TMSBrad

• When asked which new car they would most like to buy, a recent survey reports that the majority of teens chose the Ford Mustang.
• Mustang pricing is within reach of teenagers and parents, starting at less than $20,000.
• The 2009 Mustang commemorates the 45th anniversary of America's favorite muscle car.

DEARBORN, Mich., June 16, 2008 - When he was in his early teens, Dan Vanderlip, Jr., of Clinton Township, Mich., fell in love with the Ford Mustang, so much so that he was determined to buy one when he turned 16.

Vanderlip, Jr. saved up all the money he earned working in his family's upholstery store, invested it wisely in the stock market (with a little coaching from his dad) and was on the verge of selling his beloved collection of rare baseball cards to come up with the remainder of the money he needed to buy the car - when his father stepped in to help.

"He wanted that car so badly," said Dan Vanderlip, Sr. "I knew he was going to do whatever it took to get it, and I really didn't want him to have to sell his baseball cards."

That was four years ago. Today, Vanderlip, Jr. - now 20 - is still the proud owner of that 2005 Ford Mustang GT.

"I worked hard to get the car, so it has a lot of sentimental value to me," he said. "And I still feel cool when I'm driving it."

Vanderlip, Jr. isn't the only teen smitten with Mustang. According to a survey by TRU (Teenage Research Unlimited), an organization specializing in youth market research, when asked which new car they would most like to buy, the majority of teens chose the Ford Mustang.

The "cool" factor of the Ford Mustang and the strong emotional response the vehicle evokes has been attracting people of all ages to the iconic muscle car ever since the first vehicle debuted at the World's Fair in New York in 1964. Today, one of out of every two sports cars sold in America is a Mustang.

"The Mustang is a part of Americana; it is part of our culture and who we are," said Robert Parker, Ford car marketing manager. "It's the kind of car that makes you feel different when you're driving it, whether you're a teenager or not."

Fritz Wilke, Ford Mustang brand manager, says he believes the Mustang ranks highly among teenagers because of its iconic status and because it's attainable.

"Mustang starts out at a price point that is within a teen's reach," he said, citing that some models are priced below $20,000. "It's a little more realistic than other much more expensive sports cars."

Mustang's prominence in toys, video games, television shows and movies also enhances its appeal to teens, adds Parker. The vehicle has been featured in more than 300 movies and television shows, most recently I am Legend, Transformers and the new Knight Rider television series.

"In almost all instances, the Mustang is used as a metaphor for power, performance and coolness," said Parker. "Whoever's driving it has a unique personality that sets them apart from the crowd."

Another reason for teens' fascination with the Mustang may be the fact that it's an accessory-friendly vehicle. Teens, among others, love to customize their cars. In fact, Mustang leads the nearly $1 billion aftermarket parts and accessories industry as the most personalized vehicle of all time.

Like Vanderlip, Jr., however, most teens are unable to buy a vehicle without financial help from their parents. J.D. Power and Associates estimates that only 1.2 percent of new car buyers are under the age of 21. Helping some parents tip the scale in favor of the Ford Mustang are the quality and safety accolades the vehicle has earned.

Last year, Mustang came out on top in three major consumer surveys sponsored by J.D. Power & Associates - the Initial Quality Study (IQS), the Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, and the Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS). In addition, the 2008 Mustang convertible became the first sports car and the first convertible to earn the highest possible safety ratings in new car tests performed by the U.S. government.

Ford Chief Engineer for Safety Systems Steve Kozak gave his teenage daughter a 2008 Mustang convertible as a graduation gift.

"Having a Mustang convertible as her first car is something my daughter will remember for the rest of her life," said Kozak. "My wife and I are happy knowing that, while she's having the time of her life, she'll be driving the top safety-rated convertible on the market."

The Ford Mustang, introduced in 1964, is Ford Motor Company's longest-running nameplate. Mustang sales hit an astounding 419,000 in its first 12 months on the market and topped the 1-million mark in the first two years, shattering the sales records of any single model in the history of the automobile.

Ford built its 9 millionth Mustang this year, and the company is commemorating another important milestone in pony car history with a special 45th anniversary edition for the 2009 model year.

Only a limited number of 2009 Mustangs - featuring 45th anniversary badging - are currently available for purchase, fueling speculation that the 2009 Ford Mustang model may one day become a collector's item.

