Archive for July, 2011
Ford Mustang 1964 1/2 to 2011 History and Guide
Posted by in Ford on July 16, 2011
The story of the Mustang can’t really be told without starting with original idea in the mind of a man who has become synonyms with the Mustang, Mr. Lee Iacocca. As early as 1960 Mr. Iacocca had an idea in mind for a sports car that would hold 4 people. His idea was to produce a car that could be bought by the masses and would cost less than $2,500.00. It was no secret at the time that Ford was not necessarily in favor spending millions of dollars re-tooling for a car that was to be sold to a completely unproven market.
Through some intense market analysis and the bull dog determination of Mr. Iacocca Ford did finally give the go ahead to build the sporty 2 door. In an interesting twist the final clay model was approved in September of 1962, dubbed the “Cougar”. The name was of course later changed Mustang but not before “Torino” and “T-5″ were also considered. After all T-5 was the secret code name for the project up to that point. From September 1962 to its introduction in 1964 the engineering team at Ford worked feverishly to meet the deadline and bring the car in at the desired price of $2,500.00.
On April 17, 1964 it was finally time for the public to meet the new Ford Mustang. Thanks to a skillful advertizing campaign that covered television, magazines, radio and newspapers Ford dealers across the United States were overrun by buyers and the general public to get their first real look at the car they had heard so much about. Reports of jammed showrooms and people sleeping in cars just to get a chance to buy them were the norm. Mr. Iacocca could have only dreamed about the revolution he had started in the automotive world.
It is easiest to breakdown the Mustang into the body style change groups and the go deeper from there. The first group of Mustangs have been come to be known as the:
* First Generation cars sold from April of 1964 through the 1966 model year.
* 1967 and 1968 Mustang “Second Generation” cars offered some changes to the body style and power train to keep it looking new and more powerful to secure its place against newly introduced Camaro.
* 1969 and 1970 Mustang “Third Generation” cars were a bigger change yet with a larger body and yet more power.
* 1971 to 1973 Mustang “Forth Generation” were dubbed the “big” Mustangs while the wheel base was only one inch longer than the 1969 Mustang and the body only two and a half inches longer it appeared much longer to the untrained eye.
* 1974 to 1978 Mustang “Fifth Generation” The Mustang II was a big departure from the early models but to many peoples surprise the 74 model was the best selling model up to that time. Read the rest of this entry »
Caveat Emptor – The 21st Century Version – SALEEN MUSTANG S 281 EXTREME
Posted by in Saleen on July 16, 2011
Ryan is a young guy with a young family-he’s a self-employed contractor who has aspirations to join his hometown fire department. He likes the economic security of a firefighting career -every financial decision he makes has to fall within practical family guidelines. Except for a 2006 Mustang Saleen S 281 Extreme…
Ryan spotted one on Autotrader.ca for an asking price of 14,500 Canadian. That’s a fraction of retail (45-55,000) for a 5000-mile car. Ryan emailed the seller for more information. It was the old divorce story (vindictive, angry, motivated ex-wife equals fire sale). Or so it seemed.
Ryan isn’t a naïve guy-he’s seen the 20-20/Dateline car scam stories on TV so he paid 30 bucks for a CARFAX report-everything she told him checked out. The car was sold in California, repossessed with a few thousand miles on the clock, sold again, moved up to Vancouver BC Canada and eventually ended up in Edmonton Alberta Canada. This was exactly what she had told him. He asked for more pictures and she emailed a giant portfolio including pictures of the car with Alberta plates and the original California dealer sticker. So far so good.
The seller then set the hook by offering a solution to the “how do I get paid?” question-she offered the “eBay Payment Protection Plan” as a solution. Basically it worked this way: Ryan would send a certified payment to a holding account with a trust company that would keep the funds until both parties were satisfied. She emailed him an invoice (eBay logo and all) detailing the terms of the protection plan: she ships the car and no money exchanges hands for 10 days until buyer is satisfied. Seller also agrees to take the car back at seller’s expense for shipping if it isn’t satisfactory. From Ryan’s point of view she was taking all the risk so, with CARFAX, Auto Trader and eBay apparently involved, he truly believed that he’d won the ‘Specialty Mustang’ lottery.
Until it didn’t show up. She had emailed Ryan to expect delivery at his house on Monday night at 8 pm. 45 minutes went by. Then an hour. Then another hour.
Ryan finally got an answer after several emails when she told him that the car was held up due to a shipping insurance issue with her bank. That’s when he threw the penalty flag and phoned her bank in Florida to crash the deal (bank transfer recall). The manager was very unwilling to help. He told Ryan that his customer told him that Ryan had indeed received the car and the believability edge had gone to his client. It took a big move up the food chain in this Florida based banking chain and a call from the Miami police to get this guy off his “protect the lowlife fraud artist” position.
Ryan also phoned eBay about the protection plan invoice. eBay told him that it didn’t exist and they contacted IC3 (internet fraud investigation). The bank account was immediately frozen. Ryan’s own city police service in Calgary Alberta told him that they see this about five times a week and it can involve anything from a car to heavy equipment and it’s always done the same way. Read the rest of this entry »