials?
HTT: I found out about the Cornfield commercial from your site! Ed. note: I don't really know much else, but they'll start airing sometime between late October and mid-November.

TMS: Are there any plans to export to Europe or the Bahamas?
HTT: We will not export to Europe. We are still considering the Bahamas.

Among the distinguished guests at the ceremony were US Secretary of Labor Elaine Chow, Ford COO Jim Padilla, Director of the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth David Hollister, US Congressman John Dingle, Charlie Hoskins of the local UAW, and AAI President Phil Spender.



This photo was taken by Ford, but you can see me in the upper left:



2005 Mustang Launch Coordinator John LoPorto, me, Team Mustang member Michael Fontana, and Mustang Chief Nameplate Engineer Hau Thai-Tang:



After the ceremony we got to eat lunch with Team Mustang. I sat next to Hau Thai-Tang:



After lunch, Scott Hoag invited a couple of us to his place, where he houses the 2005 Mustang MRT is building for SEMA:











Later Monday night, we went to Comerica Park to watch the Tigers beat the White Sox 4-2.







On Tuesday, I stopped by Ford World Headquarters for a few photos:

 

great photo taking brad!
the white and torch red look amazing

 

Cool pics. Glad you guys were able to make it out here

 

Wow! What an experience that must have been. Congrats again Brad!

Hob knobbing with all the Team Mustang and FMC big whigs....just goes to so how influential and signifiicant TMS has become! All Hail THE SOURCE :worship:

Priceless!

 

pretty awesome dude! That pic of you eating with Hau Thai-Tang, i'm sure you'll hold onto that one. Amazing that the guy who created this car got some news about it from your site, way to go.

My only complaint: that the stang is gonna stick with the 4.0L ranger engine instead of the new duratec.

 

Yay, this sounds like what I guessed from looking at the spy photos. The top folds so the headliner is on the underside of the exposed surface, instead of on the outside where it gets dirty unless you put the boot on manually.

This is where Ford earns the "always thinking" moniker, instead of it just being a marketing tag line. This is just a little thing, but it makes the car better in everyday use. It's not expensive or difficult to implement, it just takes thinking of it and caring enough to do it.

Thanks Ford, nice work!

Thanks Brad, great post!

Now, just another six months to wait for the convertibles to start showing up. :bang:

 

Great report Brad!!! Thanks for all the shots!!! Glad you made the trip!

 

Which Duratec is that? :scratch:

 

Which Duratec is that? :scratch: [/b][/quote]
I think he means the 3.5 . .that won't be avaiable until 2006-2007. But I could be mistaken.

Brad-

Great Shots, Thanks!!

 

Excellent write up Brad, I'm glad you enjoyed it! The pictures are excellent!

But.......




BOOOOOOOOO

 

Great Report & Excellent Pictures. Looks like a great time. Thanks for taking the time to write that up.

 

Excellent photos Brad! What trip!

 

Awesome write-up Brad

I am glad you got to meet Hau Thai Tang, isn't he a nice guy? When Dan and I met him, it was such a thrill, he was so awesome with us, told us everything he could.

 

Great pictures, and glad you enjoyed you trip!!

Hau is a great guy to talk to, beacause he is so knowledable and down to earth.

See you in January for convertible Launch?

The weather up here in January may not be as nice as it was on Monday.

 

Great write-up to follow what I am sure was a great experience. And the Tigers actually won. What an added bonus.

 

The link said the pictures had been moved. Are there more pictures somewhere else?

 

Awesome Brad, nice job.

It sounds like we might see a California Special in 06MY since Thai-Tang said its on the list. Kind of an odd coincidence that KaptinGT mentioned in and Thai-Tang said it was on the list. Plus, they are concentrating on getting the Cobra out so I'm not sure we'll see a power increase till 07MY.

Anyways, the trip looked like a lot of fun. Thai-Tang is a great guy isn't he?

 

Thanks Brad! great job! Some newfoundland screech [ liquor ] would have made Nick talk.

one of those street posters would look sweet in my garage!

hint! hint!

 

link to pictures

 

Good report there, Brad! Looks like you had a good visit to the "center of the motoring universe" :-D . That's also cool that Scott Hoag invited you back to his place. He is a heck of a nice guy (from the times I have talked with him) and his influence in the Mustang world is vast.

Again, thanks for sharing your experience with us and I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it out for the dinner or game to meet 'cha. Ended up being to involved putting down epoxy floor paint in my garage.