SINBUSTER007

when i was 16 my first car was almost a 1978 mustang cobra. dad talked me out of it and we opted for an escort. safety and driveability factored into it. he wasnt against getting the mustang but thought i should know how to drive first before getting behind the wheel of something like this. today, the cars are much more powerful but i dont think the teens are any different than what i was like. just be careful and keep a smart head on your shoulders.

Vermillion06

I think a V6 Mustang would be a good choice for a teenager. It looks good, it's inexpensive, and there are tons of aftermarket pieces available. Plus, it's fast enough to get in trouble, but not so powerful it would be too dangerous for a beginner driver.

StangMahn

I sure wish I had one...

adrenalin

You're not serious are you?

Mark S.

That's great...but it's bad for insurance rates...

Vermillion06

I wouldn't want my son to have 300hp in his first car. I can see him getting to 140+ in a Mustang GT on the freeway testing top speed late one night. He was doing drifts on his tricycle going through the kitchen doorway when he was three.

Then there's instant V8 torque to send an inexperienced driver skidding into a utility pole from a stop.

210 hp/3400 lbs would be okay, especially since they are limited to about 115.

I still have 6 or so more years to contemplate this before he starts driving, though.

topbliss

oh great.. I can see the riced out Stangs materializing now..

let the kids drive the Hondas.. please

adrenalin

I only asked cause my 97 GT had 215 hp and there is no way I would give that to a 16 year old. Well, ok, maybe some out there would be able to handle one but most kids I have seen cause enough damage driving an Aries K-car.

watchdevil

My first experience with the Mustang was when I was a baby. My father had a lime 1967 Hardtop and I still remember it vividly to this day.



I also used to play with a red metal 1965 Mustang 2+2 which was my favorite toy for many years.

Some time in 1976, my mother bought a red 1974 Mustang II notchback. I thought it was cool and I liked it. Much later probably around 1978 or 1979 she had been driving a big blue 76 Torino wagon which she sold due to seperation with her husband. Her and I went shoping together and remembering the Mustang II she had before we found a blue 74 Mustang II with a V6. She got it for the price of a Pinto because it was mismarked on the windshield and the dealer honored the price. That little car fueled my appetite for one of my own as I was approaching driving age. I had hoped that Mom would pass that car to me but she didn't keep it long enough for me to get my license. Meanwhile I had anticipated a Mustang for myself and became obsessed with the one Farrah drove on Charlie's Angels. What was better in 1976 than watching Farrah drive a Cobra II?




This is my first car, a 1976 Cobra II V8 in the condition when I first got it at the age of 14 in 1980. It stayed parked in the back of my father's electronics and appliance business until I got my driver's license. Ironically, my father's business was in the old Shealy Ford dealership in Newberry, SC where I grew up. It's sitting in the old service bay.

It was $1700 dollars and quite worse for wear considering it was only a four year old car at the time.




I finally got my driver's license after passing my driving test in a 1980 Dodge Diplomat. Here is the Cobra II in front of the house. My modifications at this point was repainting the wheel spoke details silver (center caps were missing), black mirrors (dont ask me why as everyone wants the classic factory mirrors these days), and a 5.0 decal on the front of the hood scoop.



At some point I painted my wheels white since I had seen white ones in Mustang II brochures.

Later I became obsessed with blackout trim as found on the 1978 King Cobra, 1978 Fairmont ES models and 1979 Mustangs. Everything chrome including the gas cap and door handles was changed to black. I even managed to find a set of 13" wheel covers that resembled the european style road wheels fond on Fairmonts and Fox-bodied Mustangs. The stripes got painted on as the old vinyl was cracking peeling ad fading.

The inside got the blackout treament as well. What would be considered blasphamy now, I had painted al the interior chrome and brushed aluminum a semi-gloss black. I was addicted to Krylon spray paint.



You can see with the stripe repaint that I had the stripes continue full on the bumpers and down the rear body panel. Yes, I painted a horizonal black dividing stripe on the taillamps.




I never did warm up well enough to the Fox bodied Mustangs. They lost all their design cues and I kept wanting a newer version. I instead became excited about the 1982 Camaro with it's Ferrari like detail and aircaft cockpit interior. It made the new Mustang seem unexciting and stodgy as it was better suited as a Pinto replacement with it's square sedan-like style and packaging.

I remember a freind of mine getting a very cherry red 1966 Mustang hardtop and I thought it was awesome. Every detail was wonderment as I had never really experienced a classic Mustang much when I was in my teens. It was all the things that was missing in the new Fox Bodied Mustangs which was just a name, not a resemblence.

I ordered a Camaro in 1983 and was waiting for it to be shipped from the factory when on day the oil pump gave out on the Cobra II and it had to sit until it could be towed to the dealership when the Camaro arrived. I liked it so much that I bought an IROC-Z in 1985, a Z28 Convertible in 1989 and a Firebird in 1982.

However for years I would draw what was my intrpetation of what the Mustang should be. I made drawings that had the proportions of Camaros such as the steeply raked windshield, the longer lower body and the blunt aero nose. Some time in 1989, I drew a Mustang which turned out to be a lot like what we got for 1994. It started as a 2-door notchback complete with the triangular quarter window with a hop-up integrated into the quater panel. The rear was inspired by the 1971-73 convertibles except I made the tri-sectioned taillamps wrap around. The license plate was in the bumper where it should be. The front end was smooth and aero with wraparound headlamps tapered back. The area between the headlamps was smooth with a tri-bar pony on the tip. The lower fascia was a large rounded corner trapazoid the shape of classic Mustang grilles. It was flanked under the headlamps with tunneled round foglamps that micked the classic Mustang turn signal lamps. My idea for the interior was of course a revised dual cowl design. From that first drawing I created a 2+2 hatchback with the fastck profile of the classic models. I did variations of quater windows that were triangular that were either joined to the door window like Ferraris or seperate like our current models. I included louvers on both of them.

It seems somehow I must have known what was to come because I felt in 1994, Ford finaly answered my prayers for a new Mustang styled like I always wanted. I sold my soul n 1994 to drive a laser red convertible off the showroom floor. Ever since then I stayed close to Fords.

Hard times fell in 1996 and I had to sell my Mustang. I bought a 1985 Tbird which made me feel somewhat that not all was lost. I later bought a 1989 Tbird and drove I for a while. In 2000, I bought a 99 Mustang coupe. The ride quality was horrible. I never remembed my 94 being so bad. I also wanted something roomier to carry passengers and haul stuff in. I got fustrated buying furniture for my new home and tryng to get it home so I bought a Ford Escape which I liked very much. I liked it so much I went and bought the Maverick nameplates for it that were used in Germany and the UK.

In 2004, some tough times fell on me again. I had to sell the Escape. I ended up in a Lumina for $500 and later bought an 05 Cavalier as more reliable transportation. By them I had surrendered all dreams of ever owning a car I really loved and focused on work and meeting basic needs as a responsible person should do.

I was tortured when the 05 Mustang came out. It looked even more exactly like I always thought a Mustang should be. However, I had to not entertain thoughts of getting something for a long time so I pushed it to he back of my mind.

Time passed... During much of this time I kept having reoccuring dreams about my first car the Cobra II... It was always the premise of me getting it back after a long time... Or finding it many years later...

For the past year I was beginingto get comfortable entertaining thoughts of eventually getting a car I like. I started looking at Mustangs again. I was going to settle for a used one maybe an 05 or 06. It worked out that the payments would be as much for a new car so I went ahead with a new one. I kept coming accross white Ponies and realized my old passion stirred. So I made it happen and I feel like I found a long lost friend. The dreams of my old car stopped and I feel like things happened they way they were meant to be...




Mustangs are just timesless and has evoked a passion for a lifetime...

houtex

Wow, that was awesome, Watchdevil! Your feelings (if not some of the experiences) mirror mine!

For the record, on topic, yep, my first choice, all years I've been a driver. Not always lucky to have one, though...

My first was a 78 Mustang II V6, in bright freakin' Orange. Bad car, cool lookin' though. Then a 66 Tbird, fairly ok, but some parts issues. Still got looks though. Then I drove the 57 Bird for a bit, but Dad wouldn't let me drive the 65 Mustang Convertible. Well, a couple of times... The 66 was in a wreck, and got fixed. Drove that a good while, then got, in succession, a 66 Mustang (which turned into The Muskrat (sniffle) which is what most who know me from then think of as "my car." That'll change soon enough.) a 86 SVO (which blew a head gasket, I don't recommend them unless you like rebuilding engines...), then a 87 Mark VII. That stuck a bit. Best car I've ever owned. Sold the Muskrat (STUPID!) and wound up later getting a 95 Mark VIII (WORST CAR EVAR) when the Mark VII wore out. That car was so bad, I was kinda glad they stole it from me. I would liked to get the stuff out of it before they left with it, though... but that's in the past now.

So to get back on the road, I had to get the 96 HoopTBird. Oh, it wasn't that bad, but by the time I was done with it last Wednesday... it was definitely time.

Whereupon we arrive at what I've been wanting (but didn't really think I'd ever get.) See sig below. I'm just ever so happy with it... and I don't plan on getting out of it anytime soon... like 10 years maybe... if ever.

Anyway, just want to say, indeed, teens, adults, seniors... No matter who, Mustang inspires the desires. I'm hooked bad now.

watchdevil

Thanks so much for sharing that! I read your article on your webpage and enjoyed it. What a nice "Muskrat"...

Funny looking at the wheels you put on it. I had a set on one my my cars one time. They used to be the cool rage and now they are passe'... Funny how things change...

About the Mark VII you used to have... That car and the Thunderbird and Cougar that shared most body structure are among the best built Fords ever produced. I remember reading a long time ago that the Lorain, Ohio assembly plant which did the Thunderbird and Cougar at one time had the best build quality in he world... Even better than Mercedes.

I can attest to that. The 1985 Thunderbird was the best car and one of the most favorite I ever owned. It was solid and rust free, no rattles and the doors still closed like a tomb. Except for the inside door armrests and a cracked dash pad, the interior stayed intact and the cloth seats had never worn through. It had a 5.0 V8. I drove it right up to 245,000 miles and parked it after I gotthe 1989 Tbird. By that time it really needed an engine overhaul. I really wanted to keep it and restore it at some point. I still kept it after I traded my 89 Tbird for a 99 Mustang. However, I later sold it to someone at work who kept it running and drove it daily.





I always wanted to change the wheels but never got around to it. I did put a 1997 Thunderbird nameplate on the back, and a 94-98 Cobra style wing that I kept from my 94 Mustang.

I scoured a junk yard and found woodgrain dash bezels from a similar year Cougar. I also found clear turn signal lamps which were used in 1983 only. I hated the original A frame steering wheel so I plucked one out of a Ford EXP with cruise control. I really liked the four spokes and thick horn pad.

I also had a brand new 1977-79 Thunderbird hood ornament I had for years still in the original box. I affixed it to the top of the chrome grille shell and loved it.

So along with the Mustang, I always had a soft spot for Thunderbirds. Since Ford refused to build a newer four seat Thunderbird, I started falling back in love with the Mustang again.

According to history the Mustang IS the continuation of the original concept for a Thunderbird. It was all inspired by Iacocca's dream to resurrect and build a Thunderbird based on it's original roots as a small afforable car as opposed to the expensive unobtainable land yatch it became.

I did like the last generation Thunderbird roadster but for some reason I never could see myself in one. I could always see myself in a Mustang and when I laid eyes on a new white Pony I was sold in my heart.

Vermillion06

So you'd rather have teens drive Hondas than Mustangs? So you would rather see another generation of Honda lovers than a new generation of Mustang enthusiasts?

FRONCZ

Get them a SMART CAR so I can save my money, and just get gas for my the Stang

topbliss

not to worry. All the kids DO grow up and then they all buy americam musclecars. No one grows up and still drive Honda civics with fart cans..

WTCV6Stang

I am 16 and was lucky enough to receive a vista blue V6 Pony Package for my birthday. I will admit that i didnt pay for any of the car but I do pay for my gas and insurance. My insurance isnt too bad though because our insurance agent recommended us switching around the cars in our plan. I am listed on my moms 2002 suburban with 115000 miles and her on my mustang. And about the rice factor, if i dont keep it stock the only mods i might do are upgraded factory parts and maybe a nice exhaust.

boduke0220

I totally agree although my story might be a little different.
When most people saw the fast and the furious the wanted a riced out 4cyl. But i saw the saleen mustang get crushed and i nearly cried. and after that i just had to have a mustang but at the time i was like 11-12 years old lol so i impatiently waited 4 years and now i have her.

Vermillion06

I don't know about that, most people who start the import path when they are kids won't even look at an American car.

topbliss

Im proud of ya!! Way to go !!

topbliss

but they soon or late all go to American muscle. Trust me. I have been around long enough to see it over and over again and again.. Every Philly ricer 15 years ago all now have Camaros, Mustangs, BuickGN's etc etc. Not ONE of em have civics all riced out when they are 35..